9

What’s the official in-universe classification of Asgardians in the MCU?

By official, I mean what category does S.H.I.E.L.D. put them into, i.e. “Alien,” “Human” or do they just designate them as “Gods?”

Improve this question
5
  • 7
    Why should what one agency on the the primitive planet Earth thinks Asgradians are be "official"? Shouldn't the classifications used by more advanced and knowledgeable and wdespead societies like the Skrull and the Kree be more official? Is there anything ever done by any Earlthling that had enough interstellar recognition to be considered official?
    – M. A. Golding
    Commented Jul 30, 2022 at 16:57
  • 1
    @M.A.Golding The Blip.
    – wizzwizz4
    Commented Jul 30, 2022 at 20:40
  • @M.A.Golding, I meant to ask in context of Earth as we consider Thor and the Asgardians Gods in the norse mythology but maybe S.H.I.E.L.D think otherwise
    – shanu
    Commented Jul 31, 2022 at 6:42
  • Is there one official SHIELD now? By "now", I mean post Endgame. I thought SHIELD was shattered into different factions in Winter Soldier. I haven't watched Agents of SHIELD.
    – Taladris
    Commented Jul 31, 2022 at 8:41
  • @Taladris Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. definitely continues past Winter Soldier, but by the end of the series it has branched off into its own timeline (or multiple timelines?), so it's hard to say how canonical it is. Other than Coulson and a brief appearance of Nick Fury, the only other crossover character is Lady Syf in a couple episodes. We do see S.W.O.R.D. appear in WandaVision, so there's some relationship there...
    – Darrel Hoffman
    Commented Aug 1, 2022 at 17:07

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
19

Marvel released an 'Avengers Initiative' app to coincide with the release of The Avengers. There were dossiers and files on all of the main characters including Thor, who is referred to as an

"extra-terrestrial being"

enter image description here

Improve this answer
3
  • I wonder how a viking would have reacted after seeing this, because being told that their god is nothing but actually an alien, I think is quite heartbreaking
    – shanu
    Commented Jul 31, 2022 at 6:45
  • 3
    @shanu surely for a Viking the ability control lightning and to travel between worlds would make even a real being nothing short of godlike. I'd imagine they'd be delighted to be able to meet Thor in person.
    – muru
    Commented Aug 1, 2022 at 4:34
  • 2
    @shanu, I'm not sure that would be a meaningful distinction. Pantheistic gods tend to not be omni{scient,potent,present}; they're just really powerful beings. Said viking might well argue that what you insist on calling an "extraterrestrial" is a "god", and you aren't telling them anything they didn't already know.
    – Matthew
    Commented Aug 1, 2022 at 18:18
20

S.H.I.E.L.D. likely classifies Asgardians as aliens, judging by this dialogue from an early episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..

SKYE: So, Asgardians are aliens from another planet that visited us thousands of years ago?

AGENT COULSON: Or more.

SKYE: And because we couldn't understand aliens, we thought they were gods?

AGENT COULSON: That's where our Norse mythology comes from.

SKYE: [sighs] That's too crazy. Do you think other deities are aliens, too? Vishnu for sure, right?

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - S01E08 - "The Well"

Odin probably would've agreed with this classification, since he clearly stated that MCU Asgardians aren't gods.

LOKI: I went down to Midgard to rule the people of Earth as a benevolent god. Just like you.

ODIN: We are not gods. We are born, we live, we die. Just as humans do.

LOKI: Give or take 5000 years.

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Improve this answer
7
  • 1
    I'd like to add that the Kree were considered as "gods" and "angels" when they arrived long before S.H.I.E.L.D., and they are, of course, aliens.
    – Peter Nielsen
    Commented Jul 30, 2022 at 16:35
  • 3
    Odin's comment on not being gods is probably partly why Love&Thunder feels so off - as the Asgardians are in the same social clubs as things that do seem more supernatural.
    – lucasbachmann
    Commented Jul 30, 2022 at 23:03
  • @lucasbachmann: Generally agreed. They've definitely whipsawed back and forth on this point depending on the different showrunners.
    – Daniel R. Collins
    Commented Jul 31, 2022 at 0:22
  • Good answer but since Valorum gave a marvel approved dossier, I accepted their answer
    – shanu
    Commented Jul 31, 2022 at 6:47
  • I am intrigued by the Vishnu line tho
    – shanu
    Commented Jul 31, 2022 at 6:47

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.