What is the REAL relationship between Odin, Loki, and Thor?

[DCCoolness]

I'm confused. There are so many versions of them. What is their relationship in the comics and myth? Son of the Mask and the movie Thor portrayed Loki and Odin as father and son. One guy says they are friends.

[DigiCom]

In the myth's, Odin is Thor's father, with a Jotun named Jord.
In the comics, Thor's mother is the elder goddess named Gaea.

In the myths, Loki is the son of Farbauti (father) & Laufey (mother) and is blood brother to Odin (NOT Thor) due to some unrevealed adventure. Basically, when Odin parties, Loki parties.
In the comics, the parents were switched for some reason, and Odin ADOPTED Loki.

[DCCoolness]

In the myth's, Odin is Thor's father, with a Jotun named Jord.
In the comics, Thor's mother is the elder goddess named Gaea.

In the myths, Loki is the son of Farbauti (father) & Laufey (mother) and is blood brother to Odin (NOT Thor) due to some unrevealed adventure. Basically, when Odin parties, Loki parties.
In the comics, the parents were switched for some reason, and Odin ADOPTED Loki.

WOW!

Why didn't Marvel go with the idea of Odin and Loki being brothers in their universe? What's wrong with Thor having an uncle for an arch nemesis? Lion King did it.

[DigiCom]

WOW!

Why didn't Marvel go with the idea of Odin and Loki being brothers in their universe? What's wrong with Thor having an uncle for an arch nemesis? Lion King did it.

You'd have to ask Stan Lee. Maybe he and Jack didn't want Loki too old, or liked the whole "brother vs brother" deal (Kirby used the same basic idea with the Inhumans, after all).

[DrNewGod]

WOW!

Why didn't Marvel go with the idea of Odin and Loki being brothers in their universe? What's wrong with Thor having an uncle for an arch nemesis? Lion King did it.

You'd have to ask Stan Lee. Maybe he and Jack didn't want Loki too old, or liked the whole "brother vs brother" deal (Kirby used the same basic idea with the Inhumans, after all).

I can't speak with any authority on this, but in my opinion it was because of the Shakespearean themes that Kirby and Lee built into Thor as the comic developed. You couldn't really see it from the first few adventures, but as the series progressed, Kirby and Lee turned it into an epic about fathers and sons, ala Henry IV. Given that tension between Odin and Thor, Loki works better as an embittered brother (even if only as an adopted sibling) than he does as an uncle.

That's not to say that the Lion King is not Shakespearean; it definitely is. However, its story is a happier version of Hamlet, and that's really not a story about the tension between fathers and sons. You could only really make an uncle work as a Shakespearean archenemy for Thor if Odin were absent or dead, and usurped by Loki.

IMO, framing the story as a Shakespearean epic about fathers and sons was the biggest thing that Marvel got right when they developed Thor for the big screen.

[Raye]

It should be noted that when he says 'blood brothers' he means basically really close friends who swore an oath to each other, not related by blood. So if they had stuck to the myths Loki would only kiiiiiinda be Thor's uncle, and, as DrNewGod says, a lot of that family drama would be lost.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

In the myth's, Odin is Thor's father, with a Jotun named Jord.
In the comics, Thor's mother is the elder goddess named Gaea.

In the myths, Loki is the son of Farbauti (father) & Laufey (mother) and is blood brother to Odin (NOT Thor) due to some unrevealed adventure. Basically, when Odin parties, Loki parties.
In the comics, the parents were switched for some reason, and Odin ADOPTED Loki.

I am very grateful to the late Mark Gruenwald for establishing this in Thor 301.
To me, it's awesome!

Thanks go out as well to the late Jack King Kirby for pencilling the tale that establishes that Loki was adopted by Odin.
To me, it's awesome!

[DrNewGod]

I am very grateful to the late Mark Gruenwald for establishing this in Thor 301.
To me, it's awesome!

Thanks go out as well to the late Jack King Kirby for pencilling the tale that establishes that Loki was adopted by Odin.
To me, it's awesome!

Don't feel lonely. Right there withya!