Tilda Swinton portrayed a female Celtic version of the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Doctor Strange (2016), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and the Disney+ series What If...?

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

[citation needed] The character who would eventually become the Ancient One was born in Kamar-Taj, "a hidden land high in the Himalayas",[2] more than 500 years ago.

[5] The Ancient One and Kaluu agreed to cast a spell, eliminating sickness, disease, and age from Kamar-Taj.

[7] 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.

[8] As he ages and weakens, the Ancient One seeks out another student and eventually approaches Anthony Ludgate Druid, a psychiatrist with mystical talents.

Alarmed at these developments and concerned for the old man's safety, Strange concludes that the only way to help him would be to learn magic himself to gain a hope of stopping Mordo.

[13] During a demonic invasion of New York via the Eye of Agamotto, Iron Fist is transferred into a white void when he comes in contact with the Eye, resulting in a face-to-face confrontation with a form that appears to be the Ancient One; the form claims that both he and a currently-unidentified associate are responsible for the demonic invasion due to his anger at Strange's recent "failures".

[16] The Ancient One possessed the ability to manipulate the forces of magic for a vast number of effects and was able to tap into extra-dimensional energy by invoking entities or objects of power, existing in dimensions tangential to those of the Earth, through the recitation of spells.

However, in his extreme old age, the Ancient One was unable to perform any major feats of sorcery without placing great physical strain upon himself.

The Ancient One also possessed a variety of mystical objects, such as the Book of the Vishanti, the Orb, Amulet, and Eye of Agamotto, and devices gathered throughout his lifetime.

[19] The Ancient One appears in media set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), portrayed by Tilda Swinton.