Odin's cameo in Conan The Barbarian.


Director John Milius filmed a sequence in Conan The Barbarian (1982 CE) where usurper King Osric (Max Von Sydow) gets assassinated by his own bodyguards who turn out to be Thulsa Doom's secret court agents! Note the backdrop of both these scenes contains tapestries that are Viking picture stone adaptations, the first being from Stora Hammers Stone I:

[second panel down, right side.]

And the second being Odin from the Andre III picture stone:

[on Sleipnir, upper right]

The metaphysical implication being that Odin is claiming King Osric for Valhalla using this final conflict, which is along the lines of what happens to many kings & heroes in the Sagas.

Except this storyline gets cut as the ending voiceover says Princess Yasimina gets returned to her father (and the novelization adds that Conan is offered Yasimina, and essentially the kingdom of Zamora by marriage, but refuses Osric) and Conan instead goes adventuring in the West, with just the tapestries' edges only fleetingly visible in the theatrical release of the film.

Still, it's neat to see the NorsePlay in using these images and All-Father Odin as a backdrop, which only shows the direct influence of the Sagas as forming the epic fantasy and sword & sorcery genres.

And if the above's too subtle, there's always way overt post-funeral pyre Valeria's return from the dead as a glistening winged helmeted Valkyrie:

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Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires' Norse Gods and Giants at age seven. Since then he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the Map of Midgard project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay. If you have employment/opportunities in investigative mythology, field research, or product development to offer, do contact him.

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