This post is based off the preview for Siege #4, so bear in mind this comes only from the first 5 pages of a comic.   Here’s the basic rundown of Siege for those who don’t know: Loki has convinced Norman Osborn and his army of super villains to declare war on Asgard (which is in Oklahoma).   In the resulting battle, the Sentry went completely off his rocker and destroyed Asgard, unleashing the Void and is poised to kill absolutely everything.   The preview has a mournful Loki saying he never meant for Asgard to be destroyed and he uses a MacGuffin from New Avengers to power up all the superheroes.  

Bull!

What we have here is the biggest waste of potential I have ever seen in a comic.   Loki should be the true villain of Siege.   Even with all the Sentry/Void stuff going on, Loki should be the true villain, the epitome of evil in this story.   Loki is the god of chaos and lies, he should be reveling in the destruction, not going “my bad.”   I can perfectly picture a page spread of Loki stepping on and breaking a wounded god’s neck, laughing with pure malice in his eyes.   And I mourn for it never coming to be.

First off, it just rings hollow.   This is Loki, the guy whose entire life was one huge Xanatos Gambit.   Up until now, Loki has been playing everyone in the Marvel Universe like a violin, and to extend the metaphor, this symphony should be his masterpiece.   Instead, he’s crying about how he didn’t know Asgard was going to get F-ed up.   How are we expected to believe he didn’t know?   He engineered a war between gods and supervillains, and didn’t think there would be some collateral damage?

Bull!

Loki should have known full well what was going to happen, and he should have enjoyed every moment of it.   It’s not like the Sentry was a secret.   Loki’s been whispering in Osborn’s ear since Dark Reign began.   Loki knew how powerful and how psychotic the Sentry was.  

I’m not saying villains with redeeming qualities don’t work.   Conflicted villains who try to do the right thing usually make some of the best villains around.   But in world of comics, they are a dime a dozen.   Pure, unrestrained, terrifying evil though?   That’s a much rarer beast.   And that’s what Loki could have been.   Siege should have been Loki’s moment, the act he’d have been remembered for for decades.   Green Goblin killing Gwen Stacey, Obidiah Stane pushing Iron Man past the brink, the Joker murdering Jason Todd, that’s the kind of evil I’m talking about.

But no, instead we get the god of chaos mourning and seeking redemption.   And you can’t even say he had to because it was the only way to make it so the heroes could beat the Sentry.   It’s comic books, there’s countless other ways.   The Sentry himself could have given them gold dust that lets them beat the Void, Odin could come out of nowhere and give them power, the Phoenix could come back.   I just pulled those three out of my ass in 5 seconds, you get the deal.   But okay, let’s assume that Loki has to use the MacGuffin to restore the heroes, here’s how you do it:

Loki stands triumphantly over the bloody and battered body of Thor.   He lets his brother that no matter what happens next, he has won.   Everything Thor ever cared about has been destroyed, and the god of lies is behind all of it.   Loki then restores and powers up all the superheroes.   Why?   Because after all the chaos and destruction he sowed, he wants Thor and everyone else to know that Loki was the one that saved them.   Loki wants Thor to owe him his life.   Loki has turned the world into his plaything.   He has brought the Earth to the brink of destruction, he has pushed it the darkest it has ever been, and then he’ll save everyone.   Why?   Just to show that he can.