Ancient One

Ancient One
The Ancient One. Promotional art by Carl Potts
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Strange Tales #110 (July 1963)
Created by	Stan Lee Steve Ditko
In-story information
Team affiliations	Ancient Ones
Partnerships	Doctor Strange Baron Mordo Kaluu Mister Jip Doctor Druid
Notable aliases	The Master, The High Lama, The Mystic, The Spirit Leopard
Abilities	Magic Energy blasts Teleportation generation Astral projection

The Ancient One is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was the mentor of Doctor Strange and was his predecessor as Sorcerer Supreme.

A female Celtic version of the character is featured in the 2016 film Doctor Strange, played by Tilda Swinton.

The Ancient One first appeared in Strange Tales #110 (cover-dated July 1963), and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

He appears in three Marvel Comics graphic novels. Doctor Strange: Season One (January 2, 2012, by Greg Pak and illustrated by Emma Rios), Doctor Strange - Marvel Masterworks Volume 1, and Doctor Strange: From the Marvel Vault #1 (June 15, 2011, by Roger Stern and illustrated by Neil Vokes).

The character who would eventually become the Ancient One was born in Kamar-Taj, "a hidden land high in the Himalayas", more than 500 years ago. He spent his youth as a peaceful farmer, until his friend Kaluu discovered the power of magic. When Kaluu shared this knowledge of the mystic arts with the Ancient One, the two disagreed on how they would use the powers. The Ancient One wished to turn their village into a utopia, while Kaluu desired power and conquest over nearby villages.

The Ancient One and Kaluu agreed to cast a spell, eliminating sickness, disease, and age from Kamar-Taj. Subsequently, the villagers, under Kaluu's mind-control spell, crown him king of the village. The Ancient One attempts to stop Kaluu, but the village of Kamar-Taj is wiped out as a result of their conflict. As a result, Kaluu is banished to an alternate dimension and the Ancient One is stripped of his immortality. Nonetheless, the Ancient One ages far more slowly than any regular human.

The Ancient One settles in the Himalaya Mountains and builds a palace as his home, together with an order of monks that he forms for his own protection and support. In a tournament organized by the sorcerer Aged Genghis, the Ancient One wins the title of Earth's Sorcerer Supreme and subsequently takes on responsibility for a student, who later becomes Mister Jip. The student is then banished from the Ancient One's home when the student is discovered by his master to have been studying forbidden books of black magic to increase his own power.