Loki Appreciation 2022

[Raye]

Yeah, they're working towards resurrecting Strange in the comics, and I liked the frenemies thing they had going on for a little bit before Strange died. Though, in the Dr Strange story with Loki, and some others mostly from more recent stuff, the point was that Strange was a LOT more like Loki than he'd like to admit. The friction between them in the comics isn't that they are different, it's that they are too similar... except Strange doesn't want to admit it. He lacks the more mischievous side Loki has, but he can be really petty, deceptive, and manipulative, but puts on a cool and collected facade. I know some fans don't like this take but... it is what it is. So it would not really be an opposites thing, a least in the comics. Movies could be more opposite, though maybe a bit different now that Loki's turning face in the MCU.

[Yoruno]

Marvel Meow #10 is indeed a Strange Academy crossover! No sign of Zelma again, though.

[Raye]

well no Zelma is slightly disappointing, but it was still cute. Obvioulsy this must take place a bit in the past, before Strange died, too, and things went all pear shaped in Strange Academy. (though I think all these Infinity comics are only loosely tied to continuity. Still, there has been some attempt to make it line up, even if somewhat in the past, so i am counting it even if it's silly ) So if Loki is not with Zelma now in the present, i guess we can't expect that here.

[Yoruno]

Sorry, I know it's not exactly the right place for MCU discussions... but do you happen to know any sources - besides Reddit - where people theorize about Season 2? A tumblr blog maybe... There are new pics today, and there seems to be a new character there... call me an idiot but I wish he was Loki's love interest.

[Emoandlazy]

One of the two things I personally don't think is ever gonna happen with Loki is him getting a boyfriend in either the MCU or the comics. In the MCU Sylvie is his only love interest and they all are dead set on that,a boyfriend would probably ruin that(they even said he and Sylvie is gonna take their relationship to the next level in season 2) And in the comics no writer actually cares enough to give Loki a date whether it be a female,a male or anyone who's under the non binary umbrella , they just want a character they could play the "is he a bad guy or a good guy this time :0" game with. And honestly after this year pride month bullshit I don't want Loki to date anyone,they probably would handle it terribly ,or make Loki a toxic partner which I'd rather he stays bitchless than to Indore having to witness that.not calling you by the way just more optimistic than me.

The second is Loki ever returning to the main MCU universe, it feels like I'm screaming at the void at this point because I told ppl he's not gonna appear in MoM,guess what?he didn't, I was right .I said the same about TLAT and no one listened and guess what?he didn't.

[Raye]

Why isn't this the right place? We talked the first season here plenty, it's just news on season 2 is a bit sparse right now because it only began filming a little while ago... But yeah sorry but I don't know, besides here it is just occasionally reddit for me so...

Share the pics, i haven't seen them yet

As for love interests... I think in the comics Loki might get a boyfriend, because they are kind of more free to do whatever in the comics, probably due to having a smaller audience. But I do think he's likely going to have to have a story where he's the central focus for that to happen. But yeah I think the MCU is probably more unlikely, they probably won't want to rock the boat too much, but they did at least confirm his sexuality in the TV show, so...

[Yoruno]

Here are some pics in this article!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...on-2-Loki.html
We've been discussing them with my local community and came up with some ideas!
spoilers:

1.Sylvie could have used the chance to live a peaceful life (one of the options offered by Miss Minutes/Kang in S1). I doubt she remembers who she is, because it must be the same memory-erasing technology that was applied to variants working for TVA. 2. The prisoner, presumably played by Rafael Casal, first appeared in the London scene, where he was wearing a tux and a long white scarf. Mobius chased and - obviously - arrested him. Judging by his gestures and his outgoing manner, this prisoner could be a charismatic rogue type, and we think he'll eventually make friends with Loki and Mobius. 3. I have a theory which I dread myself. We had Sylvie in S1 to make Loki learn how to love himself. Now, this new guy might be a similar plot device who might teach Loki how to be mischievous again - because that is the trait Loki seems to be missing after his Hero's Journey. So Loki has to learn the combination of mischief and good intentions to become a real Loki again. Why do I hate my theory? Well, I support the idea that Loki shouldn't be fully stripped from his original personality, and that he can be a hero in his own Loki way. What I dislike is the fact that this MCU Loki is absolutely unable to understand himself without very pronounced lessons taught by some other people.

end of spoilers
Bonus:
6e14d388gy1h45p1cqxkaj21uo2s0kip.jpg

[Raye]

Nice!

And Sylvie may also just be laying low, or it could be a.... sub-variant? like some of Loki's variants looked totally different but others looked just like, you know, Hidleston, so it may be same holds true for Sylvie. Either way, definitley in the 70s, maybe early 80s there.

This new guy does seem to be kind of in the same position Loki was in last season, though hard to say what his character would be like, a variant can break the timestream in any number of ways without even realizing it. and would they even be concerned with preserving the timestream anymore, anyway? I think that ship has sailed. So curious to see why he is made a prisoner. And yeah he may show Loki a reflection of who he used to be, but it may be that Loki needs to see that to realize the progress he's made? I'm not sure it's someone else teaching him that lesson so much as seeing his reflection triggering an epiphany

[Yoruno]

The year must be 1975, someone has calculated it from the cinema posters and Sylvie's uniform.
Yes, I meant learning from Loki's own reflections, but... how many more people reflecting Loki are we going to see? We already had a whole season about his reflections, I still hope they'll invent a new unexpected concept.
In Alligator Loki #10, Loki is a villain. Our young Loki is a villain. Arrrgh. But the story is hilarious.

[Emoandlazy]

In Alligator Loki #10, Loki is a villain. Our young Loki is a villain

I don't think this is our Loki OUR but a different universe Loki who happens to dress the same as our Loki.because it just seems too ooc for him. At least I hope Alyssa Wong is aware Loki isn't a villain anymore because it would suck if she didn't as she might writer him again in the future in a different comic. It kinda makes me a little scared for the iron fist issue #5 she's gonna write which Loki appears on the cover off thought :').

[Yoruno]

Well... I'm so glad Defenders are out and I'm still able to read it! Yet Loki's remark that it could be their last adventure makes me shiver. Your thoughts?

[Raye]

Yeah sadly Loki (tho this goes for a lot of characters) sometimes gets stuck in a rut where writers keep wanting to do the same thing over and over, put their own spin on the seeing a reflection or whatever, making development a bit slow as they rehash the same thing a few times before moving on. Tho in the MCU, this is still kind of new for Loki, so I don't mind too much.

Alligator Loki, sad that he went more villain at the end there, but... oh well. I also don't really see this as very connected to main continuity, there's been too many divergences (I mean Asgard amusement park, the bizarre salon thing, etc) so whatever. It won't have an effect on the main Loki's trajectory.

Loki's remark in Defenders I think was just from their perspective? It depends on if this is actual time travel or not if that could end up being the case. If actual time travel, i mean obviously Loki is mistaken, cus Loki's doing fine in Thor. But if it is a variant, from like a different universe... maybe could be. But it probably is just a meta comment. Even if they don't actually DIE, I am not anticipating seeing this incarnation of Loki ever again past Defenders, honestly. Loki's moved past this characterization in the main books, so... in that sense, it is Loki's last adventure in this particular characterization.

I don't think Loki's frozen, it's just slow because he's only in Thor right now, and not only does that mean the focus is on Thor, it's also taken a bit of a detour for Banner of War, but once Thor gets rolling again, so will Loki. Hopefully Loki does get another solo, or at least a spotlight story in Thor or someplace, to get things moving there again. I mean the frustrating thing about comics in general is that with a monthly schedule... things tend to be slow...

[Yoruno]

I just hope the comic book writers will be interested in working on Loki. I remember comparing him to Sailor Moon: while she's Usagi, far from perfection and with a great room for development, she makes an interesting character; but when she's Neo Queen Serenity, she's too perfect and too stable to get involved into any sort of adventure. Same thing with Loki. The only hint for the possible development is that Cates constantly emphasizes Lokis being bored. Ewing mentions that, too, explaining Loki's card as "unwanted kingdom" and "yawning". But I don't know what should happen to make Loki move. Some evil forces destroying Jotunheim? Right now Loki's kingdom is both his status as the Good King and his burden, which is absolutely right from the moral standpoint (in order to be truly good you have to sacrifice something), yet it doesn't let him do anything else. <Thor nods in approval>

Did you like Defenders#1? Some critics claim it's the best comic book of the year, while others say it's awkward and weird.

[Emoandlazy]

I think what she meant is that she will disappear and be brought back in her right place of time becoming the present day Loki just like how verity soul disappeared and went back to her right place where she was supposed to be before everything were restated.

I thought the expression "yawning like the grave" means opening up like how the coffin dose,not actual yawning.

Can someone fill me up on judgement day? Apparently Like Loki will have something to do with it in axe : iron fist's one shot I'm guessing it might have to do with him setting the final host that one time. I really don't wanna go read it as I don't like the way the writer of said event write anything (kid Loki's arc is basically the one thing he ever wrote that I actually liked)

[Raye]

I have not watched Sailor Moon in a very long time, so details are hazy, but I think i gt what you mean, regardless. I do think Loki is in a sort of holding pattern, and needs something to jolt him free, but I don't think that will be hard (from a writing perspective) to accomplish, the time for that to happen just hasn't arrived yet. It could just involve Thor asking Loki to do something and Loki answers the call this time, after refusing last time. I do think he is bored with Jotunheim, and wants something a bit more impactful to do. And I do think Cates, and even Ewing in Defenders, pointing out that he is dissatisfied with the current status quo of king of Jotunheim is likely a sign that something will be changing for Loki, it's just taking longer to get there than I'd prefer. On the other hand, he kind of had to stay in that spot for a while for the whole boredom angle to feel genuine.

Defenders.... it was ok for what it was, but it never going to be my thing, and I knew that going in.

TLDR version - Ewing loves the trippy cosmic stuff, and this is neck deep in that, but that's just not a part of the MU that has ever interested me. I'm really more into the personal lives and histories of characters, not cosmic beings, universe threatening power, and the ancient history of the universe etc. I'm ok with the cosmic and bigger picture stuff if it is an integral part of a more personal story, like happened with parts of Loki's story, or the Asgard stuff in general where it's it's own cosmic pocket, but the focus is more on the characters. But I don't care about the cosmic stuff for it's own sake, I just don't give a damn about what 'cosmos' we are on or whatever. Which come to think of it is a bit weird cus in video games i am a total lore hound. I collect every log and scrap of paper, watch the hour long youtube lore videos and blah blah. Ask me about Fallout, Bioshock, Witcher, Elder Scrolls, or Zero Dawn etc, and I can talk your ear off about lore, but Marvel... meh. I've picked a lot of it up over time, but I won't go out of my way to read about it. I think it's just that Marvel's is too detached from the main events, it's kind of it's own thing, and it just feels very cold and distant with no real effect on most characters.... like it's not 'no cosmic ever' it's just how Marvel often handles it as this distant vague and almost unknowable force that's just.... kinda there, and we're supposed to just care that it's powerful, and I don't. So in that sense, it just deals with stuff I don't care about, and I am not the target audience here. I'm just here for Loki, otherwise i would not have bothered, to be frank.

And on the Loki side.... I wasn't gonna say much cus i didn't want to be a wet blanket, but... since you asked, I will be honest, this mostly made me glad Aaron kinda walked things back some. I do still think that was the right move, despite generally being against moving backwards most other times. I just do not like this random agent of chaos take on Loki, sorry. :-/ I found this characterization grating at the end of Agent of Asgard, and I find it grating now, this removes the aspects of the character I like. It feels like a caricature of a 'trickster' archetype more than a fleshed out character, and, I'm sorry, it's annoying. I do expect things to flesh out a bit in subsequent issues, but.... right now this feels too detached from the Loki i grew to care about from JIM onward. Also, i found this 'just go along with what the universe wants' attitude really weird for Loki. It doesn't even seem to line up with the end of Agent of Asgard, where this whole persona was born of Loki trying to break free of fate. Also after the Young Avengers story in the Pride issue, America's antagonism seemed a bit out of place as well. Maybe this happens a bit prior to that, though.

I did find it interesting that the Tarot was used again, not surprising for Dr Strange, but it's the second Tarot reference involving Loki in like a month which is weird, even tho it is probably just a coincidence.

I do think after looking again Loki just means they will go back to the time around Secret Wars, and 'yawning like the grave' I know you two are not native english speakers, but here, that's kind of a saying to imply something unknown, we don't know what lies beyond death, and this Loki's future is likewise unknown. To a degree we, the readers, know what's coming, because we've seen it play out in Thor, etc. but Loki here doesn't. And even we don't really know what will come because things have been a bit slow moving.

I knew Loki would be in Iron fist, but had not heard that would tie into Judgement Day, (another one i follow on Unlimited so a few months behind there) but it kinda makes sense. Kieron Gillen is spearheading it, and we know Gillen has a soft spot for Loki, so I could see Gillen wanting to use Loki in the event. Though poking around this seems to be limited to Iron Fist... but it may spread beyond. which could be what brings Loki in. Basically, from what I understand, the Eternals, now led by Thanos after some... shenanigans, have labelled the X-Men/mutants 'deviants' in need of eradication. So it's a fight between them and the Eternals, and the Avengers get involved as well.