Loki Appreciation 2020

[PaxHouse]

Just read IMMORTAL HULK:GREAT POWER One Shot......now the readers know who's responsible for what happenned to both Banner & Spider-Man....!!

[Raye]

Well, now i had to go check it out, make sure our boy is still on the right track and he wasn't doing something villainous again. He wasn't, it was an accident. One he probably should have anticipated, but he was trying to help in his own way.

He's only in it for a couple pages, it's cute tho. But but weird art mistake on a panel of Loki (besides the outdated costume again, it seems the wrong model sheet is being passed around or something):


(whoops )

So the artist obviously copy and pasted the first closeup panel, and was going to just change the expression, to save time. Fair enough, gotta meet those deadlines. But.... forgot to erase the original eyebrow.

Anyway, had some random idle thoughts today.

I still think they are going to have Loki join the Avengers, (begrudgingly on their part most likely but still) tho it's taking a bit longer than i anticipated, they seem to really like taking the long game approach with him, which is i guess fitting for him, tho unusual for comics, at least recently, but I guess it is Aaron all the way through... but anyway. Assuming it is a new team rather than him being added to the main one, because they can't go 'double god' especially with Thor and Loki not being on great terms right now, so no Thor, and assuming Iron Man in charge of this particular team cus of the foreshadowing in Loki's solo, who else would you put on there with a base of Loki and Tony?

I'm thinking Squirrel Girl is actually the most logical choice here. She's a friend of both of them, big into giving people second chances, and doesn't have anything else going on right now. And then maybe one of the Young Avengers... kinda leaning towards Kate. I like Billy and Teddy, but the powers would be sort of redundant with Loki and Wiccan, and I suspect there may be a new status quo with them after Empyre that will keep them busy. Kate is also old enough to not fall victim to the whole Outlawed thing. (or at least she should be, she turned 21 on panel, tho she did appear on one of the covers for that) And then i was thinking it shouldn't be JUST Iron Man from the current team, and thought Carol could bring some interesting tension there, between her and Tony, tho it sort of depends on how things go with the Star book. Loki is in that, and Carol will be appearing in later issues of that as well, so they may make some kind of connection there that could make her a bit more sympathetic towards him. Or on the other hand he could do something that hardens her against him, we'll have to see. But she and Tony have issues after Civil War 2, so that could add some drama, ironically, in a team meant to prevent drama between Loki and Thor. I think maybe one more from the current team could be added but no clue as to who, no one else has a real reason to want to join Team Loki, but it kind of feels like it should be more of an even split than one or two of the current members, but it's like, i could go with any one of them and it wouldn't make much difference to me. and I think Raz could still be interesting there, though I hear he's in Agents of Atlas now? but I don't read that so I am not sure what's going on there. If not him, then Wasp, cus Tony. But I really am leaning very female heavy here.... could also add Wolverine, tho things with the X-Men would probably prevent that at the moment

but open to ideas. I mean you could get away from the Tony thing and no Thor rule if you wanted, I just think that makes sense to me given what has happened so far.

[Hypestyle]

Another actor added to the Loki+ series.

https://www.cbr.com/marvel-loki-disn...on-major-role/

https://www.bleedingcool.com/2020/01...d-role-report/

Not sure how I feel about it. I like him overall as an actor, but he's been more the goofy type character in comedic films rather than drama or fantasy. Not sure how this will play out. I guess it depends on the character he plays and the dynamic he brings to the series. With the right character and director, it could be good role and something different he can bring to it. Guess we'll just have to wait till more info is revealed.

I remember Thor #370 where there was a western one-shot adventure, where there was a gambler cowboy named Sundance who made a deal for magic cards with a disguised Loki. Thor figured into the plot later on, and the climax involved a train, trolls and a casket of Idunn's golden apples.

[Karabaja]

"Was this a team-up?" "NO!" lol
Nitpicking here, but isn't Loki supposed to be a head or two taller than Spidey?

[Raye]

Yeah, I think the Thor stories have always had some funny or absurd things in them. I mean, Throg exists. (why isn't he a Pop, come to think of it?) And he continues to be used even now. I don't like the idea that fantasy has to be all serious all the time. I like low fantasy a lot, I was a fan of Witcher and ASOIAF before it was cool, but even they have funny stuff sometimes among all the muck and violence. (moreso Witcher, but still) I've been playing Assassin's Creed Odyssey the past while and it definitely has some really funny and absurd quests too, and it's fine, even though the tone is more serious overall. I mean sometimes it's dark humor, but.... I get that the balance in Ragnarok is tipped too much towards funny for some people's tastes, and that's fair enough, but I'm just saying I don't think the presence of humor is a bad thing or out of place for Asgard stuff, it's always been there, it's even laid on pretty thick at times.

Heard some speculation that Wilson might be playing Justice Peace, (who, according to Wikis, first appeared in 371 oddly enough) which would seem to fit, but he was cast so late, I dunno, it seems like that would be a bigger role that would have been cast a lot earlier.

and on the subject of wikis, checked them and looks like Loki's official height is 6'4 and Spider-Man's is 5'10, so Loki is taller, but not by like a whole head or more, like he is with Wolverine. Maybe around half a head. Tho generally the heights in the actual books tend to be subject to a bit of wiggle room because asking artists to get everything accurate to the inch is a lot to ask...

[Rosebunse]

I love those pages, mostly because it looks like Loki decided yo reward himself for a job well done!

The only time I really get annoyed with height is Wolverine. He should be very short, especially since many of the female characters are wearing heels or boots.

[Rosebunse]

I love those pages, mostly because it looks like Loki decided yo reward himself for a job well done!

The only time I really get annoyed with height is Wolverine. He should be very short, especially since many of the female characters are wearing heels or boots.

[Prof. Aegis]

I read the Immortal Hulk: Great Power issue and loved Loki's part! It was great seeing him even state how he's a hero now. Making sure everyone is aware and picking up on Kibblesmith's short******d series. Idk, I know it's a one-shot that can be forgotten, but to me it helps just strengthen his direction. The art was great...yeah even with that one little gaffe. Lol. What a great surprise for the week, as I didn't expect any Loki this week.

It was great seeing him eat a hot dog and grabbing a drink, like he's just enjoying the day and enjoying life. And yeah, he was very happy with how he helped. And even was willing to "fix" it until he realized he couldn't. But again, it wasn't a big deal, he wasn't hurt that he wasn't appreciated, he was just being the "hero" and helping however he can. Lol...Team-up. that was great!

[Raye]

It probably helps that Wil Moss is the editor on both the Asgard stuff and Immortal Hulk, and that likely played into his repeated appearances in Squirrel Girl too, which he also edited. I think he's kinda trying to get this Loki out there, for people who may not normally read the Asgard stuff. Though with Al Ewing writing Immortal Hulk i am actually a little surprised this didn't happen sooner, even though I can't quite think of how he would have fit into the story until now, but still. A bit of a shame that Ewing didn't write this issue, maybe he wants to leave Loki behind, or something. But... yeah, I dunno, between this and Star, (which, I just checked, Wil Moss is a 'consulting editor' on that as an aside) and a bit further back to like Dr Strange, Infinity Whatever, etc. it does kind of feel like they are trying to get Loki involved in the larger MU, make both readers and characters aware of his current status quo, but not in a way where you're slapped across the face with it, just having him show up here and there in kind of unexpected places. The Fantastic Four, Bruce and Spidey may not have been thrilled with Loki here, but they are at least made aware of his current status, and so are the readers of the Hulk stuff. I think it's fine if the characters are still not exactly buying this change of heart he's undergone, but at least they know it's a thing he's doing, even if they don't believe it to be genuine. Like, if we hadn't had these interactions with other characters like Iron Man, Wolverine, Squirrel Girl, and so on, if he wanted to join the Avengers he would have nothing except his word, which is not exactly reliable, that he wanted to play for the good guys team now, especially after he had spent a bunch of time trying to play the bad guy to take Malekith down from the inside (and failing). Yeah he killed Laufey, but that could have been more about saving his own life than anything as far as anyone else knew. But now, he has some people who will be like 'yeah he helped defeat Nightmare and comforted a woman who he had hurt' or 'he helped protect the Time Stone from Warbringer and others' and so on. He may have not been the most helpful in this instance, but I do think it came across to them that he was trying to do something good, even if it backfired. It may give him some people that will vouch for him, even if Thor won't.

It may kind of backfire at times though, I read a review of Star that was pretty low and one of the complaints was that Loki was 'badly written' and from some other things said, I think he wasn't aware of the fact that Loki had turned face, so that Loki wasn't acting outright villainous = badly written, because he didn't see it as 'hey, this is where Loki's at right now' he saw it as him just acting out of character. But It will catch on, I think it already has with most, but there are obviously some people who have still somehow missed the memo, or are just expecting it to revert back any day now. But I don't think they would go to this effort unless it was somehow relevant to the MU beyond the Thor books, so, imo, it is another little thing pointing towards possible Avengers membership, and/or maybe an event of some kind. but it's all very slow burn, a drip feed. So it's in a way more realistic and I think will make it more likely to stick, (unlike sudden shifts like Sabretooth that turned face and got reverted back all during Loki's face turn process) but it can be frustrating waiting to see where it is leading.

[Karabaja]

An old but incredibly hilarious scene. poor Loki. I have no idea whether Ages of Thunder is considered canon or it's just a tribute to the original myth, but either way it's interesting.

20200208_094025.jpg

[Raye]

hah!

and yeah, no idea about it's canon status, the whole canon situation with the Thor stuff is kind of a mess

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

X-Factor #50 Jan 1990
"Meanwhile back on Earth!"
On the planet Earth, the trickster god Loki has come to Apocalypse to offer him a major part in his
Acts of Vengeance Conspiracy against the Avengers in particular, and super-heroes around the world in general.

Apocalypse refuses to join him, having other ideas in mind for humanity

and after Loki briefly clashes with both Apocalypse and the newly enhanced Caliban,
the trickster god sees the folly in his attempt with recruiting Apocalypse and leaves.

In escaping through one of Apocalypse's monitors, Loki attempts to slay the eternal mutant
and his minion by making it explode, but Apocalypse shields them from the blast.

With the battle over, Apocalypse tells his minion that it is time to begin the next phase of his test of survival on humanity.

Story by Louise Simonson. Art by Terry Shoemaker and Hilary Barta.

[Raye]

Okay, time for a ramble since it's been a while. So I read Valkyrie this week, and yeah, I think we have our new 'god of chaos' to fill Loki's old role. Also, we MIGHT have an explanation about why Thor is such an asshole, or at the very least a headcanon we can use. First of all, despite being in his new Herald costume on the cover, Thor is in his old costume in the issue itself, so the timeline there is clear, this takes place prior to Cates' run, especially when you factor in some of his dialogue, so it could contribute to Thor's recent aggressive attitude. And in the issue, a mysterious figure pours some sap from Yggdrasil onto a dusty old corpse, and unleashes an ancient evil. A flashback later clears up that this corpse was a king from ye olden days, Øde, who had used the anti-life the Rokkva in a bid for power, which worked, kinda, before it basically drained him dry and he died. He and the Rokkva were buried in Jotunheim, and Odin, and his successors after him, were tasked with keeping it from being unleashed again.

Anyway, as mentioned, the figure was sort of a mystery, they specify it is a god rather than a mortal, and the silhouette looks male, but they keep him in silhouette and do not name him. But from some costume details that you can see, and future solicits, I mean, it's Tyr. Tyr is most likely the new god of chaos, he's filling Loki's old role. The solicits seemed to be pointing in that direction, but this issue pretty much seals it. And he would make some sense, keeping it a sibling means that the familial connection and sense of betrayal that gives his actions remains, I just hadn't given Tyr much consideration before, despite him betraying his brothers in Hel, on account of being dead and all. But if they have a way around that, well, he'd work for sure.

But given that this thing was interred in Jotunheim, and it strongly fits old-school Loki's style, I think Thor might just think it is Loki behind this, especially since, unlike us, he never saw the figure, and as far as he's aware, Tyr is in Valhalla, there would be no reason for him (or Jane) to suspect Tyr. If he does blame Loki, this could explain why he was upset with Loki, if he never figures out in time that Loki was innocent in this. (aside from apparently having a coprse stolen from his realm under his nose. But I mean, not like Thor and Jane are without blame here, Tyr escaped Valhalla on Jane's watch, and from the flashback it was clear that keeping this thing contained was intended to be Thor's job, not to mention Tyr got Yggdrasil sap from Asgard under Thor's nose. Everyone dropped the ball here in some way.) and could give him an excuse to attack Jotunheim. A mistaken excuse, but still. This ancient evil was being kept in Jotunheim, and as soon as he becomes king of Jotunheim, it gets set loose on Midgard? It would look very suspicious, I have to admit, especially with Loki's history, and that may be why Tyr used this particular method. If Thor is focused on fighting Loki, Tyr could sneak in on the edges of things in the chaos he's created and steal the throne. Really, it's a VERY Loki thing to do, it's.... just not done by Loki. But yeah, assuming this is not a one-off thing, I think Tyr is being set up as the new "Loki" almost certainly. So, I was right about it being one of the brothers, just wrong about which one. But to be fair, he is DEAD, so I figured he was out of the running!

But also, Thor become corrupted by the Rokkva at the end of the issue and while I presume he will be fixed by the end of the story, maybe a little bit remains? Because the angle where Thor thinks it's Loki would explain his behaviour towards Loki specifically, but not so much all the rest. I mean Thor broke Stormbreaker and both Beta Ray Bill and Sif disagreed with him so hard they were like 'fight me' about it. I mean surely that's a sign you fucked up, right?

But looking at a lot of Marvel's books lately, I dunno, kinda getting a vibe where a lot of the heroes might have to ask themselves 'are we the baddies?' It's not uncharted territory at Marvel for sure, what with the Civil Wars and the whole Time Runs Out thing, and stuff, but it just seems like there are a lot of unrelated stories that are all playing with the idea of characters thinking they are justified in what they do simply because they had previously been defined as a hero. (or victim, in the case of the X-Men and their creepy ass cult thing) I wonder if it is intentional or if they are all just kinda tapping into the same vibe from the world.

[Karabaja]

If Thor is at this point willing to throw Mjolnir at Sif, I mean Sif of all people, then Thor throwing it at Loki is like saying "oh, hello" to him. That's just how he rolls these days.
Lady Loki made a cameo appearance in "Marvel's voices"

[Raye]

yes but WHY has this become his new 'oh, hello'? I like to think there is a reason, though maybe one that's not been fully explained yet.

Solicits are out https://www.newsarama.com/49122-marv...citations.html

Loki is mentioned and shown exactly once, in the solicit for Valkyrie, fittingly, after my ramble up above.


VALKYRIE: JANE FOSTER #11
JASON AARON & TORUNN GRØNBEKK (W) • MATTIA DE IULIS (A)
Cover by MAHMUD ASRAR
FORESHADOW VARIANT COVER BY MATTIA DE IULIS
She’s faced the Marvel Universe’s deadliest assassin — armed with the sword of a god — and won. She took the Grim Reaper straight to his eternal reward. She’s come face-to-face with Death herself…in more ways than one…and saved Asgard from a force beyond even Death’s powers. Now Jane Foster — the one and only Valkyrie — embarks on a whole new adventure under the pen of rising star artist Mattia de Iulis! Already Valkyrie has journeyed across the Multiverse in her new role…but now Hel awaits her. Along with its prickly rulers. And what does Loki, god of lies, have to do with it? An all-new arc starts here!

so that could be interesting, and might tie in to my big ramble above, if it is, as it seems, Aaron is tying up a few loose ends with who got what role. The mirror image there may be a bit worrying, but covers with Loki are often not exactly accurate (remember the WotR one where he was riding on Laufey's shoulders when he actually got eaten by Laufey, so...) Maybe we will get a difinitive answer about why he could not move on after he died inside Laufey, whether he really was destined for Valhalla but there were no Valkyries to escort him or not. A bit of a shame that this happened after Ewing left the book tho, but I am kind of getting the feeling he's actually avoiding writing Loki, wants to put him behind him, said what he wanted to say or whatever, or maybe he doesn't like the direction they went with him after Agent of Asgard ended, I dunno.