Top 10 Oldest Marvel Characters

Hailing from a dimension outside the Multiverse, appropriately called The Beyond, these aliens are among the most powerful villains in the Marvel comics. They’re near omnipotent shapeshifters with the power to construct universes and pocket realities. They can travel between dimensions and have intervened in the Multiverse to create reality-bending gadgets known as Cosmic Cubes. The one thing they can’t do is travel through time. Their exact origins are a bit unclear, but their home dimension outside the Multiverse, the Beyond, is thought to be ancient.

In the Marvel comics, the lifespan of the Multiverse is cyclic, with cosmoses undergoing a Big Crunch and being born anew in a Big Bang. Most Marvel storylines are set in the Seventh Incarnation of the Cosmos. Each incarnation has cosmic entities that embody primal forces like creation and destruction. Lifebringer One was the sentient embodiment of creation, order, light, and existence during the Third Cosmos. The Anti-All existed alongside him and represented destruction, chaos, and darkness. Anti-All is described as an eldritch dragon and nearly succeeded in devouring Lifebringer One. Fortunately, it was destroyed by Carlo Zota and the Defenders, who shattered it into countless pieces that are now strewn throughout the Multiverse.

This formless entity devours entire universes! Black Winter was responsible for the collapse of the Sixth Incarnation of the cosmos. Only Galan, a mortal man, was spared; infused with the essence of the Sentience of the Cosmos, he became Galactus, Devourer of Worlds, and Black Winter’s Herald. Black Winter has the strange ability to create caustic eldritch snow that disintegrates whatever it touches. There are hints in the comic that Black Winter was born from a dark entity in the Third Cosmos’ called the Anti-All. That makes it old indeed! The Asgardians believe that as “Fimbulwinter”, Black Winter will herald the start of Ragnarok.

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, even in Marvel Comics. Abraxas is the opposite of creation, formed when the original universe came into being. He embodies destruction and, as such, is the enemy of the multiversal being Eternity. As the universe formed, Eternity created a being to keep Abraxas at bay. It turns out, this is the function of the planet-devouring Galactus! Abraxas is always seeking to break free and destroy creation. He hasn't succeeded, despite billions of years of trying, so hopefully we don’t need to worry!

The Chaos King originated from Oblivion - the manifestation of the void before the universe. He embodied darkness and chaos and was an antagonist to Eternity. After he was imprisoned in the Shinto underworld, Yomi, he became known as Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the god of Evil, Chaos, and the Stars. Even though he's not really a Shinto god, he possesses similar powers. The Olympian gods are susceptible to his dark magic. Billions of years old, he’s had time to get up to plenty of mischief, including nearly successful attempts at destroying the Olympians.

As its name suggests, the First Firmament is the sentient embodiment of the First Cosmos. To end its loneliness, it created the Aspirants and Celestials. However, the rebellious Celestials, who in turn created the Eternals and Deviants, wanted their creations to grow and evolve. This sparked a war between the Aspirants and Celestials that shattered the First Firmament, whose essence formed the Multiverse. Though the First Firmament was initially benevolent, it grew bitter and destructive after watching the multiverse renew and evolve. It attacked the Eighth Cosmos, but was eventually defeated in the Eternity War.

Malibu Comics created Nemesis as part of their Ultraverse comics. After crossovers with Marvel Comics, she became a Marvel character. Her backstory is similar to the First Firmament, but since she began her life on paper in the Ultraverse, her story doesn’t completely line up with the Marvel timeline. In the Ultraverse, she was the first being ever to exist, who grew lonely and shattered herself into separate shards. These became the Infinity Stones. According to the comic books, she’s still “alive” in the sense that her soul is in the seventh stone, the Ego Gem. Given her Ultraverse backstory, Nemesis must be extremely old.

Taking his name from the national god of ancient Israel and Judah, Marvel's Yahweh was one of the gods of Earth. His origins are somewhat mysterious. Some accounts say that his existence predates the Multiverse. Either way, he's generally considered to be one of the most ancient beings around. According to his own account, he suffers from tripolar disorder, and doesn’t think much of holy scriptures or even religions! Yahweh also claims that he created the universe in his capacity as a supplier for “Universe Research and Development”, but had trouble getting the committee to approve the budget! We take his story with a grain of salt.

Oblivion describes himself perfectly, "Before creation was... I was. Where creation ends... I wait. I am the void. The breath between life and death. Between death and rebirth. The nothing - from which everything springs." Oblivion is the embodiment of the darkness before creation. It represents the end of all realities and has tried to nudge that end closer a time or two. In service to that goal, it has spawned horrors like the Chaos King and the dark god Knull. Oblivion has a strong association with Death and has seen much of it during its existence.

The One Above All is the only god with a capital G in the Marvel Comics. They existed before all else and created the universe. They don't take a direct hand in most events, but they have appeared disguised as a human to advise Marvel heroes. They are the source of all goodness and love but can also manifest as The One Below All, a dark side that exists to balance out the Multiverse - destroying the old to make way for new creation. The One Above All exists outside Time and predates all dimensions and realities. That cements their status as the oldest character in the comics!