Odin is the King of the Nordic Gods, ruler of Asgard and Lord of Valhalla. He is the Asgardian equivalent of Zeus. Odin divides his time between Valhalla, home of his Valkyrie, and Asgard, home of the rest of the Nordic Pantheon.
History[]
Odin met Xena for the first time after she had returned from Chin and was traveling through the Norseland she rescued him from eternal torture and, in return, he made her one of his favorite Valkyries. They taught him the ancient Runes and tried to harness the great power they had. She was banished from the Valkyrie for abusing her position and forging the Ring, which turned her companion Valkyrie Grinhilda into a vile monster. A few years later, Odin received Hercules when the hero came to call after a vision of Balder's death. Like Baldur, Odin quickly became fond of Hercules and accepted him in his confidence, largely to the consternation of his other children, Thor and Loki. When Frigga worried about Baldur's fate, Odin offered to extract a promise from all known materials and in Earth/Midgard that they would never harm Baldur. When Baldur ended up being killed anyway, Odin felt dejected, resigned not only to the death of his son but to the arrival of Ragnarok.
Losing his powers, Odin asked Hercules to take him to Frigga, who had already been frozen like the ice that surrounded Asgard. Beside him, Odin succumbed to death. These events were reversed when Hercules realized that Loki was behind the Ragnarok and the hero repainted the Book of Fate.
About 25 years later, when Grindl found a way out of his prison and began massacring the villagers, Xena worked with Beowulf and his team to fix things. Odin descended from Valhalla in the hope of obtaining The Ring for himself, stating that he had abandoned love after his experience with Xena years before. Odin was finally frustrated, Grinhilda was released and the ring returned to the Rhein Maidens. A few months later, Odin was besieged by Xena, who, despite having lost his ability to kill Gods, could subdue him. Technically, Odin was incidental to Xena's true goal: she needed the Golden Apples to restore the divinity of Ares and Aphrodite and, therefore, humanity's ability to love. Odin, however, like most viewers, assumed that Xena wanted divinity for herself and therefore opposed her.
Powers and Abilities[]
Odin on XWP and HTLJ have different power sets but overall both versions do have many similar Powers and Abilities to other gods. It was revealed that these divine powers are gained by eating the Golden Apples. As the king of the Norse gods, his abilities are stronger than lesser gods. Many of them will be focused on his providence over war, wisdom, and magic which include but are not limited to the following.
- Energy Projection: A common godly ability is the power to throw or project concentrations of divine energy. This will often make destructive impacts on its target as concussive or explosive blasts. For Odin, his energy will often appear as rippling light.
- Granting Power: To protect Balder, Odin gave him special protection by increasing Balder's immunity to weapons of mortal and divine origin. Odin was also able to teach the magic of the runes to his chosen few. He would often pass knowledge of the fire runes on to his favorite Valkyrie.
- Immortality: Odin in XWP had the divine ability of immortality which grants him agelessness and immunity to death. It is possible that, unlike the Olympians, Odin can still be injured. He is shown being wounded when Xena finds him bound to a tree. He is also injured after his fight with Xena in You Are There, when she already lost her power to injure gods.
- Runic Magic: Odin is a master of the mystical runic alphabet. These runes contain powers which he can employ for various effects. It was stated that he is the only one who knows how to use some of these symbols, showing that he is likely the most skilled wielder of them. using runes is capable of doing magic. It is unclear which of his abilities are due to his godly nature and which are from his use of the runes.
- Fire: The runes that he teaches to his Valkyrie allow them to ignite fires at will and to even transform all of their bodily essence into a flame which can create an impassable barrier.
- Invisibility: Stated to be runes that only Odin knew, these could make him become completely unseen.
- Teleportation: This godly ability allows Odin to travel instantly from one place to another. Similar to his other energy based abilities, Odin will appear in an aura of rippling light.
Characterization[]
Odin's character is very different in his appearances on HTLJ and XWP. In Hercules, Odin is a worthy character who is the wise and respected elder patriarch of a volatile family. He is deeply in love with his wife Frigga and worries about what happens to mortals who worship him and his divine family. Odin here is intended as a foil for the philandering and indifferent perception of Zeus with which Hercules is familiar.
In XWP, Odin seems much younger, much more temperamental and has a habit of sleeping with his Valkyries. This is true for the character both in flashback and in the present (it occurs before and after his most worthy appearance of HTLJ).
No explanation was offered for the change in what is presumably the same character. However, there are myths for both interpretations of Odin's character.
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
Hércules: The Legendary Journey[]
Xena: The Warrior Princess[]
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||