WARNING: Spoilers for Thor #22 & #23 ahead!

The latest adventure of Thor in Marvel Comics has seen him fighting against the God of Hammers, the manifestation of Mjolnir's God Tempest powers and the spirit of the evil Mangog. In Thor #23 by Donny Cates and Nic Klein, his father, the previous All-Father Odin, sacrifices his own life to give Thor the entirety of the Odin Force, empowering Thor to take down the God of Hammers. However, in the last page of the issue, after the God of Hammers is defeated, and Mjolnir is re-forged, the spirit of Odin speaks to Thor, hinting that as a God of Asgard, Odin can never truly die.

Odin Borson was the King of Asgard for millennia, ruling the realm with an iron fist and making many immoral decisions throughout his reign for the "greater good." Odin has been on a dark path since Thor ascended to the role of All-Father and King of Asgard, failing to win back the affections of his wife Freya and remaining in self-imposed exile from his home. In a bid to make up for some of his past mistakes, Odin helped Thor defeat Donald Blake, reconnected with Freya and his daughter Angela, and took up the fight with Thor against the God of Hammers, a battle that would lead to him sacrificing his life (at first glance).

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In Thor #22 - written by Donny Cates with art by Nic Klein and Matt Wilson - Thor and Odin are in intense battle with the God of Hammers, the merged Mjolnir and Mangog, when Odin finally realizes there is only one way to ensure Thor wins the fight and saves the universe. Tragically, Odin reveals that while he had given Thor a lot of the Odin Force when he ascended to the throne, the only true way to pass along all of the power is if Odin were to die. In a heart-wrenching scene Odin sacrifices his life to transfer the entirety of the Odin Force to Thor, and in Thor #23 the King of Asgard is able to use the Odin Force, along with his other powers, to defeat the God of Hammers, making sure that Odin's sacrifice and death was not in vain.

However at the end of Thor #23 the God of Thunder is praying over his new Heven-forged Mjolnir to his deceased Father, hoping that "somewhere" he can hear him, and shockingly, Odin responds. He says to the mourning Thor, "Keep your eyes open, boy. A king can't rule from his knees," to which a surprised Thor responds with, "...Father?" Asgardian gods like Odin and Thor are incredibly long-lived, but is has been established in Marvel Comics that they are not immortal, like the pantheon of Olympic Gods, and do indeed die. In fact, Odin has passed away before, once he was revealed to just be in his Odin Sleep, and the other time it was revealed that he was stuck in Limbo. This time feels different though, because Odin did not just sacrifice his life off panel, but the reader can see his body being destroyed and his Odin Force transferring to Thor, which is basically the essence of who Odin is. So the big question here is: Where is Odin, and how is he communicating with Thor?

Perhaps most likely is that Mjolnir now has the spirit of Odin in it, since the last Mjolnir was forged with the spirit of the God Tempest inside to give it its powers. Thor has desperately needed a guiding hand while transitioning into his role as King of Asgard, and as his relationship with Odin was very messed up at the time, he rarely was able to get guidance from him. Now that Odin and Thor's relationship is seemingly repaired by the end of Thor #23, and Odin may be an intrinsic part of Mjolnir, living on forever, Marvel Comics may finally be setting Thor up to be the King that Asgard deserves and needs.

More: Thor Surpasses Odin All-Father in the Best Way in Jaw-Dropping Cover