Loki Appreciation 2019

[Rosebunse]

The Hood would be a fun choice, especially since he's another person Loki really, really screwed up. I mean, he was going to get screwed either way, but still.

Hela seems like an interesting choice because if we go by either the myths or JiM, Loki hurt her. He really hurt her.

[Raye]

Well, she hurt herself in the comics, really. I know Loki felt guilty about it but seriously, like he could have anticipated that asking that Leah be sent far away would be interpreted, by Hela herself, as 'to the beginning of time'

So I read Valkyrie, and though Loki himself was never mentioned, there might be something relevant to the discussion about Hood. Bullseye does seem to be working for someone there, he reported to someone on the phone about the status of acquiring Dragonfang, so it is certainly looking like someone else is calling the shots there, and Bullseye is just a particularly vicious and deadly henchman working towards someone's larger plan. The person he killed at the end would certainly be a first step of a potential attack or heist on Asgard.

So, here is the wild guessing part. if we assume Hood is involved, and this is starting to look like it fits his MO, stealing magical artifacts towards some larger end goal, it is looking like it may be across both books, but Loki and Jane are coming at him from different angles. If he is the casino guy, which the presence of Armadillo points to, then Loki was at the casino at least partly to mess with him, and that may even be where he got the Norn Stones. So Loki seems to be going after him directly, though in sneaky ways, because he figures he is up to something, but may not know exactly what. Or maybe he just hates him. He may have even created Frosti to lure Hood to a trap, because Norn Stones. Jane is solving a mystery, starting with some of the victims in his plot, moving on to his henchman, which will presumably lead her to him in the end. But along the way it is quite possible that they realize they share a goal, and team up.

edited to add - read the ending of Marvel Rising, and Morgan Le Fay was beaten by them in the end, and while it appeared that Squirrel Girl's usual tactic of talking the bad guys into becoming good guys might work, at the last second her new sidekick Mothball swooped in on a griffin and snatched her away, and she still seems to have villainous intent of some kind in mind, and she seemed to be heading back to England. So while her powers are severely weakened at the moment, she's here in the present ready for someone to use as a bad guy, and it may as well be in Loki's book, cus why not? tho the book also seemed to be setting up a new more permanent team of Secret Warriors, we'll see in the solicits over the next few months if that may be the case, in which case they may have plans for her to return there.

[Riimi]

Okay, first, solicits dropped (copy-paste):

"Loki’s death has been foretold by THE CHILDREN OF ETERNITY, the Fear Lord NIGHTMARE has come for vengeance, and among the FROST GIANTS, rebellion is brewing. Is even Loki clever enough to stay one step ahead this time? Perhaps now that he’s cursed with a brand new power that will forever transform The Marvel Universe’s most dashing scoundrel as he begins a new journey into the biggest mystery of all!"

Also, I believe the solicit for that month's issue of Valkyrie mentioned something about whoever it is gunning for Asgardian gods, so I could definitely see that story arc pulling them both in. I feel that it's almost inevitable, given their history, for them to need to work together at some point.

As for the Loki solicits, there's a decent amount to unpack. Not surprised by the Frost Giant revolt. Interesting that Loki's been cursed with a new power, mostly because of the wording. Makes me think of Midas' touch. Whatever it is, it sounds like it'll be double-edged, which is an interesting one for Loki, since he can make use of it but he might have to actually use some effort to do so sometimes.

[Raye]

Well, there you go, mysterious employer gunning for Asgard. I mean, I know it's not necessarily the Hood, and this person and the casino guy may not be the same person, but i do think it all fits together pretty well, and I think Hood would have motive to be pissed at Asgard in general. (but Loki in particular)

I wonder who will take over for Heimdall tho. I mean even without the whole 'roles' deal, it's a pretty important job he did, one that needs to be filled for the Bifrost to function. Sif, maybe?

As for Loki's solicit, sounds like the Children of Eternity are the real masters, or at least tellers, of fate in the MU. I had never heard of them, so searched and closest i can find is this:

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Etern...n_(Earth-5631) which is in a different universe so i doubt it's relevant at all.

Eternity the character does have children, but this sounds more like... a group of some kind...? some kind of cult?

new power/curse, I bet it has to do with the 'fuzzy time' thing in the Omega issue, so he may be able to see the future, or something like that. Which may be considered a curse if fate is fixed and you can do nothing about it, maybe just change HOW it comes to pass. and yeah, knew the giants had to revolt eventually, but they certainly picked the worst time to do it.

also solicit for King Thor, but it doesn't really reveal anything new:

KING THOR #2 (OF 4)
JASON AARON (W) • ESAD RIBIC (A/ C)
IT’S THE BATTLE FORETOLD FOR CENTURIES:
THOR VS. LOKI IN THE FINAL FIGHT OF THE MILLENNIA!
The universe is dying, and All-Father Thor is its only hope. But to save all life, the greatest god in history must defeat the one person who has always managed to escape his wrath — and that was before he got his hands on the weapon that almost killed three generations of Thor and stripped the God of Thunder of his legendary hammer. Loki, God of Lies, wielder of All-Black the Necrosword, finally faces his brother at the end of all time!

and covers:





Loki, honey, I think the horns are gonna spoil trying to blend in... but I do always like seeing him in civvies, and I like his low key shirt. I wonder what's up with the statue tho. I am guessing this is on Midgard, because of the clothes and the style of fence around it. Is it something he got for killing Laufey? or did he sneakily change a statue into one of himself with magic? seems a very calm cover for an issue with so much going wrong.

[Snoop Dogg]

hot topic vs forever 21

[dr4conianlaw]

"Children of Eternity"... Maybe those kids from the end of issue #1? The solicit doesn't /necessary/ make them sound antagonistic...

[Rosebunse]

I bet this new power is the Thor thing. Loki will gain power, but he'll steadily lose himself in the process.

Also, really like the Hood theories. Makes sense and should be fun.

[Prof. Aegis]

The Hood theory has a lot going for it between Loki and Valkyrie, and you're right, Hood has a lot to be pissed at against Loki and Asgard so it works very well.

This new power thing has me curious...time jumping?, future seeing?, empathic? and at what cost to his other abilities? I'm excited to see how this unfolds.

Children of Eternity?? Could that be the Future Foundation kids? And I knew the Frost Giants were going to rebel, but I was hoping Loki's rule would last longer than a few issues. He really needs to get a government and plan in place to move Jotunheim forward. I think just having them sit around just makes them rebellious in nature.

Want find that shirt. Lol

[Rosebunse]

The Hood theory has a lot going for it between Loki and Valkyrie, and you're right, Hood has a lot to be pissed at against Loki and Asgard so it works very well.

This new power thing has me curious...time jumping?, future seeing?, empathic? and at what cost to his other abilities? I'm excited to see how this unfolds.

Children of Eternity?? Could that be the Future Foundation kids? And I knew the Frost Giants were going to rebel, but I was hoping Loki's rule would last longer than a few issues. He really needs to get a government and plan in place to move Jotunheim forward. I think just having them sit around just makes them rebellious in nature.

Want find that shirt. Lol

Just because they rebel doesn't mean that Loki will lose his throne right away. It just means that they will rebel and Loki will be expected to stop them.

The issue isn't just Loki's own laziness, but also the Frost Giant culture. It simply never had a real government and the Frost Giants don't really seem to want one because they think it makes them weak. So you have a lazy ruler and a kingdom full of violent and rather stupid sociopaths, which isn't a good combination.

Loki gaining the ability to see the future or some sort of empathetic power would be awful for him. Loki doesn't exactly have the best relationship with the future and his plans often fall apart because of unforesee consequences. This would probably paralyze him quite a bit.

As for empathy, well, yeah, that would be incredibly useful and awful for him as well. How can he be an effective trickster if he can feel the pain he causes people?

[Prof. Aegis]

Just because they rebel doesn't mean that Loki will lose his throne right away. It just means that they will rebel and Loki will be expected to stop them.

The issue isn't just Loki's own laziness, but also the Frost Giant culture. It simply never had a real government and the Frost Giants don't really seem to want one because they think it makes them weak. So you have a lazy ruler and a kingdom full of violent and rather stupid sociopaths, which isn't a good combination.

Loki gaining the ability to see the future or some sort of empathetic power would be awful for him. Loki doesn't exactly have the best relationship with the future and his plans often fall apart because of unforesee consequences. This would probably paralyze him quite a bit.

As for empathy, well, yeah, that would be incredibly useful and awful for him as well. How can he be an effective trickster if he can feel the pain he causes people?

Right, those things would be difficult and awful for him in his current status. However, the solicit does say that it will transform him and send him on a new journey, so that's what I was thinking, something that would make a great change to him.

And yes, I agree with the Frost Giants, they haven't had a government due to their nature and how they view it as weak. However, I figure if anyone can get others to think differently and change their behaviors, it would be Loki. He just needs to get them to see that vision and see how it could be a benefit. And yes Loki would need to get the Frost Giants to see a benefit in changing. But they always seem to be more focused when they have a goal and are actually doing something than just sitting around, so if he comes up with a plan and method, it could work. Yeah, I know I'm talking about Loki and changing an entire cultural mindset of warriors. Again, it's just a long reaching thought.

[Raye]

honestly i think the empathy thing already happened, that's why he felt such guilt in Young Avengers onward. You can't really feel guilt in regards to other people unless you have empathy for people, the two things are linked. Also, i don't think he was ever completely lacking in that department, that would make him a literal psychopath. But he was good at ignoring it, and creating justifications for his actions that made him feel better about the things he did, and feel less guilty. See his spotlight issue in Thor, the justifications he created to make him feel less bad about his sorcerer mentor starving to death. That he had to create justifications to avoid feeling guilt demonstrates that he would feel it without those justifications, which demonstrate a level of empathy, even if he found ways to excuse it away to an extent. I also think it would be a bit problematic to have that be the new 'power' and then refer to it as a 'curse'. I also think that it has to be something bigger and more unique than something 99% of the people on the planet already have.

So I still think it is somehow related to the 'fuzzy time' mention, and the mysterious 'she' who owes him a favour is maybe a part of this Children of Eternity. So I think seeing the future, but either being unable to change it because fate is fixed, or turning him into a Cassandra type figure where no one believes his warnings, or something like that. But we have so little to go on here, that it's kind of up in the air.

i also still don't think those kids in the future were Future Foundation, it's much too far in the future, we are likely talking hundreds if not thousands of years, and those are probably just futuristic clothes, that happen to bear a resemblance to the Future Foundation outfits.

As for the giants, yeah he will probably find a way to win, i can't see them setting up this big status quo shift for him then have it be over in like 4 issues. but i really don't think it will be easy. I suspect Sickle is the ringleader here, he's an *******. (like, moreso than the others)

[Raye]

on that note, i just had a look at the Loki Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/kibblesmith/loki-2019/

and there is one picture in there that might support some time travel shenanigans. There is a poicture of a gentelman from the 1800's or so, so looks like Loki's going old timey. Also some pics of gears there, so maybe more Steampunk. But the picture is of a specific person: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_Masterson so... either it's there just cus the outfit, or there may be some actual history being used. It could be a flashback, or it could be actual time travel, or could be a sort of viewing of the past. either way, it does lend some support to the new power being time related in some way.

Other new images on the page include even more game pieces, a new set of dice and a deck of cards, a gaudy crown with snakes and emeralds, and a raglan shirt, so he will presumably get some more civilian looks in the book. the cards are also from the 1800's so now i am picturing Loki in a poker game in an old west saloon which could be tons of fun, and I got total flashbacks of Buster Scruggs going through my head.


https://youtu.be/Q0ZEmLosVXE

[Prof. Aegis]

I love how Kibblesmith drops these hints on his Pinterest. Some fine clothing too! Loki is going to be looking stylish and sharp!

[calyx]

I think the art of Loki in #1 (not the cover) deliberately draws him with a big manly broad superhero chin, almost ironically.

The letter at the end seemed like a love-letter (however unintentionally) to the neurodivergent. Which is who Loki in his current aspect represents.

[Raye]

I love how Kibblesmith drops these hints on his Pinterest. Some fine clothing too! Loki is going to be looking stylish and sharp!

yeah, if some of those pictures are anything to go by, Loki's gonna be looking sharp for at least one issue, with a suit and waistcoat kinda deal, and another issue or two of more casual wear. Tho, we already saw what the earlier tux reference was used for, and he ended up taking a dunk in the Hudson, so... hopefully he can keep future looks intact. But I always like it when characters, not just Loki, wear civilian clothes and demonstrate they have a life outside of their costume duties, even if they aren't dealing with a secret identity situation, so I am all for this.

But I am also very curious about the extremely heavy emphasis on games of all kinds. got 2 types of dice, cards, chess, and Zelda. I mean, it does fit, Loki has always liked games, that's been a constant thing with him going back a long time, (usually chess, but others as well) but i can't recall his love of games being played to quite this heavily before.