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Thor and Loki are looking for their father Odin in Thor Ragnarok. As they arrive on Earth,

Loki disappears and Thor is given the address "177A Bleecker Street".

When Thor goes to that place, he meets

Doctor Strange, portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch. Benedict Cumberbatch is also famous for being the BBC version of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, and Sherlock Holmes address is known to be 221B Baker Street.

The two names sound similar. Is it a nod to the series that revealed this actor?

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  • The street in New York City is spelled "Bleecker", not "Bleeker".
    – Nate Eldredge
    Commented Nov 12, 2017 at 17:05
  • I believe it's spelled that way in the comics, too, but not in the movie. Not sure why.
    – KutuluMike
    Commented Nov 12, 2017 at 17:32
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    And not one noticed that Doctor Strange can travel time. So the easter egg is the other way around. Sherlock is a reference to Dr Strange. But as a kid that copy homeworks, he failed to make it looks different. Sherlock is not so smart.
    – Drag and Drop
    Commented Nov 13, 2017 at 9:46
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    The specific street name may not be an Easter egg, but wasn't the piece of music played in that scene also similar to the score of the other series? In that case, it might be an Easter egg after all. Would write as an answer, but I'm not sure if I remember correctly.
    – August Janse
    Commented Nov 13, 2017 at 10:01
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    On the same lines: even if the choice of address was Dr. Strange's comics address, the decision to deliberately point out this address was probably made knowing that fans would be reminded of Sherlock and/or think it a funny coincidence.
    – kaine
    Commented Nov 13, 2017 at 12:16

3 Answers 3

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Actually no

177A Bleecker Street is the address of Doctor Strange in the comics, so it is just a funny coincidence.

This article by CBR.com explains it neatly:

The first time that Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum was given an address was in 1969’s “Doctor Strange” #182, written by Roy Thomas

Bleecker Street is simply the author's address at the time:

the writer of “Doctor Strange” #182 happened to have lived there (as did Namor and Daredevil creator Bill Everett).

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  • 10
    But is "177A Bleeker Street" nevertheless a reference to Sherlock Holmes, who's lived in 221B Baker Street since the 19th century, long before 1969's "Doctor Strange"?
    – Rand al'Thor ♦
    Commented Nov 12, 2017 at 16:51
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    Unlikely Bleeker Street is famous enough in itself as the heart of the trendy Greenwhich Village area of New York, it's probably just a coincidence.
    – Sarriesfan
    Commented Nov 12, 2017 at 17:12
  • 52
    @Randal'Thor It was the actual home address of the comic writer, not likely a reference to anything else in fiction.
    – KutuluMike
    Commented Nov 12, 2017 at 17:30
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    @MrLister Greenwich is a long way from Baker Street (its over in Marylebone)
    – HorusKol
    Commented Nov 13, 2017 at 2:18
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    And Thor 2's climatic battle takes place in Greenwich, which is surely, undoubtedly, a reference to London AND Doctor Strange, because of Sherlock Holmes and Cumberbatch, written years before Cumberbatch was even cast, because Strange time travelled and... please!
    – Simone
    Commented Nov 13, 2017 at 7:55
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No. 177A Bleeker Street has been the address of the Sanctum Sanctorum since the 60s, long before Benedict Cumberbatch played either Sherlock Holmes or Dr. Strange.

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  • 8
    Yes but you do realize that Sherlock Holmes and his well-known address predates all these comics, right? Sherlock Holmes existed long before Benedict came along and played the character.
    – JeffC
    Commented Nov 13, 2017 at 5:55
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    Why are you asking me and not the questioner?
    – J Doe
    Commented Nov 13, 2017 at 9:06
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    @JeffC Yes but so what? Without the coincidence of Cumberbatch playing both S. Holmes and Dr Strange, the only link is 'a comic book character has an address that sounds a bit like the address of a litererary character'.
    – mcalex
    Commented Nov 13, 2017 at 9:15
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    @JeffC - However, Sherlock Holmes is 80 years newer than that street having that name. So the only way the "homage" could exist would be "Baker" being named after Bleecker, except "Baker" was also a guy in the 17th Century. Far more likely its just a coincidence. The people who named and numbered streets in London and New York City weren't that culturally different from each other.
    – T.E.D.
    Commented Nov 13, 2017 at 10:30
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    @T.E.D. They're not saying the street was named after Holmes, only that the choice of street for Dr Strange comes form the choice of address for Sherlock Homes.
    – Bellerophon
    Commented Nov 13, 2017 at 22:53
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Yes, possibly. As other answers say, the street name in question is in fact from the comics and cannot be an easter egg by itself. However, the music played in the scene is very similar to the soundtrack of the BBC series, as noted by many. There may be other references in the scene, as one Reddit user notes:

Definitely paying respects to Sherlock that whole scene. From the walkup angle of the unassuming door as the piano theme played, Strange's fast-paced questioning-deduction-"let's get to work" style, the research scenes with the sharp cuts, all of that was lifted from any of the Sherlock episodes.

As far as I know, creators have not confirmed this.

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