Odin

Origin

Odin Borson

Odin is the son of Bor, the first Asgardian, and the frost giantess Bestella. Bor and Bestella also had two other sons known as Vili and Ve. These were Odin's older brothers. Odin and his two brothers had many adventures in their youth, and as young adults they encountered and banished from Asgard the evil fire-demon who ruled Muspelheim called Surtur. After Surtur was defeated, Bor abdicated his throne to Odin, making Odin the new ruler of Asgard. Odin fell in love with the Elder Goddess Gaea and, through her, fathered his first-born and mightiest son; Thor. Thor grew to become a mighty warrior and defeated countless trolls, giants and extra-dimensional beings, enemies of Asgard all, but in doing so became quite arrogant and conceited. Odin, displeased with Thor's distinct lack of humility, exiled Thor from Asgard while making him appear mortal and depowered. Odin also removed the memories of the old Thor and hoped Thor would change.

Character Creation

Inspired by the deity of the same name from Norse mythology, Odin was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

Character Evolution

Infinity

Odin summons Thor from Latveria to reveal a startling revelation. There is a power approaching their universe from ”The Beyond” and this power is supposedly equal to or greater than that of the Odinforce. He reveals an enormous black hand that is casually destroying planets and tearing at the very fabric of the universe. If not stopped in due time, this force will eventually destroy the entire universe. Further more the Odinsword begins unsheathing on its own each day and harbours the death of the universe. The only clue as to who is threatening them, is the word infinity which continues echoing through Odin’s mind.

Thor is left with the task of defending Asgard from oncoming threats as Odin leaves Asgard for the world beyond, where he will face the unseen terror. When Loki later attacks Asgard with the giants, Odin once more appears in a cloud of smoke and is seen struggling with an unseen force. This prompts Thor to leave for the world Beyond and face Infinity himself. In the world beyond Odin is still battling the hidden foe and eventually sees his enemy’s face before succumbing and being possessed.

After witnessing Odin’s loss of free will and seeking out Hel, Thor travels back to Asgard and reveals the truth about Infinity. During the last Odinsleep Hel attempted to kill Odin with a spell, instead the spell set loose a part of Odin’s soul and created an equal power which she could control. The Asgardians gather and are able to strike a blow which combines magical and physical forces to free him from the mind-control. After a long and grueling battle Odin is eventually victorious and saves the universe.

Odin's Death

Odin, animating the Destroyer, is humbled by the Celestials.

Odin is once killed by Mangog and is resurrected by the Death goddess Hela. Odin is also killed by the Celestials when the Celestials turned his Destroyer Armor to molten slag. The Destroyer Armor was animated at the time by Odin's life-force and the sum total life-energies of all the other Asgardians except Thor. Thor was not one of the Asgardians animating the Destroyer because since he had been exiled from Asgard. After Odin was defeated by the Celestials, the Celestials rendered their judgement of mankind (judging favorably) and then left Earth. Thor learned that there was a chance that Odin and the rest of the Asgardians could still be revived if he could collect a small portion of each of all the other godly pantheons of Earth. Thor gathered the required magical energy of the other gods/pantheons and resurrected Odin, who in turn used the Odin-Force to resurrect the rest of the Asgardians.

Odin wages a huge war with the evil but powerful demon Surtur. Surtur fatally wounds Odin and is about to die. Odin's tremendous powers began to drift away from Odin to his son Thor. Thor inherited Odin's full power and ruled over Asgard and, later, Earth, although this later part of Thor's lordship has been erased due to time travel. Upon his return to the past the Odin-Force (revealed to be sentient) leaves Thor and he is forced to continue without it. Loki set's Ragnarok in motion, and after the loss of his hammer Thor feels almost powerless to stop it. After conferring with the Odin-Power Thor follows in the footsteps of his father, going through rituals to earn the rights to his power, and power of his own. This brought him even closer to his father, and helped him to understand his father's plans for him. Odin's spirit was called on by Thor to protect him from Hela, and he brought his son back from the realm of the Dead. Thor then went on to use the Odin-Power and his new found Rune Magic to destroy the Loom of fate and allow their people a final Ragnarok. The event of Ragnarok was thought to mark the end of Odin.

After using his powers to restore the people of Asgard after Ragnarok, Thor was forced to partake of the Odin-Sleep. While in the realm between life and death he found his father in combat with Surtur. He fights a continuous battle to keep Surtur from escaping and again threatening Asgard and Midgard. When Thor expresses his joy at seeing him, and apologizes for not resurrecting him, Odin relates the story of how he came to be King to his son. Odin goes on to explain that while men need only step out of their father's shadow, God's truly need their father's to die before they can surpass them. He expresses his pride that Thor is willing to revive him, but declines to continue keeping Surtur at bay.

Return

The Return of Odin

During the Siege storyline, Norman Osborn sends the Thunderbolts to steal Odin's spear from the Asgardian weaponry. Loki calls on Odin to return the Norn Stones to him so he can empower the heroes to defeat the Void. Odin returns from the dead when it comes to Asgard being invaded by the World-Eaters after Thor is forced to break his final resting casket in order to do so. Odin's return angers him greatly, as well as Thor rescuing Loki, who was de-aged after his "death" at the hands of the Void during the Siege. Saying that Thor had it all, free of his brother tricks and free to reign with his brother, Balder but he gave it all up because of the World-Eaters because he was "afraid" to do it himself.

Enemies

After Odin had slain the evil giant Laufey, he found Laufey's young son. As a matter of honor, he adopted the giant-child and names him Loki. Despite this father-son relationship, Odin and Loki eventually became enemies when Loki grew up and learned the facts of his origin. Since that time, Loki has often argued with, opposed, deceived and plotted against his adopted father, his step-brother Thor and Asgard in general.

Odin battles Surtur with help from Thor.

Odin has often helped both Asgard and Earth on several occasions. These include stopping Loki, the Storm, Surtur and several other villains who attempted to destroy Earth many different times by numerous means.

Odin has also rescued Asgard. His most notable victory is that he saved Asgard from being absorbed by the Absorbing Man. At that time, Loki wanted the Asgard throne and teamed up with the newly recreated Absorbing Man. The Absorbing Man defeats all of the Asgardian guards and makes his way to Odin's throne room. Odin uses his magical powers to defeat the Absorbing Man but instead the magical energy had been absorbed into the Absorbing Man. The Absorbing Man then touches Asgardian matter and begins to absorb the entire city. Eventually Loki and the Absorbing Man tries to take Odin's political powers by getting the Rod of Rulership. However, Odin has tricked them into arguing with each other and both of them grab the Rod of Rulership and finds out that Odin had placed a binding spell on the Rod of Rulership. The two villains couldn't separate themselves from the Rod of Rulership. Odin tells them that his political powers and magical powers were from within and not from the Rod of Rulership. Odin then uses a powerful magical spell and exiles both villains into space for a period of time.

Odin tries to save Asgard by sacrificing his right eye to Mimir in order to save Asgard from the fate of Ragnarok. However, Odin fails to prevent Ragnarok from happening and later learns that Thor is one of the major beings who caused the fall of Asgard.

Powers and Abilities

The All-Father sits upon the Throne of Asgard

Though not omnipotent, Odin is a vastly powerful being who has lived thousands of years and reaped the benefits in knowledge and power. He wields a unique ability known as the Odin force which can be used for innumerable purposes in countless forms of application such as temporary augmentation of physical attributes, inter-dimensional teleportation, energy and matter manipulation. He has always been apt at manipulating time, being able to freeze and move Asgard into other dimension. In the earlier "Journey into Mystery" time would freeze automatically whenever Odin appeared on Earth. In a recent encounter, Odin has shown he is powerful enough to hold his own in a contest with Galactus.

The Odin force also allows him to perform all sorts of magical feats not necessarily tied to direct energy attacks, such as the creation of magical equipment and more menial spells. Mjolnir, the Hammer of Thor, was not only created by Odin, but he was also the one who placed the worthiness enchantment on it. An enchantment which remains even after he has passed away, as seen in both volume 1, 2 and 3. He was capable of various magical feats such as removing Thor's mouth and turning Loki into a tree.

Physical Characteristics

Height: 6'9"

Weight: 650 lbs.

Eyes: Blue

Hair: White

Weapons

Over his eons of existence Odin has wielded many weapons in battle, from simple swords to bo staffs. His vast power usually makes it unnecessary for him to resort to common fisticuffs, but he does have two special weapons that he will utilize under the most dire circumstances. His enchanted spear Gungnir, and his powerful mace Thrudstok. At times he will also don a mystical sword, as he did in latest battle with Surtur. In addition to weapons, he has a chest filled with magical trinkets and amulets for various purposes. Among these there is an amulet of suns which is capable of directly countering the cask of never ending winters.

Other Media

Film

Odin - played by Anthony Hopkins - as he appears in the "Thor" live action film

Odin appears in the 2011 live action film, Thor. He is played by Anthony Hopkins. Odin is king of Asgard and a loving father to Thor and Loki. When Thor's actions lead to the start of a war between Asgard and Jotunheim (the home of the Frost Giants), Odin strips Thor of his powers and banishes him to Midgard (Earth)for his arrogance. He is obviously torn between his duty to uphold the rule of Asgard and his love for his son, Thor.

Video Games

• Odin appears in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance as a Non playable character
• In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, when talking to Thor. He mentioned that Loki and Doom are still being Punished by Odin