After a major battle destroyed Asgard, Thor rounded up the Asgardians with the intent to take them to Earth. Problem was, Thanos’ ship intercepted The Statesman, which was carrying the Asgardians. The attack killed at least half of the god-like beings.
Fast-forward to Endgame, and the Asgardians were settled in Norway, with little explanation of how they got there. So what happened between the end of Thor: Ragnarok and the events of Endgame pertaining to the Asgardians? Keep reading to find out.
Since Ragnarok destroyed Asgard, Thor had to relocate his people. He decided to take them to Earth, but Thanos’ ship, Sanctuary II, attacked. While Thanos and four of his adopted children massacred many Asgardians, half of them entered escape vessels and made it to Earth.
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Why Did Thanos Attack The Statesman?
During Thor: Ragnarok, Thor, Valkyrie, the Hulk (Bruce Banner), and Loki stole an aircraft called The Statesman. This is the craft that the Asgardians boarded following the climax of Thor: Ragnarok to escape their now-decimated realm.
Thor intended to relocate the Asgardians to Earth, but Thanos had other ideas.
The Mad Titan, concerned that such a large universal population threatened its resources, wished to indiscriminately kill half all life.
Obtaining the Infinity Stones served as the easiest way to achieve his goal, since one snap was all it would take. He was looking for the Tesseract, which held the Space Stone, and obtaining it would put him one step closer to accomplishing his mission.
Since Loki took the Tesseract shortly before Ragnarok, he inadvertently made The Statesman a target, prompting Thanos to pursue.
When Thanos caught up with and intercepted The Statesman, he confronted Thor and Loki, demanding they hand the Tesseract over. Thor tried to tell Thanos it was destroyed during Ragnarok, but Loki admitted to taking it.
This led to a fight between Thanos and the Hulk. And while Hulk initially looked as though he would win, Thanos rallied and ultimately won the battle.
Hulk was banished to Earth, while one of Thanos’ adopted children, Ebony Maw, restrained Thor. Thanos choked Loki to death before taking the Space Stone and detonating the Statesman, seemingly killing the remaining Asgardians.
How Did the Asgardians Survive Thanos?
With New Asgard thriving in Avengers: Endgame, it’s clear a few Asgardians survived Thanos’ attack on The Statesman and, later, the Blip during Infinity War.
When Sanctuary II attacked The Statesman, half of the Asgardians followed Valkyrie into escape vessels, allowing them to reach Earth and settle in Norway, calling their colony New Asgard.
The other half weren’t so lucky, as Thanos and his adopted children massacred them.
Fast-forward to the Battle of Wakanda, where Thanos executed his infamous snap to kill half the universe. Since only half the population disintegrated, it spared roughly half of the remaining Asgardians.
How Many Asgardians Were Left Following Avengers: Endgame?
Before Thanos attacked The Statesman, Asgard was rumored to have roughly 50,000 residents.
Thanks to the Mad Titan’s attack, plus the events of Infinity War and Endgame, the Asgardian population decreased to less than a fraction of what it was during its peak.
Thanos, however, wasn’t the first one to kill thousands of Asgardians. Most died during Ragnarok, courtesy of Thor’s sister, the Goddess of Death, Hela.
Bifrost’s protector, Heimdall, snuck between 3,000 and 5,000 Asgardians into a secret location in the mountains. When Hela reached the place, she found it empty, telling us that Heimdall further snuck them into The Statesman.
When Thanos and his adopted children intercepted the ship, he further slashed the population by half, decreasing their numbers to between 1,500 and 2,500.
Following Thanos’ snap, that number was once again cut in half. So when we fast forward to Rocket and Banner visiting Thor in Avengers: Endgame, we see the once-thriving Asgardian population sitting at between 750 and 1,250 residents.
After Banner and Rocket successfully recruited Thor to leave New Asgard to help them find the missing Infinity Stones and reverse Thanos’ snap, the population returned to between 1,500 and 2,500, roughly 3% to 6% of Asgard’s peak population of 50,000.
Some Asgardians Could Be Living Off-World
It is possible that there are more Asgardians living in what’s left of the Nine Realms, or even in other worlds in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
It’s important to remember that during their lifetimes, Odin and Hela conquered these realms, which could imply a strong Asgardian presence.
Another point backing up this theory is the fact of how little resistance the Asgardians gave Hela and Thanos. This implies that the Asgardians could be holding a military or even a colonial presence in other realms, and potentially, other worlds.
If this is the case, then Asgard’s population could be much higher than the numbers listed in the above section.
Conclusion
Following Ragnarok, Thor sought to take the surviving Asgardians to Earth via The Statesman. However, Thanos’ ship, Sanctuary II, caught up with and intercepted them.
Thanos and his adopted children killed roughly half of the 3,000 to 5,000 Asgardians who survived Ragnarok before reaching Thor and Loki and demanding they hand over the Tesseract.
During the attack, Valkyrie escorted the surviving Asgardians into smaller vessels, allowing them to escape to Earth, where they set up New Asgard.
Following Thanos’ attack, only 1,500 to 2,500 Asgardians remained, and that number further decreased after Thanos snapped during Infinity War’s climax.
Since Bruce Banner reversed the snap, the Asgardian population returned to and held even at 1,500 to 2,500 after Avengers: Endgame.
Sion Fawkes has been covering Star Wars since January 2022, expanding his expertise in Star Wars Canon, Legends, and MCU. When not writing, you can find Sion in the gym or running trails. He also likes watching sports and listening to audiobooks.