The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on superhero films and television series starring various titular superheroes independently produced by Marvel Studios: based on characters that appear in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The shared universe, much like the original Marvel Universe in comic books, was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters. Due to the galaxy-spanning nature of the franchise, multiple species and races have been introduced.
Alien species Asgardians The Asgardians (based on the Marvel Comics race of the same name), or the Æsir - introduced in Thor, are the inhabitants of Asgard, on whom the gods of Norse mythology are based in MCU mythology. In the first film, they are shown as a race of superhuman extraterrestrials who look similar to humans but possess a highly advanced form of technology resembling magic and sorcery, upon which their entire civilization is built. However, later films contradict this, with Thor: Love and Thunder establishing that Thor and Zeus are actual gods in the fictional universe. The film's post-credit scene also confirms the existence of Valhalla in the Marvel universe.
The Asgardians are shown suffering major losses, first during Hela's attempt to harness Asgard's power in Thor: Ragnarok, and later by Thanos on his quest to retrieve the Tesseract, as revealed in Avengers: Infinity War. A group of survivors escape to Earth, and build a settlement under the rule of King Valkyrie.
They appear in the following films - Thor, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Doctor Strange, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and Thor: Love and Thunder; as well as the ABC series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Disney+ television series Loki, What If...?, and Marvel Zombies (2025).
Celestials Celestials (based on the Marvel Comics race of the same name) are an ancient race of entities introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy and later expanded upon on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Eternals as beings with vast matter and energy manipulation abilities. In Guardians of the Galaxy, they are introduced as being present in the universe long before the galactic communities and even the Asgardians. Their origin and nature are not elaborated upon. Whatever is known about them is known only by a few characters, such as Taneleer Tivan, who reveals that the Celestials utilized the Infinity Stones as a means of power against lesser life forms. The severed head of a deceased Celestial, which was converted into Knowhere, appears in these films: Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Infinity War, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Eson the Searcher is shown in a flashback sequence as a former owner of the Power Stone in Guardians of the Galaxy. He uses its power to level the surface of an entire planet. In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Ego the Living Planet is a Celestial who controls a humanoid avatar to travel the universe. His planetary form is a living extension of his Celestial consciousness. Over the course of many years, he plants thousands of alien-seedlings to expand his existence across all life sustaining worlds. However, Ego needs another Celestial's assistance to activate them, so he fathers children with various alien races and had Yondu Udonta retrieve them which meant he could gauge their Celestial powers. Peter Quill is the only child who gains his father's Celestial abilities, though he loses them after killing Ego and foiling his plans. In Eternals, Arishem the Celestial is revealed to have planted seeds of other Celestials in planets with life for millions of years, and created and dispatched Deviants and Eternals to prepare the planets for their birth. After the Eternals of Earth defy his orders and stop the birth of Celestial Tiamut, their remaining members are taken away by Arishem for judgement. Celestials also appear in the film Thor: Love and Thunder and the Disney+ animated series What If...?.
Chitauri The Chitauri (based on the Marvel Comics race of the same name) are a powerful, reptilian warrior race, introduced in The Avengers as a hybrid between organic beings and machines. They have a caste-like society, with each caste (nearly a different species in itself) fulfilling a different role in Chitauri society. They are in league with Thanos through his vizier, a hooded being called "the Other". They are presented as a race of grey-skinned, six-fingered reptilian humanoids that have a bio-mechanical physiology and superhuman attributes. Their technology ranges from hovercraft-like skimmers and Necrocraft, to living airborne troop carriers called Leviathans, all neurally linked with a mothership.
In The Avengers, the Other, acting on behalf of Thanos, lends the Chitauri to Loki for the invasion of Earth, leading to the Battle of New York. While they eventually overwhelm the Avengers, Iron Man destroys the mothership with a hijacked nuclear missile with the invading forces dropping dead instantly from the mental feedback. In Guardians of the Galaxy, the Other briefly appears where he contacts Ronan the Accuser and Nebula about Gamora's betrayal, and also calls them to the Sanctuary on behalf of Thanos. Once the two of them appear, Ronan argues his case to Thanos while The Other scolds him for his failure, and is then promptly killed by Ronan. Additionally, a Chitauri soldier is also seen as a prisoner in the Collector's museum. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Chitauri technology is being studied and used by a Hydra faction led by Baron Strucker– many of his troops wear suits and use weapons made of Chitauri armor, and Strucker's hidden lab houses the remains of a Leviathan. Furthermore, as first hinted in the psychological trauma shown in Iron Man 3 and augmented by Scarlet Witch's powers giving him a nightmarish vision, Tony Stark is fearful that the Chitauri may eventually return to Earth, which leads to his rash actions in creating Ultron. In Spider-Man: Homecoming, alongside the technology of the Dark Elves and Stark Industries, the Chitauri technology is used by Adrian Toomes and his cohorts, who steal it from Damage Control and modify it into weapons to sell on the black market, and to forge technology such as Vulture's flight suit and Shocker's gauntlets. In Avengers: Infinity War, the Chitauri are Thanos' enforcers in his mission to obtain the Infinity Stones. It is also revealed in a flashback that the Chitauri took part in the invasion of Gamora's home planet when she was a child, resulting in her being taken in by Thanos. In an alternate version of the Battle of New York shown in Avengers: Endgame, Chitauri are seen fighting as they did in the original depiction of the battle. In present-day 2023, alternate versions of the Chitauri and their Leviathans are brought to fight in the Battle of Earth. While some Chitauri and Leviathans are slain, the rest are taken out by Iron Man using the Stark Gauntlet. They also appear in the Disney+ series Loki (archival footage), What If...?, and Hawkeye (flashback).
Clandestines The Clandestines (based on the Marvel Comics storyline ClanDestine) are a group who claim to be Djinn that were exiled from their home Noor dimension. Their presence on Earth is shown to be tied to the background of the family of series protagonist Kamala Khan. Kamala's great-grandmother Aisha is revealed to be a former Clandestines in a flashback sequence set in the period up to the Partition of India. In 1942, Aisha leaves the group, falls in love with a human man named Hasan, and gives birth to Sana, Kamala's grandmother. In 1947, the other Clandestines find Aisha, and their leader, Najma, kills her. The other members include Fariha, Aadam, Saleem, and Kamran, who tries to protect Kamala from the other Clandestines when they attempt to forcibly use her to return home.
the Clandestines have appeared in one project: the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel (2022).
Deviants Deviants (based on the Marvel Comics race of the same name) are a race created by the Celestial Arishem. Like Eternals, they are sent to planets to ensure the development of intelligent life, creating the necessary conditions to birth a Celestial. Deviants achieve this by eliminating the apex predators of planets, allowing populations to grow. But unlike Eternals, Deviants evolve from absorbing traits from those they killed and eventually become a threat to intelligent life themselves. Eternals are revealed to have been sent as replacements with the additional mission to eliminate Deviants. On Earth, Deviants are believed to have been eliminated by Eternals led by Ajak in 1521, until their resurgence in 2024. The Deviant leader, Kro, kills Eternals Ajak and Gilgamesh and absorbs their abilities to gradually evolve into a sapient being until being killed by Thena.
Deviants have appeared in one project: the film Eternals.
Dwarves Dwarves (based on the Marvel Comics race of the same name) are an ancient race of skilled forgers and blacksmiths hailing from the realm of Nidavellir. They are ruled by King Eitri. They are close allies of the Asgardians, and after being asked by Odin, forged Mjolnir. In 2018, when Thor, Rocket, and Groot arrive on Nidavellir, they find Eitri, who informs them that Thanos killed the rest of the Dwarves after they forged the Infinity Gauntlet for him.
Dwarves have appeared in two projects: the film Avengers: Infinity War; and the Disney+ animated series What If...?.
Elves Elves (based on the Marvel Comics race of the same name) are two separate races, the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim, and the Light Elves of Alfheim.
In Thor: The Dark World, the Dark Elves, as with their enemies the Asgardians, are depicted as ancient astronauts. It is stated that they existed in the primordial darkness that predated the current vibrant state of the universe. Their goal is stated as destroying the current universe and returning existence back to that state. They were believed extinct, but unbeknownst to the Asgardians, Malekith and a number of warriors escaped and went into stasis in deep space until another attempt would be possible. For the film, David J. Peterson created a language for the Dark Elves called Shiväisith. In Guardians of the Galaxy, an imprisoned Dark Elf appears as an exhibit in Taneleer Tivan's museum. In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Dark Elf technology that was salvaged from the Battle of Greenwich was used by Tinkerer alongside the technologies from the Chitauri and Stark Industries.
Runa, a Light Elf with shape shifting abilities, appears in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. After impersonating various people including Megan Thee Stallion, she is caught and sentenced to pay damages and serve a 60 day sentence.
Elves also appear in the Disney+ series Loki (archival footage) and What If...?.
Eternals