Thor: How Odin Lost His Eye In The MCU

The first Thor movie revealed how Odin lost his eye in battle. In Norse mythology and Marvel comics, Odin’s eye-patch is an iconic part of the god's look, so adapting that characteristic into the Marvel Cinematic Universe was an obvious thing to do for Marvel Studios.

As King of Asgard and father of Thor and Loki, Odin played an incredibly important role in Thor's corner of the MCU, especially during the franchise's early years. While his battling and adventuring days were behind him, he still fulfilled an important role as leader of the Asgardian people. He eventually passed the throne on to Thor, who had been raised to take Odin's place as King of Asgard from birth.

While he was a formidable foe on the battlefield, Odin wasn’t invulnerable. Beyond just his moral failings shown in Thor: Ragnarok, he didn’t always win battles cleanly, leading to how he lost his eye. This is a major change to other versions of the character, where he lost his eye seeking to be a better king, not to be the stronger warrior.

How Odin Lost His Eye in the MCU

Odin losing his eye comes early in the first Thor movie. Beginning with the Battle of Tønsberg, Odin confronts Laufey, King of the Frost Giants. Odin wins, forcing Laufey to surrender, but paid a price to get there. Odin goes into battle with both eyes and comes out with only one. He's not shown actually losing his eye in battle, but the implications couldn't be clearer. When the battle was over, Odin didn’t kill Laufey, but instead took their weapon, the Casket of Ancient Winters, helping to create a peace between the two races. Not killing Laufey may have been a mistake, as he comes back as one of the antagonists in the first Thor movie. He also adopts Laufey’s son who was left to die, raising the child, Loki, as his own.

How Odin Lost His Eye in the Comics

The comics much more closely followed the story from Norse mythology. In that story, Odin chooses to sacrifice his eye to the Well of Mimir; Mimir was Odin’s uncle, who was known for his knowledge and wisdom. By sacrificing his eye, Odin received knowledge for how to stop Ragnarok, and his eye became sentient and a character in its own right. Notably, this was a later addition to the character, as Odin was drawn for many years with both eyes.

How Thor Lost His Eye in Thor: Ragnarok

Fittingly for the new King of Asgard, Thor also loses his right eye in the events of Thor: Ragnarok. After he returns from Sakaar with Valkyrie and the Hulk, Thor confronts his sister, Hela, who’s taken over Asgard in that time. When Hela has Thor pinned down, she gouges his eye out. Thor manages to contact Odin in Valhalla and connect with his true lightning powers, which was why he now no longer needed Mjolnir to channel lightning, using that to turn the tide in battle. Of course, Rocket helped Thor replace his lost eye in Avengers: Infinity War.

While vastly different from his comics and mythological counterparts, the MCU's Odin still had a good reason for losing his eye. He lost his eye in a battle against the Frost Giants, his greatest victory despite taking that loss. It’s a fitting outcome for a warrior king such as himself.

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