Loki Appreciation 2019

[Raye]

aw, thank you! that's very kind.

I think the biggest problem is the inability to see things from the other person's perspective. and this goes for Loki too, for that matter. Even if there are legit grievances on both sides. But they all seem to have trouble putting themselves in another person's situation, and understanding what they actually want.

also, up to 54% good boy, and 95k votes, with less than an hour left. so looks like it may miss 100k, but not by much. I have to confess that the high turnout makes me suspicious of bots or something, but to what end, I dunno.

Oh, btw. random thoughts. Though i am still waiting for official word, just, on principle. I know i have said several times in the past, all the way back to his run on Dr Strange, that Donny Cates was like my top pick to follow up on Thor, and would make a lot of sense since he clearly loves the Asgard side of things since he tries to shoehorn in some aspect of Asgard into practically everything he touches, and God Country was basically a love letter/homage to Marvel's Thor. so if that turns out to be true, I will be happy. but... if Loki's book is ending, I worry that, as i said a few pages back, his 'armor' will be gone. Last time Cates wrote Loki, he wasn't in CONTROL of Loki, he had to abide by what was being done with him elsewhere, his stint as the Sorcerer Supreme was just for an arc, and he couldn't actually make changes to him that would continue long term, since Loki wasn't his character to do that with. So i liked his Dr Strange run a lot (obviously) and how he wrote Loki, i thought it was a nice middle ground between Aaron's take and Ewing's. but... he was restricted by what was happening in Thor, as mentioned, we don't know if that's how he would have handled Loki if he had actually had control over the character. It may be that as a fan of the Asgard stuff, he will just go full on nostalgia. It's certainly possible his time with the character in Dr Strange has made him like the new version, and he tends to go crazy new places with things rather than dwell on the past, but.... still, you never know. So I am a little worried with whoever takes over, even if it is Cates, despite liking his take on the character before.

[Rosebunse]

Loki's book numbers weren't so awful that it deserved a cut this quickly, so I think if Cates is writing Thor and he has big plans for Loki, then thise must have been big enough to derail the ongoing.

So I'm inclined to think that Loki's role in it will be huge and important. Cates is inclined to use his own take on characters and to do some pretty crazy things, so based on that and everything else, I'm inclined to think that Loki might get the Thor role.

[Raye]

yeah but 'huge and important' doesn't necessarily mean something good for the character. It could just mean he wants to do the ultimate Loki vs Thor story. Granted, given his history with this character, I think that's less likely than treating him more sympathetically, such as, as you say, getting Mjolnir. I'd be a lot more worried if someone like Slott (who is a big proponent of 'the illusion of change' and maintaining classic status quo, at least in the long run.) was rumored to be the one taking over, but... Still, you never know, there's always some uncertainty when someone new takes over, especially when it comes to Loki over the past few years.

but, we still don't know for sure. As has been pointed out, not like Agent of Asgard didn't have delays, it had a long one right at the same point in it's run. I'm just saying, IF it's the case.

[Lambadelta]

I think there is always a worry with how the next writer is going to write Loki. i think that is my main worry that Loki will be reverted back to being a villain just so the next writer can have the ultimate Thor vs. Loki showdown, although I think Jason Aaron already has that covered in King Thor since the two have pretty much destroyed the universe with their battle against each other, unless there's a twist there of course with Gorr. I don't think anyone is really going to top that.

I think it would just be quite sad as well to see all the character development and built up that Loki's character had since 2011 just to be erased in an instant because a writer wants to do Thor vs. Loki. I mean you can do Thor Vs. Loki without having to revert Loki back, you just have to be more creative of finding ways to do it and to make it work.

But I don't know it's my biggest worry when it comes to writers and Loki.

I can see Loki being the next Thor though in the new Thor series.

It seems a lot of people are panicking about Loki being cancelled though. They are taking these rumors that are going around seriously, which most likely only started after Bleeding Cool released their solicts before taking the page down.

As I said it's unlikely that it will be cancelled, at least at this point. Plus I don't think Marvel would be basically promoting Loki via a poll and article if they knew it was going to be cancelled.

[Rosebunse]

I think it's that massive poll that gives me some hope here. It proves that there is some interest in Loki if only they put out the lucky book.

We also have that big Thor book coming out that month, Aaron's run is truly ending around then. That is when they pass the new Thor book to whoever the writer is.

Now, let's look at put choices. Cates seems to be the favorite and he has proven to have the golden touch. His stuff sells and Thor is one of the premier books.

Sadly, Slott is another choice, but as Raye mentions, he has a real thing for sticking to the classic version of a character. This worked for him in Spiderman because it acted as something of a palette cleanser while also letting those nontraditional moments stick out, but is that an approach that would work for Thor? Especially given the wild direction Aaron set it on?

Ewing seems like an unlikely choice since he has other books and a major event to plan. Kelley Thompson is also unlikely because of her Deadpool book, but at the at the same time, she is a proven writer and her getting one of THE Marvel books would be newsworthy.

[Lambadelta]

There's also another possibility, maybe unlikely. But what if Loki after #5 will no longer be called Loki but Thor? Like I said it's unlikely.

[Rosebunse]

There's also another possibility, maybe unlikely. But what if Loki after #5 will no longer be called Loki but Thor? Like I said it's unlikely.

So it would get the Thor title? Could work, I can dig this.

[Lambadelta]

So it would get the Thor title? Could work, I can dig this.

Yeah, basically although this is extremely unlikely and it would also mean a massive delay. So while on one hand I quite like Kibblesmith taking over Thor with Thor!Loki, I kind of don't like it because of the possible wait.

There really is a lot of panic regarding the possible cancellation of the series. Some are acting it's already cancelled based on the fact the TPB didn't have "Vol 1" after it. I can understand the worry but people are fullblown out panicking here.

[Raye]

Yeah, it's always a bit of a worry whenever someone new gets their hands on him, and we are only just a few issues into Kibblesmith's run and he seems to be doing well so it's just a bit aggravating to maybe have to get worried again.

I think Cates is the most likely, even without the rumor mill saying he's the next, I thought he'd be a no brainer as a followup for Aaron ever since Dr Strange. He's got the right feel to his writing, he can bring an appropriate level of buzz to follow up Aaron's run, and he clearly loves that corner of the MU, and his work on Venom can tie into things on Thor.

Ewing, yeah, he may be too busy with his Infinity Mask saga that the 1000 issue seems to be turning into. Looks like it will continue a while and it has to be a very research intensive project.

I love Kelly Thompson's work, I can't think of anything from her that i didn't like, and she seems to share my affinity for Elsa Bloodstone, which is a bonus. If there will ever be a solo Elsa book, it will likely be because Kelly pushed for it. But she seems to have trouble generating sales and buzz, (which may change after Deadpool, but for now...) so... maybe not now, I think she needs some kind of buzz generating book, like Ewing finally got with Hulk, and Deadpool may be that book. But in the future, I'd like to see her take a crack at Thor or Loki for sure. There were actually a couple nods to both Thor and Loki in Jessica Jones of all places, where Thor showed up for a bit, Loki's time as Sorcerer Supreme was referenced, and I was really hoping Jessica Jones could continue so we could see what was up with that Asgardian 'trickster god' artifact thing, but it was not to be.

I also really like Nick Spencer's work, but I have no idea if he has much interest at all in the Asgard side of things, so i dunno. I also think he'd work better for Loki than Thor.

And yeah, I think we can be thankful Slott is busy with FF and Iron Man, because i would dread him on Thor, i am fairly certain he'd revert things back to bronze age-ish status quo, but I could see him being a big enough name that he might be in the running if he wasn't already attached to 2 major books.

And the Thor title is a bit tricky.... Jane took up the name in addition to the role because her identity was secret. Loki though, I don't think he'd want to hide his identity so i can't see him calling himself Thor even if he picked up the hammer and thus was technically filling that role in the whole cosmic hierarchy thing, I'd find that really weird if he did. But on the other hand, in the flash forward to the future he WAS dressed EXACTLY like Thor. so...

As for potential cancellation, I mean, I'm just going to wait for official word. I very much doubt we will hear anything on that front from Kibblesmith for the next few days, though, he just left for California and he's likely preoccupied with the Emmys considering, you know, The Late Show is nominated and all...

We'll see. I think they will reveal something at NYCC and we may know more then.

[Rosebunse]

I mean, I don't think we in the fandom are panicking or freaking out. You want to see freaking out, go to the X-boards.

I wouldn't bother Kibblesmith, especially since he does sound busy. We wait, we pray, and we enjoy what we get.

Unless we get evil classic Loki, then we prepare the torches and pitchforks!

[rpmaluki]

I don't want Loki to be another "Thor". If he lifts the hammer, fantastic but i don't want him to take up the role. I know it's been discussed enough in this thread, especially with Thor becoming the All Father, someone needs to take up his old mantle but my heart doesn't actually want it to be Loki. I can't see it working as effective as Aaron did with Jane simply because she was twisted so much to fit the role and i don't want that for Loki. With that twitter pole result of almost 50/50, it makes sense for Loki to remain in this bracket but upping his heroics more. He doesn't have to wield the hammer 24/7 to do that and i love the idea of writers being more creative in showing a heroic Loki without thrusting him into Thor's role. I'm sure I'd love it but the novelty would wear off quickly for me. I truly don't want him sucked in by what that hammer represents, cool as it may be. I want Loki as a hero on his terms. No lying. He may not be popular in the world he inhabits but it will be less likely for it to be retconned away by some new writer as a fever dream/magical shenanigans.

[Raye]

I don't think Loki has to be handled exactly the same as Jane was in her time in the role, to be fair. It could be used to show him straining against the confines of the role, where Jane just kinda went with it, and maybe even trying to break the pre-defined roles down once and for all, if he felt he was being lost to the role. If they went that way, it might work, because it is Loki that has tendency to rebel against fate more than Thor does. There were actually elements of this in God Country.

[Lambadelta]

Yeah, I think overall I do want Loki to become worthy of his own power, which was a big part of AOA. Loki has spent thousands of years trying to chase Thor and he's kind of falling back into that trap. I think that is one of the huge problems Loki has, is that he doesn't see true value in his own powers at times because to him they aren't on the level as Thor's, which is completely untrue but it's how Loki feels. I don't think I mind Loki getting Thor's hammer though and becoming Thor but only if it leads to Loki finally accepting his own worth and value in his own powers and self.

I'm not sure Loki would take up Thor's title and call himself "Thor" though.

[Prof. Aegis]

I mean, I don't think we in the fandom are panicking or freaking out. You want to see freaking out, go to the X-boards.

I wouldn't bother Kibblesmith, especially since he does sound busy. We wait, we pray, and we enjoy what we get.

Unless we get evil classic Loki, then we prepare the torches and pitchforks!

I like the torches and pitchforks idea in the case of the return to evil Loki. I'll stand with you!

[Prof. Aegis]

If Loki were to wield Mjolnir, I don't see him being in the Thor role for long. It's not his style. Sure he might do so for a short bit, just out of fun and trying to show he could do so as well, but after a time, he'd get bored, because it's not him. I see him then finding new ways to use the hammer. His own way and style that others wouldn't expect. It's Loki after all. Wants to be liked by others and accept by others, but in the end, also wants to be himself and really accepted for who he is and what he can do. Which is why AoA was so good in helping to create a Loki that was finally accepting of himself as well as those that truly knew him accepted him as well.