Odin

Fact Corner:
Odin (オーディン, Ōdin) is a recurring summon in the series. He made his début in Final Fantasy III and several of his appearances allude to his original encounter.

Most commonly, Odin will appear and slice through enemies with his sword, cleaving them in two and inflicting Instant Death. His ability in most Final Fantasy games is called "Zantetsuken." Other games allow Odin to damage enemies normally as well, should they be immune to instant death.

In Germanic mythology, Odin (from Old Norse Óðinn) is a widely revered god. In Norse mythology, from which stems most of our information about the god, Odin is associated with healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, battle, sorcery, poetry, frenzy, and the runic alphabet, and is the husband of the goddess Frigg. Odin is attributed with the discovery of Runes. He, along with his two brothers, Vili and Vé, is credited with the creation of the realm of mankind, Miðgarðr (Midgard), and for mankind itself. He is the employer of the female warriors known as Valkyries (who control the fate of battles and collect the dead from the battleground), and he reigns over the hall of Valhöll (Valhalla), the Norse equivalent of heaven (only those who fought bravely and died in combat were eligible to enter).

Óðinn sacrificed his left eye to drink from Mimir's Well of Wisdom to gain knowledge of past, present, and future. His eight legged horse, Sleipnir, and his magical dwarven spear Gungnir have also been depicted. At Ragnarök (the end of the gods) Óðinn shall rally the dead warriors to fight on the side of the gods. Óðinn fathered Þór (Thor), the god of lightning, and many others.