Sanctum Sanctum

The building first appeared with Dr. Strange in his debut at Strange Tales # 110 (July 1963) ^[1] . The details of the building were varied by the artist, and Marvel Premiere # 3 (July 1972) noted for one review, for example, that “since Ditko’s heady days, for example, the Sanctorum Sanctorum the Doctors appeared in such unusual details, laden with a strong burning smell incense ” ^[2] .

Sanctum Sanctorum is a three-story townhouse located at 177A Bliker Street, “in the center of New York’s Greenwich Village ” ^[3] , citing the address of an apartment shared in the 1960s by Roy Thomas and Gary Friedrich ^[1] . In the comics, the building was said to be built on the site of pagan sacrifices, and before that the rituals of Native Americans were the focus for supernatural energies.

Over the years, the image of the building changed, but some elements remained unchanged. It is noteworthy that there is more space inside than it seems from the outside ^[1] . Some corridors form labyrinths and the arrangement of rooms changes by itself. The house has many powerful magical artifacts, some of which have an innocent appearance. Some of them are dangerous, for example, radio, which is fatal to the touch. In the basement there is a storage, oven and laundry room. On the ground floor there are living rooms, dining rooms and a shared library. On the second floor are accommodations for Strange, Wong, and any guests they may have. The third floor of the building is Sanctum Sanctorum, because where Strange has his own room for reflection and an occult library, where he keeps the Book of Visanti and its storehouse of ancient artifacts and objects of magical power, such as the Eye of Agamotto ^[1] . Sanctum constantly has a circular window with four downhill lines; this design remained with the building, despite the destruction of the window in many cases. The window design is actually a seal of Visanti; it protects Sanctorum from most supernatural invaders. It is also called the “Window of the Worlds” or “Anomaly” ^[4] . Some members of the New Avengers acknowledge this. Hemistro , a member of the super-villainous army of the Hood, although he did not have the power to directly disrupt Vishanti , was able to change the chemical composition of the wood that kept the seal in order to break it ^[5] . In one story, Baron Mordo was able to move the house to another dimension ^[6] .

Its main inhabitants, in addition to Strange, were his lover and apprentice Clea , his servant Wong, and the student-sorcerer Rintra.

Sanctum Sanctorum became the headquarters of the New Avengers for a while, magically disguised as an abandoned building, designated as the building site for the future Starbucks cafe. Hidden camouflage extends to the inside of the building as needed, even Extremis cannot be detected by Iron Man’s armor.

The building also previously served as the headquarters of the Defenders ^[1] .

After building the house, Doctor Strange cast a constant and intricate mystic power spell to protect him. Despite this, he would seem to have been destroyed in a siege by mystical forces during the Midnight Sons story while hiding various heroes such as Night Stalkers , Ghost Rider and Johnny Blaze .

During World War II, the Hulk Sanctorum was partially captured by the forces of aliens by the Heralds of the War, its defensive charms and illusions destroyed by Hiroim ^[7] .

After using unacceptable dark magic in the fight against the Hulk, the Sanctuary is attacked by the Hood army as mentioned earlier. The fight destroys Sanctorum, although the villains are defeated. Dr. Strange is forced to retreat when the battle allows the government-sanctioned Mighty Avengers to take over Sanctorum. Dr. Voodoo is designed to neutralize the remnants of defensive magic ^[5] .

In at least one case, Doctor Strange destroyed the defense of Sanctum in order to avoid its exploitation by enemies ^[8] .

Marvel Zombies

In Marvel Zombies, several heroes try to find help and information in Sanctum. Wong is killed there by the zombie Dr. Druid, who was then killed by Ash Williams . Some of the half-living books in the house provide vital assistance in zombie resistance efforts ^[9] .

Ultimate Marvel

In “Ultimate Marvel,” a taxi raised with great force is enough to break through the defenses of the house. The sigil of the upper floor window was destroyed along with the “prison” for a large number of monsters. They are freed, and then Dormamm is freed. Sanctum destroyed in the process. Strange does not survive the resulting battle with Dormammu ^[10]

Television

Sanctum Sanctorum first appears in the episode "Enter the Dormammu" of the animated series " Superhero Squad ." He is also featured in other episodes.

Movies

• Sanctum Sanctorum appears in the animated film "Doctor Strange: Archmage" ^[11] .
• Sanctum Sanctum appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe .
  • His first appearance occurred in the film " Doctor Strange " ^[12] . In addition to the New York Sanctuary, there are two more: one in London (which was destroyed during the film) and one in Hong Kong. Together they form a protective shield to protect the Earth from interdimensional threats.
  • Sanctum Sanctorum appears in the movie Thor: Ragnarok ^[13] . While visiting Earth, Thor and Loki head to Sanctorum with the help of Doctor Strange, who shows them the place of his father Odin .
  • Sanctum Sanctorum appears in the movie Avengers: Infinity War . ^[14] After the Hulk loses the battle with Thanos , Heimdall sends him back to Earth, where he crashes into Sanctorum and turns back into Bruce Banner. Dr. Strange then calls Tony Stark to Sanctorum to inform him of Thanos's intentions. After the disappearance of Strange and his capture in the hands of Ebony Mou Wong becomes the current master of Sanctorum.

Video Games

• Sanctum Sanctum serves as the headquarters of the heroes for the third Marvel: Ultimate Alliance game. They move from the Stark Tower after examining Loki’s participation in Dr. Doom’s master plan (because he, disguised as Mandarin in Atlantis, managed to evade the team of heroes to get to Doom). From there, the player can access the World of Murders (which first appears as a disguised Duma castle, kindly provided by the sabotage spell of Baron Mordo) and the Kingdom of Mephisto . If a player has Doctor Strange on his team, they can enter his room.
• Sanctum Sanctum is also featured in The Incredible Hulk as a landmark.
• Sanctum Sanctum also appears in the Ultimate Spider-Man video game as a guide.
• Sanctum Sanctum also appears in the Spider-Man 2 video game as a guide.