Doctor Strange and Loki possess substantial magical abilities in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Therefore, you may wonder who would win in a fight between them.
We have a powerful Asgardian God squaring off against a human who acquired and honed godlike ability in the Mystic Arts. Loki may be older and more experienced in his skills, but he is also reckless, and he has a tendency to look down on humans like Stephen Strange.
Meanwhile, Strange can keep tabs on any would-be opponent looking to harm him or another. He can also be arrogant, and in an alternate world like What If…?, such arrogance has led to recklessness.
So, who would win in a battle between Doctor Strange and Loki? Keep reading to find out.
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Who is Doctor Strange?
An accomplished neurosurgeon, Stephen Strange injured his hands in a car crash. The severe injuries left his career as a surgeon in doubt, and he tried saving his career through a regimen of experimental surgeries.
None of these surgeries were successful, and it wasn’t until Strange discovered Jonathan Pangborn that he received direction. Pangborn pointed Strange to Kamar-Taj, where, after some serious training, he healed his injuries.
Strange, however, became a master in the Mystic Arts when he trained under the Ancient One.
You can argue that Strange was the real hero in the Infinity Saga, since he saw the one outcome that ended with the Avengers defeating the Mad Titan, Thanos. This was why he handed Thanos the Time Stone to spare Tony Stark without hesitation.
Strange also made appearances in the Multiverse Saga, where he helped the world forget Peter Parker’s (Spider-Man’s) existence. He later battled the Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) in the Multiverse of Madness.
Who is Loki?
Inspired by the trickster god in the Nordic tradition, Loki plays a similar role in the MCU. Like his Nordic counterpart, Loki is a shapeshifter, something we’ve seen numerous times in the Infinity Saga when he impersonated characters like Captain America and, later, Odin.
Loki is also a tweener character. In the 2011 film Thor, Loki, resentful of his adoptive brother Thor achieving the throne of Asgard, served as the flick’s primary antagonist.
His antagonistic ways continued in The Avengers, when he fought the likes of his brother, Tony Stark (Iron Man), Steve Rogers (Captain America), and Bruce Banner (Hulk), among others, at the Battle of New York.
However, there were times when Loki leaned toward the anti-hero role. In Thor: Ragnarok, although he ruled the realm disguised as Odin, he also returned to help evacuate the Asgardians during Ragnarok.
He helped Thor end Hela’s short-lived reign in the process, but he also stole the Tesseract, which carried the Space Stone.
Unfortunately for Loki, Thanos caught up with him and Thor. The Mad Titan, following a battle where he defeated Thor and Hulk, took the Space Stone from Loki, killing the God of Mischief.
Doctor Strange’s Biggest Strengths
Doctor Strange has a plethora of powers, so we will go through his most prominent. The Third Eye is perhaps his biggest strength, as it only manifested after he helped defeat the Scarlet Witch and the corrupted version of himself, Doctor Strange Earth-838.
The third eye also lets Strange see every intention of an opponent, and it can destroy illusions.
Strange can even use magic to erase an opponent’s memory. If he had enough time to cast such a spell against an opponent who matched him in strength or was a threat to him, he could win a battle just by making them forget who they were.
During the Infinity Saga, Strange also had access to the Time Stone. This allowed him to peek into the future, letting him know how he could defeat an opponent.
If Strange found himself facing an opponent stronger than him, yet he didn’t have time to erase their memory, he could just duplicate himself. We saw him do this against Thanos in Infinity War, and it would confuse any opponent regardless of how powerful they were.
Universal Awareness could give Strange a greater advantage over an opponent than any other ability listed above. This lets him watch over any would-be opponent, letting him know where they are, what they are doing, and even if they are plotting against him.
Loki’s Biggest Strengths
Loki has plenty of prominent powers, and Mental Manipulation might be his strongest. Loki can hypnotize any opponent into doing his bidding, which can lead to a quick defeat in any fight.
As a shapeshifter, Loki can fool his enemies, even those like Doctor Strange, who likes to keep watch over would-be villains. If Loki shapeshifts and Strange doesn’t catch it, the God of Mischief is easily at an advantage here.
While you might say that Strange could use the Third Eye to catch Loki shapeshifting, the latter can also create false environments via Illusion Manipulation. This would make it tougher for Strange, or any opponent, to spot Loki.
He is also such a gifted sorcerer that he can hang with Doctor Strange when it comes to the Mystic Arts. His abilities are so great, he can expel magic from an opponent or, if he wanted to, could turn it against them.
Loki can also conjure any weapon he pleases. If he traps an opponent into a false illusion, particularly one where that opponent gains a sense of security, Loki can summon daggers, for example, and win a battle without much effort.
Doctor Strange’s Weaknesses
Doctor Strange is so accomplished in the Mystic Arts that he has few true weaknesses. However, one major weakness regarding Strange is that he is prone to arrogance.
This occurred during the first Doctor Strange film. And while Strange snapped out of his arrogant ways during the course of the flick and the Infinity Saga, we saw an alternate variation of him in Multiverse of Madness carrying this same weakness.
This version of Strange was so reckless, he destroyed another universe thanks to his mishandling the Darkhold.
Against a powerful god like Loki, Strange could not afford to be so reckless. In Multiverse of Madness, such actions led to his Earth-838 counterpart’s execution, so this weakness can lead to his ultimate defeat.
Loki’s Weaknesses
Loki also has a few weaknesses, and we’ve seen them on full display in the MCU. For one, he doesn’t always think about the consequences of his actions, making him prone to recklessness.
We also know that Loki is emotionally unstable, which could lead to further carelessness. If Strange stays calm in this battle, he would defeat a reckless God of Mischief quickly.
Loki is also arrogant, failing to take humans seriously. And although Doctor Strange has accumulated godlike powers, he is still a human, and that could give him an advantage over Loki.
Doctor Strange vs. Loki – Side by Side Comparison
| Character | Doctor Strange | Loki |
| Biggest Strength | Third Eye | Creating False Illusions |
| Biggest Weakness | Arrogance | Recklessness |
Doctor Strange vs. Loki – Who Would Win?
This one comes down to who would better keep their cool. We’ve seen what could happen if Doctor Strange got too powerful during an alternate timeline in the Multiverse of Madness.
However, the Earth-616 version of Strange has gotten progressively calmer, and that could lead him to defeat Loki.
But Loki is so experienced and well-versed in his magical abilities that he can turn any attack Strange uses against the Sorcerer.
Even if Strange tried to use the Time Stone to catch a firsthand look of how he could best defeat Loki, the God of Mischief could also dispel that ability, or at least separate Strange from the Time Stone.
We have also seen how powerful Loki is when he remains calm, and an opponent can only win if he lets his emotions get to him.
So for this battle, Loki defeats Doctor Strange. While we’ve seen Loki lose his fair share of fights in the MCU, few are more experienced or accomplished in their magical abilities. And that experience will pay dividends in this fight.
Conclusion
Doctor Strange and Loki are two powerful characters in the MCU. And while Strange has godlike abilities, Loki is a god that has centuries of experience in honing his abilities. This will allow him to defeat Strange.
Sion Fawkes has been covering Star Wars since January 2022, expanding his expertise in Star Wars Canon, Legends, and MCU. When not writing, you can find Sion in the gym or running trails. He also likes watching sports and listening to audiobooks.