The reason for Odin’s favoritism of Thor over Loki, hides in the one-eyed god’s past and his relationship with his brother Cul, the God of Fear.
Most Marvel fans think that Odin favors Thor over Loki because the former is his natural son, while Loki is the adopted son of the giant Laufey. However, there is another, much deeper reason for Odin’s favoritism, and it hides in the one-eyed god’s past and his relationship with his brother Cul, the God of Fear.
Loki has changed role and aspect many times, but he is still mostly remembered as Thor’s antithesis, his resentful adoptive brother who grew up to hate the God of Thunder. One of the reasons for Loki’s bitterness is that Odin always favored his “real” son, Thor, during their childhood. While Thor is strong, fair, and brave, Loki is usually sulking, cowardly, and relying on cunning and magic rather than might. This makes Thor much more similar to Odin, but this is not the actual reason why the former All-Father of Asgard favored one of his sons over the other.
Loki Reminds Odin Of His Cruel Brother Cul, Which Is Why He Favors Thor
In Thor (2018) #13, Odin’s elder brother Cul, also known as the Serpent, reminisces about his childhood while he is on a dangerous mission in Svartalfheim to thwart Malekith’s invasion of the Realms. In a flashback, Bor challenges Odin to a peculiar contest. The younger brother will choose a weapon to strike the elder, and after that Cul will reciprocate with a weapon of his choice. While Odin fails to lift the giant hammer he chose, Cul strikes with his best weapon, fear, whispering cruel words to Odin and reducing him to tears. From Odin’s words in the flashback, it’s clear that Cul had a habit of tormenting him during their childhood until he finally overcame his fears and took the throne of Asgard from his brother.
Cul’s way of messing with his brother is very similar to what Loki did with Thor, and they even use similar tools. Loki has been known as the God of Lies, and he also used cruel words and tricks to torment his brother. Even challenging Thor to lift Mjolnir was Odin reliving Cul’s childhood mockery, and the ways in which it challenged him to overcome his fears. Just like Odin grew up to be a powerful (if not always just) god, so Thor has become stronger through his father’s challenges (or at least that’s what Odin thinks).
Odin’s Terrible Parenting Comes From The Abuse He Received From Cul
This is another interesting story that contributes to understanding Odin’s often twisted parenting choices. While Thor simply wanted a supportive and loving father, Odin kept testing him in cruel ways. At the same time, when Loki was growing up feeling like an outcast, Odin reinforced this by favoring Thor, because he saw his brother Cul in Loki. Through Loki and Thor’s bickering and conflicts, Odin was essentially reliving his own childhood bullying, which explains why he was such a terrible father.
