Odin in the MCU seems like a decent sort of guy. After all, Asgard’s pretty much a paradise, everyone seems relatively happy and, at least up until Thor happened, there weren’t many apocalyptic visions of evil visiting town. But could Odin secretly have been hungering for the colossal power of the Infinity Stones (he does, after all, have a model of the Infinity Gauntlet in his trophy room), and if he were, what would he have done to get them?
A new fan theory over on Reddit takes a close look at his past and wonders whether one of his kindest decisions might have actually been a subterfuge for his ambitions. I’m talking about the adoption of Loki as his own son which, depending on how you look at it, hasn’t exactly resulted in smooth sailing for Asgard. But why would Odin take such a huge risk on one of the children of Asgard’s mortal enemies? Well, as we learned in Avengers: Infinity War, the Soul Stone requires a sacrifice of love to achieve it. With that in mind, could Odin have sneakily adopted a son that he’d be able to sacrifice when the time came?
It’s an interesting theory and certainly holds up with the constant theme throughout the Thor movies of Odin keeping secrets and acting in a far more Machiavellian manner than his noble public image allows for. If it were true, it’d also retroactively make Loki absolutely correct in his on again/off again rages against Asgard and its Royal family. After all, what bigger insult can there be than to be raised as a sacrificial victim?
There’s only one big thing standing in this theory’s way, and it’s a bit of a doozy. Based on what we’re told in Infinity War, getting the Soul Stone requires a genuine sacrifice of love. If Odin had merely been faking his affection for Loki, then whatever forces govern these things would have been able to sniff it out. And then, if Odin truly loves Loki in precisely the same way as his blood children, what’s the difference in sacrificing one or the other?
Still, it’s interesting to think about and as always, you can leave your thoughts on this latest theory in the comments section down below.
