Who Odin is
Odin is a king first and a father second, and that order causes most of his problems. He rules Asgard from a golden throne, wears an eye patch from wars long past and speaks in a voice that ends arguments. When we meet him in Thor, he is about to hand the crown to his eldest son. Then Thor starts a fight with the Frost Giants, and Odin strips him of his powers and sends him to Earth to learn humility.
He is not cruel, but he is stubborn, proud and slow to explain himself. Many of the family's conflicts come from things he never told his sons.
Odin's three films in order
- Thor (2011, film, recommended)
- Thor: The Dark World (2013, film, recommended)
- Thor: Ragnarok (2017, film, essential)
He has no series appearances on our list, and he does not appear in the Avengers films.
The turning points, spoiler-light
In the first Thor, Odin's discipline backfires twice. Banishing Thor works out in the end, but the truth about Loki's birth, which Odin has kept hidden for years, sends his younger son spinning. The stress pushes Odin into the Odinsleep, a deep rest he needs to recover his strength, at exactly the wrong time.
The Dark World puts him at his most rigid. Facing the Dark Elves and a terrible loss in his own family, he chooses war plans over his son's advice, and Thor has to go around him. Keep an eye on the final scene of the film; it quietly changes what you think you saw.
Ragnarok gives him his farewell. Thor and Loki find their father somewhere very far from Asgard, and he finally tells them a secret about the family that he should have shared long ago. It is a gentle, sad scene in an otherwise wild comedy, and it sets up the whole film.
His family and court
Odin's story is really about Thor and Loki, the son he raised and the son he took in. His wife, Frigga, is the one who softens his decisions and keeps the family together. Heimdall, the guardian of the Bifrost, serves him loyally even when he disagrees. Volstagg and the Warriors Three fight for him, and his first meeting with Jane Foster in The Dark World is cool at best: he makes it very clear that he does not think a mortal belongs in Asgard.
Anthony Hopkins as the All-Father
Hopkins brings the weight that a king of gods needs. He can make a short speech in the throne room feel like a thousand years of history, and in Ragnarok he shows a softer, more tired side that gives Odin's last scene its power. Outside the MCU he is famous for Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, the reserved butler in The Remains of the Day and Dr. Robert Ford in the series Westworld.
How to watch Odin's story
Watch the three Thor films in order. The first two are recommended rather than essential, but they explain why the family is so broken when Ragnarok begins. The Avengers sits between Thor and The Dark World, and it helps you follow what Loki has done in the meantime. Ragnarok is the one you should not miss, both for Odin's farewell and because it leads directly into Avengers: Infinity War. For the full sequence, see our list of all Marvel movies in order.