PalmerStrange

PalmerStrange is the het ship between Stephen Strange and Christine Palmer from the Marvel Cinematic Universe fandom.

Doctor Strange
Strange and Christine were surgeons working in the ER department of Metro-General Hospital. One day, a surgeon, Dr. Nick declared a patient to be dead, but Christine wasn't certain about this so she informed Strange about the matter. Strange declared that the patient was still alive and he saved the patient, assisted by Christine.

After the surgery, Christine reminded Strange that he didn't have to humiliate Dr. Nick in front of everyone, however Strange also remarked that he didn't have to save his patient. Christine continued to defend Dr. Nick, which prompted Strange to ask Christine whether she was sleeping with Dr. Nick or not, also expressing his disgust. Christine denied the question, revealing that she had a very strict rule against dating colleagues which she called the Strange policy. Strange sarcastically stated his delight to have something named after him. This made him complain about how a laminectomy procedure he invented wasn't named after him, a premise Christine immediately corrected, as the technique was invented by both of them.

Strange asked Christine to come with him to his talk on Neurological Society dinner, claiming that Christine used to love to do those things and that they had fun together. Christine declined and corrected him again, that he was the only one having fun and that everything was about him. Reacting to this, Strange offered a hyphenate, Strange-Palmer technique, but Christine walked away and insisted that her name should come first.

On his way to the dinner, Strange was involved in a car crash and he had to undergo surgery that lasted eleven hours. When Strange gained his consciousness, Christine was by his side, and she tried to calm him down. He asked her about everything that had happened, and complained about the work that was done to him. Christine stated that no one could have done better than what had been done, but Strange insisted he could.

One day, Strange was angered because an elite doctor Dr. Etienne turned him down and insisted that he couldn't cure his hand. Right after the video call ended, Christine walked in to his apartment and tried to convince him to stop finding a cure. Strange stayed stubborn, believing that his life without his work would have no meaning, however Christine reminded him that the situation was not the end, and he could find another meaning from other things. Strange insulted Christine's implicit hint that she was one of the 'things'. Christine demanded his apology for the harsh words, but Strange instead demanded her to leave. She stated that seeing him being so frustrated broke her heart, however this angered Strange even more as he felt that she was pitying him. He warned her that they were not friends, and they had been barely lovers in the past, also even further insulting her, claiming that she benefited from his situation because she loved 'a sob story' and that she loved that Strange finally needed her. He even insulted her for caring so much. Deeply hurt by his words, Christine finally bid him farewell.

What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?
The series's fourth episode centers around an alternate version of Doctor Strange where Christine dies in the car crash instead of Stephen requiring surgery. When he masters his powers of time, he uses them to go back and try to save Christine. When he continually fails, he turns to increasingly darker, more dangerous forms of magic that eventually consume their universe. However, he preserves a pocket containing him and Christine. Unfortunately, she is frightened by the monster he has become and disappears. Strange (now Strange Supreme) begs the omniscient Watcher to help him, but the latter refuses, leaving Stephen all alone.

Fanon
The PalmerStrange ship started following the first Dr. Strange movie, with the movie being clear about their relationship as love interests, more specifically as ex-lovers. However, as the relationship was a minor part of the movie, the ship barely had a following. Despite this, some were hoping that Christine made a comeback on the second movie. The ship gained further interest with the release of What If? 's fourth episode and even more with the release of second Dr. Strange movie. The fans were hoping that the relationship was not really doomed as it seemed to be, and that Strange would finally end up with Christine 838, because they were both unable to move on (with Christine 838 still keeping the watch). There is also a theory that Christine from the main timeline (or from any timeline) would have a dream about Strange uttering the 'I love you in every universe' to her, considering the fact that realities from other universes turn into dreams.

Fandom
FAN FICTION