Doctor Strange: Who Is Shuma-Gorath?

From the moment you tip-toe into Doctor Strange’s corner of the Marvel universe, you’ll run into one bizarre character after another. You’ve got the Dread Dormammu and Baron Mordo, two characters that have already been adapted to live-action as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Then you also have characters waiting to make their live-action debuts, like Umar, Nightmare, Mephisto, Blackheart, and Lilith. In the latter category, there’s Shuma-Gorath, one of the most chaotic beings ever created for comics.

The interdimensional baddie is in the news again after a star-studded MCU fan theory went borderline viral Sunday evening, suggesting Shuma-Gorath would appear as the big bad in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. As such, let’s dive into the background character in anticipation of its live-action debut, God willing.

Within the Marvel Comics mythos, Shuma-Gorath— All-Killer of the Dawn, Lord of Chaos, Him Who Lies Sleeping, and the Being of a Thousand Names — appeared early on in the Sorcerer Supreme’s solo titles. Though first mentioned as early as Journey into Mystery Vol. 2 #1 (1972), the character didn’t appear in the flesh until Marvel Premiere #10 in September 1973.

As the story goes, Shuma is older than time itself and exists outside of reality within a dimension the being created for himself — the Chaos Dimension. Based very much on the stories crafted by HP Lovecraft, the character has conquered hundreds of realms throughout time — in fact, that’s essentially his lone reason for existence. Chaos, rage, destruction.

The character is part of the Great Old Ones, wreaking havoc on any hero that crosses his path. Plus, Shuma looks insanely cool — a massive eyeball with dozens of tentacles that extend outward.

Because the Doctor Strange follow-up draws its name from Lovecraft works, and the fact it’s diving headfirst into the multiverse, Shuma-Gorath is an obvious choice — especially with a horror-based filmmaker like Sam Raimi at the film.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set for release on March 25, 2022.

What other mystical Marvel characters would you like to see pop up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things Marvel!