How Odin Lost His Eye

4. The Fight That Cost Odin His Eye

Odin Anthony Hopkins
Marvel Studios

Opting to step away from some of the more traditional elements of Norse mythology, the MCU's interpretation of Odin sought to give a different reason for Odin only having one eye.

Rather than the long-established Norse rationale of Odin sacrificing his eye at Mirmir's Well in exchange for 'true wisdom', the 2011 Thor movie revealed Odin's backstory during its first act.

There, audiences saw how this version of Odin had lost his right eye in battle. That particular battle took place in Tønsberg, Norway back in 965 AD, and was part of Asgard's ongoing war against Laufey and the Frost Giants of Jotunheim - with King Odin standing up to stop Laufey from capturing the Nine Realms.

Odin and his Asgardian army would obviously win that battle and the larger war, but Odin lost his right eye in the process. In addition to that loss though, Odin actually gained a son during that battle. That son being Laufey's offspring Loki, who had been left alone to perish.

While the MCU Odin - like the majority of other versions of Odin - was left with just one eye, another iteration of Odin so nearly lost both of his eyes...

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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 day job, 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/Saints, Jamie Hayter, 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. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.