#sam jeselle please notice me

[ink-asunder]

A list of things I learned from the Doctor Strange novelization

Or: Reasons why I should’ve read the novelization before publishing my Doctor Strange fanfic.

(This is a commentary on the Doctor Strange Junior Novelization by Steve Behling. You can buy it online.)

1. TAO’s name is spelled “The Ancient One”, where every word is capitalized instead of it being spelled “the Ancient One.” (Page 3)

2. The robes at Kamar-Taj are indicative of rank. Grey is for novice, red is for apprentice, and blue is for disciple. (I know a lot of people have said this already, but I’m putting this as a confirmation and I thought the blue robes and red robes were both just acolyte robes. Just for variety. Like on Wednesdays we wear red.)

3. The car crash is detailed in chapter 4 and chapter 6. (thought I’d mention it, since I know enough people who are seriously upset by car crashes)

4. When Pangborn told Stephen why he didn’t stay at Kamar-Taj, he mentions there are lessons and obligations that came with learning the secrets of the mystical world on top of the secrets themselves. (This is important to note more on a personal level, since it becomes a big point of contention in several parts of my fanfic.) (70)

5. Also, Pangborn closes the conversation saying he’s already told Strange more than he should have. I don’t remember that in the movie, and it implies that Kamar-Taj is supposed to be kept a big secret and they’re supposed to contact you directly if you’re meant to go there I guess? (Why did Mordo approach Kaecilius then?? Can someone explain this to me?) (71)

6. When looking for Kamar-Taj, Stephen is helped by a begging child who pretends to not speak any English, the after taking some of Stephen’s money, tells him to go to Patan Durbar Square. (81-83).

7. Said Square is full of palaces and temples. (My question is are they all phony? Is there another totally legit school of magic around here that’s just not cut from the same cloth as Kamar-Taj? Do the masters of this imaginary legit school of magic gather on the corner to have rap battles with the masters of Kamar-Taj? I don’t know, it’s a stupid headcanon, but it’s good fanfic fodder, so go wild I guess.) (83)

8. When looking for Kamar-Taj, Stephen actually notices Mordo following him, but Mordo disappears before Stephen can approach him. (84)

9. They included the (deleted) dog scene in the novel, but the dog doesn’t shake, and they didn’t put in the insurance joke, (probably because this book is for fourth graders). (84-85)

10. When Mordo saves Stephen from the thugs, he calls Stephen’s watch a bracelet because, since it’s broken, it’s not a watch anymore. (89)

11. They included the (deleted) courtyard scene as well. I wish the scene was more detailed, but I’m willing to admit that it would be literally insane to describe every activity by every person in the courtyard. (97)

13. When Stephen first gets an audience with The Ancient One, it’s explicitly stated that all the people who take his coat and serve him tea are women. This might have some cultural significance or it might mean nothing at all, but I thought it was a nice detail. (99)

14. The Ancient One is literally described as follows: “She seemed ageless, young and old at the same time. She had no hair on her head, and she was scarred, not unlike the man in the green robe.” (100)

15. The dialogue in all the scenes isn’t exactly as it is in the movie, but it’s most noticeable during the “meeting TAO” scene. Here, Stephen says Pangborn made a spontaneous recovery and that TAO took credit (and that this whole thing is a scam and a cult and I know I’m going way into detail here but I just love this scene), and TAO actually tells Stephen calmly about the Multiverse and the mirror dimension right then and there. (They also cut out the part where Stephen is kicked out at first.) (100-113)

16. Stephen and Mordo chat a bit while heading to Stephen’s room. (117)

17. In Stephen’s room, the laptop on the desk is hidden inside one of those fake book-box things. (118)

18. Kamar-Taj is commonly referred to as a compound. I know Wong called it a compound in the movie, but I didn’t think about it much at the time.

19. Page 120 is one of my favorite scenes because it details Stephen donning the novice robes and accepting that he’s a student again and walking under the blue flowered tree and UGH I LOVE THIS PAGE

20. When meeting with Strange a second time, TAO actually paints a rune on paper while she’s explaining magic, (another favorite scene), and performs the motions of casting a spell without actually conjuring any energy at first. It’s a simplified step-by-step version of how to do the magic, and I thought it was a nice demonstration. (121-125)

21. The library of Kamar-Taj is called the Narthex, and it doesn’t contain anything except ancient magic books. (129)

22. The master’s wing of the Narthex is actually described as for “disciples and masters only” instead of just masters. (131)

23. The Book of Cagliostro is spelled and formatted like The Book of Cagliostro, so... that answers one of my most glaring questions about the MCU.

24. Hamir accompanies The Ancient One often. (140)

25. They did not include Tilda Swinton’s “that’ll do, babe,” after Stephen conjured a portal from Everest, so don’t get your hopes up.

26. Okay, my third favorite scene in the book is when Mordo and Stephen are training one-on-one and gossiping talking about TAO. Mordo tells Stephen TAO was born from a tree or that she was a hiker that came to Kamar-Taj 10 years ago and never left, and Stephen actually believes him for a second before Mordo teases him for believing everything he hears now. They also talk about TAO’s true name and say she either looks like an Elizabeth or a Catherine. Mordo says no one knows TAO’s age, where she came from, or when she inherited her title, just that she’s Celtic and “from traditions remembered now only by her. She simply is, and we are all the better for it.” (Go hog wild, TAO fandom). (149-150)

27. The globe in the globe room is replaced by a map on the ceiling, and the features of the map are characterized by lines and differently-colored dots. (162-163)

28. There’s an old man that Stephen runs into when he first arrives outside of the New York Sanctum, and I imagine this old man as Stan Lee. (3)

29. They cut out the part where Stephen borrows the Eye and does a ritual with the apple. Probably because this book is for fourth graders, and they don’t want a morally ambivalent protagonist.

#was this too long? #probably but i have a lot of feelings #doctor strange novelization #ref #for a fanfic #the ancient one #stephen strange #mordo #wong #stan lee #narthex #sam jeselle please notice me