The Avengers: Is Thor Older Than Thanos?

As one of the most powerful heroes and one of the most powerful villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Thanos (Josh Brolin) were destined to face off eventually. Before we're ever introduced to them, the two cosmic beings have been around for eons, honing their skills and ruling their corners of the universe. So, who's older?

While we're never explicitly told either character's exact age in the movies, there's enough information available to make some educated guesses.

In a 2019 interview with ComicBook.com, "Avengers: Endgame" co-director Joe Russo likened Thanos to the real-world conqueror Genghis Khan, saying, "Thanos, you know, is a 1,000-year-old character who has fought everyone in the universe and is the greatest." So we may not have an exact age, but Thanos has been floating around the MCU for a millennium, at the very least. But Thor seems to have him beat.

In "Avengers: Infinity War," Thor reveals that he's about 1,500 years old, which means he hasn't even hit Asgardian middle age yet. In "Thor: The Dark World," in an attempt to humble Loki, Odin reminds him, "We're born, we live, we die, just as humans do," to which Loki retorts, "Give or take 5,000 years." So, barring an untimely death, Thor can probably expect to be around for another three or four millennia.

The time travel shenanigans introduced in "Avengers: Endgame" muddies the water somewhat, but Thor appears to be Thanos' elder when they meet, and by a long shot.

As is often the case, things get murkier when you dive into the comic books. While Thor and Thanos are still usually presented as ancient beings, both characters' ages fluctuate, depending on the writer and whatever the story dictates. 

A depiction of Thor's birth takes place in "Avengers: 1,000,000 BC" #1, but even with a date in the title, it's not a ton of help. As the name suggests, the book follows the earliest iteration of the Avengers (which Odin is a member of) a million years ago. However, while we have a start date for the comic, Thor's birthing scene is said to take place "many years later," and that's all we get. Thor has graced comic book pages for over half a century, and the best approximation of his age would be "many years" less than 1,000,000.

Unlike his MCU counterpart, comic book Thanos is oftentimes portrayed as older than the God of Thunder. In 2020, we see in the pages of "Avengers" #38 that Thanos is at least 1,000,000 years old. The book features a child version of the Mad Titan interacting with Odin's ancient Avengers a million years ago. No age is given, but he looks to be in whatever the Titan equivalent of his teens is. 

So, while it's harder to pinpoint a specific age for the comic book versions of Thor and Thanos, and their lifespans fluctuate wildly, the print versions are decidedly older than what we see onscreen.