Once upon a time, Marvel Comics was considered the young upstart when compared to DC Comics. However, they quickly developed mythologies that spanned space and time, all while building a history that dated back to when time began (and in some cases, before).
The legendary Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's Fantastic Four run in the 1960s introduced some of the oldest Marvel heroes. However, many more followed, which made it hard to work out who was the oldest Marvel hero (until now!) Some characters have lived so long that the line between heroes and villains is blurred, while others are apathetic or nihilistic. Regardless, the oldest Marvel characters are some of the most enduring.
Updated by Jodi Nicholls on August 23, 2022: This article was updated to include relevant entries and edits to ensure it stays aligned with current information around Marvel Comics' Oldest Marvel Heroes.
10 Moira MacTaggart
Age: Approximately 1500 Years
Jonathan Hickman blew the minds of X-Men fans last year when he revealed how longtime mutant ally, Moira MacTaggart, is a mutant herself. Not only that, but her power is to resurrect after she dies, which lets her start her life from the beginning all over again.
Moira has lived ten lives so far, and in at least one of them, appears to have lived a very long time. In her ninth life, Moira is shown to exist over a hundred years in the future. In her sixth life, she's alive a thousand years in the future. When added up, this means Moira has lived close to fifteen hundred years.
9 Thor
Age: 4000 Years Old
Like Wonder Woman, Thor's age depends on who's working on his comics. In the MCU, it's revealed Thor is about 1500 years old. However, in the 2008 comic book storyline, The Truth of History by Alan Davis, a flashback shows Thor visiting Ancient Egypt while the pyramids are being constructed. As the pyramids were built somewhere between 2630 and 664 BC, this makes Thor anywhere from 2600 to 4600 years old. As a result, he's one of the oldest Marvel characters, but nowhere near as old as the eldest Asgardian.
8 Apocalypse
Age: 5000 Years Old
During Thor's visit to Egypt, it's possible he crossed paths with an Egyptian named En Sabah Nur, who went on to become the villain, Apocalypse. Apocalypse is one of the oldest Marvel characters and is traditionally considered the first mutant. He's existed for over five thousand years (and later battled a young Thor in the 11th century). Although Apocalypse is one of the X-Men's most deadly enemies, in the Dawn of X, he's an ally who's part of their ruling Quiet Council, making him one of the oldest Marvel heroes (for now).
7 Odin
Age: Approx. Millions Of Years
Odin, King of Asgard and father of Thor, is millions of years old in the comic books. He's so old, it's revealed he was a part of the Avengers present in 1,000,000 BC. He's also had an affair with the Phoenix Force, which is an ancient cosmic entity and Jean Grey's eventual tag-team partner.
Odin is considered as old in the MCU movies as he is in Marvel Comics. In Thor: Ragnarok, Thor says he thought the All-Father had killed the evil Surtur a 'million years ago.' Of course, if this was true, the events of the film wouldn't have happened.
6 The Eternals
Age: Approx. 5 Million Years
The Eternals have existed for about five million years. They're a group of immortal superbeings who are a result of genetic experiments the Celestials performed on early humans. The result was a powerful group of characters whose purpose was to protect humanity. Members included Sersi, Ikaris, and Makari, all of whom were featured in their big-screen debut The Eternals by Chloé Zhao in 2021. The Eternals seeded the idea of gods in early man, while their less fortunate brethren, the Deviants, informed the concept of demons.
5 The Watchers
Age: Beginning Of Time
Beyond the Eternals, the lifespans of Marvel characters reach incomprehensible levels. The Watchers are one of the legendary creations from the early Fantastic Four run by Lee and Kirby, and count among the many ancient cosmic characters they created. While their exact age isn't known, they're one of the oldest species in existence. Their entire purpose is to observe all events within the universe and collect knowledge without ever interfering. The most famous Watcher is Uatu, also seen in Marvel's What If...? series. He was assigned to Earth during a critical moment in human history and watches over the multiverse.
4 Living Tribunal
Age: Beginning Of Time
The Living Tribunal was created by Stan Lee, Marie Severin, and Herb Trimpe as one of Marvel's oldest characters. The Living Tribunal functions in a similar way to the Watchers, except he oversees all realities within the Marvel cosmos. That means he's a Watcher on an infinite scale, which explains his detached, three-sided head. Having existed since the creation of the multiverse, he's billions of years old at least. This strange but incredibly powerful cosmic deity debuted in the pages of Strange Tales #157 by Jim Steranko, which was the resident showcase of Dr. Strange comics at the time.
3 The Celestials
Age: Beginning Of Time
The Celestials visited the Earth millions of years in the past and tinkered with mankind in various ways. However, they're actually much older than that. These massive and super-powerful beings are products of something called the First Firmament, which came into being at the beginning of creation itself. That makes them at the very least 13 billion years old, which is currently thought to be the age of the universe.
The Celestials are as old as the Living Tribunal, but much has been lost to legend, so it's difficult to pin down their exact age. However, it's safe to say that if something happened, they've seen it play out.
2 The One Above All
Age: Before Time
The One Above All plays a unique role in the Marvel Universe. Many believe he's the creator of existence itself. As such, he's older than what many understand is creation. To make it clear how old and powerful The One Above All is, it's worth noting how the Living Tribunal – the judge of the Omniverse – reports to him.
Mark Waid introduced this character during his run of The Fantastic Four, and he initially takes on the appearance of Jack Kirby in a not-so-subtle but appreciated nod to the comics master.
1 Galactus
Age: Before Time
Galactus is traditionally thought of as a villain. However, even within the pages of Fantastic Four, he's regarded with an appreciation of his circumstances. For example, Galactus must eat other worlds to survive, just as nature designed him. He's not villainous on purpose; he's predatory and fulfills a function many, if not all, creatures do to some degree. He's also incredibly old, existing before the universe came into being. This means he was around before the universe all the other ancient characters created and inhabited. As a result, he's likely the oldest Marvel character in the literal universe.