—Ancient One[source]Such is the way of the Sorcerer Supreme -- to teach my Masters of the Mystic Arts and protect them from which they cannot understand.
History
The Ancient One was a woman, reportedly of Celtic origin, who trained in the mystic arts and eventually came to lead the Masters of the Mystic Arts based in Kamar-Taj, Nepal. She also held the title of Sorcerer Supreme, bestowed upon one who masters the mystic arts to such a degree that they become the most potent of magic users. Her task as the Sorcerer Supreme was to keep practitioners of the mystic arts on the right path and to train them to eventually become masters. Along with the Masters of the Mystic Arts, she would also keep the peace in the world of mysticism by preventing the knowledge or mystical relics from ending up with those who would use such things for harm. In order to continue this work through the passage of centuries, she committed to prolonging her life by drawing on the power of the Dark Dimension, an act that came from a darker mystical knowledge.[1]
One day, while trying to meditate, her apprentice Mordo entered her chambers to inform her that the Arrow of Apollon had been recovered by a group of bandits, who were using it to hold up a nearby town. Eight hours later, the Ancient One and Mordo travelled to the town to confront the bandits, who were also in possession of the Bow of Apollon. After deducing the limited ambition of the bandits' leader, Jião'ào Zhànshì, the Ancient One tried to convince him to resist the temptation of the relics' power. In response, Zhànshì fired the arrow which caused a fight between the two sides. The Ancient One and Mordo quickly disposed of the bandits, and Zhànshì was forced to return the bow and arrow. Later, the Ancient One reflected upon the incident while projecting herself into the Astral Plane.[2]
When Kaecilius raided the Kamar-Taj library for the Book of Cagliostro, the Ancient One learned of the intrusion and intervened. She followed Kaecilius and his zealots through the dimensional gate to the London Sanctum, and then out into the streets of London where she forced them into a confrontation in the Mirror Dimension. While she was successful in beating back multiple attackers, she failed to prevent Kaecilius and several of his followers escaping through a portal of his own.
In the coming days, the Ancient One met Dr. Stephen Strange, a brilliant neurosurgeon who had come to Kamar-Taj seeking her help in restoring his hands from extensive nerve damage. The man's rudeness and arrogance soon caused the Ancient One to have him thrown out of Kamar-Taj, but Mordo convinced her to give him a second chance. She soon saw that the newcomer had potential, but his self-doubt continued to hold him back, and so she intervened personally to give him the push he needed to overcome his shortcomings.
When Kaecilius attacked again, he assaulted the London Sanctum and destroyed it before the other Masters of the Mystic Arts even knew they were under attack. The Ancient One took Mordo and followed Kaecilius to the New York Sanctum where they found its master Daniel Drumm already dead. Strange, who had previously been shunted through the dimensional portal to the New York Sanctum, soon made an appearance and explained how he had fought Kaecilius and two of his followers. His efforts had saved the Sanctum, if not its master, and so the Ancient One conferred the title of master to him along with an offer to take up the now-vacant post as master of the New York Sanctum, but Strange was torn by the desire to use his new found knowledge to restore his hands and return to his old life.
Kaecilius and his followers were then noticed in the foyer, having returned to complete their desecration of the New York Sanctum. Strange and Mordo interrupted their ritual, with Strange shifting the combatants into the Mirror Dimension. The Ancient One followed them and stopped Kaecilius in the act of killing Strange. Again she was effective in beating back Kaecilius's group, but she also fell victim to a grievous wound that sent her tumbling off a building onto the concrete below.
Strange and Mordo rushed her to hospital in a desperate bid to save her, and as she lay on the operating table she released her astral form for one last look at the world around her. Strange noticed the transition, and followed her in the Astral Dimension to urge her back to her body, but she persisted in explaining that through all the years she had looked through time and averted many terrible futures, she had never been able to see beyond this particular point in time. Her final moments were spent asking Stephen Strange to consider the purpose that his new talents had laid out for him, all while taking a moment to watch the snow fall outside, and then she slipped away.[1]Attributes
Powers
Master Sorcerer: The Ancient One possessed substantial mastery of the mystic arts, which she used to defend her native reality from threats of a mystical nature. Many of the feats this knowledge confers comes from manipulating extra-dimensional energy to control matter.
- Astral Projection: The Ancient One is capable of separating her astral form from her body in order to traverse the Astral Dimension. In this form she exists in a non-coporeal state, able to pass through walls and remain unseen by those in the physical world. She is also able to free the astral form of another person in her vicinity, and communicate with that person in the Astral Dimension.
- Conjuring: The Ancient One is able to harness extra-dimensional energy to form weapons and shields for use in combat. These typically have an orange glowing appearance. She also has some capacity to override the conjured armaments of others, effectively able to ignore binding attacks used upon her, and then effortlessly yank her attackers off their feet.
- Dimensional Travel: The Ancient One carries a Sling Ring to create sustained portals between two points on the planet. She can also invoke a transition to the Mirror Dimension, for himself and others. She is also capable of using herself as a spiritual anchor to safely send others to other dimensions and then return them to the physical world, as she was able to forcibly send Stephen Strange's consciousness flying across multiple dimensions by touching his head and then return him back to Earth. She could access the Mirror Dimension even without a Sling Ring, as she brought Stephen Strange to the Mirror Dimension and send both herself and the Zealots to the Mirror Dimension to begin their first fight all without using a Sling Ring.
- Matter Control: The Ancient One can manipulate physical matter. She restricts such activities to the confines of the Mirror Dimension where the world can be reshaped without impacting the natural order of the real world.
- Time Manipulation: As all Sorcerers Supreme are the only ones among the Masters of the Mystic Arts who have free access to the Eye of Agamotto and Book of Cagliostro, the Ancient One presumably has the knowledge and ability needed to use the artifact's powers over time, although she has never been seen or known to use them. She was known to be able to use the Eye to gain a limited power to peer through time, which granted her a degree of awareness of possible futures. She had foreseen that she would one day die despite being immortal, but could not see the circumstances of her death until it actually occurred. While she was unable to see the exact future of Doctor Strange due to his vastly flexible personality, imagination, and intellect, she could still predict possible paths he would take. She also displayed the power to manipulate time to an extent even without using the Eye of Agamotto, as she was able to manipulate time to cause snow to fall around the hospital via her astral form while dying so she can watch snowfall for one last time.
- Virtual Immortality: The Ancient One has had her life expectancy greatly extended by drawing extradimensional energy from the Dark Dimension to prolong her life for centuries. Her physical aging has largely been suspended, thus permanently preserving physical vitality such as endurance and strength. Despite living for centuries she is still biologically human and can die from wounds and physical trauma. She still requires sustenance and has to eat, sleep, breathe.
Abilities
- Master Martial Artist: The Ancient One is a highly skilled combatant, having learned and adapted over the centuries.
- Scholar: The Ancient One has amassed a vast amount of knowledge throughout her years. Her knowledge of the mystic arts is of the highest order, and despite her ancient origins she is also quite conversant with modern developments.
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Sling Ring
- A personal collection of books on mystic lore kept in the Kamar-Taj library, including the Book of Cagliostro
- World globe
Transportation
Notes
- Tilda Swinton portrayed the Ancient One in the film Doctor Strange.
Trivia
- Ancient One's design is similar to that of the Yao of Earth-41101.
See Also
- 4 appearance(s) of Ancient One (Earth-199999)
- 4 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Ancient One (Earth-199999)
- 7 image(s) of Ancient One (Earth-199999)
- 2 quotation(s) by or about Ancient One (Earth-199999)
- 1 item(s) used/owned by Ancient One (Earth-199999)