If you’ve spent hours grinding Showdown matches, scrolling through fan lore threads, or debating random Brawl Stars trivia with your squad, you’ve probably asked at least once who is the oldest brawler in Brawl Stars. A lot of fans mix up real-world release date with in-universe canonical age, so there’s a ton of conflicting info floating around social media and forum threads. I’ve spent years digging through Supercell’s random lore drops on social media and developer streams, so I’ve sorted through all the conflicting fan theories to give you the straight, confirmed answer, no guesswork involved.
Who Is the Oldest Brawler in Brawl Stars by Canon Lore Age?
When we talk about canonical in-universe age, there’s one clear, confirmed winner that beats every other brawler by thousands of years. Mortis is the confirmed oldest brawler by in-universe age, per official Supercell lore releases. The eccentric vampire gravedigger has existed for millennia, long before Starr Park was ever built, and long before any other brawler was even born.
Mortis’ age is referenced repeatedly in his voice lines, official backstory snippets, and even his in-game skin designs. He makes offhand jokes about outliving entire civilizations, forgetting how old he actually is, and watching generations of Starr Park visitors come and go. Supercell confirmed Mortis’ age in a 2023 lore Q&A, where developers stated he is “far older than any other character in the Brawl Stars universe, by a margin no other brawler will ever come close to.”
Some fans have tried to argue that other supernatural brawlers like Willow or Colette might be older, but their official lore ages top out at a few hundred years at most, which is nothing compared to Mortis’ multi-millennia lifespan. His backstory as an ancient aristocrat who turned into a vampire after a deal gone wrong has been consistent across all official lore drops, so there’s no room for debate on this one.
Oldest Brawlers by In-Game Release Date
Of course, a lot of people who ask who is the oldest brawler in Brawl Stars are actually talking about real-world release dates, not in-universe lore. If that’s what you’re curious about, there is no single individual answer, because the first 15 brawlers all launched at the exact same time with the game’s global beta in 2017.
The first 15 brawlers launched with the 2017 global beta of Brawl Stars, and they include familiar faces like Shelly, Colt, Bull, Jessie, Dynamike, El Primo, Poco, and Barley. None of these brawlers are “older” than each other from a release perspective, as they were all available to play on the same day the beta went live. The first new brawler added after the initial beta launch was Crow, who dropped in December 2017, making him the first post-launch brawler ever added to the game.
A common misconception here is that Shelly is the oldest release brawler because she’s the default starter character every new player gets for free. That’s just a design choice for onboarding new players, though, and doesn’t reflect her release timeline at all. She’s tied with all the other original beta brawlers for the earliest release date.
Common Misconceptions About Brawler Ages
There are a handful of brawlers that fans regularly misidentify as the oldest, usually because of their visual design or personality quirks. The three most common wrong answers to the oldest brawler question are:
- Byron: Many fans assume Byron is ancient because of his old-fashioned suit, walking cane, and vintage pharmacist backstory, but official lore puts him at around 60 years old, which is nowhere near Mortis’ millennia of life.
- Colonel Ruffs: Ruffs is a space soldier who has traveled across dozens of galaxies, but his lore confirms he’s only 42 in human years, even with all his interstellar adventures and military service.
- Dynamike: Dynamike’s gray hair, retirement backstory, and gruff old man personality make many players guess he’s the oldest, but he’s only 72 according to official lore drops, far younger than Mortis.
Most of these mistakes come from fans judging age by visual design alone, rather than official lore releases. Supercell often adds design quirks like gray hair or vintage clothing to give brawlers unique personality, not always to signal their actual in-universe age. It’s always best to cross-check with official developer statements if you want accurate canon info, instead of guessing based on how a brawler looks or sounds.
What Does Mortis’ Age Mean for Your Gameplay?
Mortis’ ancient age isn’t just a fun trivia fact for lore nerds — it actually directly shapes his in-game kit, voice lines, and recommended playstyle. Mortis' vampire abilities directly tie to his ancient backstory, as his signature dash attack lets him drain health from opponents to heal himself, a reference to his vampire lore of feeding on living beings to survive. His super, which summons a swarm of bats to attack enemies, also pulls directly from old-world vampire mythology that Mortis would have existed alongside.
If you’re new to playing Mortis, his age also gives you a hint for how to use him effectively. He’s fast, slippery, and designed to pick off low-health opponents rather than brawl head-on with tanks, just like an ancient vampire who has survived for thousands of years by picking his battles carefully. Don’t waste his dashes trying to take down full-health Bull or Frank players; instead, hang back, wait for opponents to take damage, then dash in to get the kill and heal up before escaping.
You’ll also catch little references to his age in his voice lines as you play, from quips about “outliving dozens of fools like you” when he takes down an opponent, to complaints about “these young brawlers having no respect for their elders” when he gets eliminated. It’s a fun little touch that makes playing him feel even more immersive for lore fans.
At the end of the day, if you’re asking who is the oldest brawler in Brawl Stars, the answer depends entirely on whether you’re talking about lore age or release date. For canon in-universe age, Mortis is the clear winner by thousands of years, while the original 2017 beta brawlers are all tied for the oldest by real-world release date. Next time you’re debating trivia with your Brawl Stars squad, you can pull out these facts to settle the argument, and even have a little fun pointing out Mortis’ age-related voice lines next time you pick him for a match.