As cool as Odin is, Zeus would win for four simple reasons:

1)      Zeus is immortal. Odin is not.

 The Asgardian Gods – Thor, Loki, Freya, Odin, etc. – are not immortal. They age like mortals, just very, very slowly. They can be killed in battle, and often are killed in fights with the ice giants and massive serpents of Norse myth.

Olympian Gods are never truly killed. They are banished, like Prometheus, or imprisoned, like the elder Gods – the Titans – inside of Tartarus, but Greek Gods are immortal, even when swallowed by other Gods, like Zeus was by his father Kronos. The pantheon of Norse Gods changes because of the natural progression from father to son. Odin’s father is not king because he aged and was replaced by Odin. He wasn’t defeated and ousted like Zeus did to Kronos and the other Titans. The changing of the guard was a natural progression of age versus youth, not a pitched battle between primal forces (the Titans) and refined strength (the Olympians).

There’s simply nothing Odin could do – Zeus, an immortal Greek God – would eventually slay or defeat Odin – a powerful, yet mortal being.

2)      Zeus has lightning bolts. Odin’s just really clever.

Zeus wields lightning bolts that smote enemies with pinpoint accuracy from his throne on Mount Olympus, while Odin wields control over the other Norse Gods through wisdom and manipulation. Odin is a fierce warrior and wily opponent, but his main virtue is knowledge of the future. The reason he only has one eye is because he gave is other eye to the Norse Fates at Mimir’s Well in exchange for knowledge of how to survive Ragnarok – the Norse apocalypse where many of the Gods are killed. He’s a brilliant god, and exceptional maker of weapons – he created Thor’s hammer – but ultimately he created that hammer to let Thor take care of most of the fighting.

Toe to toe, he’s no match for Zeus. Zeus almost single handedly turned the tide of battle against the Titans with his mighty lightning bolts, and he’s crafty as well, both evading Kronos during the years of his youth, and then marshalling the hundred-handed and other mighty beings against the Titans in his bid for control. He’s a god of cunning and might, while Odin prefers to work behind the scenes.

It’s simply a matter of a crafty middleweight taking on the heavy weight champ – Odin just doesn’t pack enough of a punch.

3)      Zeus has mad backup.

Odin constantly struggles to keep a tense peace between the gods of Asgard, not to mention the countless Valkyries, Ice Giants, Humungous Serpents, and other deities and demi-gods that populate the nine levels of his universe. He can barely get his son Thor to do what he wants, not to mention the constant interference from Loki. While Zeus contends with similar quarrels between the Gods, he never lacks that supreme authority during a time of crisis. The only real obstacle to his rule is his wife Hera, but that’s a whole other story.

If it came to blows, Zeus could count on his pantheon rising to his aid, while Odin would have to bargain for backup. Not a great place to be during a clash of the Gods.

4)      The best offense is a good defense…and a good offense.

Aside from the lightning bolts which annihilate pretty much everything in the universe, Zeus wields the Aegis – an impenetrable shield (picture Captain America’s metal alloy shield only a bajillion times bigger and stronger). That’s what Zeus is working with. Despite his craftiness and dwarven workshop, Odin doesn’t have anything to match up with that.

The bottom line, while I think that the All-Father Odin is a much more dynamic and interesting God, and somehow more awesome due to his lack of powers and immortality, it’s just not fair to say that he could take Zeus in a fight. It’s Batman versus Superman. While we all resent the “Man of Steel’s” constant ease at dealing with foes, none of Batman’s utility belt gizmos could take him down. Not really. Ok, maybe a kryptonite batarang, but let’s not get side-tracked.

Zeus is the king of the universe – period. Odin’s a one-eyed ax-wielding trickster. It would be an awesome battle, but when the dust settled only one grey-bearded God would be left standing. And he wears a toga.