Warning! This article contains spoilers for Thor #24
When fans think of Iron Man and his known associations with other Marvel characters, one’s mind likely doesn’t jump to Thor’s father, Odin, as the two haven’t shared an ample amount of comic panel time together throughout their respective histories. However, in his final tribute to Odin, Iron Man honors a special connection they formed years earlier when Tony Stark and the All-Father discovered they were more alike than previously thought.
In the current landscape of Thor’s Marvel Comics continuity, his enchanted hammer, Mjolnir, recently revealed that she was actually a cosmic being known as the God of Hammers who was trapped inside Thor’s Uru weapon by Odin long ago. When she escaped her confinement, she sought vengeance upon Thor and Odin with a force of unimaginable power. Odin sacrifices himself in order to pass on the Odin Force to Thor so that he could have a chance at winning, and Thor ensures that his sacrifice was not in vain.
In Thor #24 by Donny Cates and Nic Klein, Thor and all of Asgard are holding a funeral service for Odin following his heroic sacrifice. In this issue, Thor reads aloud some of Odin’s most memorable moments in his life, and in doing so, presents readers with a highlight reel of some of his best storylines in Marvel Comics history, giving fans a chance to mourn the loss of Odin just as much as the characters. Before Odin’s best comic book moments are told, however, the Asgardians hold a procession for Odin’s body, readying it for the ceremonial Asgardian funeral. During the procession, everyone paying their respects stands solemnly stoic in the presence of their fallen All-Father, everyone except Iron Man who instead offers a solute—a gesture that references their previously established special connection.
Back in the Marvel Comics storyline Fear Itself by Matt Fraction and Stuart Immonen, The Serpent awakens from its slumber under the ocean floor and begins to spread fear across the Earth. In its wake, the Asgardians leave the planet to let the humans fend for themselves, but Iron Man refuses to let that inaction stand. As a form of sacrifice, proving himself worthy enough to call upon him, Iron Man gives up his sobriety in an effort to convince Odin to speak with him. Odin honors Stark’s sacrifice and comes to his call, though he does not agree to help them. However, later in the saga in Fear Itself #7.3: Iron Man, Odin makes it up to Stark by bringing back a number of people he wasn’t able to save during a battle in Paris, one of the deadliest in the saga. After this connection is made, Odin even opens up to Iron Man that he, too, struggles with alcoholism by way of basically being a functional alcoholic. When Odin shares this piece of information about himself with Stark, Tony seems to get something out of knowing even an all-powerful god goes through the same struggles he goes through every day of his life.
Not only did Odin and Iron Man bond over similar struggles, but Odin also gave Iron Man a much needed cathartic experience upon their first encounter. When Odin answered Iron Man’s call in Fear Itself, Tony stood up to the All-Father the way a wayward son tells off his disapproving father. Since Tony never got the chance to do so with his own father, Odin filled in as a cosmic placeholder, allowing Tony to let his raw emotions flow in the face of a cosmic embodiment of uncaring dads everywhere, an experience that ironically only made them closer. Now, upon gazing down at the once strong and powerful form of Odin laying still and lifeless before him, Iron Man offers one final solute in recognition of their special connection.
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Author: Spencer Connolly
