Loki

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Many years ago, when Bor, ruler of Asgard, was battling frost giants, he followed a wounded giant to a powerful sorcerer that was waiting for him. The sorcerer caught him unaware, turning Bor into snow. Bor's son, Odin, found his father as he was blowing away; Bor begged Odin to find a sorcerer to free him, but Odin made no attempt to save his father. Bor cursed Odin saying that he would take in the son of a fallen king and raise it as his own. Not a week later, Odin himself led the Asgardians into battle against the Frost Giants and killed Laufey, who was the King, in personal combat. After slaying Laufey, Odin found a small Asgardian-sized child hidden within the primary stronghold of the Frost Giants. The child was Loki; Laufey having kept him hidden from the Frost Giant people due to his shame over his son's small size. Odin took the child, out of a combination of pity, to appease the memory of his father, and because he was the child of a worthy adversary slain in honorable combat, and raised as his own alongside his biological son Thor. Throughout his childhood and into adolescence, Loki was resentful of the differences between how Thor and himself were treated by the citizens of Asgard. The Asgardians valued great strength, tenacity, and bravery in battle above all things, and Loki was clearly inferior to his brother Thor in those areas. What he lacked in size and strength, however, he made up for in power and skill, particularly as a sorcerer. As Loki grew to adulthood, his natural talent for causing mischief would make itself manifest and earned him a nickname as the 'God of Mischief'; his mischievousness eventually became malice as his hunger for power and revenge grew stronger. Several times he tried to use tricks to get rid of Thor, such as telling him to guard a hole in the wall that he himself had made. In time, his reputation grew from being a playful and mischievous trickster to the 'God of Evil'.

In Their Own Story

Loki's schemes come to include Earth, and he often fights with Earth's superhuman heroes to take their planet, and often Asgard. He first battles Thor on Earth in modern times after escaping from the tree; after saving his adoptive brother from drowning, Thor simply throws him all the way back to Asgard. Loki then manipulates the Hulk into wreaking havoc using an illusion of dynamite on train tracks, in an attempt to lure Thor to Earth. This leads to the formation of the Avengers as several other heroes come to meet the Hulk. Thor is one of the founding members of this superhuman team, and often leads them into battle against Loki. Several times Loki, while not directly battling Thor, causes other threats for Thor to battle, like increasing the mental powers of a carnival fortune teller Sandu, making him powerful enough to lift buildings with his mind, and releasing a Lava Man called Molto by accident when causing a long-dead volcano to explode. When Loki convinces Odin to punish Thor, Odin takes away half of Thor's power, after which Loki returns the memory of the 23rd-century villain Zarrko. Zarrko defeats Thor and takes him back to help conquer his time period, although the God of Thunder finally captures the villain. Loki releases Mr. Hyde and Cobra by paying their bail, then doubles their powers. Loki tells them to kidnap Jane Foster, which he knows would attract Thor's attention, but Hyde and Cobra are again defeated. Loki finally goes after Jane himself, sending her to another dimension. However Doctor Strange protects her, and Thor forces Loki to return her. Among Loki's better-known henchmen was the human criminal Carl Creel, whom Loki transformed into the superhuman criminal known as the Absorbing Man. Creel would prove to be a formidable adversary to Thor and other Avengers over the years. Loki attempts to turn Odin against Thor and to steal Thor's enchanted hammer Mjolnir in an attempt to attain freedom, but his efforts fail. Upon convincing Odin to go to Earth and leave him in charge of Asgard with part of the Odinforce, he releases Skagg, the largest Storm Giant, and Surtur, the largest Fire Demon, to try to destroy Odin. However, Thor and Balder help defeat the monsters, and Loki is sent to serve the Trolls. Loki is responsible for the Destroyer being awakened, by leading a Hunter to the Temple where the Destroyer armor resides using their mental abilities while Thor is nearby, causing the soul of the Hunter to animate the armor, but Thor forces the Hunter to return to his body, then buries the armor under thousands of tons of rock. The Absorbing Man is brought back to Earth by Loki, and battles Thor, but Loki takes him to Asgard when Thor is on the verge of defeating them. The Absorbing Man defeats the Asgardians without too much trouble and absorbs Odin's attacks. However, Loki and the Absorbing Man are exiled into space due to a trick by Odin. He sends his astral form back to Earth and takes over the Dest

Reader's Guide

Loki has appeared in several ongoing series, limited series and alternate reality series, including the 4-issue series Loki in 2004 and 2006, being the main character of Journey into Mystery from issues 622 to 645, appearing in new issues of Young Avengers in 2013 and receiving four more solo series, Loki: Agent of Asgard in 2013, Vote Loki in 2016, Loki: The God Who Fell to Earth in 2019 and Loki: The Liar in 2023. Starting with issue #622 the ongoing series Thor reverted to the original title Journey into Mystery and shifted focus to Loki. Under the pen of Kieron Gillen, Loki is resurrected but exists in a child's body, remaining the main character from 2011 to 2012, his final issue as lead being #645. Gillen, joined by penciller Jamie McKelvie, continued his Loki storyline by introducing Loki, still as Kid Loki, as a main character in the second Young Avengers, which began in 2013. In issue #11, he manipulates Wiccan into restoring him to his teenaged form. A solo series for Loki called Loki: Agent of Asgard was announced for 2014. Writer Al Ewing said that among other things, the series would explore Loki's bisexuality and fluid gender identity, writing 'Loki is bi and I'll be touching on that. [He will be] shift[ing] between genders occasionally as well.' Another solo series for Loki called Vote Loki started in 2016. In this series Loki decides to run in the US presidential election, but loses seemingly after his tricks are uncovered by the media; he is later revealed to have lost intentionally on behalf of the then-winning candidate.

Did You Know?

• A version of Loki debuted in Venus #6 (August 1949), where he is depicted as a member of the Olympian gods.
• Loki's modern-age debut was in Journey into Mystery #85 (October 1962), where he was reintroduced as Thor's sworn enemy.
• Loki was the main character of Journey into Mystery from issues 622 to 645, resurrected in a child's body under writer Kieron Gillen.
• In Young Avengers #11 (2013), Kid Loki manipulates Wiccan into restoring him to his teenaged form.
• Writer Al Ewing stated that Loki: Agent of Asgard (2014) would explore Loki's bisexuality and fluid gender identity.