All-Father Thor has learned more than ever about his predecessors’ secrets. He may have even stumbled on a hidden connection between Odin & Loki.
Warning: SPOILERs for Thor #31Eagle-eyed readers of Thor have noticed a clue that may be key in unraveling the true origins of Odin‘s relationship with Loki. While Loki has long been aware of his Frost Giant heritage by this point, an air of mystery surrounds the God of Story’s exact parentage as well as any connections that may have to Asgard. A common theory suggests that Odin secretly cuckolded Laufey by sleeping with the Frost Giant queen, making Odin Loki’s biological as well as adoptive father. Now though, a new possibility has been introduced: Odin may actually be the father of Laufey and by extension the biological grandfather of Loki.
Thor finds himself face to face with the ancient Valravn in Thor #31 from Torunn Grønbekk, Donny Cates, Nic Klein, and Matt Wilson. Massive raven creatures from an archaic time in Asgard’s history, the two Valravn are telling rhymes in concert with one another when All-Father Thor and Valkyrie Jane Foster arrive. Though Thor and Jane resolve to ignore them, the birds’ final verse is interrupted by an enraged Mjolnir. The spirit of Odin still inhabits the mighty Mjolnir hammer, and the old ghost immediately attacks the Valravn, cutting short this rhyme: “there once was a god with one eye–whose desire led him awry. He bedded a giant–.” The poem as well as Odin’s response clearly imply that the former All-Father hooked up with a giant. While this act may have led to Loki’s birth, other evidence suggests this is the story of Laufey’s conception instead.
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Thor May Have Just Discovered That Odin is Loki’s Grandfather, Explained
Poetic sleuths aiming to decode any extra clues about the missing lines’ content are likely to be left disappointed. From the rhyming scheme of the two quintains that precede the one about Odin, it can be reasonably assumed that “He bedded a giant,” is the first half of a couplet, and the next line ends rhyming with ‘giant.’ Further, it’s more likely than not that the final line rhymes with ‘eye’ and ‘awry.’ While interesting to muse over, it’s not enough information to reconstruct the final portion of the poem with any real certainty. However, a useful piece to this puzzle to be considered is the age of these so-called poets.
The Valravn are mythic beasts originating from “before nature was properly established.” This makes the ravens much older than Thor, perhaps even predating Odin himself. Odin’s sexual promiscuity is quite literally a thing of legend, but for the Valravn to have firsthand knowledge of this encounter despite being isolated on the outskirts of Hel for millennia suggests that the story behind the poem occurred long before the birth of Loki. So perhaps Odin’s intimacy with a giant led to a child being born a generation prior, and his rage stems from the embarrassment of playing a part in the birth of one of his mightiest rivals, Laufey, former king of the Frost Giants.
Of course, this is still a far cry from on-panel confirmation on how exactly Loki’s family branches out and where Laufey and Odin fall into it. However, this is the first development on this mysterious part of Marvel’s mythological dramas fans have seen in years. At the very least, it is a confirmation that Odin is none too keen on others knowing about a previous sexual encounter between him and a giant. Frost Giants are still the most common type of giants to appear in a Thor story, and perhaps Laufey was such a mighty king because he had both giant and god blood running through his veins. It remains to be seen, but this is the best proof yet that Odin may actually be Loki‘s biological grandfather.
Thor #31 is available now from Marvel Comics
