MCU: Karl Mordo (ESFJ)

It may seem a bit odd that after all this time, we’re putting out a character analysis for Karl Mordo. But, I’ve been slowly putting together a master list of characters and their personality types, including creating subcategories for villains and heroes. Karl Mordo is an example of an ESFJ villain, at least a villain in the making anyway. I was always disappointed that he didn’t play a significant role in any of the other movies.

Back when we wrote Doctor Strange, we believed Mordo to be an INFP. I’m extremely glad we didn’t publish that theory, otherwise today’s article would be a retraction. As it stands now, we believe ESFJ is Karl Mordo’s most likely personality type. We also considered ISFJ, but the case for dominant Fe and inferior Ti seems better. Hopefully this makes sense!

Fe:

“I know she’s steadfast, but unpredictable. Merciless, yet kind. She made me what I am. Trust your teacher, and don’t lose your way.”

“I once stood in your place, and I, too, was disrespectful. So, might I offer you some advice? Forget everything you know.”

“You didn’t lose me. I wanted the power to defeat my enemies. You gave me the power to defeat my demons. And to live within the natural law…There may be dark days ahead. Perhaps Kamar-Taj could use a man like Strange.”

“These Zealots will snuff us all out, and you can’t muster the strength to snuff them first?”

Mordo is led by his strong convictions and his passion. However, his convictions and his values are based in the Ancient One’s teachings, teachings that he’s adopted as his own and adheres to completely. Mordo places all of his faith in the Ancient One, wholly dedicating himself to her cause. Naturally, he encourages Doctor Strange to do the same. For instance, while training him, Mordo tells him, “Trust your teacher, and don’t lose your way.” Similarly, while discussing Kaecilius with Strange, Mordo focuses on the fact that he questioned the Ancient One, and then rejected her teachings. Mordo praises the Ancient One, and defends her without a second thought whenever criticisms arise.

Mordo is warm and compassionate yet strict. He initially gives Doctor Strange advice prior to meeting the Ancient One, and then later convinces her to give Strange a second chance. However, he also gets frustrated with Strange’s selfish, cowardly nature and failure to live by conviction. This is specifically shown after the initial fight with Kaecilius, when Doctor Strange claims to have fought and killed for their cause. Mordo points out that Strange was only saving his own neck. When questioned about his own motivations, Mordo states that he’s willing to kill the Zealots without question if that’s what’s necessary. He tries to convince Strange to serve a purpose greater than himself, and join their cause.

Si:

“You still think there will be no consequences, Strange? No price to pay? We broke our rules, just like her. The bill comes due. Always!”

“Oh, no, not again”

“This wasn’t cleverness. It’s suicide.”

Mordo focuses on avoiding negative future consequences, which is why he is so concerned with rules and obeying natural law. He constantly lectures Strange about doing things that fall outside the established boundaries. Of course, this means that Mordo prefers to err on the side of caution whenever possible. For instance, he is not a fan of the teaching method that the Ancient One uses, in which she abandons Strange on Mount Everest. If not for her dissuasion, Mordo would have rescued him immediately. Similarly, he is quick to criticize any “cleverness” that doesn’t work out.

Mordo often plays the role of teacher within Kamar-Taj, which suits him well. He’s good at explaining everything in depth, not being one who tends to be vague or lacking detail in his explanations. He answers the majority of Strange’s questions in great detail, until the questions begin to get in the way of the current task. This includes questions regarding the past, which is something the Ancient One is hesitant to speak about. Mordo gives Strange the entire backstory on Kaecilius, in addition to a perspective on Kaecilius’ personal and emotional state, which also demonstrates Mordo’s perspective as a feeler.

Ne:

“Temporal manipulations can create branches in time. Unstable dimensional opening. Spatial paradoxes! Time loops! You wanna get stuck reliving the same moment over and over forever or never having existed at all?”

“The Dark Dimension is volatile. Dangerous. What if it overtook her?”

Mordo’s Ne is demonstrated is tendency to consider a variety of possibilities. As a low Ne user many of these possibilities are negative. The most prominent example can be seen when Doctor Strange breaks the rules by attempting a time manipulation spell. After rushing in to stop Strange, Mordo immediately starts listing off possible negative outcomes, one after another, trying to emphasize how much damage Strange could have done. Mordo produces five possible scenarios almost instantly, the last one concluding the list with “never having existed at all.” (See quote above this section.) This all shows the “what-if” nature of Ne, including the tendency to catastrophize.

However, while Mordo certainly demonstrates low Ne, we don’t believe it to be inferior. The way he advocates for Strange at the beginning of the movie supports this. Mordo sees potential in Strange, and encourages the Ancient One to give him a chance. Initially, the Ancient One wants to reject Strange, expressing concern that he’ll be just like Kaecilius. She even lists the similarities. Mordo, on the other hand, doesn’t fixate on the past parallels, but rather the potential that someone like Strange might bring to the table, considering the ongoing threat that Kaecilius poses.

Ti:

“She’s not who you think she is. You don’t have the right to say that. You’ve no idea the responsibility that rests upon her shoulders.”

“The bill comes due. Don’t you see? Her transgressions led the Zealots to Dormammu. Kaecilius was her fault! And here we are in the consequence of her deception.”

Mordo places his faith so entirely in the Ancient One and her teachings that he refuses to consider any accusations levelled against her. Until it becomes impossible to deny, Mordo is not willing to consider that she could possibly ignore her own teachings. Before that point, he defends her to a fault. This all indicates inferior Ti, not wanting to consider anything that would disrupt the group or the cause.

Once Mordo accepts the truth, his entire belief system is thrown into question, since he had it based entirely on something external: her and her teachings. He falls into a Ti grip, as he becomes hypercritical of her, and starts blaming her for all the major issues they had been facing. Ultimately, he defects from the Masters of the Mystic Arts, and turns his criticisms on sorcerers in general, having now begun to blame them for what is wrong with the world.