History
Odin is a member of the Asgardian race, known to the people of Northern Europe as their Norse Gods, and is the ruler of Asgard.
The Last Great Battle[]
In the year 965 AD, in the town of Tonsberg, Norway, Odin he led a force of Asgardians warriors against the Jotuns in defense of people on Earth. The Asgardians beat the Jotuns back to their home realm of Jotunheim where Odin personally defeated the Jotun King Laufey while suffering the loss of his right eye. Afterwards, Odin granted the Jotuns mercy and offered them a truce between the two races. In the process, he also confiscated the Casket of Ancient Winters that gave them much of their power and rescued a baby Jotun who had been abandoned in the conflict. The infant Loki grew up as a brother to Odin's real son Thor, and Odin kept the boy's heritage a secret in the hope that he would one day come to end the enmity between the two races.
Modern Day[]
Centuries later, Odin held a ceremony to name Thor as his heir and the new King of Asgard, but the event was interrupted by several Jotuns breaking into Odin's Vault. He activated the Destroyer in defense of the vault, thus ending the threat of the Jotuns reclaiming their artifact, but opted not to press the matter any further. Thor insisted that he launch an attack on Jotunheim, but Odin rejected the idea, preferring instead to preserve the shaky truce. Thor then defied his father's will and launched a small-scale attack of his own. Upon learning of Thor's defiance, Odin went to Jotunheim himself and drew his sons and their friends back to Asgard. Thor had foolishly reignited the war with the Jotuns, and for his transgression Odin banished him to Earth. He also enchanted Mjolnir so that the hammer could only be wielded by someone worthy of its power and cast it not far from Thor's location.
Loki had discovered the truth of his long-concealed ancestry during the fight on Jotunheim and confronted Odin with the discovery. Odin could only relate an historical account of how he had found and rescued Loki before lapsing into his restorative "Odinsleep". Loki manipulated the others around him as Odin slept, even going so far as to arrange Odin's assassination at the hands of the Jotuns.
Odin finally awoke after Thor had secured a return to Asgard with an act of self-sacrifice and had defeated Loki. He raced to witness Thor grabbing hold of Gungnir as Loki fell into an endless void and in turn grabbed Thor to prevent both his sons from falling. Loki, dangling from the spear, looked up and appealed to Odin that he did what he did for the good of Asgard. Odin quietly rejected this, and then watched with sadness when Loki released the spear and fell.
Some time later, Odin was approached by a sullen Thor. They both had suffered losses, and Thor had come to make an admission that he'd been wrong and hoped that one day he'd make his father proud. Odin, understanding the personal sacrifices that Thor had made for the good of three races, told Thor that he had made him proud.[1]
The Avengers and The Dark World[]
Because of the damage done to the Bifrost, Odin summoned a great amount of dark energy to transport Thor to Earth to retrieve the Tesseract and bring Loki back to Asgard to face Asgardian justice for his crimes. With the Tesseract back in Asgard to power the rebuilt Bifrost Bridge, Thor went to restore order to the Nine Realms, while Odin presided judgement over Loki. It was only through Frigga's intervention that Loki was spared execution and condemned to life in prison.
After Thor had restored order to the Nine Realms, Odin guessed that his son was thinking of Jane Foster, a human woman he fell in love with during his exile and attempted to persuade him to let go of her, believing that mortal lives are finite. But Thor later defied him, bringing Jane to Asgard, claiming she was ill. Odin assumed that she was afflicted by an earthly ailment and was about to return her to Earth, when he discovered she was a host to the Aether, an ancient weapon of the extinct Dark Elves. After explaining the Aether's nature to Thor and Jane, he confessed he knew not how to extract it.
Sometime later, Asgard came under attack by the Dark Elves, led by Malekith, in search of the Aether. The attack was driven off, but not without heavy casualties, Frigga among them. Driven by grief, Odin irrationally dared the Dark Elves to return, his demeanor unsettling Thor, who plotted to free Jane and Loki and escape to Svartalfheim to destroy the Aether. As part of the plan, Odin was drawn away from the palace by Heimdall, who confessed to treason as he offered up his sword. Realizing Thor's intent, Odin attempted to stop him but his son had already escaped. He then sent a scout to the Dark World, but Loki came back in his place and secretly usurped him.[2]
Ragnarok[]
Placing a spell on his father, Loki left Odin in a nursing home that would eventually be demolished. Odin eventually broke free from Loki's spell and was contacted by Doctor Strange, however, Odin decided to remain in exile on Norway instead of returning to Asgard.
When Thor and Loki finally found their father, Odin was at the end of his long life. Revealing that his time had come, Odin revealed the existence of Hela, his true first born and Goddess of Death, who he had imprisoned after failing to stop her violent appetites, with only his life preventing her escape. After telling his sons that he loves them both, Odin finally died, releasing Hela from her banishment.[3]Attributes
Powers
Asgardian Physiology:: The nature Odin powers are unknown, but it is heavily implied that he is by far the most powerful Asgardian, and possesses all the conventional attributes of his race, such as strength, speed, stamina and reflexes. He also has an additional trait to enter a hibernation state, commonly referred to as the "Odinsleep." This deep slumber allows him to replenish himself, and it is said that even while in this state he can still see and hear the events of the world around him.
- Superhuman Strength: In spite of his advanced age, Odin possesses superhuman strength surpassing that of most Asgardians. He was able to lift an Frost Giant over with his spear and threw him a good distance. He was able to catch Thor by his leg while Thor was using the spear to hold on to Loki, essentially hold them both.
- Superhuman Speed: Odin as an Asgardian can move faster than even the finest human athlete regardless of his great size, building and body density, appearing to be faster than Thor.
- Superhuman Durability: Odin's body is considerably more resistant to physical injury than the body of a human being, or even most other Asgardians for that matter (with the exceptions of Thor, Loki and Heimdall). Odin's body is capable of withstanding great impact forces, exposure to temperature and pressure extremes, falls from great heights, and powerful energy blasts from cosmic level beings without sustaining injury, however, though to what extent is unknown.
- Superhuman Longevity: Odin, like all Asgardians, is extremely long-lived but not immortal, but as he stated himself that he has "defended Asgard and all the innocent lives of the Nine Realms since the time of the Great Beginning"(meaning since Asgard was build, but not before the universe). Nonetheless, Odin still ages at a pace much slower than human beings. He is also immune to all known Earthly diseases and infections.
- Odinforce: Odin is capable of manipulating vast amounts of Asgardian energy, referred to as the Odin Power, or the Odin Force, for a number of purposes. With this power, Odin is capable of feats such as the ability to sense danger from across even dimensions (as he was about to crown Thor king, he notices that Frost Giants were in his trophy room), projecting force blasts (mainly through either Gungnir or Mjolnir; it is unknown if he is physically capable of doing so without any of these items and even so, with his spear, he was able to destroy hordes of Frost Giants), and more. Odin is highly skilled in the use of his powers during combat situations, and was able to casually take down and kill Frost Giants with ease during the war. Odin is also capable of placing multiple permanent changes on physical items, as he did for Mjolnir when he exiled Thor to Earth.
Abilities
Master Combatant: Odin is a master hand to hand combatant and close quarter combat. He is skilled at wielding his weapon Gungnir, which can emit powerful energy blasts and blinding light, in addition to granting its wielder full control over the Destroyer.
Master Tactician: His thousands of years of experience resulted in him becoming a master tactician. He has led the Armies of Asgard in battle for countless years in wars over all the Nine Realms.
Leadership: Odin is the ruler of Asgard. As such, he is wise and honorable. He is dedicated using his power to keeping the peace between the Nine Realms. He believes in being responsible (in terms of being careful and responsible for your actions), duty (in terms of to the protection and keeping of peace between the Nine Realms) and honor (always being an man of your word). However, when angered or upset, he can be very stern to the point of ruthlessness when necessary. As Frigga stated, "everything he does, he does with an purpose." He loves Thor but when Thor went Jothunheim and caused problems, he exiled Thor to Earth, to teach what it means to a good warrior and hero.
- Allspeak: Thanks to the Allspeak he can communicate in all of the languages of the Nine Realms, Earth's dialects, and various alien languages.
Weaknesses
Paraphernalia
Equipment
Notes
- Anthony Hopkins portrays Odin in Thor, Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok.
- Sam Neill makes a cameo in Thor: Ragnarok as an Asgardian stage actor portraying Odin.
- Tom Kane provides Odin's voice for the video game Thor: God of Thunder.
See Also
- 10 appearance(s) of Odin Borson (Earth-199999)
- 5 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Odin Borson (Earth-199999)
- 5 minor appearance(s) of Odin Borson (Earth-199999)
- 15 mention(s) of Odin Borson (Earth-199999)
- 38 image(s) of Odin Borson (Earth-199999)
- 1 quotation(s) by or about Odin Borson (Earth-199999)
- 4 item(s) used/owned by Odin Borson (Earth-199999)
Links and References
- Odin Borson (Earth-199999) on the