Thor and Loki’s father, Odin, met his fate during the first act of Thor: Ragnarok, but how old was he when he died? The Marvel Cinematic Universe has seen a lot of characters come and go in over 10 years, and one that viewers weren’t expecting to see die (or at least not yet) was Odin (Anthony Hopkins), king of Asgard. Odin was introduced in Thor alongside his sons, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston), and his wife Frigga (Rene Russo), and viewers witnessed his power and control over Asgard and his family when he banished Thor to Earth and left him powerless after an incident in Jotunheim.

Odin returned in Thor: The Dark World, considered by many to be the weakest film in the MCU, and where he was tricked by Loki and banished to New York City so he could masquerade as him and (finally) rule Asgard. The Allfather’s final appearance in the MCU was in Thor: Ragnarok, which brought some much-needed changes to the God of Thunder, giving him a personality and sense of humor, very different from what Joss Whedon did with the character in The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron. Ragnarok took viewers (and Thor and Loki) to Norway, where Odin had been spending his final days. Odin passed away with his sons by his side, but not before revealing that his oldest child and only daughter, Hela, would be freed as soon as he died.

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Odin had a very long life, fought lots of battles, earned a couple of enemies, and made a lot of mistakes. Unlike other characters from the MCU, there’s no exact birth date for Odin, but there are some details and clues that can give an approximate idea of how old he was when he died in Ragnarok. First off, longevity is among the many superhuman attributes that Asgardians possess, and they age at a much slower rate than human beings. This is why, even though he was already thousands of years old by the time of the events of Thor, Odin was still in good health. Odin was the son of Bor, who died in battle while keeping the Nine Realms safe, and so Odin took the throne of Asgard. Odin then fought and defeated Surtur and took the Eternal Flame to keep it in his vault in order to prevent Ragnarok from happening. Thor refers to that at the beginning of Ragnarok, saying he thought his father killed Surtur “like half a million years ago”, mocking his father’s old age.

Odin looks off into the distance in Thor Ragnarok

In Thor: The Dark World, Odin makes it clear that they “are born, they live, they die, just as humans do”, to which Loki replies that “give or take, 5000 years” – so taking that into account, Odin was at least 5000 years old when he died in Ragnarok. Now, as he used to go into Odinsleep (a state of deep sleep where he recharged his magical force), many fans have wondered if that could have helped him live longer than the average Asgardian, while others believe Thor was serious when he said Odin defeated Surtur half a million years ago. Some have pointed out that Bor was in charge “at the dawn of time”, and in order to have Hela completely written out of history to the point where there was no one who could remember her, he must have outlived generations of Asgardians, making him around 10,000 years old when he died.

Calculating the exact age of Odin when he passed away in Thor: Ragnarok is complicated and almost impossible without any exact information, but his biggest battles can be a good clue – and the comments from his sons should be questioned to an extent as they tend to be quite sarcastic. Still, what’s sure is that Odin was between 5,000 and 10,000 years old when he died in Thor: Ragnarok.

Next: MCU: How Powerful Is Odin Compared To Thor & Loki

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