Warning! Spoilers ahead for Thor #13

In the latest issue of Marvel Comics' Thorthe former All-Father Odin has come back to Asgard, and his surprise return to the Marvel Universe points out an interesting difference between the comics and the stories told in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Using Odin as the perfect example, both the comics and film version have each left their duties and power as the All-Father and King of Asgard behind, though what happened to them next was respectively quite different and seems to be the result of the types of stories each medium prefers to tell.

In the MCU, Odin had been sent to Earth by Loki with little memories of who he was in order for the God of Mischief to assume the throne disguised as Odin himself. However, once Thor learned of the treachery, the two brothers traveled to Earth in search of their father. Upon finding him, they discovered that Odin had broken through Loki's illusions, though he revealed that he was losing his power. He soon faded away into cosmic dust, and Thor would later assume the throne as King of Asgard, effectively ending Odin's time in the MCU.

Related: Thor & Loki Are Joining Forces To Summon Asgard’s Doom

This is in direct contrast to the comics when Odin chose to give up his throne so his son Thor could assume the mantle as king after Marvel's War of the Realms. Rather than simply fading away or dying, Odin and his wife went out into the universe, though Odin's stubbornness led to a very unhappy retirement. It eventually broke his marriage to Freyja, as revealed in Thor #13 from Donny Cates and Nic Klein. Subsequently, this prompted Odin to simply waste his days away in a bar drinking, until Jane Foster's Valkyrie came calling to snap the former All-Father out of his stupor so he could help his son with Donald Blake, a dangerous mistake of Odin's own making.

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While the MCU path for Odin after giving up the throne is one that's much more definite, his comic's path sees Odin entering a whole new realm of possibilities for his character to go, potentially with all-new dynamics to have with Thor due to his completely altered and lesser position in the Marvel Universe. While resurrections and character reboots are the bread and butter of the comics, the MCU doesn't do them nearly as much or on the same level as its source material, and this seems to come from a position of preference. By providing solid conclusions in their films, especially with their characters, the MCU is able to create more complete stories, whereas the comics are all about providing stories that are continuous and never-ending character studies.

Neither method is better or worse than the other, and each seems to fit well given the medium they respectively exist in. All things considered, it's rather interesting to observe such similar events for the same fictitious character such as Odin and his deviating journeys across media platforms. In any case, here's hoping Odin's future in the comics will see him helping Thor in his fight against his evil alter-ego in future issues from Marvel Comics.

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