Contains Spoilers for The Immortal Thor #21!Odin is one of Marvel’s premiere gods, but a new comic has just shown that Thor’s father has been holding back his real appearance this entire time. Odin’s reveal of himself isn’t just a show of strength however, but one of weakness, as he proves that he’s still fallible to some all-too-human flaws, even if he doesn’t really look like a man.

In The Immortal Thor #21 – written by Al Ewing, with art by Jan Bazaldua – Odin loses his temper with Skurge and reveals that his true form is something much more cosmic than a simple man.

This flashback shows both Odin and Skurge in Valhalla after their respective deaths, and when Skurge questions how much power Odin really has in this realm, Odin proves exactly what he can do. If this comic is to be believed, then Odin’s ‘true’ form is a cosmic version of himself, composed of stars and ‘Kirby Krackles’.

Odin Reveals His True Cosmic Form In The Marvel Universe, Redefining How Fans View The Deity

The Immortal Thor #21 – Written By Al Ewing; Art By Jan Bazaldua; Color By Matt Hollingsworth; Lettering By Joe Sabino

It's not entirely surprising that Odin is more than meets the eye. Even in classic Norse mythology, the idea of Odin as a one-eyed bearded man is usually a disguise for the deity. It’s an image he puts on deliberately to blend in among mortals when he comes to Midgard. Marvel readers are used to Odin as a man, but he’s always been more. As Odin points out to Skurge, he’s not just been reincarnated before, but literally lived within Mjolnir in the past. A simple shape change means little in comparison to that.

A big reason Odin has so many abilities is thanks to the All-Power, the knowledge of stories Thor’s own use of the All-Power has been key throughout Immortal Thor thus far, so it is actually fair for Skurge to question how powerful Odin is in Valhalla. After all, he doesn’t have the power to do anything real without the help of Skurge. Maybe Odin is exaggerating his power then, and his ‘new’ appearance is little more than something he’s putting on for show.

Odin's Role In "Immortal Thor" Highlights The Flaws In His Relationship With Thor

A Cosmic Father-Son Dynamic

This isn’t the only instance of Odin stripping away pretense in Immortal Thor #21. This same confrontation with Skurge reveals that Skurge’s mission in Immortal Thor to ‘steal’ Thor’s death didn’t come from him, but from Odin, who doesn’t want his son to die. Under all of Odin’s bluster, he’s still an overprotective parent whose paternalistic instincts show how little trust he has in Thor. In this way, the image of a sad old man is arguably truer for Odin on a symbolic level, no matter what the father of Thor really looks like.

The Immortal Thor #21 is available now from Marvel Comics