Odin

"By Gungnir, the hallowed weapon of the All-Father, I declare that these seven heroes shall have full rights of passage through the Nine Worlds, including Valhalla. Wherever they go, they shall go in my name, serving the will of Asgard. Let no one interfere on pain of death!"

- Odin

Odin, also referred to as the All-Father, is the third chief of the Aesir tribe of Norse gods and one of the most prominent figures in Scandinavian mythology. He is the god of wisdom, poetry, war, death, divination and magic. He is the patron of rulers, wanderers, and outcasts.

History
Odin was born to an Aesir god Bor and a female jotunn, Bestla. Along with his brothers, Vil and Ve, he slew the Father of the Giants, Ymir, and from his body, created one of the Nine Worlds, the World of Humans - Midgard. Then, the brothers formed first humans - Ask and Embla - from two tree trunks, and placed them in Midgard, surrounded by a fence to protect them from the inhabitants of Utgard ("Outlands").

The Sword of Summer
Odin first appeared disguised as a half-troll named X who died trying to stop a dog fighting ring. After Magnus Chase arrived to the Hotel Valhalla,he, Halfborn Gunderson, Thomas Jefferson Jr., and Mallory Keen invite Magnus to breakfast. They explain to the son of Frey how the worlds are connected and how they came to Valhalla. They then head to battle practice where he and others are crushed by a boulder. Early the next morning he and the others cover Magnus's escape from the hotel.

He and the others are recruited by Gunilla to take Magnus back to the hotel. They try to apprehend him when he, Samirah al-Abbas, Blitzen and Hearthstone are about to cross into Yggdrasil but are stopped by Hearth.

They then appear on Lyngvi but they disobey the valkeryre caption and side with Magnus. Surt then appear and they fight. He takes out several fire giants before the island starts to disappear. They escape on a Frey Boat and arrive back at the Hotel. The eight are brought before the Thanes and X reveals that he is Odin. He says that he was at a convention learning how to improve the hotel. He awards Blizen by freeing him from Mimir's services and giving him a shop, Hearthstone by giving him private lessons on Ruin magic, Sam by giving her a position as his surving directly under him, and Magnus by offering him a choice to either go to Folkvanger or be returned to Midgard, who says that he is happy at Valhalla. He then grants all of them access to all of the nine worlds.

Appearance
Odin is described in The Sword of Summer as a barrel-chested man with massive arms. He has close-cropped gray hair, while his beard is cut square, to accentuate his hardened weathered face. His empty left eye socket is covered by a black patch, while his right eye is dark blue.

At the end of The Sword of Summer, Odin wears a short-sleeve Hotel Valhalla polo shirt, along with a massive sword hanging at his side.

Abilities
Being one of the first Aesir ever born, as well as the All-Father of Asgard, Odin is an immensely powerful god.


 * Divine Wisdom: As the God of Wisdom, Odin is by far the wisest god of all. After drinking from the Well of Mimir, and sacrificing his left eye in process, Odin's perception transcended the regular, mortal dimension of understanding. After hanging from Yggdrasil for days, Odin gained insight into the fabric of reality itself, and that later helped him discover Runes and utilize them as a form of magic.


 * Magic Mastery: To understand magic and the runes, Odin hung himself by ankle from the branch of Yggdrasil. After nine days, he gained the knowledge that allowed him to master the reality-shaping force.


 * Shapeshifting: Odin has the power to change his form, although it seems to be somewhat inferior to that of Loki. His usual travelling disguise is an old mortal wagabound in a blue cloak. During the events of The Sword of Summer, he donned a disguise of a half-troll nicknamed X.


 * Poetry: After he stole the Mead of Poetry from the Jotnar, Odin also became the God of Poetry, and gained the ability to speak and write beautifully and persuasively. It is said that he occasionally distributes it to certain gods, humans, and other beings he deems worthy.

Attributes and Attendants
Odin's main weapon, as well as his Symbol of Power, is a spear called Gungnir (Old Norse "Swaying One"). He also possesses a self-replicating arm-ring called Draupnir.

Odin has several loyal attendants, some of which include two ravens, Huginn ("Thought") and Muninn ("Memory"), two wolves - Geri ("Ravenous") and Freki ("Greedy") - and his faithful stallion, the eight-legged son of Loki, Sleipnir.

Trivia

 * Odin's name can be translated as "Rage", or "Insanity".
 * Odin gained his nickname, The All-Father, because of his status as the spiritual father to all the Aesir gods, as well as his heritage: his father was an Aesir, his mother was a Jotunn, and Odin himself is also associated with the Vanir god, Odur.
 * His Greco-Roman counterpart (in terms of supreme authority) is Zeus/Jupiter. In terms of attributes, however, Odin encompasses multiple roles shared by different Olympians (e.g. Athena/Minerva, Apollo, Ares/Mars, Hecate/Trivia and Thanatos/Letus).
 * A Roman historian and senator, Tacitus, also associated Odin with Mercury.
 * In runic alphabet, Odin is symbolized by the Ansuz rune.
 * Along with Freya, he's one of the two greatest practitioners of magic amongst the Norse gods.
 * During the events of Ragnarök, Odin is destined to be killed by the vicious Fenris Wolf.
 * Wednesday was named after him (originally, Wodensdag, Woden's Day).
 * He stood in a blizzard for six days to learn how to use a smartphone.
 * Several characters from J.R.R Tolkien's fiction were inspired by the god Odin. The appearance of the wizard Gandalf was particularly inspired by Odin's "wanderer" guise, whereas other aspects of the god directly influenced other characters such as Saruman, Sauron, Morgoth, and Manwë.
 * Music inspired by or featuring the god includes the ballets Odins Schwert (1818) and Orfa (1852) by J. H. Stunz and the opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (1848–1874) by Richard Wagner.
 * Odin, a Swedish satellite used for aeronomical observations, is named after him.
 * Many locations in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, and England are named after Odin.
 * The country Sweden derived its name from Svidur, one of the many names of Odin.
 * Santa Claus is actually a blending of Odin and the Christian legend of Saint Nicholas. In the early days, children in Northern Europe would leave their shoes, filled with carrots or other edibles, near the chimney for Odin's horse Sleipnir to eat while resting from hunting. In exchange, Odin would leave gifts or candy.