Odin (God of War) V.S Sauron (Lord of the Rings)

[ArlEammon]

Both schemer gods are enormously powerful beings, AND very clever. Odin is an absolute master of magic, Sauron is the ultimate corruptor.
What if Odin wanted Sauron's ring, aka a nod to The Ring of the Nibelung? Odin wants Sauron's Ring for his own agenda, although Odin may already be more powerful than Sauron. Sauron has One Ring, the war between Sauron and Odin may actually involve a duel or it might not come to that, depending on if Odin can out smart Sauron enough so they never have to face each other. Odin, from God of War was very, VERY powerful. On the other hand, Sauron is already more powerful than Gandalf without the One Ring, and Gandalf is no mere spell caster, he is like a demi god. This includes Gandalf as Gandalf the White, which is a clear improvement over Gandalf as he was known as The Gray. Consider that Sauron is incredibly manipulative, just as Odin is, a master Necromancer, Werewolf and Vampire, as Odin is just simply VERY good at magic, and despite his age, is not a push over in a physical confrontation even with other deities.

On the other hand, Sauron, although he is capable enough as a fighter, is not primarily a martial oriented god like Kratos. Sauron is, like Odin, an Iron Age Mafia Don. Sauron might lose to Odin since the Norse gods are all gods of war. His favorite weapon IS Gungnir after all. So what do you think? Is Sauron too powerful for Odin, or is it the other way around?

[Lord Raziere]

The fundamental difference I see between them is that Sauron is a blatant evil overlord, a genius sure but a very archetypical villain. (you specified LotR Sauron, not any sauron version before that and I don't know the guy pre-Lotr well anyways)

GOW Odin on the other hand? he has an advantage in that he is capable of appearing to be a reasonable amiable person even even if he doesn't always come across the best person in the world. thus Odin can fool people into think he is the better person in any confrontation they have, thus getting more allies to use against Sauron. his evil can be seen as more mundane, as he basically acts like a super-rich billionaire in some aspects and acts like an abusive father in others. these are evils that aren't immediately apparent when you meet and talk with the guy, while Sauron when he was alive dresses in freaking black spiky armor, and speaks in indecipherable dark whispers while leading an army of monsters from a land of darkness from a volcano? Sauron isn't exactly being subtle.

if we're setting it in middle earth as you imply, this gives GOW Odin the advantage in terms of manipulation as while Sauron is a known factor, GOW Odin is not. as long as he can keep his secrets well, he could operate in ways without anyone suspecting him and use the various peoples of middle-earth to his advantage. and if Kratos somehow gets involved well....GOW Odin just has to convince Kratos that Sauron's the greater evil here and thus focus on him, same with Gandalf if he finds out GoW Odin is evil. as long as GOW Odin convinces other people that Sauron is the one to focus on, GOW Odin should be fine.

[spectralphoenix]

I think the key point is that Sauron is a corruptor, and the Ring is his tool. There isn't a fight. Odin wants the Ring? He gets the Ring. It serves him well and he begins his conquest of Middle-Earth. But somewhere along the line Odin is using Sauron's power, fighting for Sauron's goals - after a while, he IS Sauron. He might wear an eyepatch, but he's Sauron in every way that matters.

[Mechalich]

This is stacking the deck in some significant ways, since LotR Sauron is arguably the weakest version of Sauron (he's also facing the weakest iteration of his enemies, Middle Earth, with relatively few exceptions, is a universe where the magic is running out and everything is getting weaker over time), and he has very specifically invested a huge amount of his power in the One Ring. On the other hand, LotR Sauron also controls the lion's share of the resources of Middle Earth, including the majority of its Human population (though this group is 'lower quality' in one-to-one terms compared to the Numenorean-descended men of Gondor), to the point that the army he throws at Minas Tirith in Return of the King represents something like 1/10th of his total forces, and his cultural influence over these populations goes back millennia.

Notably, Saruman, a master manipulator in his own right, in attempting to counter Sauron, realized that he absolutely had to have the One Ring to have any chance. Though he was capable of raising a significant military force, it was nothing capable of serving as more than a speed bump to Sauron's forces (though if he had successfully conquered Rohan his strategic situation would have improved considerably, potentially allowing him to hold out a while). A military victory, against Sauron, by the time of LotR, is basically impossible. Even if Sauron's forces are defeated in the field, Mordor is practically impregnable and Sauron is fully capable of bidding his time on a generational timescale and rallying his resources among the Easterlings, Southrons, and others as he did previously when facing Gondor at the height of its strength.

As such, it is entirely possible that a powerful semi-divine/divine rival facing off with Sauron should go for a decapitation strike. Sauron, following the loss of the One Ring, is not an especially formidable physical combatant and by Maiar standards arguably never was. However, Sauron is very aware of this and spends all his time in Barad-Dur for a reason. The istari were forbidden from attempting to match Sauron power to power, but I sincerely doubt Sauron believed that. In addition to a no doubt mighty host of orcs and trolls, the fortress surely has powerful defenders of other kinds, plausibly including some number of Black Numenoreans (The Mouth of Sauron was one) who represent heroic foes. Assaulting Barad-Dur would be an action game epic of great proportions, something well-suited to a GoW total conversion mod.

[Saintheart]

... and if Kratos somehow gets involved ....

... then Sauron, Gandalf, Radagast, the rest of the Five Wizards, the Maiar, the Valar, and Tom Bombadil had best put their affairs in order and make sure they don't imperil any b o is.

[Lord Raziere]

... then Sauron, Gandalf, Radagast, the rest of the Five Wizards, the Maiar, the Valar, and Tom Bombadil had best put their affairs in order and make sure they don't imperil any b o is.

I'm pretty sure most of those are like good people and will just stay out Kratos's way. like Tolkien is like the one person who pulled off wise divine beings actually being.....wise rather than just uselessness hiding behind the appearance of wisdom. and I cannot imagine any good LOTR character doing bad things to a child. while any evil LOTR character well.....they'd get whats coming to them.

I'd almost be more interested to see how Kratos would interact with the One Ring in that instance, because modern dad Kratos is pretty over the whole "gaining more power" thing except as a means to very specific ends, but like he'd probably just get near it but have a Gandalf or Galadriel moment where he realizes if he actually touches it'd be really bad and just lets Frodo have it again. then turn to Atreus and be like
"Never touch that ring boi. Ever."

[Saintheart]

I'm pretty sure most of those are like good people and will just stay out Kratos's way. like Tolkien is like the one person who pulled off wise divine beings actually being.....wise rather than just uselessness hiding behind the appearance of wisdom. and I cannot imagine any good LOTR character doing bad things to a child. while any evil LOTR character well.....they'd get whats coming to them.

Well, I can certainly agree that Aphrodite got (THIS SECTION OMITTED FOR HEART HEALTH OF MODS)

That aside, the thing about Kratos and the storyline the narrative is that the modern version doesn't ever start with Kratos waking up one morning and saying "Hmm. Time to go and kill some gods today." It's Kratos's revenge that drives him through a number of games, and in God of Boi it's basically his drive to be left alone with his kid. Kratos isn't good, exactly, he's just doing all he can to avoid being who he was, and he has a ... singular reaction to people getting in his way which makes everything progressively worse. These days gods die when they get in the way between Kratos and something he wants, and where they won't back off. Sam wasn't tempted by the Ring either because he hadn't had it long enough, or because he was of simple good sufficient to just not have anything in his heart that the Ring could appeal to. Kratos ... not so much.

I'd almost be more interested to see how Kratos would interact with the One Ring in that instance, because modern dad Kratos is pretty over the whole "gaining more power" thing except as a means to very specific ends, but like he'd probably just get near it but have a Gandalf or Galadriel moment where he realizes if he actually touches it'd be really bad and just lets Frodo have it again. then turn to Atreus and be like
"Never touch that ring boi. Ever."

And it's the underlined section that clearly the Ring would work on, because that's its tactic when addressing powerful figures: it grants power according to its wielder's measure and with benevolent wielders it works on the desire to do good. If it knows what Kratos wants, it has a way to worm itself into his goals. Odds are just as good that he'd take the Ring because it whispered to him that he could better protect his son. Or his family. Because, after all Kratos, wasn't this all about your family to begin with ...

[pendell]

A better matchup would be Sauron in the last years of the second age, when he was the ruler of Numeanor with Ar-Pharazon as his puppet. He would have the combined powers of both the forces available to him in the third age as well as the entire Numenorian army and navy. He also would still have his 'fair cloak', and would therefore be much better at the manipulation game than their age Sauron. Being reduced to a hideous form, he was essentially out of tools beyond raw fear and intimidation at that time.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Dargaron]

The more I think about it, GoW Odin seems like he's on a whole different power level than Sauron.

Sauron comes from a world where, if you want to travel from point A to point B, you walk, take a boat or (if you are very lucky) fly. Every location is also reachable by mundane means of travel (except, perhaps, Valinor which Sauron AFAIK never tried to access anyway).

Odin teleports casually as part of his daily routine, not only within a given realm, but also to Nidavellir and (once he knows about it) even the Realm Between Realms; both places that normally can only be accessed via portals. Odin's minions also have the ability to travel extremely rapidly and with fairly few restrictions: a jailbreak in Nidavellir results in Einherjar reinforcements arriving from Asgard within minutes, and when he learns one particular McGuffin he needs is in Helheim, he's able to ship his agents there on a moment's notice (and then redirect some of them to Vanaheim immediately afterwards for no apparent reason).

Cosmologically, in his role as the one who set the Nine Realms in order, Odin seems more in line with a Valar than a Maiar. He played a central role in creating a discrete portion of the world, which exists alongside a collection of other, seemingly-equal pantheons. As far as I know, no one in-game actually disputes the narrative that Odin slew Ymir and shaped the Realms out of the giant's remains by his own efforts. They just don't think doing so gives him the right to trample all over the Realms' inhabitants.

While God of War 3 showed that Gods can fall under the influence of corrupting forces (AFAIK the Evils in Pandora's Box are implied to have made them act more destructively/unreasonably than they usually do?), there's probably a better-than-even chance that Odin is a high enough power level above the One Ring that it isn't able to subvert him in a way Sauron could really exploit. Sauron was definitely second fiddle to Melkor, after all.

[Razade]

Sauron dwelt in Valinor when he was known as Mairon. According to Morgoth's Ring, he acted as a spy for Morgoth until Morgoth created his stronghold on Middle Earth and then fled once that stronghold was established. He was present to see the destruction of the Lamps and it is said he traveled from the island of Almaren to Valinor with the rest of the Valar and Maiar. The wording is "they still did not perceive his treachery."

He was also the second greatest smith of the Ainur, only his master Aule was his better and he was counted as one of the greatest Maiar. Sauron is a far shade less than that by the time of the War of the Ring however but he was still quite powerful. The Ainur had the ability to travel over vast distances and we know Sauron could do it. His spirit travels from Dol Guldur to Mordor, where he takes on a physical form again. He didn't bodily leave Dol Guldur, we're told expressly that his "Shadow" left and fled to Mordor. The big disconnect here as others have pointed out is that Lord of the Rings is set as magic is dying in the world of Man. The great feats that Elves and Valar wrought are gone or leaving. What Mairon could do, he can't do any longer after

[Zevox]

And it's the underlined section that clearly the Ring would work on, because that's its tactic when addressing powerful figures: it grants power according to its wielder's measure and with benevolent wielders it works on the desire to do good. If it knows what Kratos wants, it has a way to worm itself into his goals. Odds are just as good that he'd take the Ring because it whispered to him that he could better protect his son. Or his family. Because, after all Kratos, wasn't this all about your family to begin with ...

Yeah, that's definitely how that would play out. Norse-era Kratos hates what he was and fears becoming it again, but he is perfectly willing to seek out and use power if it is to protect those he cares about - which is initially just Atreus, but by the end he's started to open himself up to including others in that (at least Freya and Mimir, probably Sindri, likely at least some others as well). He already took up one magic ring as a weapon against a dangerous foe because of that, after all. Why wouldn't he take up another if there were any threat to worry about?

Anyway, on the main topic... eh, it's tough to say. Translating the power of Ainur in Tolkien's world into terms that you can compare to more standard modern fantasy is always dicey. But it is probably fair to say that if we're talking about Sauron as he is during LotR, sans the Ring, that is pretty much him at his weakest (well, prior to the destruction of the ring anyway), so likely he loses if it comes to a straight-up confrontation. Though that's assuming that there would ever be one, since if he wasn't sure he was going to win, he probably would hide by simply not taking physical form, or try to deceive Odin with false fealty like he did the Numenoreans. That last might be Sauron's best hope here, honestly, as Odin is very much the sort who, even assuming he immediately knows Sauron is trying to play him, would likely believe he can take advantage of Sauron by playing along. Which of them actually outwits the other in such a circumstance is really tough to say though, and it may not even end up with a clear winner if they can't find the ring even then.

Outside of a confrontation... well, again, without the ring, there's not a ton that Sauron can do about Odin. He's having a hard time finding the ring himself, much less keeping it out of the hands of a being as powerful as Odin. If Odin can find it, it's all his, and there's little Sauron could do about it. Though that may be a big if, depending on what resources Odin can bring to bear doing so, since presumably he'd have to cross over to the unfamiliar territory of Arda in order to search for it, so he doesn't have the full knowledge that his myriad spies throughout the Nine Realms provides him of his own world. And Sauron could try to use what power he has to interfere with any magical attempts to find the ring, while having his forces attack any of Odin's ravens/other spies and allies on sight, but that also means distracting himself from his own efforts to find the ring. Which may just end up making it easier for Frodo and Sam to destroy the ring before either side finds it.

Now, if Odin finds the ring, yeah, it probably corrupts him like it would anyone - though he's honestly not far off from Sauron in many regards anyway, so it's questionable what that would really mean. He's already more than willing to disregard anyone and everyone else's well-being in the pursuit of his goals, which are already entirely selfish. And if he gets the ring, then Sauron is certainly screwed. Even if Odin doesn't become convinced that he needs to track down and off Sauron (or come as close as possible, given Ainur can't really die), Sauron could never recover enough power to effectively challenge him without the ring. I mean, LotR itself indicated that even someone like Aragorn taking up the ring against him was something Sauron feared, and Odin would certainly be far more dangerous with it.

So, yeah, if we're talking Sauron as he is during LotR, he doesn't have much he can do. The deception route is probably his best play, but the results there require way too many details we'd need to invent out of thin air to determine. But in order to stand a chance, Sauron needs to get his hands on the ring, and since he didn't do so even without having Odin around, the odds are stacked against him there to say the least.

[Dargaron]

Sauron dwelt in Valinor when he was known as Mairon. According to Morgoth's Ring, he acted as a spy for Morgoth until Morgoth created his stronghold on Middle Earth and then fled once that stronghold was established. He was present to see the destruction of the Lamps and it is said he traveled from the island of Almaren to Valinor with the rest of the Valar and Maiar. The wording is "they still did not perceive his treachery."

However, that was still at the point where Valinor was physically connected to the rest of Middle Earth. And it was only in the Second Age that the Western continent was cut off to those who didn't have the special grace that allowed the Elves to get there. So from Sauron's perspective, he's only ever "dealt" with a single physical space ever since the Maiar and Valar arrived.

Odin being able to bring other people with him (or just teleport them without accompanying them) is a massive advantage whether in combat or diplomacy.

[ArlEammon]

Yeah, that's definitely how that would play out. Norse-era Kratos hates what he was and fears becoming it again, but he is perfectly willing to seek out and use power if it is to protect those he cares about - which is initially just Atreus, but by the end he's started to open himself up to including others in that (at least Freya and Mimir, probably Sindri, likely at least some others as well). He already took up one magic ring as a weapon against a dangerous foe because of that, after all. Why wouldn't he take up another if there were any threat to worry about?

Anyway, on the main topic... eh, it's tough to say. Translating the power of Ainur in Tolkien's world into terms that you can compare to more standard modern fantasy is always dicey. But it is probably fair to say that if we're talking about Sauron as he is during LotR, sans the Ring, that is pretty much him at his weakest (well, prior to the destruction of the ring anyway), so likely he loses if it comes to a straight-up confrontation. Though that's assuming that there would ever be one, since if he wasn't sure he was going to win, he probably would hide by simply not taking physical form, or try to deceive Odin with false fealty like he did the Numenoreans. That last might be Sauron's best hope here, honestly, as Odin is very much the sort who, even assuming he immediately knows Sauron is trying to play him, would likely believe he can take advantage of Sauron by playing along. Which of them actually outwits the other in such a circumstance is really tough to say though, and it may not even end up with a clear winner if they can't find the ring even then.

Outside of a confrontation... well, again, without the ring, there's not a ton that Sauron can do about Odin. He's having a hard time finding the ring himself, much less keeping it out of the hands of a being as powerful as Odin. If Odin can find it, it's all his, and there's little Sauron could do about it. Though that may be a big if, depending on what resources Odin can bring to bear doing so, since presumably he'd have to cross over to the unfamiliar territory of Arda in order to search for it, so he doesn't have the full knowledge that his myriad spies throughout the Nine Realms provides him of his own world. And Sauron could try to use what power he has to interfere with any magical attempts to find the ring, while having his forces attack any of Odin's ravens/other spies and allies on sight, but that also means distracting himself from his own efforts to find the ring. Which may just end up making it easier for Frodo and Sam to destroy the ring before either side finds it.

Now, if Odin finds the ring, yeah, it probably corrupts him like it would anyone - though he's honestly not far off from Sauron in many regards anyway, so it's questionable what that would really mean. He's already more than willing to disregard anyone and everyone else's well-being in the pursuit of his goals, which are already entirely selfish. And if he gets the ring, then Sauron is certainly screwed. Even if Odin doesn't become convinced that he needs to track down and off Sauron (or come as close as possible, given Ainur can't really die), Sauron could never recover enough power to effectively challenge him without the ring. I mean, LotR itself indicated that even someone like Aragorn taking up the ring against him was something Sauron feared, and Odin would certainly be far more dangerous with it.

So, yeah, if we're talking Sauron as he is during LotR, he doesn't have much he can do. The deception route is probably his best play, but the results there require way too many details we'd need to invent out of thin air to determine. But in order to stand a chance, Sauron needs to get his hands on the ring, and since he didn't do so even without having Odin around, the odds are stacked against him there to say the least.

Okay everyone, and @Zevox, What about the Sauron of the Second Age, when he got his finger chopped off?

[Zevox]

Okay everyone, and @Zevox, What about the Sauron of the Second Age, when he got his finger chopped off?

Certainly a better matchup. With the way the One Ring works that is basically him at his strongest - he'd had time to recover from the loss of his body in the Fall of Numenore, and his only permanent loss from that was the ability to take on a fair-seeming form. The ring otherwise enhanced his power while he wore it, so he should be even stronger personally than he was in the First Age, when he was described as a sorcerer of "dreadful power."

Though that likely has a double meaning, since the single most consistent, most potent power that he, and later his greatest servants, display directly in the text of Tolkken's writing is the ability to inspire surpassing fear. It's how he drove the Elves from Minas Tirith (no, not the one in Gondor) and made it his own, his coming forth as a wolf was said to be accompanied by such horror that even Huan leapt away from him and Luthien fainted at his approach, and of course later the aura of fear around the Ringwraiths was said to be their greatest weapon. And Odin is not immune to fear - fear of his own death is what drives him, above all else. Though you could argue, perhaps, that believing that his own death will come only in Ragnarok would protect him from the fear Sauron inspires; but if he had any inkling that Sauron could cause or be involved in Ragnarok, that would turn that on its head, and make him very subject to it. And the story of Huan shows that Sauron is plenty shrewd enough to try to turn prophecies to his advantage - and it would even be more likely to work in this case, since prophecies in Norse God of War are not unbreakable, binding fates like in Arda. But that first requires him to learn of the Ragnarok prophecy.

Should that power of fear fail to impede Odin, though, and things came to direct conflict, I would still think the more likely result to be Odin securing the victory. Direct conflict is not Sauron's speciality. Of the three times he's known to have engaged in it, he won only once, in his battle of magical songs with Felagund. He lost to Huan in his wolf form (due to the binding fate on Huan, but still), and while he slew Elendil and Gil-Galad in their battle he was wounded enough from it for Isildur to be able to strike him down thereafter (the lucky blow that cut the ring from his finger while he was otherwise fine was an invention of the films, presumably to make it more dramatic). He avoided it more often than not - of particular note being with the Numenoreans. He had the One Ring and mighty armies of servants, including the Ringwraiths, already when they came against him, but still he knew he could not overcome them, and chose to leave the ring behind and humble himself before them in the hopes of overthrowing them by deceit instead.

So even with the ring, Sauron was not completely unbeatable in battle by the mightiest mortal warriors of Middle-Earth, even if at great cost. It therefore stands to reason that he should have a lot more to fear from direct battle with another deity, particularly one who is the most powerful of his own pantheon, and responsible for feats that are more comparable to the Valar than Sauron's. There's no indication that I can recall, for instance, that Sauron ever had the potential to overthrow the Valar, ring or no. He mostly counted on them not wanting to directly intervene.

So, I'd say that his options for victory are two at this point. Deception ending in backstabbing Odin, or exploiting Odin's fear of Ragnarok to make him ineffective and vulnerable. With how paranoid Odin is the former is probably a longer shot than the latter, but either has the potential to work out. A direct confrontation without the edge of his supernatural fear, even with the ring, probably doesn't.

[Lord Vukodlak]

I think the key point is that Sauron is a corruptor, and the Ring is his tool. There isn't a fight. Odin wants the Ring? He gets the Ring. It serves him well and he begins his conquest of Middle-Earth. But somewhere along the line Odin is using Sauron's power, fighting for Sauron's goals - after a while, he IS Sauron. He might wear an eyepatch, but he's Sauron in every way that matters.

It is the likely outcome and the kind of outcome that Sauron feared. He was completely unaware of the plot to destroy his ring as he was unable to conceive of anyone having the strength of will to destroy it. (and he was right no one had the power to resist the ring.)


But here's how Sauron at the height of his power would defeat Odin. With gifts, he'd forge for Odin great rings of power designed to corrupt and subvert him and his servants to his own will. The gods of the game series are not smarter, wiser or possessing of a greater morality then mortals.

[Zevox]

But here's how Sauron at the height of his power would defeat Odin. With gifts, he'd forge for Odin great rings of power designed to corrupt and subvert him and his servants to his own will. The gods of the game series are not smarter, wiser or possessing of a greater morality then mortals.

Hm, an interesting idea. But the premise the OP presented was that the conflict between them would be due to Odin being drawn to acquiring the One Ring for himself, though. If knew of it and how powerful it was, he wouldn't settle for a lesser ring. If Sauron could convince him that he could forge another just as powerful, he might be able to pull such a deception off, but how would he conceal from Odin that the final product wasn't that powerful? Because he put the majority of his own strength into the One Ring, so he definitely can't make another that is actually like it.

[runeghost]

I think the key point is that Sauron is a corruptor, and the Ring is his tool. There isn't a fight. Odin wants the Ring? He gets the Ring. It serves him well and he begins his conquest of Middle-Earth. But somewhere along the line Odin is using Sauron's power, fighting for Sauron's goals - after a while, he IS Sauron. He might wear an eyepatch, but he's Sauron in every way that matters.

Pretty much this.

If it's some sort of epic, saga-like age-long duel via mortal and demi-divine pawns, servants, and heroes, where Odin is wise enough to realize the corrupting power of the Ring as stay as far away from it and Sauron as possible, then Odin wins, because he's not inherently evil, and he can and will successfully exploit Sauron's blind spots. The Ring goes into the Fire in the end, and Odin has a good laugh as he celebrates his victory.

But once the Ring gets its hooks into Odin... well, it's all over at that point. Without some heroic outside intervention (which transforms it from Odin v. Sauron into Saruron v. the Aesir & Vanir - different fight) Odin falls, one way or another. Maybe Sauron uses Odin's lust for the Ring to bait him into doing something really stupid, and destroys him. Or maybe Odin does get his hands on the One, and uses it to triumph over Sauron... but even if he destroys Sauron utterly, the One corrupts Odin completely, and he becomes "Norse Sauron".

Thinking about the other Norse gods in the context of the Ring is interesting though. The temptation for Thor is very obvious - if he's going to escape the Ring, it's going to be in a classic Thor-like fashion. He gets angry at it and smashes it, or drops it into the depths of the sea. Or it gets tired of nothing but feasting and giant-killing all the time, and slips off his finger while he's drunk. Or Loki sees what it's doing to him, covets it for his own, and tricks it away from him.

Now Loki vs. the Ring... so many ways that can go, most of them very bad indeed.

[Zevox]

Runeghost, I'm guessing you missed that the OP specified the God of War version of Odin? Because I'd otherwise be very curious how you figure that version is not evil. (Also the Loki remarks really don't match up with the God of War version of him.)

[Vinyadan]

He might wear an eyepatch, but he's Sauron

I love this excerpt, for so many reasons

[Grim Portent]

Odin takes this easily I think.

He is in essence everything Sauron fears, a being with the power, will and desire to usurp the Ring for his own purposes. I could easily see Odin turning the ring to his own ends, casting Sauron down and taking his place. In theory even Gandalf or Saruman could have done so, hell Sauron feared Aragorn would be able to, so that Odin could do it is something I would consider a near certainty.