Throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe and other Marvel movies, some villains have stood out and are ancient. It’s no secret that the MCU movies have built the largest and most successful shared universe in movie history. This requires not only a careful adaptation of the original Marvel Comics story, but also finding the right balance of characters to populate such a world.
Every hero needs a villain, and Marvel movies have created some memorable villains over the years. In fact, some of the most powerful Marvel movie villains since the MCU movie timeline have boasted incredible longevity or even immortality, making them significantly older. These villains not only enjoy unnaturally long lifespans, but they also use it to cause serious trouble for the Marvel heroes they encounter. With that in mind, here are the 10 oldest Marvel movie villains, ranked by age.
10
Advanced evolution with a history of over 300 years
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 cast many characters into the MCU, but one of the most memorable was the film’s villain, High Evolution. It has been established that the founders of OrgoCorp are notorious for their unorthodox and unethical genetic experiments and disgusting treatment of human subjects. The age of highly evolved people, hailed as something like living gods, can be definitively assumed to be at least slightly over 300 years old.
The film states that the Advanced Evolvers founded OrgoCorp and that it has been in operation for over 300 years. Even if he founded the company at a young age, his age would be at least about 330 years old. This confirms that he is not only one of the most vicious villains, but also one of the oldest in the MCU.
9
Thanos, 1000 years old
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Thanos is arguably the MCU’s biggest and most iconic villain. Thanos, who served as the Infinity Saga’s greatest antagonist, was set up as a formidable foe for the Avengers due to his behind-the-scenes role, and the Mad Titan also turned out to be one of the MCU’s oldest villains. Thanos’ specific age is not stated within the series, but real-world situations are provided to deduce a reasonable approximation.
Joe Russo, one of the directors of Avengers: Endgame, acknowledged Thanos’ age in the MCU in an interview. Russo explained that Thanos was approximately 1,000 years old in 2012’s The Avengers, giving a rough idea of his age in other MCU films. This cements Thanos as not only perhaps the most notable, but also one of the oldest villains in the series.
8
Xu Wenwu, over 1000 years old
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Some of the cast of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings were introduced to the MCU’s real answer to the Mandarin, correcting Iron Man 3’s controversial kinks about the character. Marvel’s powerful villain was established with a revised backstory that directly ties into Shang-Chi, thereby establishing him as one of the MCU’s oldest antagonists. The Mandarin’s backstory is briefly introduced in the film, and it is confirmed that he is a little over 1000 years old.
The film explains that Mandarin Xu Wenwu discovered the Ten Rings about 1000 years ago and that it stopped him from aging. This makes his official MCU age around 1040 years old, considering the age at which he most likely discovered the ring and allowing for errors. Although no specific numbers are given in the movie, the Shang-Chi villain is confirmed to be one of the oldest villains in the MCU.
7
Loki, over 1050 years old
Thor (2011)
The age of Asgardians in the MCU is an interesting phenomenon, and it has been confirmed that their lifespans are different from humans. The longevity of the Asgardians means that they are some of the oldest characters in the series, including Loki, who is actually a Jotun by birth. The MCU’s treatment of Loki’s age is inconsistent, but even with the lowest number thrown at him, he remains one of the older villains in the series.
There is evidence to suggest that Loki’s age in the MCU is around 1050 or 1500 years old. The latter has been confirmed by Marvel to be Thor’s MCU age, with a line that strongly hints that the brothers are the same age. However, it is said that Odin discovered Loki in 965 AD, which would place him around 1050 years old. Either way, Loki is arguably one of the MCU’s oldest villains – at least before he became one of the most popular antiheroes.
6
Hera, over 5000 years old
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Again, the MCU’s loose definition of the age of Asgardians paints a complicated and inconsistent picture, but Hela is also one of the oldest confirmed villains in the MCU. It is considered. When Hela appears in Thor: Ragnarok, it is explained that Odin imprisoned Hela for being too bloodthirsty before Thor and Loki were born. This is an official Marvel website, not a franchise, and provides additional context for estimating Hela’s age.
Her official Marvel bio once stated that Hela was imprisoned by Odin for “over 5,000 years.” However, this was calculated to create a plot hole, as Odin himself was thought to have been around 5000 years old at the time of his death. Hela’s official bio has been revised to state that she has been imprisoned for “thousands of years,” and while no specific number is given, this still solidifies her as one of the MCU’s oldest villains. I take it as a thing.
5
Malekith, over 5000 years old
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Malekith may be one of the MCU’s most memorable villains, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s one of the series’ oldest villains. The Dark Elf antagonist appears in Thor: The Dark World, where he faces off against Thor on his quest into the Aether. His backstory involves a cosmic phenomenon known as Convergence, which is described as occurring once every 5000 years.
This will calculate Malekith’s age. He is shown to have fought Odin’s father, Bol, during the previous Convergence, which occurred exactly 5000 years before the events of The Dark World. Therefore, we can assume that Malekith is at least 5,000 years old, if not significantly older, as he doesn’t seem to have aged at all in those years, suggesting that this character may have had an amazing longevity. It suggests something.
4
Apocalypse, 9983 years old
X-MEN: Apocalypse (2016)
Although he was one of the biggest villains in the Fox X-Men series, Oscar Isaac’s Apocalypse earned a reputation as one of Marvel’s most disappointing villains. In the comics, Apocalypse is considered the “first mutant,” and given his film age, it’s no wonder he’s one of the oldest villains in Marvel movie history. His age is only vaguely shown in the movie, so it’s not easy to pinpoint his exact age.
In the comics, Apocalypse was born in 8000 BC, making his age exactly 9983 during the events of X-Men: Apocalypse. However, the opening scene takes place in 3600 BC, confirming that it is at least 6000 years old or so. And he is shown to be at the height of his power. Regardless of whether or not his comic book version of his birthday is canon to the movies, it’s clear that Apocalypse is one of the oldest established villains in Marvel movies.
3
Arishem, billions of years
Eternals (2021)
The cast of Eternals introduced many characters to the MCU, but few were as exciting for the series’ future as Alishem. The Celestials served as the film’s primary antagonists in a sense, existing primarily as a looming threat to the people of Earth. Although Arishem’s exact age is not stated in the film, it can be estimated using the context provided in the pages of Marvel Comics.
In the comics, Arishem was created with the universe and is said to be as old as time itself. There is nothing in the Eternals to contradict this, and Arishem’s god-like status seems to be enough to confirm how ancient he is. Given the cosmic scope of the Eternals story, it certainly hints that the MCU’s Alishem is every bit as old as his comic book counterpart, making him one of the series’ oldest villains .
2
Galactus, older than time
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
Galactus is one of the most powerful and ancient beings in the vast Marvel Universe, and the World Devourer made his live-action debut in the much-maligned Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer . The 2007 sequel introduces Galactus in a decidedly underwhelming way, giving him the appearance of a giant space cloud and failing to establish much of his traditional comic book backstory. did. Still, his age can be calculated using the context of the manga.
In the comics, Galactus was originally a mortal being who existed in the sixth incarnation of the universe before the current reality began. This means that Galactus is technically older than the era in which he currently exists, making him one of the oldest villains in the history of the Marvel Universe. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer doesn’t directly support this, but it doesn’t contradict it either. Presumably, the cloud-based Galactus in the movie shares an origin with his comic book counterpart.
1
Dormammu, older than time
Doctor Strange (2016)
It has been stated that it is essentially impossible to determine Dormammu’s age in the Marvel Universe, and no one actually knows how old he is. A resident of Dark Dimenson, Dormammu lives in an entity separate from the Marvel Universe that does not obey the laws of physics. Therefore, it is technically impossible to establish Dormammu’s actual timeline, even though he is considered to be one of the oldest of all Marvel villains.
Dormammu’s MCU debut was in Doctor Strange, where the Sorcerer Supreme briefly confronted and outmaneuvered a powerful entity. Since the movies don’t even try to delve into Dormammu’s backstory, we can assume that the MCU version of the character is every bit as immersed in an unknown context as his comic book counterpart. This would make him the oldest villain in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as it is impossible to measure the actual age of this ancient entity.
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