You, dear reader, are burdened with a glorious purpose. Hopefully, there won’t be any mischief, because it would be a pity if there were. Sibling rivalries are nothing new to comics or even the larger field of literature, especially ancient mythology. For Marvel Comics, one of the most famous sibling rivalries is between Thor Odinson and his brother, Loki Laufeyson. Though he is often portrayed as the villain in his stories, Loki is much more complicated than that. But who is he?
Background
After slaying the Frost Giant King Laufey, the Asgardian King Odin found a hidden child who was the same size as an Asgardian child. Odin took this child, Loki, and raised him as his own son alongside his biological son Thor. As Loki grew up, he became more and more resentful of how the Asgardian people treated him differently than his brother. Asgardian society valued strength, tenacity, and bravery in battle, and Loki was always viewed as inferior in these areas when compared to Thor. While he was growing up, he would earn the nickname “God of Mischief” because of his talent for causing mischief. This mischief grew into something more sinister as he grew older and eventually became pure malice. Loki tried several times to take over Asgard, going so far as to aid the enemies of Asgard if it fit his plans. After several failed attempts, Odin imprisoned Loki in a tree that he would not be able to escape until someone shed a tear over him. Loki eventually escaped through trickery, and this would lead to his first conflict with the superheroes of Earth. Loki attempted to manipulate the Hulk, and then inadvertently caused the formation of the Avengers, who joined up to fight Hulk. Loki is also responsible for creating Absorbing Man, releasing the fire demon Surtur, and also releasing the largest Storm Giant Skagg. He also awakened the Destroyer. After returning from exile in space, Loki would use his right as the “son” of Odin to lay claim to the throne before his brother could during the Odinsleep. Loki would flee and retake the throne of Asgard several more times, until he would eventually team up with Thor and Odin to battle Surtur. After Ragnarok, Loki returned in a female body, but still maintained his male form as well. During the Secret Invasion, Loki joined the Cabal after the Skrulls were defeated.
Publication History/MCU History
A version of Loki first appeared in the August, 1949 issue of Venus for Timely Comics. The modern version of Loki that is much more familiar, however, was introduced in October of 1962 by Kirby, Lieber, and Lee. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Loki is brilliantly portrayed by Tom Hiddleston and made his first appearance in the 2011 film Thor. He also has a solo series on Disney+.
Recommended Runs
-Loki (Disney+): This is a really good series that is elevated by Hiddleston’s performance. This is also the highlight of the multiverse saga that made any sense to me.
-Loki: Agent of Asgard #1-17 (Al Ewing, Lee Garbett): Al Ewing is one of the best authors employed by Marvel. His Immortal Hulk series is one of the best pieces of modern horror that I have ever read. This series is equally as impressive, and explores the various identities of Loki.
-Vote Loki #1-4 (Christopher Hastings, Langdon Foss): I always find it hilarious when Joe Public is upset about comics, especially Marvel Comics, being political. They clearly didn’t understand the X-Men. This series is an incredible satire of the current state of American politics and tells the story of Loki running for President.
Does the Model Miss the Mark?
Currently, there are two versions of Loki in MCP: Loki, Prince of Lies and Loki, God of Mischief. Let’s look at them separately, because they are very different models and represent very different versions of Loki. First, let’s look at the original version of Loki we had in the game.
Loki, God of Mischief
The model is styled after the more modern comic version of the character, and pretty much looks like having Tom Hiddleston on the tabletop. His attacks aren’t much to write home about, but I think AMG did a great job of capturing the character of Loki in the superpowers included on his card. Mostly because they make this character extremely annoying to play against. He can add blanks in his attack or defense rolls with I Am A GOD!, he can move out of range and LOS with Trickster, and has a Range 4 (!) bubble around him where enemies have to spend 1 power before they use an active or reactive superpower with God of Mischief. I like the way this character can really mess with dice rolls and power economy, and I especially like that he only costs 4 threat, which is a very valuable threat cost for Asgard. He can also take the Mind and Space gems if you are so inclined.
Loki, Prince of Lies
Not going to lie, this is my personal favorite version of Loki. It may be recency bias, but I think it’s just that he brings so much more to the table for only one more threat cost, and it still captures the flavor of the character. His leadership ability, I Come Bearing Gifts is incredibly flavorful. Yes, your allies get a re-roll, but Loki also gains the power they spent for it. Additionally, this character does just like God of Mischief does and has superpowers that make him just flat-out annoying to play against. His innate ability This Isn’t Mischief, This Is Mayhem lets him count opposing Failure results in his successes, and then use those same results to deal damage to the same enemy with his power Oh My What A Pity. He can also move allies to an advantageous position with Go Forth!, and then can move enemy characters with his spender attack Clever Ploy, which he will almost ALWAYS have the power for because of his leadership ability.
Have any questions or feedback? Drop us a note in the comments below or email us at contact@goonhammer.com. Want articles like this linked in your inbox every Monday morning? Sign up for our newsletter. And don’t forget that you can support us on Patreon for backer rewards like early video content, Administratum access, an ad-free experience on our website and more.
