Can Thor Die? God of Thunder’s Immortality Explained
Thor is one of the most popular Marvel characters ever created, be it in the comics or the MCU. The God of Thunder’s powers are unmatched, and there are even versions of him that can beat cosmic beings such as Those Who Sit Above In The Shadows. Almost no amount of damage can harm him, and he lives for millennia. So, naturally, fans wonder – can Thor even die?
Thor can die – and actually did on several occasions in the comics. However, the death of Asgardian gods such as Thor isn’t permanent. They go through cycles and eventually always come back unless they stop the cycle and reach the end, as Odin, his father, eventually did.
Odin died in the MCU and the comics, and his death released such a huge amount of energy that it could be felt throughout the entire universe. Thor, however, hasn’t died permanently yet, and probably won’t for a long time. That being said, his immortality still isn’t absolute. Let’s explore if and how Thor can die and all the aspects of his immortality.
Is Thor Immortal?
In a sense, Thor Odinson, the God of Thunder, is immortal. However, that doesn’t mean he can’t die. Asgardians live, on average, for about 4000 years. Of course, Thor isn’t just a common Asgardian. Hence, one can expect that his life is much longer, almost infinite. However, he can still die and did die numerous times in the comics. Yet, he always comes back.
You see, Asgardians go through cycles that end with Ragnarok – the final, total, complete destruction of Asgard and its people. We’ve seen Ragnarok happen in the MCU, too, in Thor: Ragnarok, the third Thor stand-alone film.
After Ragnarok, the cycle resets, and Asgard is reborn, as well as its people. That’s how Thor, Odin, and others have died multiple times and were once again reborn in their bodies. That opens another question, though.
We know that Thor’s durability is unmatched and that he can take on the full blast force of a star and still survive. We also know he has lived for thousands of years. So, how can he die when Ragnarok strikes?
Well, that’s the point. Thor isn’t invincible or invulnerable. I mean, it takes a cosmic amount of force (physical, magical, or energy) to take the God of Thunder down, but he can, indeed, be hurt and killed. He has a strong healing factor, though – all he needs is to touch Mjolnir or Stormbreaker.
As we’ve seen in Avengers: Infinity War, when Eitri forges the Stormbreaker for him, as soon as Thor touches it, he is regenerated.
Now, if he doesn’t get to his source of power in time, succumbs to his injuries, and dies, it’s not the end of the God of Thunder. Several times in the comics, Thor says that death is never a permanent state for Asgardians. When the cycle comes to another beginning, Thor is reborn.
Therefore, Thor is immortal but can die – if that makes any sense.
Can Thor Die From Physical Damage?
Thor’s durability is unfathomable. He can survive even the most severe physical punishment imaginable. Even in the MCU, the God of Thunder is one of the few beings in the universe that can take full-power punches from the Hulk without even a scratch.
Also, as I’ve mentioned already, the full power of a star, mighty enough to melt Uru metal in seconds to forge the Stormbreaker, couldn’t take Thor down. It was close, but Odinson survived. And the comics are no different.
Once, Thor withstood physical force so strong that it crushed every single bone in his body – and he survived. Knowing that a Hulk smack doesn’t even scratch him, you can imagine how powerful that must’ve been.
The God of Thunder could take several blasts from Odin – one of the most powerful gods to ever exist. Even energy blasts from cosmic beings such as the Celestials and Galactus weren’t enough to take him down. That being said, Thor can actually die from physical damage if he is in his unworthy state or, for any reason, can’t access his powers.
If Thor was to die from physical damage, it usually had to be amplified with some kind of magical or energy force. Still, even if physical damage kills him, Thor always comes back – it’s just the natural cycle of Asgardian deities. And, things get even more interesting when we talk about aging immortality.
Can Thor Die From Old Age?
There’s the belief that Asgardian gods are completely immortal in terms of aging. However, that’s not entirely true – well, for most of them. In Marvel Comics, Greek deities such as Zeus literally do not age. They are completely immortal in that regard and can never die from old age.
On the other hand, Asgardian deities age very slowly – but they still age. For instance, Odin eventually died of old age. He didn’t have to die, per se, but he was so old that not even Odinsleep (a hibernating state where he replenished the Odinforce) could regenerate him fully. Hence, he just let go.
Greek deities don’t have to do anything but exist to achieve older age. On the other hand, Asgardians eat the magic apples of Idunn to stay vital and drastically prolong their lives.
Now, Thor completely shatters all that. Odinson literally cannot die of old age and is immortal in that regard. We know that because of Old King Thor, a version of Odinson from Earth-14412.
After Odin died, he gained the Odinforce, combined with the power of Thor, and some additional powerups. Yes, Old King Thor is a variant of Thor but is believed to have all the same powers as the Earth-616 version (combined with Odin, of course).
Old King Thor is said to be millions and millions of years old. He was older than any god who was ever born. Thor outlived the stars and was the one to live long enough to see the universe start to crumble, so he held it together to give life a chance to continue.
One has to notice that, despite him being so old, Thor still needed Thorsleep to replenish his powers, and his hair and beard did turn pearl-white, just like his father’s. Therefore, he did age, but it’s doubtful that he could ever reach the age where he’d be vulnerable to dying from it.
Can Thor Die In The MCU?
The MCU versions of most characters deviate from their comic book counterparts in one way or another. There’s no evidence suggesting that MCU’s Thor is less immortal than the comics version, though, so it’s unclear if Thor can or cannot die in the MCU.
He did survive Ragnarok and floated in space, alive, after all the other Asgardians were killed by Thanos. Then there’s the before-mentioned star – and the fact that he showed no signs of aging whatsoever. Also, Thor stated that he’s about 1500 years old in the MCU, which is, for Asgardian standards, still quite young – let alone Asgardian deities.
That being said, his next opponent is Gorr, the God Butcher, who wields the All-Black Necrosword – a sword made out of pure eldritch darkness, capable of one shot-decapitating Celestials and killing every god in existence.
Seeing that Jane Foster will become Mighty Thor in the next Thor movie, one could see how Thor Odinson would potentially get killed by Gorr in the film and Jane taking over the Thor mantle.
I’m not convinced it will happen, though, seeing there are rumors from trustworthy sources saying Hemsworth had signed for three more movies after Thor: Love and Thunder. Hence, I think it’s safe to say that we’ll enjoy Odinson’s awesome persona for a while longer in the MCU.
