Secret lairs are the bread and butter of any good adventure story. When visiting a secret base, the reader becomes a close confidant of its occupant, which makes them feel more tied to the goings-on of the narrative. Of course, such bases are often in outlandish places, layering the intrigue with an extra dash of the fantastic.
While DC's bases like the Batcave and Fortress of Solitude are well-known amongst comic book fans, Marvel has plenty of hideaways to offer. From lairs of evil to last bastions of good, the 616 Universe is full of cool refuges.
9 The X-Men's Outback Base Was The Perfect Hideout
Following 1988's Fall of the Mutants storyline, the X-Men sacrificed their lives to stop the Adversary, and the world believed they were dead. Now undetectable by cameras, the team moved to Australia and clashed with the villainous Reavers. Following the defeat of the mutant-hating cyborgs, the X-Men occupied their base in the Australian Outback.
Full of computers, laser cannons, and more, the Outback base of the Reavers and X-Men is hidden beneath the desert town of Cooterman's Creek. The team operated out of the base for a while, working with teleporter Gateway to complete missions across the world.
8 Avengers Mountain Is A Macabre Monument
One of the darker hideouts in the MU, Avengers Mountain is actually the giant corpse of the Celestial known as the Progenitor. Given to the team as a gift for defeating the Dark Celestials, the team worked with Wakanda and Alpha Flight to transform the base into a space befitting of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
The furnishings were built in synchronicity with the inner workings of the body, leading to spaces such as the Lung Library of Intergalactic Law and a series of Quinjet hangars located in the outstretched fingers of the Celestial's right hand.
7 Asteroid M Is Fittingly Dramatic
From his first appearance, the purple-and-red-clad Magneto has always had a flair for the dramatic. As such, the series of orbital asteroids have served as a home base for the character, and his followers have been a perfect match for Marvel's Master of Magnetism.
While the 616 has seen five versions of Asteroid M, all share the same basic elements of serving as living quarters for a team of mutants, as well as a site from which to attack the world. Notably, it was Asteroid M that became the last hope of humanity during the Marvel Zombies saga.
6 The Xavier Institute Keeps On Getting Better
While the existence of the Xavier Institute is known to the public in the Marvel Universe, for many years, it was seen as nothing more than an exclusive prep school. Home to teams like the X-Men, X-Force, the New Mutants, and many more, the bespoke brick walls belied a bevy of mutant superteams.
In addition to (occasionally) serving as a true school, the Xavier Institute has underground airplane hangars, the Danger Room, and the telepathy-enhancing Cerebro machine inside its deep basement level. Though often razed by X-enemies, the Xavier Institute is always rebuilt with more complexity than it enjoyed before.
5 Island M Is More Classic Magneto
Another of Magneto's bases, the Bermuda Triangle's Island M was once home to the eldritch god-worshipping Ancients. Inspired by their fearsome deities, the civilization built a collection of high-spired, octopus-adorned castles across the island.
In the modern era, Magneto first used this island as a base for the original Brotherhood, battling the original X-Men and Avengers and attempting to ally with Submariner there. Following that, he used the space as a place to relax and train some New Mutants. After Cyclops and Kate Pryde prevented the Old One Quoggoth from reviving there, "Octopusheim" today serves as an important diplomatic site for Krakoa.
4 Wundagore Mountain Is A Site Of Magic And Technology
The hideout of the High Evolutionary, Wundagore Mountain is a focal point of both magic and science in the Marvel Universe. Though the mad geneticist has completed plenty of unethical, animal-hybridizing experiments in his Science Citadel there, Wundagore is also notable for being the place where the demon god Cthon wrote the Darkhold.
Wundagore is also tied to a variety of other Marvel characters: the father of Werewolf by Night sold it to the father of Spider-Woman, while Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch were born on the mountain. The mountain also served as the X-Men's base in the Age of Apocalypse.
3 The Sanctum Sanctorum Is Full Of Secrets
On the corner of Bleeker Street and Fenno Place in New York's Greenwich Village, the Sanctum Sanctorum is the home base of Doctor Strange. Built on land that had originally been cursed to hold the demon Tyanon, Doctor Strange exorcized the place when he first purchased it.
In addition to serving as the home base to Earth's Sorcerer Supreme, the Sanctorum also housed the New Avengers during the heights of the Superhero Registration Act. On the outside, it presented as a condemned building soon to be replaced by a Starbucks coffee house. The illusion now dropped, Stephen Strange's abode remains a critical center of Marvel's magic.
2 The Infinite Avengers Mansion Was A Heady Take On The Classic
While the original Avengers Mansion gifted to the team by Tony Stark is a pretty cool place, it isn't exactly a secret hideout. However, the team upgraded their base when they transitioned to the extradimensional Infinite Avengers Mansion. It was a space created by Hank Pym with portals to locations across the globe.
Said to have millions of floors with millions of doors, the Mansion was run by a multitude of copies of Jocasta. Formerly the base of Avengers Academy, the Infinite Avengers Mansion was eventually destroyed by Quicksilver to prevent Titania and the Absorbing Man from using it to kill civilians.
1 The Watcher's Citadel Is As Space Age As He Is
Uatu the Watcher is one of Marvel's most enigmatic figures and a character whose presence implies an event of cosmic importance. Fittingly, the Watcher has an equally mysterious home base located in the Blue Area of the Moon, which is a section of space home to Kree ruins, the Inhuman Royal Family, and breathable air.
From his base on the Moon, Uatu observes the goings-on of the Earth and tries his hardest not to break his rule of non-interference with varying success. A citadel of high science fiction, the Watcher uses all manner of complex telescopes to carry out his mission.