body power
Immortality
Also called Agelessness, Eternal Life, Undying
Immortality is exemption from death by ageing. It comes in three structurally different forms — biological, renewable and externalised — and the third is the only one that is reliably destructible, which is why almost every story about defeating an immortal is really a story about finding an external anchor.
How it works
Biological immortality is intrinsic. The body simply does not age, usually because of regeneration or a non-human physiology. It cannot be taken away, but it rarely protects against sufficient trauma.
Renewable immortality is purchased repeatedly. Ra's al Ghul returns via the Lazarus Pit and pays each time in sanity — the cost is the story. Remove access to the source and the character is mortal again.
Externalised immortality moves the life outside the body. Voldemort's horcruxes are the canonical example: he cannot die while they exist, and the entire plot becomes an inventory problem. This is the most narratively useful form, because it converts an unbeatable trait into a checklist.
A fourth kind, rarely handled well, is conceptual immortality — beings like the Spectre who are bound to a role rather than a body, and who persist as long as the concept does.
Immortality is also the power most likely to be written as a curse. Longevity without invulnerability means centuries of injury; longevity without company means isolation. Vandal Savage is dangerous less because he cannot die than because he has had ten thousand years to prepare.
How it scales
- Longevity
Extremely long life, but still killable and still ageing slowly.
- Agelessness
No ageing at all. Death only by violence.
- Renewable
Death is reversible via an external source, at a cost.
- Externalised
Life stored outside the body. Cannot die while the anchor survives.
Who has immortality
Across 4 universes. This list crosses publishers — something no single wiki can do, because every franchise keeps its own separate database.
| Character | Universe | Franchise | Feats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apocalypse | Marvel | Marvel Comics | 4 |
| Blade | Marvel | Marvel Comics | 3 |
| Deadpool | Marvel | Marvel Comics | — |
| Galactus | Marvel | Marvel Comics | 2 |
| Ghost Rider | Marvel | Marvel Comics | 3 |
| Hulk | Marvel | Marvel Comics | 2 |
| Mystique | Marvel | Marvel Comics | 2 |
| Silver Surfer | Marvel | Marvel Comics | 1 |
| Thanos | Marvel | Marvel Comics | 2 |
| Wolverine | Marvel | Marvel Comics | — |
| Black Adam | DC | DC Comics | 2 |
| Brainiac | DC | DC Comics | 3 |
| Darkseid | DC | DC Comics | 2 |
| Floronic Man | DC | DC Comics | 2 |
| Hawkman | DC | DC Comics | 3 |
| John Constantine | DC | DC Comics | 3 |
| Lobo | DC | DC Comics | 2 |
| Plastic Man | DC | DC Comics | 3 |
| Ra's al Ghul | DC | DC Comics | 1 |
| Silver Banshee | DC | DC Comics | 2 |
| Swamp Thing | DC | DC Comics | 2 |
| The Spectre | DC | DC Comics | 3 |
| Vandal Savage | DC | DC Comics | 4 |
| Wonder Woman | DC | DC Comics | 2 |
| DIO | Anime & Manga | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure | 2 |
| Denji | Anime & Manga | Chainsaw Man | 2 |
| Envy | Anime & Manga | Fullmetal Alchemist | 2 |
| Frieza | Anime & Manga | Dragon Ball | 3 |
| Majin Buu | Anime & Manga | Dragon Ball | 1 |
| Makima | Anime & Manga | Chainsaw Man | 2 |
| Muzan Kibutsuji | Anime & Manga | Demon Slayer | 3 |
| Orochimaru | Anime & Manga | Naruto | 3 |
| Ryomen Sukuna | Anime & Manga | Jujutsu Kaisen | 2 |
| Ryuk | Anime & Manga | Death Note | 3 |
| Sailor Moon | Anime & Manga | Sailor Moon | 2 |
| Tsunade | Anime & Manga | Naruto | 2 |
| Yusuke Urameshi | Anime & Manga | Yu Yu Hakusho | 2 |
| Lord Voldemort | Other Media | Harry Potter | 1 |
The feat ledger
Every entry cites the work it comes from. Feat means it was shown in the work; Statement means a character or narrator said it. Nothing here is a fan estimate unless it is tagged Calc.
Lord Voldemort — Cannot die while his horcruxes exist, converting his immortality into a findable inventory of objects
Ra's al Ghul — Renews his life in the Lazarus Pit, paying each time with a period of violent insanity
Vandal Savage — Immortal since prehistory through meteor radiation; dangerous for accumulated knowledge rather than invulnerability
Apocalypse — Kept alive across millennia by Celestial technology rather than by his own mutation
The Spectre — Persists as a bound force rather than a body, tied to a host and a mandate
Hawkman — Dies and reincarnates repeatedly across history rather than avoiding death
Wonder Woman — Ages far slower than a human and is written as effectively ageless
Wonder Woman — Survives injuries that would be fatal to a human without lasting harm
Hulk — Returns from death repeatedly, which the series makes its central premise
Hulk — Cannot be permanently killed by conventional means
Thanos — Cannot age or die by ordinary means, a gift he treats as a curse
Thanos — Survives being unmade and returns, which the stories treat as routine
Darkseid — A New God — ageless, and repeatedly returning after apparent death
Darkseid — The Anti-Life Equation is his goal precisely because force alone will not finish it
Majin Buu — Regeneration is stated to make conventional killing impossible
Silver Surfer — Does not age, eat or breathe, sustained entirely by cosmic energy
Apocalypse — Millennia old, sustained by Celestial technology rather than by mutation alone
Apocalypse — Transfers his consciousness into new bodies to survive death
Apocalypse — His survival doctrine is the character's thesis, not a power description
Lobo — Barred from both heaven and hell, which is written as why he cannot stay dead
Lobo — Wounds that would kill any Czarnian close within moments
Plastic Man — Survives being shattered into fragments and reassembles
Plastic Man — Spends centuries as scattered pieces on the ocean floor and recovers fully
Plastic Man — Written as effectively unkillable, which the League treats as a tactical asset
Hawkman — Reincarnates repeatedly across eras, which is the character's defining premise
Hawkman — Recalls skills from previous lives, which is why he fights like an ancient soldier
Mystique — Ages far slower than a human, which is how she predates most of the X-Men
Mystique — Longevity is a consequence of the shapeshifting, not a separate mutation
Envy — Survives destruction as long as the Philosopher's Stone souls inside remain
Envy — Dies only once the stone is exhausted, not from any wound
The Spectre — A spirit rather than a body, and cannot be killed by physical means
The Spectre — Persists across eras and hosts without diminishing
DIO — A vampire who does not age and recovers from destruction of most of his body
DIO — Sunlight is the stated weakness, not injury — which is how he is finally killed
Swamp Thing — Regrows a whole body from any plant matter on Earth after his is destroyed
Swamp Thing — He is not a man turned into a plant but a plant that believes it was a man — the reveal that redefined the character
Silver Banshee — Cursed rather than powered — she is undead and does not age
Silver Banshee — Returns after apparent destruction, since the curse rather than the body carries her
Floronic Man — A plant elemental who does not age and reforms after destruction
Floronic Man — Severing him from the Green is what stops him, not injury
Vandal Savage — Immortal since prehistory after exposure to a meteorite
Vandal Savage — Claims to have been numerous historical figures, a claim the stories neither confirm nor deny
Vandal Savage — His advantage is accumulated knowledge rather than any combat power
Muzan Kibutsuji — Has lived over a thousand years and does not age
Muzan Kibutsuji — Sunlight is his only true weakness, which is the whole plot's constraint
Muzan Kibutsuji — His entire thousand-year search is for a cure to sunlight, not for power
Ryuk — A shinigami who cannot die by human means and does not age
Ryuk — Shinigami die only by extending a human's life, the one stated rule
Ryuk — Sees the name and lifespan of any human on sight — a shinigami trait, not a notebook power
Denji — Dies and returns as a devil-human hybrid, which is the series' opening event
Denji — The Chainsaw Devil erases any devil it kills from human memory entirely
Makima — Damage directed at her is transferred to ordinary people instead
Makima — Survives repeated apparent deaths because the harm never reaches her
Frieza — Survives being cut in half and exposed to space
Frieza — Does not need to breathe, stated explicitly as why space does not kill him
Frieza — He never trained before the Golden form, which is stated as his one real limit
Ryomen Sukuna — Could not be killed, so he was split into twenty fingers and sealed instead
Ryomen Sukuna — The fingers remain potent for a thousand years without decaying
Yusuke Urameshi — Dies in the first chapter and is returned to life for the job
Yusuke Urameshi — Dies a second time and returns as a demon, which changes the power source
Galactus — Predates the current universe, having survived the previous one
Galactus — Cosmic entities treat him as a necessary balance rather than a criminal
Black Adam — Thousands of years old, having held the power since antiquity
Black Adam — Rules Kahndaq as head of state, so his conflicts are geopolitical
Ghost Rider — The spirit of vengeance cannot be permanently destroyed by physical means
Ghost Rider — The Stare fails on anyone without guilt, the stated limit
Ghost Rider — Returns after the host body is killed, taking a new one
Blade — Ages far slower than a human, a dhampir trait
Blade — Sunlight, garlic and silver do not affect him, which is the whole advantage
Blade — Later gains a thirst for blood, which he manages with a serum
Brainiac — A Coluan intelligence that persists across bodies and centuries
Brainiac — Transfers his consciousness into a new body when one is destroyed
Brainiac — Operates through drones so the body destroyed is rarely the real one
John Constantine — Cons three separate demon lords into keeping him alive to avoid ceding his soul
John Constantine — Survives lung cancer by the demon gambit — a con rather than a cure
John Constantine — Manipulates Swamp Thing into acts he would not otherwise commit
Tsunade — Maintains a youthful appearance by continuous transformation jutsu
Tsunade — The seal's release ages her, which is the stated cost of the healing
Orochimaru — Transfers his consciousness into a new host body every few years
Orochimaru — His goal is learning every jutsu, which requires unlimited time — the motive behind the immortality
Orochimaru — Survives inside Kabuto after his own body is sealed
Sailor Moon — Reincarnated from Princess Serenity of the destroyed Moon Kingdom
Sailor Moon — Returns after death more than once, tied to the crystal
Limits
- Almost no immortality protects against sufficient force; it protects against time.
- Renewable forms depend on continued access to the source.
- Externalised forms convert invulnerability into a findable object.
- Psychological cost is the standard price — Lazarus Pit madness being the clearest example.
Counters
- Destroying the anchor rather than the body.
- Sealing or imprisonment when killing is impossible.
- Power nullification and soul-level attacks.
Questions
What is the difference between immortality and invulnerability?
Immortality means you do not die of age; invulnerability means you cannot be hurt. Most fictional immortals are entirely woundable — Vandal Savage bleeds like anyone else. Characters who have both are rare and usually written as top-tier threats.
Last updated 2026-09-06 · machine-readable version
