Loki

Loki Origins

Millennia ago, on a different plane then Earth-616, Asgard was born-a magical land like something out of a fairy tale. It was the home of the Gods. All that was there was two kinds of creatures-the Asgardians (or Gods of Asgard) and the Frost Giants-a group of giants that lived outside the walls of civilized Asgardian society on Jotunheim, another part of Asgard. The earliest ancestors of Odin fought the earliest Frost Giants constantly, for the Frost Giants and the Asgardians were mortal enemies. The Asgardians proved to be stronger, winning a city. But the two remained enemies for centuries. Eventually, the role of the king of the Asgardians was taken by Odin, the immortal and omnipotent master. Odin was a strong, powerful king-but he desired a son of both Asgard and Midgard (also known as Earth).

Fear the Wrath of Odin!

So Odin, king of the gods, found Gaea-goddess of the Earth. As humans say, one thing led to another, and soon, Gaea bore Odin a child in Norway. That baby was Thor. Thor was dearly loved, and proved to be strong and intelligent. He grew up well, got a magical hammer, and excelled in power-as well as being extremely popular and dearly adored by the world. Everything worked out for young Thor Odinson.

Sometimes, though, things don't work out like a picture book. When it doesn't, it can be pretty gruesome. As opposed to the shining, beloved hero, Thor got a stepbrother who was not quite "beloved" or "adored". That little stepbrother grew up to be Thor's greatest enemy, Loki.

The Frost Giants and the Asgardians were still battling in their eternal war at the time Thor was born. Laufey was the king of the Frost Giants. He was strong, but brutal and not particularly smart. But whatever he was, Laufey was the king of the Frost Giants, and he hated Odin and the Asgardians as much as they hated him. He also desired a child, so he had one (the mother was Farbauti). His baby boy was Loki-but he was diminutive by Frost Giant and Asgardian standards. Laufey was a tough king, so he hid the baby from the populace. After all, the baby would have tarnished his reputation. Soon after his birth, there was an attack. Odin was a revolutionary, powerful king-so he decided to wipe out the Frost Giants once and for all.

He and the Asgardian warriors traveled to Jotunheim, the land of the Frost Giants, and launched an attack on the Frost Giant city in a huge offensive. The Frost Giants and Laufey fought valiantly, but the Asgardians defeated them. Odin and Laufey fought each other in one-on-one combat, mano a mano. Odin won. He killed Laufey with a stroke of his power, and the Asgardians took the whole city. While sorting through the spoils of their victorious war, Odin found something unexpected-an infant baby. The baby was Loki, who was hidden by Laufey in the main Frost Giant stronghold so he could be kept safe and undetected by the Frost Giants he had ruled before his death. Odin found him and decided to raise the baby himself.

Loki's Childhood

Loki, contrary to Thor, didn't have a picture-perfect childhood. He wasn't popular as a child, everyone followed his big brother Thor. Odin also favored Thor, because Thor was strong, skilled, noble, and his own son. Loki was odd as a child, though. He always was very mischievous, always playing tricks on people. And as a young boy, he began to study sorcery-which he was naturally talented at. And his hate grew for Odin and Thor, sprung from jealousy. He hated Thor.

They grew up with Loki constantly trying to undermine and trick his older brother. Thor fell in love with Sif as a teenager-a young Asgrdian sword maiden with long, beautiful golden hair. To hurt Thor, Loki secretly cut off all her hair while she was asleep. But Thor was smart, and he figured out that Loki did it. He forced Loki to restore her hair, so Loki enlisted two dwarves to make her new hair. But he refused to pay them-so they made her black hair out of nothing. Thor still loved Sif, though-and Loki still hated Thor.

As teenagers, Loki still tried to get advantage over Thor. Odin sent Thor, Balder, and Sif out to get materials for a sword. Loki followed them secretly, but found that an evil goddess was about to attack and was forced to alert them instead of stopping them.

Meanwhile, Odin loved Thor so much that he was preparing his greatest gift to the young Thor. When Thor turned eight, Odin had a magical hammer created, an amazingly powerful one- Mjolnir. He then enchanted it, making Mjolnir the strongest weapon in Asgard. Loki was jealous, and he showed his first signs of evil. He interfered with Mjolnir while it was still being made-he made the handle too short. As a boy, he wanted Mjolnir's power which would someday be Thor's and often tried to steal it.

This all had an effect on Loki. He turned bad faster and faster-he was truly becoming evil. His hate for Thor and desire to rule Asgard manifested along with his sorcery and mischief, and he got jaded and evil. He finally made a vow-to be the most powerful god in Asgard and to destroy his brother Thor.

Loki Before Avengers

The Boisterous Balder

Public Enemy #1

Loki is best known for fighting Thor and other heroes in the Marvel Universe-most notably the Avengers, although he's fought many others. However, Loki was an enemy of Thor and goodness before he entered the Marvel Universe and was known.

Thor and Loki grew up, and Thor gained the throne of Asgard. Loki became a public enemy. He often tried to seize the throne of Asgard and perpetrated numerous crimes. Eventually, his crimes grew so great that Odin himself was forced to take drastic action. He trapped Loki inside a tree as punishment for his crimes. Loki, however, was very skilled in magic and escaped.

Disgruntled, he wandered until finding Eldred, a sorcerer. Eldred was amazingly skilled and powerful in magic, and he specialized in black magic, evil magic. Eldred taught Loki in the black arts until Loki was as skilled as he. Loki left with his newfound abilities and found someone who could enhance his power even more- Surtur, the fire demon. Surtur was a bad motherf*er. He had power beyond power-and he had a particular liking for souls (not unlike Mephisto, DC's Neron, or the Devil in Christian belief). Loki turned on his teacher. He sold Eldred's soul to Surtur for power, and he assumed even more power, and all of Eldred's lands, minions, and possessions.

Loki went through acts like this for a long time. He drew farther into black magic, and earned the title "god of evil" among Asgardians. He also met with and formed alliances with many of the worst creatures in Asgard, horrible creatures. Angerboda was a pissed, evil goddess, and she became Loki's wife. Their children were Midgard Serpent, Fenris Wolf, and Hela (later goddess of death and enemy of Thor). Also, he married Sigyn, by tricking her into believing he was Theoric (her lover).

Also, an important development happened at this time. Loki learned of a prophecy-Ragnarok. In Ragnarok, it was fated that he would bring about Asgard's ruin. He would lead the enemies of Asgard into a war against Asgard, kill Balder, and destroy the whole place. Loki, being evil, liked the idea, and accepted it as his destiny. He often tried to destroy Asgard and bring about Ragnarok, but Odin stopped him. However, he had such crafty schemes that no one could prove he did it.

Meanwhile, his brother Thor had became arrogant. The worship of Midgard (Earth) and adulation of Asgard as their king went to his head. He also got proud and selfish. One day, while fighting a Frost Giant, he chased it into Frost Giant territory. This nearly caused a war. Odin was so pissed (for lack of a better term) that he decided to punish Thor. He created a mortal body for Thor, Donald Blake, stripped Thor of his powers and memories, and trapped him inside the body of Donald Blake, M.D.

Loki continued to cause trouble, meanwhile, and was mystically imprisoned. This is how it stayed for a long time...

Avengers Creation

However, a major change occurred in Loki's life. Well, technically, it was Thor's.

Loki Vs Thor

Donald Blake was a happy, normal doctor. He was caring and loving and had a good family. Then the alien Kronans invaded. Fleeing, Blake fled into the cave Thor was born in. He found a walking stick, and when he picked it up, it became Mjolnir. He transformed into Thor and regained his memories. This meant he could change into Thor whenever he wanted-so Thor was back, on Earth. And Loki found out. Naturally, this was big news for the evil god-his long lost, worst enemy brother was free and asking for it. He used powerful magic and managed to escape his imprisonment and go to and island. There, Loki made his first, most notable appearance.

Loki traveled to Earth and found an incredible engine of destruction equal to Thor- the Incredible Hulk. He used psychic powers to make the slow Hulk believe there was dynamite placed on the train tracks. Hulk destroyed the train trestle to stop the "dynamite", and held the track on his shoulders so that the train could pass comfortably. However, the driver just saw a busted track and Hulk beneath it. Naturally, he concluded that Hulk was on the rampage (again). He put out a distress call to stop the Hulk's rampage. Loki intercepted the call and stopped it from reaching the Fantastic Four and other heroes. The only one he let the transmission reach was Donald Blake, who instantly transformed into Thor. Also, Iron Man, Ant-Man, and Wasp picked up the signal.

Ant-Man used his network of ants to find Hulk. He had been captured and was working in a circus, as the strongman. Ant-Man quickly found him and had the ants trap Hulk beneath Earth. Hulk escaped, though, and was met by Iron Man. Iron Man and Ant-Man teamed up on Hulk, but he ripped through their efforts and escaped into the desert.

Meanwhile, Thor figured out that this looked like the work of Loki. He found permission from Odin and traveled to the Asgardian island Loki was holed up on. Loki created many challenges for him along the way (like volcanoes), but Thor persevered. They met, even for the first time in centuries. Loki created conjurations that Thor battled, but he defeated them. However, Loki had a trick up his sleeve. He cut a deal with trolls that lived beneath the surface-he would deliver them the most powerful god if they would get him. The trolls dragged Thor underground-but he used Mjolnir to shine a brilliant light. The underground creatures were blinded. Thor then defeated Loki in combat, captured him, and brought him to Earth.

Meanwhile, Iron Man and Hulk have been battling ferociously in a factory. As they battled, Thor showed up with Loki prisoner. He explained that it was really Loki's tricks. Hulk attacked Loki, but he turned radioactive. However, Loki tried to destroy Thor and fell through a trap door, which trapped inside a lead lined tank. The five heroes celebrated, and decided to form a team. Wasp suggested the name "Avengers". And thus, the Avengers were born-all due to Loki.

The Avengers would become Loki's second greatest enemy-right behind Thor. They also became Earth's Greatest Heroes, and Loki's attack unwittingly created what would be an enemy of evil and him often-totally inadvertently. That's a mistake, huh?

Battles and Usurpings

Dormammu

Surtur In His Fiery Glory

Loki often battled Thor, both by himself and using pawns, in the period after. Loki's doing was part of the creation of many powerful villains that fought Thor, the Avengers, and other heroes.

Also, Loki plotted another huge attack and plans to attain his ultimate goal. Odin ruled Asgard and was so powerful that Loki would never be able to defeat him and rule Asgard (although rest assured that Loki tried). But Odin had to sleep (or hibernate) in the Odinsleep for a time periodically to regain power. Loki tried to gain the throne of Asgard then, while Odin's guard was down. He actually was successful. He gained control of the throne of Asgard. However, he ran into a problem. Asgard had a number of powerful enemies that were dangerous. It took a lot of skill and will, and Loki realized it was harder then it looked. Mangog and Surtur (who was pissed off at the God of Mischief) caused so many problems and scared Loki so much that he stepped down.

Loki also made several other evil bids to destroy his enemies and gain power during this time. He teamed up with Dormammu, the insane and powerful ruler of the Dark Dimension, to try and gain the Evil Eye. This was a mystical, powerful object that would give him power beyond his wildest dreams (like Red Skull and Cosmic Cube). Ironically, he was tricking the Avengers and another team, the Defenders, into building it for him. However, unlike Red Skull and the Cube, Loki failed. He also launched a direct attack on Midgard, but he was stopped by Thor (of course) and a team of other heroes, which stopped him and the Asgardian army.

Hela Vs Thor

Finally, Loki stole the throne of Asgard again and was defeated (again). Odin was pissed now. He stripped Loki of his memories, made a body of a hobo for him, put his consciousness into it, and booted him off to Earth to be a hobo. Loki lived that way for a while until he was saved by a journalist-Harris Hobbs. Hobbs had made it to Asgard but Thor wiped his memories. A dream restored his memories, and the dream somehow reached Loki and restored his memories. Angry, he managed to cause Ragnarok by killing Balder with an arrow, but Balder was revived. 

Loki also gave a mortal the same powers as Thor so he could be an assistant. The mortal was Red Norvell. Loki was punished, but blamed Odin and got off again.

Once, Hela (the goddess of death and Loki's daughter) cursed Thor. He would be immortal (so far, so good) but would never heal from injuries (d'oh!). Loki found out and was pleased with Hela, who was doing a better job killing Thor then he had ever done. He sent the Destroyer, an army of frost giants, and the creepy Midgard Serpent after Thor. Thor got reduced to a puddle of broken bones, blood, and assorted crushed organs. However, he was still alive. Thor mentally took over the Destroyer armor though, found Hela, beat her down, then forced her to take the curse off. Thor snapped Loki's arm as punishment.

Once, Seth and the Demons of Death attacked Asgard. In a horrible war, Seth managed to capture Odin and keep him inside the source of Seth's power-the magical Black Pyramid. Loki and Thor teamed up and rescued Odin, who then inflicted his wrath upon Seth. This is one of the few times Loki has worked with Thor.

The Tri-Sentinel!

Another time, Loki concocted a huge plot to rule the Earth and destroy the Avengers. He brought together Red Skull, Magneto, Kingpin, Doctor Doom, Wizard, and Mandarin and offered them the chance to manipulate heroes into battles to destroy them. He was manipulating them all into thinking they were the leader, being the God of Mischief. However, Thor found out and beat the crap out of Loki. In vengeance, he created the Tri-Sentinel to raise hell, but Spider-Man gained the Uni-Power, became Captain Universe, and destroyed it (cough, cough, plot device).

Mephisto

1990s Evil Plot

Loki made a new plot soon after this, and barring his first appearance in Avengers #1, it was his most devious yet. This particular appearance would have him as a businessman, trapped by Mephisto, fighting Thor and Eric Masterson, and possessing none other then the War Machine.

First, Loki made his plot-then he took the form of a businessman on Midgard and found Ulik (a troll), Amora (Enchantress), and the Wrecking Crew. Loki had them capture Kevin Masterson, the son of Eric Masterson. Eric Masterson had been bound to Thor in his body. Thor was pissed at Loki, and even in a human body, he managed to set Kevin free for Eric. As he was escaping, Loki launched a power blast at Kevin and Marcy, his mother-just to be a jerk.

But Enchantress had secretly turned against Loki. She took control of the body of another mortal, Susan Austin-Kevin's babysitter. In Austin's body, she took the hit, transferring her consciousness back at the last second. This attack really ticked off Thor-Loki was trying to kill innocent mortals for no reason at all, who did nothing to him, just to spite Thor. The wrath of the God of Thunder truly fell upon the now terrified Loki this time. Thor drained the life force from Loki with Mjolnir. It appeared that this killed Loki. As punishment, Thor was banished to Eric's subconscious as punishment by Odin. Eric became the new Thor, although he took the name Thunderstrike instead. Thunderstrike got a short series in the early 90s.

Meanwhile, Loki had taken over the body of Odin while he was in Odinsleep. He explored his new amazing power, laughed his ass off at Thor for a while, then took control of Asgard. He was busy ruling. Odin's spirit floated down into the Realm of Mephisto, which was quite the bounty for it's new owner, Mephisto. The souls of the innocent are fine, but the soul of the King of the Gods was better. Fortunately, Thunderstrike and Thor's old buddy Sif traveled to Mephisto's Realm and busted Odin out, restoring him to his body. Mephisto simply took Loki instead (once again. d'oh!). He made a deal with Pluto, an evil underworld god of Hades. Loki would try to take down Hercules if Pluto would take down Thor. Mephisto was busy at the time and wasn't paying attention to Loki (not a good thing to do, even if you own his soul).

God of Death-Pluto

Loki tried having a Titan attack Hercules, but it failed. So he had the Flame (a high-level minion) attack Thor. However, the psychotic Flame almost hurt Sigyn, and Loki ended up having to save Thor from his own henchman. Loki was still trapped in Mephisto's Realm, but Thor eventually rescued him to help him fight the New Immortals bonded to a suit of armor (his body was long gone). Afterwards, he continued to fight Thor and now Thunderstrike. He even possessed the War Machine to fight them, gained a new body from Seth afterwards.

But then War Machine, the new Ant-Man ( Scott Lang), and She-Hulk teamed up on him, reminding him of the Avengers-and he had more then enough trouble with the Avengers. He ended the fight.

Infinity Gems

After fighting Thor some more, Loki had a plan to capture ultimate power-with the Infinity Gems. The Infinity Gems were a collection of powerful gems-seven of them. If anyone ever managed to collect all seven, they would possess ultimate power-total omnipotence. Thanos and Red Skull had both tried and failed to capture them (although Skull got the Cosmic Cube later).

Loki found that the Gems were all floating in an alternate dimension-the Ultraverse. He traveled to this other reality to capture the Gems. They were already owned by the Ultras-a race of ultra powerful superhumans native to the Ultraverse. Each one had a gem, and each was incredibly powerful. Loki traveled off and met them one by one-and easily destroyed them, one by one. They were no match for the God of Mischief. After killing each one, he procured another Gem.

He got six of them-but then realized that something was missing. Loki hadn't understood the the true meaning of the Gems. He didn't know he would need a seventh. He spent a long time searching until one of the Elders of the Universe- Grandmaster-appeared to him and informed him that he needed another Gem-the Ego Gem. Loki, the Avengers, and Ultraforce (the heroes of that dimension) all fought for the Gem.

However, Loki couldn't defeat both Ultraforce and the Avengers. He never got the Gem, and eventually lost all of them-the closest Loki had come to true omnipotence. Humiliated, he returned to his own dimension-and he was pissed...

Ragnarok

Meanwhile, Loki had continued to try to start Ragnarok (remember that?). Through the whole time, he had carried out various plots to set the plan going and destroy Asgard. However, through the efforts of Odin and Thor, he had so far been thwarted at every turn.

The Amazing Asgardian Gods

After the Infinity Gems debacle, Loki started trying harder, and Odin sensed that Ragnarok was going to come soon. To try and increase the time they had life, he tricked Yggdrasil (the World Tree) into thinking that Ragnarok had already happened, and all the Asgardians were stripped of their memories and identities, given mortal identities, and placed on Midgard. Loki became an Oriental businessman named Tso Zhung (who, coincidentally, was also a jerk). Thor became Jake Olsen, a paramedic. Red Norvell found all the gods and brought them together, giving them their identities. Loki regained his identity first and fought Seth, who had tried to destroy all Asgardians with the opportunity. Eventually, all the Asgardians regained their identities.

However, Jake Olsen (the real one) was killed, and Thor used the name and appearance Jake Olsen as a secret identity. Loki reanimated the dead body and used it to commit crimes so Thor would be arrested, but Thor trapped Loki in a body exactly the same as Jake Olsen's. Loki was sent to prison.

Fortunately for him, Loki was eventually released from prison-just as Surtur actually managed to kill Odin. Thor took the throne, and things temporarily worked out for Loki-he got more power, and saw how Thor put Asgardian pieces of culture on Earth. But he was still evil, and he still believed in his destiny. And he knew what his destiny was. Ragnarok.

Loki forged another uru hammer similar to Mjolnir that he could use himself. He started another plan to try and start Ragnarok and destroy Asgard. Thor could have stopped him-he always had in the past. But he realized that the greatest possible honor on Asgard was to die fighting as a warrior. Asgard was on a loop, Loki attacks, Thor saves, death, rebirth. Thor accepted the destiny that Loki would eventually destroy Asgard and start Ragnarok-and he could have everyone in Asgard die a warrior's death.

But he had to get his own back first, because if he was letting a whole dimension die, he might as well get revenge on his greatest enemy, who had plagued him so much. With a swift stroke of Mjolnir, Thor hacked Loki's head off. Of course, Loki was an amazingly powerful sorcerer, and decapitation didn't kill him. His head still lived, so Thor carried it with him when he traveled to Asgard. Surtur was preparing to unleash an amazing assault on Asgard-that would destroy it unless Thor stopped it. He let Surtur launch the attack-and Asgard was destroyed.

But before Thor died, he confronted Those Who Sit Above In Shadow. the powers responsible for Ragnaroks-and he destroyed them. Then Asgard died-carrying Thor with it.

Loki Reborn

As for Loki, what could he do? Thor had decapitated him. All he could do was sit and watch as his ultimate goal-Ragnarok-was carried-and then scream as he was vanquished in the attack. The last act of Loki-a sad and troubled life, to say the least. Will he come back? I think so-if there's anyone who can come back from the dead, it's Loki.

But even if his last act was to scream as his greatest plan destroyed him, Loki was still quite possibly the greatest threat to Thor and Asgard-and even in death, in the end-Loki won.

Rebirth

Like all the "dead" Asgardians, Loki was reborn as a human form and imprisoned by Balder to prevent Thor from restoring Asgard. However the fates had a little surprise for him as he was reborn as a female, inhabiting the body of Sif, Thor's true love. Loki has seemingly devoted herself to aiding her brother and former enemy in his quest to restore Asgard but knowing Loki this is undoubtedly a plan she has set into motion to destroy her brother once again.

Due to Loki's latest moves Lady Sif remains as the last Aesir that is trapped in human form and Balder discovered that he is a true son of Odin and not just adopted. Balder was then crowned Prince of Asgard.

In contrast to Loki's life as a male god the goddess seems to use hidden truths to spin her sinister webs rather then lies.

Loki went over to Hela to ask a favor. She wanted to be transformed back to her true male form as she was on a mission. Hela then transformed her into the true man Loki was. Loki revealed that the body he was using was the body of Sif. Loki was sent back in time to the time when Asgardians were fighting the frost giants. Loki was attacked and slayed a frost giant. Their leader sensed their blood flowing through Loki's veins and knew he was one of them. Bor was seen chasing a frost giant and there was a powerful sorcerer. The powerful sorcerer that killed Bor was none other than Loki. He bid Bor farewell and transformed him into snow. Loki then influenced himself as a child to take revenge on his true father and to be tough. Loki's father was killed by the hands of Odin and young Loki appeared at the scene. He attacked Odin but was stopped and Odin took the young Loki to be his own son. After they left, the current Loki arrived and took satisfaction in striking his father with a sword. Loki returned to Hela and asked to be transformed back to her form in the body of Sif.

Dark Reign

Loki has joined Norman Osborns secret Cabal. For their cooperation and services Osborn will provide them with the resources to accomplish their goals. Loki wants Asgard, back in the heavens where it belongs.

Ages of Thunder

Powers

Loki is the son of frost giants and so is endowed with super-strength and stamina and is much more resistant to injury than a mortal being. He has the strength level of an average Asgardian, able to lift c. 30 tons.

He is extremely long-lived and immune to all Earthly diseases. He also possesses a great intellect, though he is often blinded by greed, jealousy, or hatred and overlooks some small detail. He also has the inborn powers of persuasion, astral projection, and inter-dimensional teleportation.

Loki is perhaps the most powerful sorcerer among the gods, making him extremely dangerous. He has been known to create force fields, energy blasts, enhance his own strength and invulnerability, imbue others with powers, fly at high speeds, and various other effects. He has survived being beheaded and survived without a body.

Physical Description

Height: 6'4

Weight: 525 lbs

Eyes: Green

Hair: Black-Grey

Alternate Versions

Ultimate Universe (Earth-1610)

In this reality, Loki is the evil half-brother of Thor, and like him, he is also a god. He joined the Liberators ("Other country who doesn't like America" version of the Ultimates) with the reason of that Thor is with the Ultimates and so there should be a god in the Liberator's side. When the Liberators lost, Loki to on the Ultimates by himself, but Thor came to the rescue and with him are his fellow Asgardians. Thor defeated Loki where he is waiting judgment from Odin.

MC2 (Earth-982)

Still regretting his actions for the formation of the Avengers, Loki to the old heroes and brainwashed them to wreaked havoc on earth, thus destroying their reputation as heroes. It wasn't until the young superheroes and especially Captain America, who broke the gem that Loki was using to brainwash the heroes who were about to kill innocent people. For his actions, Loki was banished to limbo, with Hulk following him, to punish him for what he did to the heroes.

Earth X (Earth-9997)

In this reality, Loki tricked Odin into transforming him into a woman. He later found out that the Asgardian god are just long-lived mutants with enormous power and are manipulated by the Celestials into thinking that they are gods. With this knowledge, he defeated the Absorbing Men and formed a new batch of the Avengers, with him filling for the role of Thor.

Guardians of the Galaxy (Earth-691)

In the 31st century, Loki is present and fighting the Guardians Of The Galaxy.