Odin (Anthony Hopkins) sat on the sidelines during The Avengers, even though it was his son who nearly brought the Earth to its knees. In the 2012 Marvel movie, Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and Black Widow (Scarlet Johannsson) were brought together by SHIELD to protect the planet from an alien invasion.

After being given the Mind Stone and an army of aliens called the Chitauri, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) sent his forces to New York City, where they engaged in a hard-fought battle against Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. After overcoming a number of obstacles, the Avengers were motivated by the death of Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) to work together as a team and defeat Loki. At the end of the conflict, Loki was subdued and sent back to Asgard by Thor to receive punishment for his actions.

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The Chitauri proved to be formidable adversaries for the Avengers, despite the presence of Thor and Hulk. However, even though they were powerful indeed, such a team-up may not have been necessary if Odin and the Asgardians were around. After all, Odin is far more powerful than Thor and is considered one of Marvel’s strongest characters. However, it would seem that Odin was unable to intervene directly or send a substantive force of Asgardians to deal with the treacherous Loki. This was indicated in The Avengers when Loki said to Thor, “With Bifrost gone, how much dark energy did the All-Father have to muster to conjure you here?”

chitauri The Avengers

The Bifrost Bridge was destroyed in Thor, making travel between Asgard and Earth difficult to manage but not impossible. Despite the added challenge, Odin was still able to get Thor to Earth. The problem is that transporting him across dimensions must have used up a great deal of “dark energy”. If sending just Thor was taxing for him, it makes sense that he couldn’t send Lady Sif (Jamie Alexander) or the Warriors Three with him, much less an entire army.

If Odin could have stopped the Chitauri invasion of Earth, it’s likely that Loki wouldn’t have made the attempt in the first place, or he at least would have come with a different plan. Though the God of Mischief has a tendency to be arrogant, he’s also smart enough to understand that Odin and the Asgardians could have disposed of him and his army with relative ease. Unlike the Eternals – who may not be allowed to interfere in human affairs – the Asgardians are committed to the protection of Midgard and would have taken more action if it was possible. But, Loki apparently believed that the destruction of the Bifrost Bridge presented an opportunity for him. Fortunately, Earth didn’t have to rely on just Thor, as it had five other highly capable heroes willing to put their lives on the line for the safety of their planet.

Next: How Much Odin Knew About Thanos (Could He Have Stopped Him?)

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