Contains spoilers for Immortal Thor #2!As the All-Father, Odin is sidled with immense knowledge, and now the new Thor series has shown a key part of his life that readers have only ever heard about until now. With the secret knowledge of Yggdrasil now revealed, it begins to paint a picture of why stories and storytelling are among the most important forces in the Asgardian mythology and reframes several crucial tales from years past.
Immortal Thor #2 (written by Al Ewing, penciled and inked by Martin Cóccolo, colored by Matthew Wilson and lettered by VC’s Joe Sabino) reveals exactly what wisdom Odin learned millennia ago, aka the Odin-Knowledge. In flashback, readers see Odin cut out his eye before Yggdrasil. After, as his pulled into the tree by its roots, he is told by the World Tree: "Yes. This is the lesson. This is the parable. The story always changes. The meaning always remains. There is always a sacrifice. Always a cost Bor-Son. For the Winter to end. For Spring to come again."
It seems this wisdom is, at least partially, the knowledge that all stories have common elements. The exact story might change, but their shape remains the same.
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Odin's Sacrifice Grants Him Knowledge
In both Norse mythology and in Marvel’s own version, Odin takes out his own eye at the foot of Yggdrasil, the World Tree. In most retellings he also hangs himself on the tree’s branches. This sacrifice gives him some form of wisdom, secret knowledge and/or understanding of the deepest Asgardian mysteries. In Thor vol. 6 #20-23 (written by Donny Cates, penciled and inked by Nic Klein, colored by Matt Wilson and lettered by Joe Sabino), Odin dies, ing on the full power of the Odin-Force to Thor. Now, sidled with the wisdom of his father, Thor must find a way to balance ruling Asgard with his other responsibilities.
Stories are Crucial for One Asgardian in Particular
The Odin-Knowledge ties directly into the importance of stories for the Asgardians. In Loki: Agent of Asgard #13 (written by Al Ewing, penciled and inked by Lee Garbett, colored by Antinio Fabela and lettered by Clayton Cowles) Loki is remade as not the God of Lies, but the God of Stories. Al Ewing himself has been one of the primary architects of this evolution for Loki, exploring their development throughout Loki: Agent of Asgard, Defenders: Beyond and now Immortal Thor as well. This reveal of the Odin-Knowledge only ties Loki’s status quo more directly into the very fabric of the Asgardian gods.
This also adds depth to a crucial Thor story. In Thor: Disassembled (Thor vol. 2 #80-85, written by by Michael Avon Oeming and David Berman, penciled and inked by Andrea DiVito, colored by Laura Villari and lettered by Randy Gentile) Thor repeats Odin’s sacrifice, taking out both his eyes and hanging himself on Yggdrasil to gain that same wisdom. It’s this that leads him to discover that the cycle of Ragnarök is an endless blood-tithe to the parasitic Those Who Sit Above in Shadow. If the Odin-Knowledge is about the cyclical nature of conflicts, it's no wonder that Thor is able to discern that he is trapped in exactly such a tale.
Immortal Thor #2 is available now from Marvel Comics.
