One thing I did not like about later films in the MCU is how it changed its approach about whether or not Asgardians were gods

In the first Thor movie, and phase 1 and 2 in general, Asgardians are depicted as technologically advanced aliens who humans historically mistook to be gods.

But later films seem to insist that they are actual gods. But what does it mean to be a god if they aren’t immortal (the Godkiller sword feels odd in Love and Thunder because we have seen Asgardians die or be killed other ways), can be defeated in battle by aliens or by humans with weapons of powers, and don’t control the forces of nature (while Thor can make lightning, lightning happens as a natural phenomenon without him)?

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chickenintendo2025-11-13 06:38

They’re still not actual gods. They’re aliens (to earth) or other races might be extra dimensional beings like Khonshu or the people in Shang Chi, and some of them are more special than others, like Thor and Zeus.

The closest you’re going to get to actual gods are beings like eternity and death.

harmoniaatlast2025-11-13 06:51

Asgardians are relatively close all things considered.

Directly beneath Eternity would be the Celestials, then Eternals including Thanos, and directly next to them would be the Asgardians (although Odin comes off more like a Celestial in the magnitude of his magic). Beneath them would be the deviants and mutants (though some mutants come in spitting distance of the power of asgardian royals), finally humans and broader races.

No idea where beings like Dormammu and Mephisto fit. Probably above celestials, but maybe below?

bluedevilstudios2025-11-13 07:46

Re: dormammu and mephisto, theyre below celestials, as other-dimensional entities

vinny4242025-11-13 12:36

Wait who are you saying are the other dimensional entities? Dorm and meph or the celestials? And wouldn't other dimensional beings be above single dimension beings?

bluedevilstudios2025-11-14 21:29

I think dorm and meph are otherdimensional, as in, dormammu is from the Dark Dimension, mephisto is from Hell. Both are below celestials

sciencesold2025-11-13 20:39

Where do the Egyptian gods, who are definitely not other-dimenal entities, especially given that the hippo goddess first shows up when Marc is dead.

bluedevilstudios2025-11-14 21:28

Thats a good question. I do think that comics lore and cinematic lore differs in that department

sciencesold2025-11-14 21:29

Yeah, honestly I'd say they're just celestials, but like not normal ones until we hear otherwise

chaseribarelyknowher2025-11-15 06:19

Based solely on movie/tv appearances, I'd place Taweret and Bast in the same tier as Dormammu and Mephisto, but in a subcategory, though as of now I think MCU Mephisto would also fall into that subcategory since IIRC its not clear if/how much Mephisto rules the dimension he inhabits.

Comparing these beings to Greek mythology since that's what I'm most familiar with, I'd say Eternity and Death are like their primordial entities, Celestials = Titans, Dormammu = Major god (I.e. Zeus), Mephisto, Taweret, Bast = Minor gods.

Runswithbuns2025-11-14 03:57

That’s a very modern interpretation. Gods have been power-scaling for thousands of years, until today, where they’re omnipotent/present. Go back 3000 years ago and any farmer could kill a god if it made a good tale.
A god didn’t need to be immortal or all powerful, they just needed to be born into the right family.

morphballganon2025-11-13 06:53

My interpretation is "gods" isn't a metaphysical type, but rather a blanket term simpletons apply to anything with power beyond their understanding.

If Loki calls himself a god it's either 1. Him telling others how he wishes to be treated, 2. His perception of his role in the cosmos, or 3. A descriptor of his power level relative to whoever else he's talking about.

I see the godkiller sword as a sword with a magical ability to disregard its victim's level of toughness and kill them whether they're human, asgardian, raccoon, bao, frog, whatever.

ThePopeofHell2025-11-14 14:49

Exactly, you’d better believe that if humanity found a Stone Age civilization on another planet there’d be humans there presenting as gods… and they’d be cia agents.

nirvana68752025-11-17 05:50

I know I’m quite late to the discussion, but humans have already done that. I don’t remember which tribe and colonizers it actually was, I think it was the Mayans and Spaniards. The Spaniards told the Mayans to give them tithes because they were gods, and to prove it, they would block the sun in a couple days.

Single-Pianist-22112025-11-13 07:38

Thor can control natural lightning as we’ve seen many times, but he also has his own special lightning that comes from within him. This is shown both visually (we often see it come from within his body) and by colors acting as additional visual cues (in the beginning of Ragnarok his lightning is white, once his powers are awakened his lightning becomes blue)

PeterTingle6162025-11-13 07:51

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igby12025-11-13 23:12

Ultimately even big “G” God is just a very advanced alien - the most advanced alien of all time and space.

PeterTingle6162025-11-14 03:16

you could certainly think of it that way

Turbulent-Spirit-5682025-11-13 08:15

Tbf mortals would just class everyone with magical roots and powers as a god and not really differentiate between beings like Zeus, Thor, Arishem etc

Subtleiaint2025-11-13 08:29

I have a head canon for this.

God characters from the MCU are physical beings they are not from our dimension. In the first Thor film Yggdrasil and it's 9 world's are explained but these aren't different worlds they're different dimensions. Asgard isn't just where the Norse gods come from but the dimension where God like beings exist, that's why the setting of the Thor films is so different to the setting of guardians of the galaxy or Captain Marvel. That setting is Midgard and the people from our dimension consider the people from the Asgard dimension gods.

One of the 9 realms is an afterlife dimension that's why we see Valhalla, the wakandan afterlife and the Egyptian afterlife.

It's possible that the dimensions that Dr Strange accesses are other realms on Yggdrasil.

To me this happily explains the differences in settings between those franchises.

clocktickmakemecrazy2025-11-13 13:40

What I made of it was they are 9 worlds, 1st being Asgard and the 8 others that are protected or overseen by the Asgardians. Someone (maybe the Celestials) created them to create order in these 8 other worlds. And they are connected through the Bifrost which is a metaphysical manifestation of the Yggdrasil.
They are not in different dimensions because they travelled to Earth, when Asgard was destroyed in Ragnarok, in a spaceship.
I just think Asgardians are beings who can control certain physical entities, but they are still 3D beings like humans who experience the world in 4D of Space-Time

o-055-o2025-11-13 17:01

Yggdrasil is a set of star systems per the display of the "realms" being scattered around the galaxy, I will see if I can find the picture, it was from an MCU exhibit explaining it.

Also, anyone can reach Asgard via a ship, they are not in another dimension.

ddanuu2025-11-13 11:31

It’s very clear that the Asgardians are just aliens.

Dr_Disaster2025-11-14 16:22

Not really though. The upper level Asgardians like Thor, Odin, Hela, Hiemdall, etc have magic powers totally intrinsic to who they are and their purpose to Asgard. Simply writing them off as aliens ignores all the actual supernatural aspects of their existence, like the fact they’re eternal beings that have a very real afterlife in Valhalla. Or the fact Loki can control a multiverse given enough understanding.

juances192025-11-13 13:21

With Zeus I just got the impression they really all are just aliens with a big ego, they enjoy having weaker races venerate them as gods.

cthompson072025-11-13 17:06

Doesn’t Natasha call them (Thor and Loki) gods in the first avenger movie? Then cap says something like “there’s only one God, and he doesn’t dress like that”

ipostatrandom2025-11-13 18:20

Yes but that's just based on old mythology. They were worshipped as gods in ancient times but that doesnt mean they are.

Its a nod to real-life theories were aliens visited the ancient egyptians, explaining hieroglyphs that look like helicopters and stuff.

EveryAccount77292025-11-13 20:19

"omnipotence city" is like the worst thing I've ever seen in the MCU so far.

it made sense for Asgard to be real and some sci fi space realm that comes to earth and created myths. that's super interesting as an idea to expand upon.

it makes no sense for all other religions and myths to also have space realms and all be real. that's utterly stupid. the suspension of disbelief about this existing for Asgard is now 100% shattered. I think you're just hacks.

choyjay2025-11-13 20:23

I just think of it as lower-case gods vs upper-case Gods

Asgardians are gods in the sense that people worship them, but yes they’re just an alien species with higher strength/abilities and longer lives

Entities like Eternity, Death, the Watchers, the Living Tribunal, etc. are actual Gods who control cosmic forces of existence

This makes Love (Gorr’s daughter reborn through Eternity) a true demigod

BackgroundEngineer112025-11-13 23:14

They're still aliens/ extra dimensional beings with unique abilities granted by genetics or advanced technology.

What isn't entirely clear are what properties are shared among the gods in the universe.
For instance, can all gods inhabit Vessels? In the comics, whomever wields Mjolnir does in fact take on the powers of Thor, becoming his Vessel.

It's not entirely clear if that is what happens in the movies, as Endgame makes it seem the hammer can summon lightning, not Steve. If he was able to spawn Thor armor on himself, it would be more obvious. Love and Thunder makes it seem like the Asgardian children become vessels because their eyes glow and stuff.

Loki is an odd duck, since he's not really a god, unless all Ice Giants are actually gods too, but he ends up with significant time control powers. He doesn't do the death dusty thing in Infinity War which would make him like the other god characters.

All that to say, the comics aren't always consistent either and as the MCU adapts more of the deities, the more confusing it will seem.

Abraham_Issus2025-11-14 01:30

I absolutely love that they are actual gods.

bangarang902102025-11-14 03:31

It’s easier when you when acknowledge that they are gods, not Gods. They are beings with powers on a higher realm, not immortal, all knowing beings.

CaptHayfever2025-11-14 04:05

The Norse pantheon are some of the weakest gods in IRL mythology too; they're only even immortal because they eat magic food.

Rockky672025-11-14 09:26

Happy to forget Thor 4 ever existed. That helps reconcile the canon.

archiminos2025-11-14 11:38

Natasha says that Thor is literally a god in the first Avengers movie.

the_old_coday1822025-11-14 16:30

It kind of reminds me of Elves in LOTR. Because Legolas is basically a walking cheat code, but then you learn how other Elves aren’t on his level. Otherwise they’d smoke Sauron’s army without needing help.

the_tchootch6582025-11-15 02:11

Isn’t the Godkiller sword one slice and you die kind of deal?

ReddiTrawler20212025-11-15 12:16

It does go back and forth over the MCU gods being races from another realm and being actual divine deities.