If you love cameos, then you’ll love Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness! In this sequel to 2016’s Doctor Strange (not to mention WandaVision, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and several other Marvel properties), Stephen meets a young girl named America Chavez, who’s being hunted throughout the multiverse for her powers. Traveling the multiverse means that anything goes as far as cameos. Superhero cameos, imaginary children cameos, evil versions of the main character cameos—this movie’s got them all! Perhaps the best cameo, though, is the unforgettable Pizza Poppa, who just happens to be played by Bruce Campbell.
The moment it was announced that Sam Raimi would be directing Doctor Strange 2, a Bruce Campbell appearance seemed likely. Raimi and Campbell are childhood friends who worked together to make the beloved Evil Dead trilogy, in which Campbell stars as Ash Williams, a regular guy who’s forced to replace his arm with a chainsaw and fight an army of the undead for three movies straight thanks to the evil magic of the Necronomicon.
When Raimi turned to superhero movies and took the reins of the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man trilogy, he recruited Campbell for a cameo in each one. In the first Spider-Man, he’s the wrestling announcer who doesn’t approve of the name Peter has chosen, “The Human Spider-Spider,” and dubs him Spider-Man instead. In Spider-Man 2, he’s a snotty usher who won’t let Peter in to see MJ’s play. And in Spider-Man 3, he’s a bizarre maître d’ at a French restaurant who, for some reason, has a coach’s whistle.
It just wouldn’t be a Raimi Marvel flick without Campbell popping up as some weird character who makes trouble for the hero, and Doctor Strange 2 didn’t let us down!
All Hail Pizza Poppa
After a terrifying launch into the multiverse, Stephen and America land on Earth 838, a reality that’s slightly more futuristic than Stephen’s home universe. The first thing America does is go find them some food, producing a bowl of pizza balls (think meatballs, but they’re made of pizza. I’d eat one). Stephen asks how she paid for it, and America tells him that in most realities, food is free. Which…sounds a lot better than the systems we’ve got here on Earth 616, to be honest.
Before America and Stephen can get into a political debate about food policy and human rights, though, they find out that food isn’t free on Earth 838, either. And the street vendor America stole from is hopping mad! It turns out his name is Pizza Poppa, and in his own words, “Pizza Poppa always gets paid.”
And yes, Pizza Poppa is none other than Bruce Campbell.
Stephen and America don’t have any Earth 838 currency, though, and they’ve already touched the pizza balls, so they’re in a bit of a pickle. Stephen’s solution to the problem is morally dubious at best: he magically controls Pizza Poppa so that he squirts mustard in his own face and then starts punching himself. America asks how long the spell will last, and Stephen says, “Three weeks.”
Christ, Stephen’s got some anger management issues. But anyway. The scene turns into a vehicle for Campbell’s physical comedy as Pizza Poppa sobs and punches himself into oblivion.
“It’s Over!”
If you think that’s the last we’ve seen of Pizza Poppa, you’re wrong! At the end of the credits, after the audience has spent several minutes breathlessly waiting for another new character introduction, or a Thor 4 stinger, or an appearance by Kang or Loki or Tom Cruise, Pizza Poppa comes back. He punches himself a couple more times, then realizes the spell has finally worn off. He laughs in relief, looks at the camera, and says, “It’s over!”
Ha ha! Get it? No more cameos for you, suckers!
All cameo disappointments aside, though, we’re so lucky to get Bruce Campbell in an MCU movie. (I know you could argue that the Spider-Man movies are technically MCU movies now, but you know what I mean.) As heavy as the MCU can get, what with half the world getting blipped or Wanda ending up with a pretty shitty life, there’s always going to be a fanciful element to superhero movies, and the comic relief of Bruce Campbell’s bit parts shine a light on that in the best way.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now playing in theaters!
(image: Getty Images)
Published: May 9, 2022 01:33 pm