How Odin Lost His Eye

5. The Journey Of The MCU's Odin

Odin Anthony Hopkins
Marvel Studios

The Marvel Cinematic Universe's spin on Odin was famously played by Sir Anthony Hopkins, with Hopkins' King of Asgard appearing in three MCU offerings that ultimately culminated in his death in 2017's Thor: Ragnarok.

A strong but fair king, this depiction of Odin had him as the long-time ruler of Asgard. A warrior who was trying his best to prepare his throne for his natural successor, Hopkins' Odin was a man who put ruthlessness above sentiment - as shown by his treatment of Chris Hemsworth's Thor in that first film.

Remember, the whole reason why the God of Thunder ended up on Earth in the first place is due to being banished by Odin for his arrogance. After Thor had soured the truce and peace between Asgardians and the Frost Giants, his father decided that the only suitable punishment for this behaviour was to banish Thor to Earth to prove that he truly was worthy to replace Odin as the leader of Asgard.

As Odin himself put it in that original 2011 movie, "I have sacrificed much to achieve peace. So, too, must a new generation sacrifice to maintain that peace."

Speaking of sacrifice and Frost Giants, that nicely dovetails into...

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.