| Odin | |
|---|---|
.png) Odin as appeared on the cover ofJourney Into Mystery #122 (November 1962). Art byJack Kirby. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Journey into Mystery #86 (November 1962) |
| Created by |
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| In-story information | |
| Full name | Odin Borson |
| Species | Asgardian |
| Team affiliations |
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| Notable aliases | The All-Father Gagnraðr Grímnir Atum-Re The Wanderer Orrin Infinity |
| Abilities |
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Odin Borson, the All-Father is a fictional character appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. First mentioned inJourney into Mystery #85 (Oct. 1962), the character first appears inJourney into Mystery #86 (Nov. 1962), and was adapted from theOdin ofNorse mythology byStan Lee andJack Kirby.[1] The character is depicted as the father ofThor and, traditionally, as the king ofAsgard.
SirAnthony Hopkins portrayedthe character in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) filmsThor (2011),Thor: The Dark World (2013), andThor: Ragnarok (2017).
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Although Odin was first mentioned inJourney into Mystery #85 (Oct. 1962), his first actual appearance was inJourney into Mystery #86 (November 1962). He was created forMarvel Comics byStan Lee andJack Kirby.
Odin is the son of Bor (father, one of the firstAsgardians) and Bestla (mother, afrost giantess), and the full brother of Vili and Ve. With the aid of his brothers, a young Odin defeats the fire demonSurtur;[2] later, Odin reveals that his brothers were killed by Surtur, but gave their power to Odin. Later Surtur was imprisoned inside the Earth.[3] Odin thereafter became ruler ofAsgard, where he received theepithet ofAll-Father, and eventually fell in love with the elder goddess, Gaea, by whom he is the father ofThor. After Thor's birth, Odin returns to Asgard, where his wife,Frigga, acts as Thor's mother. Odin is also the adoptive father ofLoki, a child of Giant ancestry whose fatherLaufey is killed by Odin in battle:[4] adopted in a deal with Bor's spirit, unaware of Bor's intention that the child would bring about Odin's downfall.[5] Despite Odin's intentions, Thor and Loki become bitter enemies. Odin also was the father ofBalder from Frigga.[6]
Thor's preoccupation withMidgard (Earth) is a constant annoyance to Odin who, as punishment, has deprived Thor of his powers on at least three occasions. Each time, Thor's willingness to atone for his transgressions, his continued noble intentions, and his bravery, eventually convince Odin to restore his original powers and identity.[7][8][9]
As ruler and protector of the Asgardian people, Odin has been involved in a number of crises that have threatened Asgard and, on occasion, Earth. Notable examples included stopping Loki, the Storm Giant Skagg, and Surtur (with the aid of Thor and Balder);[10] defeatingAbsorbing Man after he absorbs almost all of Asgard;[11] banishing the monsterMangog;[12] sacrificing his right eye toMimir for the wisdom to stopRagnarök (Twilight of the Gods);[13] attempting to stop theCelestials in the armor of theDestroyer;[14] engaging inter-dimensional tyrantDormammu in a "cosmic chess" match as champions ofMaster Order andLord Chaos respectively,[15] and preventing Surtur from lighting the Sword of Doom, Twilight.[16]
Odin has also died three times in defense of Asgard. On the first occasion, Odin is killed by Mangog, and later revived byHela.[17] On the second occasion, the Celestials melt the Destroyer, and thus stifle all Asgardians except Thor, who collects a portion of energy from each pantheon and uses it to revive Odin, who in turn resurrects the Asgardians.[14]
The final occasion involves a massive battle against Surtur on Earth, with Odin apparently dying once and for all, when the Odin Force—the source of Odin's power—migrates to his son, Thor.[18] As Thor eventually destroys the Loom of Fates and stops Asgard from perpetuating Ragnarok—which ends the entire Norse pantheon and Asgard itself—Thor believes Odin may be dead permanently. The Odin Force appears to him in humanoid form and says that this was Odin's plan all along.[19]
When Thor returns from hibernation in the void,[20] he begins to find the lost Asgardians,[21] but does not search for his father. During his Odinsleep, Thor finds Odin in alimbo wherein every day he does battle with Surtur. Odin declines Thor's offer of taking his place—noting that just Thor's offer has broken Bor's curse that he would be abandoned as Bor was—and states that Thor must lead the Asgardians, while Odin continues in a state approximating the Asgardian equivalent ofheaven, to prevent Surtur from reentering the world.[5] Loki assuages Doctor Doom's fears about Odin's potential wrath if the Asgardians move to Latveria, assuring him that "Old One-Eye is yesterday's god" and "a relic".[22] Later, Odin's absence from the Nine Worlds leads his revived father Bor to wage battle against Thor after Loki and Hela revive him. When Bor is killed, Loki and Balder have Thor exiled for regicide.[23]
During the "Siege" storyline,Norman Osborn sends theThunderbolts to steal Odin's spearGungnir from the Asgardian weaponry.[24] Loki calls on Odin to return theNorn Stones to him so he can empower the heroes to defeat the Void.[25]
Odin returns from the dead after Asgard is invaded by the World-Eaters.[26]
During the "Fear Itself" storyline, Odin senses the return of his elder brother, the fear godCul. After a brief monologue withUatu theWatcher, Odin commands his people to return to the Asgardian plane against the protests ofThor,[27] and Asgard rebuilds into a war engine with which he intends to raze Earth completely, to destroy the Serpent. Thor convinces Odin to send him back to Earth instead,[28] and Iron Man travels to Asgard-space for an audience with Odin,[29] wherein Iron Man asks Odin if he can use one of Asgard's workshops to make weapons,[30] and Odin allows him to use the Workshops of Svartalfheim, to stop the Serpent before his shadow falls on the World Tree.[31] Captain America and the Avengers bring an unconscious Thor to Broxton so that Odin can heal Thor. As he tends to his son, Odin confesses that he has always tried to prevent Thor's prophesied death by the Serpent, not to prevent Ragnarok, but because he loves his son and does not want to see him perish.[volume & issue needed] Odin prepares Thor by giving him the armor and helmet that he himself wore the last time he cast out the Serpent and gives Thor the Odinsword, named Ragnarok (which was forged to end all things).[32] While Thor kills the Serpent at the cost of his own life, Odin frees those affected by the Hammers of the Worthy, and returns to Asgard with the corpse of the Serpent sealing off Asgard from Hermod and a number of other Asgardians left on Earth.[33]
In the "Original Sin" storyline, it is revealed to Thor thatAngela is the daughter of Odin and Frigga; "killed" as an infant during Asgard's war with the Angels of the Tenth Realm, whereupon Odin severed the tenth realm from the other nine as "punishment".[34] Odin was later freed from his self-exile by Loki as he is set to return to Asgard.[35] The fight between Thor and Angela is interrupted when Odin recognizes Angela as his daughter and reveals Angela's true history, wherein an Angel raised her as one of the Angels under the name of Angela. Due to her services for the Angels, the Queen pardoned Angela her life, but exiled her from Heaven for her lineage. After leaving Heaven, Odin tells Thor, Loki, and Angela that he still loves his children.[36]
Angered that someone else is wieldingMjolnir, Odin sends theDestroyer after the newfemale Thor, appointing Cul Borson as his new 'Minister of Justice' to enforce his new decrees and operate the Destroyer, but Odinson and Freyja assemble an army of female superheroes to aid her,[37] forcing Odin to stand down.[38]
InSecret Wars, Odin dreams of the end of all existence in an event greater than Ragnarok. He additionally battles King Loki, an evil alternate timeline variant of Loki who threatens to destroy Asgard.[39]
InAll-New, All-Different Marvel, Odin has become a tyrant ruling Asgard with an iron fist ever since Thor's disappearance. He makes use of the Thunder Guard and the Destroyer Armor to protect his kingdom and even went so far as to imprison Frigga and anyone who gets in his way. His reason for imprisoning Frigga is because she assisted the female Thor against the Destroyer.[40] Odin fought the female Thor when she interrupted Frigga's trial.[41] After the battle is halted when Loki used a poisoned dagger on Frigga, Odin took Frigga's body to his Odinsleep chamber where he placed some of his powers into her.[42]
InGenerations, Odin reminisces with thePhoenix Force about their previous love affair.[43] He is revealed to have been part of a past incarnation of the Avengers in 1,000,000 BC alongsideAgamotto,Black Panther,Ghost Rider,Iron Fist, Phoenix, andStar Brand.[44]
During the "Death of Thor" arc, Odin faces the return of Mangog and is unable to defeat it.[45] Jane Foster sacrifices herself to stop Mangog before Odin and Thor resurrect her.[46][47]
InThe War of the Realms,Malekith attempts to kill Odin. However, he survives and appoints Thor as his successor.[48] InThor (vol. 6), Odin sacrifices himself to give Thor his power and help him defeat Mangog.[49]
As King of the Norse Gods, Odin possesses vast strength, stamina and durability far greater than that of a normal Asgardian, along with resistance to all Earthly diseases and toxins, incredible resistance to magic and, as a courtesy of the Golden Apples ofIdunn, a greatly extended lifespan. Odin has all the abilities of his son Thor, but to a much greater degree. Odin is capable of manipulating the Odinforce—a powerful source of energy—for a number of purposes, including energy projection; creation ofillusions andforce fields;levitation; molecular manipulation, communicating telepathically with other Asgardians even if they are on Earth and he is in Asgard,[50] hypnotizing humans;[10] channelling lightning to Earth from Asgard,[50] controlling the lifeforces of all Asgardians, andteleportation. The character has also used the Odinforce for greater feats such as transporting the entire human race to an alternate dimension;[10] stopping time;[10] pulling the remains of distant planets down from outer space to crush his foes,[2] compressing the population of an entire planet into a single being, theMangog and then recreating the race[51] and taking a soul away from the arch-demonMephisto.[52] The Odinforce makes Odin capable of destroying entire galaxies,[53][54] allowing him to engage entities such asGalactus on their own terms.[55] In some stories, Odin has been portrayed at a universal or even multiversal scale of power.[56][57][58]
In battles against opponents of similar power, Odin carries the magical spearGungnir ("The Spear of Heaven"), an artifact made of the metaluru, that can be used to channel the Odinforce. Even without the Odinforce it can still match Thor's hammer in battle. Once a year, during the Asgardian winter, Odin must undertake the Odinsleep for 24 hours to regenerate (and is closely guarded as he is vulnerable during this period), although he can be weakened by potent spells, such as those ofKarnilla.[59]
Odin is also a master tactician and schemer, and has prevented Ragnarok,[60] and planned for centuries for the coming of theCelestial Fourth Host.[61][62] The character also on occasion uses the eight-legged steedSleipnir and the enchanted shipSkipbladnir, which can navigate the "sea of space" and shrink to the size of a toy.
InSpider-Punk's universe, Odin is the source ofEric Masters' powers.[64]
An alternate universe variant of Odin from Earth-1610 appears in theUltimate Marvel universe. This version is the embodiment of Asgard and the source of power for Mjolnir and the Norn Stones. He is killed by the Children of Tomorrow, but returns to assistThor as a spirit.[65][66][67][68]
In theUltimate Universe imprint, Odin is dead. His head is on a stave byLoki's throne, and his two Ravens have become Loki's property.[69]
Odin appears in media set in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), portrayed byAnthony Hopkins.[73] He first appears in the live-action filmThor before making further appearances in the live-action filmsThor: The Dark World andThor: Ragnarok.[74][75] Additionally, alternate timeline variants of Odin appear in theDisney+ animated seriesWhat If...?, voiced byJeff Bergman.[70]
Odin appears inThor & Loki: Blood Brothers, voiced by Joe Teiger.[70]
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