Loki Appreciation 2020

[rpmaluki]

I'm probably in the minority but I like that Loki is jötunn, the son of Laufey and Farbauti. I'm curious for that to be fleshed out, now more so because they've made him king instead making him something else as a means of justifying his disdain for his heritage. I want Loki to explore what it means to be himself, including being a small sized jötunn. Changing all of that, I feel, will rob him of having meaty stories. I connect much more with him being "othered" that trying to make him nothing more than one of many. Sadly, that's not the story Marvel wants to tell with Loki.

[Prof. Aegis]

i have no idea what this means



https://jasonaaron.substack.com/

This is interesting news. I wonder if we'll be seeing a re-launch or yeah back-ups somewhere. But maybe that means we'll see the story from Issue 11 with Loki in print somewhere in the future. That would be great!

[Raye]

I guess the whole issue with Loki looking like an Asgardian exists because originally, in the 60s (and 70s?) the Jotuns were not blue. And they were depicted to be much smaller than today. Basically, they looked like very big, brutish Neandertalish guys. If a baby was born small among them, it wouldn't be that much of a stretch for it to be able to fit among the Asgardians. With time, the artists started picturing them with blue skin and the size of a building.

Yeah, that is a weird thing about Loki, both when you compare him to the early depictions of the giants in the comics, and how they are in the myths, where they are also much smaller, Ymir aside. In the early stories and the myths, the idea that Loki was a frost giant but still pretty much looked like an Asgardian wasn't much of a stretch, hell lots of Asgardians, including Thor, were part giant in the myths. But now it's something that kinda requires an explanation of some kind, because over time, they became more and more monstrous, while Loki did not, even in flashbacks to his childhood where he just looks like a kid.

This also had a side effect (I don't think it was a conscious decision, exactly, but still) of making the fans be more ok with the Asgardians biases against them, and just going along with it without giving it any thought. Because in fiction, it is pretty common to dehumanize enemies, so the good guy can kill them without guilt. We see this all the time with robots, aliens, and more, where a hero who would be vehemently against killing a human would be just fine with killing a non-human, even if those non-humans are sentient, and not like, zombies or something, and so would the fans. Though here, it's not human, it's Asgardians. And making the frost giants more and more monstrous over time helped accomplish that. Thor can just go to Jotunheim and start killing giants for no real reason, and fans are pretty fine with it, overall, because most of them have bought into the idea that they are acceptable targets. But lately they have begun to humanize them again, with making Loki their king, the introduction of Gus, Drrf, and the Squirrel Girl story during WotR also humanized them some, and there were also the giant members of the League of Realms, though they were not frost giants specifically. It's becoming more apparent they suffered from bad leadership, and the long history of antagonistic behavior on both sides fanning the flames, rather than them just being bad by default.

I'm probably in the minority but I like that Loki is jötunn, the son of Laufey and Farbauti. I'm curious for that to be fleshed out, now more so because they've made him king instead making him something else as a means of justifying his disdain for his heritage. I want Loki to explore what it means to be himself, including being a small sized jötunn. Changing all of that, I feel, will rob him of having meaty stories. I connect much more with him being "othered" that trying to make him nothing more than one of many. Sadly, that's not the story Marvel wants to tell with Loki.

Oh, I also like his giant-side, and would like to see more done with it and that includes exploring how he feels about the Asgardians attitudes towards them and the fact that he internalized them for a long time. And I am not so sure that's not the story Marvel wants to tell, making him king seems to imply they want to actually deal with his heritage to some degree, but we will have to wait and see where Cates goes.

[rpmaluki]

Here's the preview for the next issue of Thor https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalo...00710?Prevue=1

spoilers:

It has a very interesting line, that may tie to Loki, a "second god of lies". I may be reading too much into this but this makes it sound like someone else other than Loki going by that imagery of kings as Asgard trying to read the book in their youth but only being able to see the words. So who could this second god of lies be?

end of spoilers

[Karabaja]

Ok, that sounds interesting. Could it be that

spoilers:

somebody else will step into the "god of lies" role, and Loki will be free to evolve further?

end of spoilers

[Raye]

spoilers:

Interesting. I know I am harping on a point here but like, I keep saying it's all about the roles. This may confirm that Loki is no longer in that role, and If Loki is no longer the 'god of lies' and the general all purpose antagonist for Asgard, someone else needs to step into that spot, it is too important a role to go unfilled. So, assuming i am on the right track it will be interesting to see that addressed. We saw in Valkyrie that Tyr was potentially being set up for that role, but it's unclear right now if Cates will follow up on that, but I do think Tyr could definitely work. But the really encouraging thing is just that if there is a second God of Lies, then Loki is no longer in that role, he's finally broken free of that and can get a better role. Also, I found it interesting that, though Thor could read the book, so he is the rightful king, that he wasn't able to FULLY read it because the realms were not yet peaceful enough under his rule. If that's the case his recent attitude certainly will not be of help there.

end of spoilers

[Raye]

Alex Maleev did a really nice pic of Lady Loki, and it is for sale, i guess, though he didn't list a price or anything just 'it could be yours':


https://twitter.com/alexmaleev/statu...44497604517888

[Raye]

No Loki in Thor today

But, and sorry this is only tangentially related to Loki but this is where I talk Thor stuff so just gonna get my ramble on this issue out of the way, we did get a hint as to the Donald Blake situation next arc and it may mean Loki could be involved. (also, i see they finally settled on a title of Præy, which is clever because it uses the æ character to bring to mind both pray and prey, which Cates wanted.... but... it would change the pronunciation ) So, looks like Thor is going to try and 'reboot' Mjolnir, and take a bit of a vacation at the same time, after mushing two bits of advice together, and then reminisces about Donald Blake. I take this to mean that (somehow) he intends to do the whole switching places thing again. But it's going to go HORRIBLY. What I don't get is how he does this, given how Donald Blake was left off the last time we saw him, and even before that, he and Thor existed as separate entities. But in any case, whether it just ignores that or comes up with some kind of explanation, I think it will restore that old status quo temporarily. Except Blake's gone fucking nuts. But if I am right, this does mean that Thor himself will probably not actually be in a position to stop Blake, because if he is present then Blake won't be and vice versa. So it is possible it will fall to other people to stop him and get Thor back. And given that Blake seems to be targeting 'Thors' it might be that it has to be someone who isn't actively being hunted by him to stop this, and it does seem like a problem where magic could be immensely helpful to undo the whole messy situation. Beating up Blake may stop his death rampage, but it probably won't undo the fact that he's taking Thor's place in the world, and he's likely not exactly keen to go back before his work is finished because he will know damn well Thor won't bring him back (from where? has that ever been answered?) ever again once he's seen what he did. He's got one shot, if this is a swap situation. Basically, I have hopes that Loki will magic away the problem in the end, though from the sounds of it, Blake will do a lot of damage first. Loki may also be able to communicate with Thor via astral projection, or something, to this... place. Especially if, as the falling pages suggest, it has something to do with the narrative that shapes the lives of the gods. Kinda like the pull of nostalgia Loki was fighting against but made flesh. But I am kinda getting into the reeds here. It is less certain, but it would fit given the wording of the solicits, and how this issue ended. I'm getting the impression that this is Thor getting nostalgic for the old days, as has been a theme already, and I bet some of that will be reflected in Blake, but in a really dark way. Maybe it is that Blake also wants to restore the old days, but goes about it in a really awful way, killing everything that's new or different from his ideal past? starting with the 'Thors' judging by the cover for 10, where Throg, Thunderstrike, and Bill have their pictures crossed out, but maybe also some of the other changes that have happened since the early days. I'm betting the final message will end up being that they can't go back to how things used to be.

*edit OHHHH! it just dawned on me.... (this is why i do these rambles) that's why the book is getting shorter! Blake's already been slicing away at the story and removing the bits he doesn't like, but from INSIDE it, hence the falling pages on the cover for issue 10, those are the missing pages of the book, and the pen knife. That must be where Blake and Thor go when the other is in the realms, to the story. It could also explain how he has a body again, if he is a walking retcon as I am speculating, wouldn't the first thing he undoes be his decapitation at the hands of Enchantress? This definitely sounds like a job for the God of Stories.

also kinda little rant... Why are people not getting that the story is making an argument AGAINST this ridiculous strong man posturing Thor is doing? Also why are people so obsessed with him acting all tough, even though it has no substance? Seen some people commenting on the fight with Tony, and saying things like "This is why Thor is THAT god he doesn't take shit and i love it!" when this is clearly being framed as a problem in his life right now, and it's all a bunch of hot air in this case, and reeks of covering for insecurities, very similar vibes to his interaction with Loki. Responding to a perceived slight with a big display of his power and some threats. It is causing problems for him, maybe not right this instant, but it's pretty clear it's going to bite him in the ass at some point. Sif has dressed him down for it, Tony has dressed him down for it (and I do think he was justified here, after Thor doxxed him, and he was right, Thor got lucky that it happened to be found by a pretty allright guy and not some utter asshole) This obsession with being perceived as strong rather than just doing what's right is not a good thing. ok, just had to get that off my chest.

[Karabaja]

https://www.marvel.com/watch/trailer...-marvel-comics

[Fanto.mx]

Here's that trailer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6aI...lEntertainment

I really like the idea that Donald Blake might be a sort of echo or rhyme of Leah, where he's made out of story stuff. Except Leah got to stay real and Donald kept getting sent...somewhere...and there are indications here that he was essentially shoved back into the story toybox. And then he was tortured forever and shoved into story again and...yeah. Now he's all Mephisto-looking, with a real bad knife that almost definitely has significance.

Given Cates' weird love of wordplay, this might be an instance of the sword is mightier than the pen (when the "sword" is made by the pen?).

[Raye]

and now embedded!



hahahaha! CALLED IT! It clearly shows Blake and Thor swapping places there, and then Loki faces Blake. Ok, I didn't call Loki getting stabbed in the neck... but... I mean, he's survived worse, I'm sure he'll be ok. I don't think Cates would kill him off in the first issue of the arc. Especially since he is clearly the best chance they have at stopping Blake if it is all wrapped up in all the 'story' stuff. Also, looks like Blake trashed up his little pocket world pretty good and I don't think it had any impact on the real world so i may have been wrong about him actually being in THE story book that governs the lives of the gods, but I do think that is related, especially with the falling pages on the cover of 10 and all.

The knife... something occurred to me earlier today, I may have to go back and re-read JIM to verify this, but... we never really saw what happened to the Shadow of Twilight after Loki was done with it? what if Blake's knife IS the Shadow of Twilight. The timing could line up here, JIM and Blake's decapitation happened at about the same time, so... gets the Shadow of Twilight somehow, (no idea how, but they can come up with something) and then... goes crazy.

And yeah, I think Blake is basically like Story-Leah, the one Loki wrote into Cul's story, that would explain how he has a history that even OTHER PEOPLE remember despite being a fake person.

Basically, I think a re-read of JIM may be in order, it's feeling more and more like it will be important.

also: https://www.teeturtle.com/products/m...19577791462491

[Prof. Aegis]

and now embedded!



hahahaha! CALLED IT! It clearly shows Blake and Thor swapping places there, and then Loki faces Blake. Ok, I didn't call Loki getting stabbed in the neck... but... I mean, he's survived worse, I'm sure he'll be ok. I don't think Cates would kill him off in the first issue of the arc. Especially since he is clearly the best chance they have at stopping Blake if it is all wrapped up in all the 'story' stuff. Also, looks like Blake trashed up his little pocket world pretty good and I don't think it had any impact on the real world so i may have been wrong about him actually being in THE story book that governs the lives of the gods, but I do think that is related, especially with the falling pages on the cover of 10 and all.

The knife... something occurred to me earlier today, I may have to go back and re-read JIM to verify this, but... we never really saw what happened to the Shadow of Twilight after Loki was done with it? what if Blake's knife IS the Shadow of Twilight. The timing could line up here, JIM and Blake's decapitation happened at about the same time, so... gets the Shadow of Twilight somehow, (no idea how, but they can come up with something) and then... goes crazy.

And yeah, I think Blake is basically like Story-Leah, the one Loki wrote into Cul's story, that would explain how he has a history that even OTHER PEOPLE remember despite being a fake person.

Basically, I think a re-read of JIM may be in order, it's feeling more and more like it will be important.

also: https://www.teeturtle.com/products/m...19577791462491

Based on the preview, I'm hoping this isn't some "Here's Loki who can take out Blake", then Loki is taken down for the rest of the story as that one image seems to show Loki being stabbed in the neck. Loki hasn't been central to any story lately, and I can see him being used as fodder for the Thor-centric stories. But I'm looking forward to this coming issue, just to see how the story goes and what Blake has been up to all this time.

That's a great shirt! Love all the chaos in the background as Loki is walking out with a smile. Lol

When is the Thor #4, 4th printing with the Loki cover supposed to be released?

[Raye]

Scratch my above speculation about the knife, I watched it again in fullscreen, it's just a scalpel cus doctor, which... well that makes some sense, though isn't as impactful, i guess. but I still think everything else could work.

And I don't think this will remove him from the story, tho, i guess that's happened to Loki before, but I don't think they'd go to the trouble of showing it in the trailer if it was just their way of clearing him from the board so the other characters could deal with things. I mean, if that's all that was happening, i think there would be more relevant things they could show is all. I also don't think they'd show it in the trailer if he actually died or anything, cus holy shit, spoiler! I don't think taking a scalpel to the neck is enough to take out Loki for very long, if at all, and he's survived worse. Hell, he's been known to use illusions to appear to die in order to throw someone off his trail, so he may not have even gotten hurt. But even if he did, he's survived worse, and I think he's kinda too important to be taken out so easily. And yeah he was barely in the first arc, but then, he didn't really have much of a place to fit there, either, but Cates still made a couple scenes for him, just to remind you that he's there, which seems unnecesary if he's not going to do anything this arc either. Like why show him on panel at all if will only amount to is a few pages now and then where he doesn't do all that much? I just feel like they would have opted to not include him at all if he was never going to have a part to play in the story that was going to be important. I'm sure it won't just be like, the Loki show, cus Thor is in another dimension, there's still Sif and all the 'thors' that Blake is targeting, we know for sure Throg will come into play from some tweets Cates made at a bare minimum, but I think Loki has to play a part sometime, and here seems like a good place.

And sorry, not sure when that variant will be in shops, but I do get an email from my LCS on Sundays that lists what they're getting in stock for the week, if i see it listed I'll post i here

[Raye]

as promised, this was in the email from my LCS: THOR #4 4TH PTG VAR $5.59 (keep in mind i am in Canada so prices are higher) so i guess this is the week!

[Prof. Aegis]

as promised, this was in the email from my LCS: THOR #4 4TH PTG VAR $5.59 (keep in mind i am in Canada so prices are higher) so i guess this is the week!

Thank you so much Raye! I'll be on the look for it.