When Odysseus was young, he killed a magical boar and met the goddess Athena, who became his mentor. Later, he met Penelope under an olive tree, married her, and had a son named Telemachus. During the Trojan War, Odysseus led the Ithacan part of the Greek Army for ten years. He came up with the idea of the Trojan Horse, which helped the Greeks win. After the war, Zeus told him to kill a baby named Astyanax to stop future revenge. Though he struggled with the decision, he eventually did it. On the way home, Odysseus and his crew went to the island of the Lotus Eaters, where he began to question his old ways. Athena reminded him of her lessons, but during an encounter with the Cyclops Polyphemus, things went wrong. Odysseus tricked the Cyclops, blinded him, and escaped, but revealed his name out of pride. Athena was angry and left him.

Later, Odysseus faced a storm and got help from the wind god Aeolus, who gave him a bag of winds. But his crew opened it too soon, blowing them off course. They ended up in the land of giants, where Poseidon, the Cyclops' father, punished them for Odysseus’ actions. Most of his men were killed. On another island, Odysseus’ men were turned into pigs by the witch Circe. With help from Hermes, Odysseus resisted her magic, defeated her, and showed his loyalty to Penelope. Circe helped by telling him to visit the underworld to find a way home.

In the underworld, Odysseus met the ghosts of his fallen crew, his mother, and the prophet Tiresias. Tiresias told him the man who returns home won’t be the same one who left. This crushed Odysseus, but he realized that to protect the people he loves and return home, he would have to become ruthless, even if it meant becoming the "monster" others feared.    

After leaving the underworld, Odysseus and his men approached an unfamiliar ship with no crew aboard. Realizing they were in the domain of the sirens, he ordered his men to plug their ears with beeswax while he communicated through lip-reading. One siren appeared as Penelope, trying to lure him into the sea. Odysseus pretended to fall for her, asking how to evade Poseidon. She told him to sail through Scylla’s lair, a place even the sea god avoided. After learning what he needed, Odysseus pulled out his bow and shot her, revealing he had known her true identity all along. While he distracted her, his crew captured the other sirens. He coldly ordered their tails cut off and their bodies tossed back into the sea, ignoring their pleas for mercy. The name the crew chanted in fear afterward was no longer Poseidon's—it was Odysseus.

As they neared Scylla’s lair, Odysseus stayed silent, deep in thought. Eurylochus, noticing this, apologized for previously opening the wind bag. Odysseus said nothing but instructed him to light six torches. Scylla struck soon after, devouring the six torchbearers—each one representing a head. Eurylochus tried to save one man by passing off his torch, but it was too late. Scylla sang that she and Odysseus were the same. This time, he didn’t argue—he sang with her.

Furious at the needless sacrifice, Eurylochus confronted Odysseus. He reminded him of the clever plans used against Polyphemus and Circe and accused him of letting men die without even trying to fight. Odysseus said nothing. Eurylochus drew his sword. Odysseus ordered him to stop, but Eurylochus pushed forward, saying Odysseus would risk anyone to see Penelope and Telemachus again. They fought. Just as Odysseus was about to win, Perimedes stabbed him. The crew, siding with Eurylochus, knocked their captain unconscious.

Odysseus woke tied to a statue on an island full of cattle. Eurylochus admitted he was starving and approached the herd. Odysseus begged him not to touch them, recognizing them as sacred. But hunger won. The moment he struck a cow, doom approached. Odysseus broke free and told the others to row, but they were too late. Zeus appeared, furious. He accused Odysseus of arrogance and gave him a choice: save his crew or save himself. Odysseus begged for another way. Eurylochus pleaded. But in the end, Odysseus chose survival. Lightning struck. His men died. Odysseus was thrown into the sea and drifted to Calypso’s island.

There, Calypso nursed him back to health, claiming him as her eternal love. Still grieving, Odysseus pushed her away and even threatened to kill her, but she laughed, reminding him she was a goddess. Overwhelmed by the loss of his crew and the weight of his actions, Odysseus tried to end his life. Calypso caught him. He screamed for Athena for the first time in years. Far away, Athena, moved by his cry, approached Zeus and pleaded for his release. Zeus turned it into a game—she would have to convince five gods: Apollo, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Ares, and Hera. She succeeded. But when she returned to demand Odysseus' freedom, Zeus erupted. He struck her down with lightning. Ares thought she might be dead. Still, she stood and made her final plea before collapsing.

Hermes then came to Calypso and told her Odysseus was free to leave. Calypso, heartbroken, let him go, admitting her love for him but accepting it wasn’t returned. Odysseus told her he did care for her—just not the way she wanted. Hermes warned Odysseus that the journey home would be perilous and gave him a bag containing Poseidon's storm. He told him to follow the north star and never open the bag unless absolutely necessary.

Odysseus sailed on and encountered Charybdis, the sea monster. He didn’t fight. He delayed, avoided, and slipped past her. Then, just before reaching Ithaca, Poseidon appeared once more, demanding Odysseus surrender himself or watch his homeland drown. Poseidon struck him into the water. But the voices of his dead crew lifted him, urging him to keep going. Odysseus opened the wind bag and used it to soar out of the sea. With fury, he fought Poseidon directly. He beat him down, stole his trident, and tortured him with immortal pain in honor of his fallen men. At last, he relented and spared the god. Poseidon ended the storm.

Odysseus finally returned to Ithaca. He killed the suitors who had planned to murder Telemachus and force Penelope to remarry. Telemachus helped him, showing his own strength. In the quiet that followed, Odysseus reunited with his son and his mentor. Then, looking into Penelope’s eyes, he asked the question he had feared for years: would she still love him, knowing everything he had done? He was no longer the man she had married. Could she ever fall in love with him again?