# Chitauri
The Chitauri are a fictional alien race in [Marvel Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/marvel-comics) and the [Marvel Cinematic Universe](https://www.edgepedia.org/marvel-cinematic-universe), introduced in the [Ultimate Marvel](https://www.edgepedia.org/ultimate-marvel) universe in *The Ultimates* #8 (2003) as shapeshifting invaders, and reimagined in the 2012 film *The Avengers* as a hive-like army that invades New York City under Loki's command.[1](https://www.marvel.com/articles/comics/a-complete-guide-to-marvel-s-galactic-empires) • [2](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Chitauri)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First appearance | *The Ultimates* (2003) #8, Ultimate Marvel universe[1](https://www.marvel.com/articles/comics/a-complete-guide-to-marvel-s-galactic-empires) |
| Creators | Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch[2](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Chitauri) |
| Original concept | Shapeshifting aliens serving as stand-ins for the Skrulls in *The Ultimates*[3](https://comicbook.com/marvel/news/avengers-4-infinity-war-thanos-chitauri-outriders/) |
| MCU debut | *The Avengers* (2012), full-scale invasion of New York City[1](https://www.marvel.com/articles/comics/a-complete-guide-to-marvel-s-galactic-empires) |
| MCU physiology | A hive-minded army (shapeshifting omitted); a hybrid of organic beings and machines per tie-in reference material[2](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Chitauri) |
| Prime Marvel Universe debut | *Nova* (Vol. 5) #3, April 2013, using the film design[2](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Chitauri) |
| Home world | Chitauri Prime[2](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Chitauri) |
| Aliases | Annakui; Chitauran People[2](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Chitauri) |
## Origins in the Ultimate Marvel universe
The Chitauri were created by writer [Mark Millar](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-millar) and artist Bryan Hitch for *The Ultimates* #8, published in January 2003 in Marvel's Ultimate imprint, a line that rebooted familiar characters for a contemporary setting.[2](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Chitauri) • [4](https://comicvine.gamespot.com/chitauri/4060-57559/) In this first incarnation they were an elite race of shapeshifting warriors, close counterparts to the mainstream universe's Skrulls, and they served as antagonists in the first *Ultimates* series: issues #8 through #12 cover their infiltration of Earth.[1](https://www.marvel.com/articles/comics/a-complete-guide-to-marvel-s-galactic-empires) In their comic debut they are described as shapeshifting aliens that had attempted to infiltrate positions of power on Earth.[3](https://comicbook.com/marvel/news/avengers-4-infinity-war-thanos-chitauri-outriders/) A later reading-list summary of the Ultimate line notes that in the final issue of the first *Ultimates* series the shape-shifting Chitauri had penetrated the inner echelons of S.H.I.E.L.D., and the team fought a rogue Hulk alongside the invasion.[5](https://www.marvel.com/comics/guides/284/best_ultimate_marvel_moments)
The choice of name mattered because the Skrulls themselves, Marvel's classic shapeshifting invaders, were not available for the film adaptation. According to a 2012 interview, [Marvel Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/marvel-studios) president [Kevin Feige](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-feige) confirmed that the Chitauri filled the role the Skrulls played in the [Ultimate Universe](https://www.edgepedia.org/ultimate-universe) and that the filmmakers deliberately avoided any shapeshifting storyline, saying there was enough going on in the movie already.[6](https://www.mandatory.com/fun/187907-the-underdog-kevin-feige-on-the-avengers)
## The 2012 film and the Battle of New York
In *Marvel's The Avengers* (2012), the Chitauri appear as the army Loki receives in exchange for the [Tesseract](https://www.edgepedia.org/tesseract). The film's leader of the Chitauri promises Loki an army to help him take over Earth, and after Loki secures the Tesseract he opens a wormhole over New York City through which the Chitauri invade.[7](https://time.com/6999341/best-marvel-movies-ranked/) Thor describes the army in the film: "He has an army, called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard or any world known."[2](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Chitauri)
Screenwriter and director [Joss Whedon](https://www.edgepedia.org/joss-whedon) chose the Chitauri over the Skrulls or the [Kree](https://www.edgepedia.org/kree) because this race carried no wide background story and could be used even for a small part, and their shapeshifting power was purposely omitted from the adaptation.[2](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Chitauri) The design of the film's Chitauri was created by Phil Saunders and Justin Sweet, with Ryan Meinerding developing the final look.[2](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Chitauri) The film version differs sharply from the comics, depicted as six-digit invaders rather than reptilian infiltrators.[4](https://comicvine.gamespot.com/chitauri/4060-57559/)
The invasion ends when [Iron Man](https://www.edgepedia.org/iron-man) flies a nuclear missile through the wormhole into Chitauri space, destroying the Chitauri Command Center and stopping the invasion before falling back through to Earth.[8](https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Sanctuary) A deleted scene from *Avengers: Endgame* plays the defeat for humor: Rocket laughs when told Steve Rogers did not know the Chitauri's weakness, treating them as a low-grade military force whose mothership, once destroyed, takes the army with it.[9](https://marvelcomicbooks.com/marvel-what-are-the-chitauri/)
**Aftermath on Earth.** The battle left wreckage across Manhattan, and the MCU returned to it repeatedly. In the *Avengers: Age of Ultron* storyline, HYDRA obtained Chitauri technology, and in *Spider-Man: Homecoming* salvaged components were being developed into street weapons by Adrian Toomes after his salvage operation was displaced by the Department of Damage Control.[10](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/how-the-avengers-set-up-future-mcu/) Tie-in material records that pieces of Chitauri technology were recovered by S.H.I.E.L.D., HYDRA, Hammer Industries engineers, and Bestman Salvage.[11](https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Chitauri) Weaponized remnants include the Chitauri Staff, later seen in the hands of Thanos, S.H.I.E.L.D., the United States Department of Damage Control, Black Widow, and Adrian Toomes.[12](https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Chitauri_Staff) In *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.*, a Chitauri helmet salvaged from the battle carries an alien pathogen that infects Agent Simmons.[13](https://informasilengkap.com/en/Chitauri_%28Marvel_Cinematic_Universe%29) Kevin Feige later framed the invasion as the formative backdrop of a new generation: *Spider-Man: Homecoming* was, in his words, the first look at what it is like to grow up in a world where aliens poured into the city when you were eight years old.[14](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/marvel-movies/spider-man-homecoming-2017-interviews/)
## Under Thanos
In the MCU the Chitauri are part of Thanos's forces.[15](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Chitauri) They appear again in *Avengers: Infinity War* and *Avengers: Endgame*, fighting first in Wakanda and then in the final Battle of Earth.[16](https://alittlebithuman.com/who-are-the-chitauri-mcu/) An alternate 2012 timeline in *Endgame* revisits the original Battle of New York with the Chitauri engaging the Avengers.[11](https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Chitauri)
## Return to the comics
The film's popularity changed the character's home medium. Because of the recognition the movie generated, a distinct version of the Chitauri inspired by the film was incorporated into the Prime Marvel Universe ([Earth-616](https://www.edgepedia.org/earth-616)), alongside their original shapeshifting depiction; their prime-universe debut was *Nova* (Vol.[1](https://www.marvel.com/articles/comics/a-complete-guide-to-marvel-s-galactic-empires) 5) #3, cover-dated April 2013.[2](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Chitauri) In this mainstream continuity the race's appearance and hive-mind physiology resemble the film version rather than the shapeshifting infiltrators of *The Ultimates*, and they serve as an all-purpose race of easily vanquished goons.[3](https://comicbook.com/marvel/news/avengers-4-infinity-war-thanos-chitauri-outriders/) • [9](https://marvelcomicbooks.com/marvel-what-are-the-chitauri/) Subsequent appearances include *Hunger*, *Captain America: Steve Rogers*, *[Guardians of the Galaxy](https://www.edgepedia.org/guardians-of-the-galaxy-tv-series)*, and tie-in comics such as the *Iron Man 3* and *Thor: The Dark World* preludes.[2](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Chitauri) • [17](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Category%3AChitauri/Appearances)
## Characteristics across versions
The three main continuities give the race three shapes. Database listings record a reptilian-insectoid-humanoid body type with gray skin, white eyes, skeletal pointed teeth, four limbs, four fingers, and three toes, with some individuals possessing wings and two pairs of eyes; the species' home world is Chitauri Prime.[2](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Chitauri) In the MCU they operate as a hive-minded army under commanders such as Thanos's agents, though the film itself never names their hierarchy beyond Loki's deal.[7](https://time.com/6999341/best-marvel-movies-ranked/) Film scholarship has read their on-screen design, with a jagged, metal-toothed mouth at the center of the face, as built to read as violent threat rather than intelligent speech, a species presented as allowable and enjoyable to kill.[18](https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/server/api/core/bitstreams/b9bbe0a9-94e7-4a31-9c5b-9645b2d0ee81/content)
## References
1. [A Complete Guide to Marvel's Galactic Empires, Marvel.com](https://www.marvel.com/articles/comics/a-complete-guide-to-marvel-s-galactic-empires)
2. [Chitauri, Marvel Database (Fandom)](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Chitauri)
3. ['Avengers: Infinity War': Thanos Novel Reveals How He Got Chitauri & Outriders Army, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/marvel/news/avengers-4-infinity-war-thanos-chitauri-outriders/)
4. [Chitauri (Team), Comic Vine](https://comicvine.gamespot.com/chitauri/4060-57559/)
5. [Best Ultimate Marvel Moments, Marvel.com](https://www.marvel.com/comics/guides/284/best_ultimate_marvel_moments)
6. [The Underdog: Kevin Feige on 'The Avengers', Mandatory](https://www.mandatory.com/fun/187907-the-underdog-kevin-feige-on-the-avengers)
7. [Every Movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ranked, TIME](https://time.com/6999341/best-marvel-movies-ranked/)
8. [Sanctuary, Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki](https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Sanctuary)
9. [Marvel: What Are The Chitauri?, MarvelComicBooks.com](https://marvelcomicbooks.com/marvel-what-are-the-chitauri/)
10. [How The Avengers Set up the Future of the MCU, Den of Geek](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/how-the-avengers-set-up-future-mcu/)
11. [Chitauri, Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki](https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Chitauri)
12. [Chitauri Staff, Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki](https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Chitauri_Staff)
13. [Chitauri (Marvel Cinematic Universe), informasilengkap.com](https://informasilengkap.com/en/Chitauri_%28Marvel_Cinematic_Universe%29)
14. [Kevin Feige, Tom Holland, Jon Watts and more on the making of Spider-Man: Homecoming, GamesRadar](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/marvel-movies/spider-man-homecoming-2017-interviews/)
15. [Chitauri, Disney Wiki](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Chitauri)
16. [Who Are the Chitauri in the MCU? And What Happened to Them?, A Little Bit Human](https://alittlebithuman.com/who-are-the-chitauri-mcu/)
17. [Chitauri/Appearances, Marvel Database (Fandom)](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Category%3AChitauri/Appearances)
18. [Superpowered Security: doctoral thesis, Australian National University repository](https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/server/api/core/bitstreams/b9bbe0a9-94e7-4a31-9c5b-9645b2d0ee81/content)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Film characters and fictional worlds › Marvel Comics characters › Species and cosmic entities*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license