The universe of Marvel-movies is full of powerful figures who actually act only as side characters. One important character could have helped in the fight against Thanos if he hadn’t died beforehand.
Which character is it about? Already in 2011, with their 4th film, the MCU presented another world of the Marvel universe. With Thor and Asgard, gods came to the big screen. Through the first Thor film, we also got to know Odin, played by Anthony Hopkins.
Thor’s father is introduced as the strict king of Asgard. He was last seen alive in Thor: Ragnarok, and that is quite unfortunate for the Avengers because with Odin’s help, they might have been able to stop Thanos in Infinity War.
Odin was stronger than his son
What abilities does Odin have in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? As a being from Asgard, Odin inherently had stronger endurance and strength than humans from Earth. On top of that, he was an excellent tactician due to his experience and intellect.
Additionally, he was skilled in combat with weapons, especially his spear Gungnir, a powerful weapon that was also used by his father Bor. Then there are the abilities of a god:
- Odin can manipulate his own life energy, not only creating powerful projectiles, but he could also drain Thor of his powers.
- As a result, he could also imprison his daughter Hela in Hel.
- He could use dark magic.
- Furthermore, he can sense and see events happening outside of his sight in the universe.
How strong is Odin? Odin himself has rarely been seen fighting, but one can assess how strong he was through background stories. He was able to defeat and imprison his daughter Hela, one of the strongest villains in the MCU. For example, Thor could not defeat Hela on his own.
Even more impressive is the fact that to stop Surtur from Ragnarok, he was able to defeat him in battle at full power while equipped with the Eternal Flame. He took the Eternal Flame from Surtur and banished him to Muspelheim. Hela couldn’t achieve this, and Thor could only do it because Surtur was weakened.
In Thor: Ragnarok, it can be seen that Surtur could destroy all of Asgard with his power. Although these deeds of Odin happened a long time ago, he is likely still more powerful than most heroes long after the peak of his powers.
Odin could have been a great threat to Thanos
Could he have stopped Thanos? If he had truly gathered all 6 Infinity Stones, probably even Odin could not defeat him. However, in the fight in Infinity War, he would definitely have been a major problem for Thanos.
One can see how Thor injured him with Stormbreaker and Scarlet Witch was also able to hold her own against Thanos. Due to his power and experience, Odin at that time was probably stronger than most members of the Avengers, likely even stronger than the Hulk. The heroes might have been able to stop Thanos with Odin’s help.
Without Ragnarok and the escape from Asgard, Thanos would probably not have been able to easily snatch the Tesseract as he did at the beginning of Infinity War.
How did Odin ultimately die? Despite being so powerful, he was tricked by Loki and placed under a spell that made him forget everything. Loki banished his father to Earth, and Odin’s life energy, which he also used to imprison Hela, was slowly depleted.
Odin had postponed his Odin sleep for so long and could not fully regenerate his energy accordingly. In Thor: Ragnarok, Odin ultimately dies, and his spirit wanders to Valhalla. Another deceased hero could have helped: A forgotten hero from the Marvel films could have helped to defeat Thanos, but he died in an absurd way
