Oldest Marvel Villains In The MCU

Summary

• Thanos is younger than fans might think, but his impact on the MCU was immense.
• Xu Wenwu from Shang-Chi is over 1000 years old, making him the oldest human villain in the MCU.
• Ego, a Celestial in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, is one of the oldest and most powerful beings in the universe.

The MCU features a huge wealth of characters, and it is no surprise that many of them are a lot older than they look, especially with the multitude of aliens introduced across the many films and TV shows in the long-running series. Though Marvel Studios has been criticized over the years for some villains lacking personality, the movies are still home to many memorable performances from great actors as terrifying figures.

This can range from normal men to villains who have been terrorizing the universe for thousands of years. Some villains in the MCU are days old (like Ultron), and others are much older than fans might even realize. Out of them all, these particular MCU villains are easily the most ancient.

8

Thanos

Approx 1000 Years Old

• Appears In Guardians Of The Galaxy, Avengers: Infinity War, & Avengers: Endgame
• Played By Josh Brolin

Although the wise way he speaks makes Thanos feel ancient, the Mad Titan is younger than many other MCU villains. Still, he has been alive for a thousand years and didn’t appear to be wasting away by any means when the Avengers finally faced off against him. Destroying planets and even erasing half of life in the universe, Thanos is arguably the strongest presence of a villain in MCU history.

While Thanos is an alien capable of living for who knows how long, he didn’t make it beyond around a thousand years, surprisingly making him much younger than characters like Thor, who have been around a definite thousand-plus years in canon. While fans are unlikely to see Thanos again anytime soon, this villain left an infinite mark on the MCU.

7

Xu Wenwu

Approx 1000 Years Old

• Appears In Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings
• Played By Tony Leung

Not many earthbound villains live hundreds of years, never mind making it to over a thousand, but Xu Wenwu, the “real Mandarin,” is a special case. Appearing in Shang-Chi, he brings a devastating demeanor and backstory with him about how he found the ten rings, which he can use to stop aging as long as he wears them.

Before he faced off against his son for control of the rings, Xu Wenwu had lived for easily over a thousand years, making him the oldest human seen yet in the MCU. Though he sacrificed himself to save his son after finally realizing his mistakes, Xu Wenwu was still an intimidating presence and arguably the best MCU villain of Phase 4.

6

Loki

Approx 1050 Years Old

• Appears In Thor, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, & Loki
• Played By Tom Hiddleston

Though fans might expect a God like Loki to be tens of thousands of years old, he was shown to be just a baby in 965AD, making him incredibly old but younger than fans might expect. He’s still a relative child by the standards of Asgard and the gods who reside there.

Loki achieved a lot in the MCU, and he found an even higher purpose than he initially could have believed for himself. While Tom Hiddleston’s version of the character proved to only be one of many across the multiverse, he also defined himself as a true God and a great hero all at once, possibly providing a final ending for the character within the MCU.

5

Hela

Approx 5000 Years Old

• Appears In Thor: Ragnarok
• Played By Cate Blanchett

Far older than her siblings, it is difficult to pin down exactly when Hela was born, but it is known that she had been imprisoned for thousands of years before Thor and Loki were even born. Proving herself so deadly that Thor was forced to destroy Asgard in order to stop her, Hela was a General and close advisor, as well as daughter, to Odin during his younger, more warlike years.

Hela didn’t make it out of Ragnarok, so this is not a threat that is likely to return soon. However, the God of Death was one of the more terrifying presences in the MCU, and she proved that she was worth the fear Odin held for her, which is why he tried with every ounce of his might to keep her contained until it took the last of his strength and helped lead to his death.

4

Malekith

Approx 5000 Years Old

• Appears In Thor: The Dark World
• Played By Christopher Eccleston

The villains of the Thor franchise are, unsurprisingly, some of the oldest antagonists in the MCU. Their lifetimes have spanned thousands of years, just as Thor’s own has done. While there is, again, no definitive age for Malekith given in Thor: The Dark World, the villainous dark elf is known to have been around for the last conjunction, which takes place only once every five thousand years.

Having been present for that battle, Malekith can be assumed to be easily over five thousand years old. As the leader of the Dark Elves, a race that has thrived even in the dark before the Big Bang, Malekith could be much older. However, it is unlikely that he is older than the Celestials or other beings who have been around for millions of years.

3

Ego

Millions Of Years Old

• Appears In Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
• Played By Kurt Russell

It becomes impossible to even get close to an accurate figure for a villain’s age once the Celestials come into question. Ego, the living planet and father of Peter Quill and Mantis, is a monstrous figure who wishes to remake the entire universe in his image and rule over it. He has already done horrible things in the name of this and seeks Peter’s help to do more in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Ego, as a Celestial, is one of the oldest and most powerful beings in the universe. It isn’t known whether his lifetime extends to simply millions or possibly even billions of years, but he is for sure much older than any not-Celestial being.

2

Dormammu

Millions Of Years Old

• Appears In Doctor Strange
• Played By Benedict Cumberbatch

There aren’t many things that could be intimidating, or likely older, than Arishem. It is very difficult to put an age to the monstrous creature from the Dark Dimension who absorbs and destroys worlds and entire universes across the multiverse, pulling them into the Dark Dimension and ending untold numbers of lives.

While Dormammu was capable of being trapped by the time stone, it took Doctor Strange possibly thousands of years’ worth of deaths to convince Dormammu that he was trapped, showing the real age of this demonic presence. Ancient barely covers this creature, who may have been around for billions instead of millions of years.

1

Arishem

Billions Of Years Old

• Appears In Eternals
• Played By David Kaye

The Eternals villain, Arishem, who has controlled the cosmic beings for untold millennia, is a terrifying presence. He is the Prime Celestial and created the known universe where the MCU takes place. Canonically, he is at the very least as old as the universe itself, but he’s probably much older.

This puts Arishem comfortably in the billions of years-old category. The universe, assuming that the MCU follows real life in this case, is estimated to be around 13.8 billion years old. Arishem, able to travel through black holes, create and destroy life on a whim, and control incredibly powerful beings on a level they can’t even understand, is a terrifying and deadly creature, as well as literally the oldest possible villain in the universe, maybe even the multiverse. His possible return, along with most of the Eternals, remains up in the air for now.