Odin (comics)
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In Norse mythology, Odin is the ruler of the gods of Asgard. Marvel Comics has taken some liberties with Odin that aren't found within the realm of Norse mythology itself. Marvel's version of Odin, depicted most frequently in the pages of Thor and occasionally in Hercules, depicts him as an extradimensional being worshipped on Earth, alongside the other "gods" of Asgard, many centuries ago. In the Marvel Universe, much of the public at large is aware of the Asgardians' existence, thanks to Thor's membership in The Avengers, but do not believe that they are the actual gods who were worshipped by the Scandinavian people.
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[edit] Character history
[edit] Origin
Odin's true origin is shrouded in mystery, often delivered in short stories by only Odin. Odin is presumed to be the son of Bor (father, one of the first Asgardians) and Bestla (mother, a frost giantess). Bor and Bestla have two other sons, Vili and Ve. According to legend, Vili, Ve, and Odin journeyed into the realm of Surtur when they were younger. Vili and Ve sacrificed themselves in order to allow Odin to escape from Surtur's realm. Upon their death's, Odin's own "godly" attributes were increased as a result of his brothers' powers joining with his.
Odin is the father of Thor with Jord (actually Gaea), and the adoptive father of Loki. He is sometimes erroneously said to be Loki's biological father, although various comics reiterate the mythological position that Loki is not related to Odin or Thor by blood. Odin is ruler of the Asgardians, although he has been believed dead twice, both times in combat with Surtur; during the first instance Heimdall and later Balder ruled Asgard, and the latter time 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. Odin is currently thought to be deceased.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Odin possessed all the conventional attributes of an Asgardian "god". However, as the ruler of the Asgardians, many of these attributes were considerably greater than those possessed by the majority of his race.
Like all Asgardians, Odin was superhumanly strong and, despite his advanced age, was much stronger than the average male Asgardian. In his physical prime, Odin's strength was much greater than at the time of his death.Odin was also extremely long-lived, although not truly immortal as some other god pantheons. However, Odin still aged at a pace much slower than human beings. Odin was highly resistant to physical injury and he could not die through conventional means. It would take an injury that resulted in the dispertion of a large portion of his bodily molecules to prevent his mystical energies from healing him and cause his actual death. Odin's highly advanced musculature generated considerably less lactic acids than the muscles of humans, granting him superhuman levels of stamina in all physical activities. The tissues of Odin's body; his flesh, bone, muscle tissue, etc. possessed three times the density as the bodily tissues of a human, which contributed somewhat to his superhuman strength and weight.
Odin possesses the ability to wield vast amounts of mystical energy commonly referred to as the Odinforce. Odin can use this energy in a broad variety of ways including the projection of powerful concussive and heat beams, the temporary augmentation of his strength and stamina, erecting nearly impenetrable force fields, interdimensional teleportation, granting superhuman powers to inanimate objects or living beings, etc. Unlike some of his physical attributes, which had decreased somewhat due to his advanced age at the time of his death, Odin's ability to wield the Odinforce was as great, if not greater, than when he had been in his physical prime.
Odin was a formidable hand to hand combatant, and his thousands of years of experience resulted in him becoming a master tactician. Odin was also extremely adept at wielding his vast energy powers during combat situations.
[edit] Limitations
Although Odin often claimed to be all-powerful, he did have limitations. He could not time travel unaided. He could not create life from nothingness. With great effort, he can momentarily withhold a soul from entering the afterlife. He required his two ravens to collect information about the current state of Midgard (Earth). Despite the immensity of his powers, they proved vastly inferior, even when supplemented with the life force of all other Asgardians (other than his son Thor), to that of the Celestials. This seems to indicate Odin's power would also pale in comparison to those possessed by many of the Marvel Universes cosmic entities. Occasionally, Odin was forced to undertake the Odinsleep; a state of deep sleep where he recharged the Odinforce but left him as vulnerable as a mortal. The duration of the Odinsleep varies from time to time; sometimes it's a single night while other occasions are for more than a week. (Usually, it's one night per year.)
[edit] In other media
Thor spoke to his father in the animated movie Ultimate Avengers 2 but Odin wasn't really seen; only his voice was heard. Odin was apparently strongly against his son meddling into the affairs of Midgard, but Thor chose to still remain on the planet and ignore his father's wishes. He was voiced by Dwight Schultz.
Odin appears in the video game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance as a non-playable character, playing a large role in the game's story.
