5 Evil Moments from Loki The God of Mischief
Marvel's Loki Laufeyson is a complicated villain who frequents both Thor and Avengers comics. He is not always totally evil, or even the central antagonist, but he is always creating chaos and mischief just for the fun of it. Like his namesake in Norse Mythology, Loki's main goal is to cause trouble for others and, in the Marvel Universe, to conquer the nine realms. Loki prefers to operate through manipulation- letting others execute his plans while he watches from the sidelines.
What follows is a list containing five of Loki's most villainous moments.
Photo from Marvel Fair Use: Comic Covers
5. In Avengers #1 Loki has been banished by Odin to the Isle of Silence. Loki blames Thor for his suffering and devises a plan to convince the Hulk to go on a rampage. Loki knows that a rampage big enough would snap Thor out of his trance (set by Odin, Thor believed he was a normal human named Donald Blake), cause a big fight, and hopefully lead to Thor's suffering.
The Hulk stops a train from derailing, saving the people inside, but is blamed for the attack. A man name Rick Jones, with the Teen Brigade, believes the Hulk to be innocent and calls Iron Man, Ant Man, and Wasp for help. The group of heroes find the Hulk and battle him to force him out of hiding while Thor goes to the Isle of Silence to fight Loki. Thor wins the battle and forces Loki to confess that the rampage/derailed train was all his fault. Ant Man, Wasp, Iron Man, Thor, and Hulk unite, right then, under the name The Avengers.
Loki's evil deed here was to create a group of super heroes that make life difficult for other villains and cause tons of collateral damage with with their epic fight scenes.
4. I'm a big fan of Tom Hiddleston and his performance as Loki in both Thor movies and in The Avengers. The above clip is from The Avengers movie when Hiddleston's Loki gives us our first real glimpse into his true nature- at about 35 seconds in you can see the joy on Loki's face as the crowd runs away from him in fear. Another gem from Loki's stint in Germany (The Avengers movie) is his quote about freedom when the people of Midgard finally kneel to him:
"Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel."
I've included the above photo to show that comic book Loki is just as cruel as his modern movie counterpart. Both incarnations of Loki take pleasure in instilling fear in anything they consider a "lesser" form of life. In the comic book we see Loki toying with a fish by holding it, barely alive, just a few inches above the water that could save its life.
Photo from Marvel Fair Use
3. The Mighty Thor #353 is the final book of the Surtur Saga. In the book, Surtur (the fire giant) attempts to light the sword Twilight in the Eternal Flame but nothing happens... because Loki has stolen the real fire and replaced it with an illusion. This move exemplifies Loki's craftiness and bravery- buying time for Odin and Thor, both incapacitated at this point, to return for the final fight. Riding into battle all three character send out a battle cry to announce what they're fighting for. Thor yells "For Midgard!" Odin chants "For Asgard!" and, in true Loki fashion, he concedes "For Myself!"
While this moment may not seem totally evil, because Loki is working in conjunction with Odin and Thor, it shows that Loki's true motivations are always totally selfish. He is willing to do anything necessary to further his own schemes and is constantly plotting his next move in secret.
In Walter Simonson's Thor #354-366 Loki turns Thor into a frog ("Thunder Frog") as part of a plot to overtake Asgard. A few lists that I've seen on the internet, about Loki's most diabolical moments, have credited the action of turning Thor into a frog as evil. I see it as a means to an end and I think the plot to overtake Asgard, like the "For Myself!" quote, is a more true testament to Loki's malevolent ambitions.
2. In Thor #600, Loki returns to life, after Ragnarok, by inhabiting Lady Sif's body.
Loki finds a way to resurrect Bor, Odin's Father, and enchants him so that he sees demons and creatures everywhere. Loki sends Bor, brainwashed and lashing out at the invisible monsters, on a rampage through New York City. Thor, without knowing who Bor is, tries to calm the situation with reason. Bor does not back down and, instead, attacks Thor. Thor, who nearly dies in the battle, manages one final attack and comes out victorious... killing his own Grandfather.
Loki and Balder arrive and tell Thor who Bor really was. Thor is sick with grief and regret. He is exiled from Asgard forever for killing a member of the Royal Family and told that he will be killed should he ever try to return.
"From this day, Thor is a prince of Asgard no longer. We deny him our company, our homes, our help and our words. And thus deny him Asgard itself. He shall not set foot on Asgard on pain of death, and let death come to any who assist him in so doing. Thor...is henceforth banished, for all time." - Balder
Photo from WriteUPS
1. As Loki reaches adulthood his mischievous acts grow in number, degree, and frequency. He is jailed by Odin for his actions but escapes prison, and flees Asgard, in hopes to learn the dark arts. Loki seeks out a skilled sorcerer named Eldred to further his training with dark magic. Eldred assumes the role of Loki's mentor and trains Loki to be an even match with his own power.
Loki, however, is not satisfied being as strong as someone else. Loki is more ambitious than that. He seeks out the 1,000-foot tall fire demon from Muspelheim named Surtur. Loki offers to sell Eldred's soul to Surtur in exchange for power- on the condition that Loki would be able to absorb Eldred's power and keep his possessions, lands, and followers. Surtur accepts the offer.
Loki's willingness to betray own mentor in his relentless search for power earned him the title of "God of Evil".
Selling Eldred's soul was Loki's first truly evil deed and, as such, earns the number one spot on my list. I don't have specific references for this story because I got all of the information from the Marvel Universe page on Loki and all of the photos from Google. If anyone knows specific books where I can read more on this story please let me know.
