Agatha Harkness was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1969, when the comics industry's self-imposed Comics Code banned vampires, ghouls, werewolves and most horror. Witches were not named in the code, so Harkness first appeared as a comically eccentric nanny for the infant Franklin Richards in a Halloween issue of Fantastic Four. Her real powers came out gradually, and the code was revised in 1972, which lifted its horror and occult ban. Harkness then became a recurring character who led a secret witch community called New Salem and mentored Wanda, the Scarlet Witch. Her stories often sidelined the heroes, who were locked up or possessed, which made her a difficult guest star for writers.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.