Loki Appreciation 2018

[Raye]

https://www.newsarama.com/42392-what...ni-marvel.html

The preview for the Thor What If? is here

Link didn't work right, but I found it: https://www.newsarama.com/42392-what...ni-marvel.html

So, though he is not in the preview pages directly, looking at the captions, they are Loki's colours, so looks like Loki is playing storyteller even in other dimensions, and is narrating the issue. I like his voice in the captions, have high hopes for this one even if i was let down some by the X-Men one (haven't gotten aoround to Ghost Rider yet, the only other one i have gotten so far)

[Rosebunse]

Link didn't work right, but I found it: https://www.newsarama.com/42392-what...ni-marvel.html

So, though he is not in the preview pages directly, looking at the captions, they are Loki's colours, so looks like Loki is playing storyteller even in other dimensions, and is narrating the issue. I like his voice in the captions, have high hopes for this one even if i was let down some by the X-Men one (haven't gotten aoround to Ghost Rider yet, the only other one i have gotten so far)

So wasn't the Watcher the old narrator for What If? issues? I guess this would make sense, then, since Uatu is dead and Loki is still the God of Stories.

[Raye]

Well, I don't think it is our Loki narrating this, it is the Loki of that universe, and not like he is narrating any of the others I've seen, I think it is just this one, so it is probably just a framing device of him telling someone or other about what happened, rather than him taking the place of the Watcher. But it is likely that it is kind of a nod to his current status in the comics. (even tho the God of Stories thing apparently didn't actually take)

But, assuming it is that universe's Loki telling events, it doesn't seem he is too fond of Laufey there either, and he spoke well of Odin, so I am thinking he and Thor may be working together. Or maybe him and Freyja. Laufey didn't have her killed, he had her imprisoned, and the interview said something about a nod to the MCU Loki, where they were very close. Either way it doesn't sound as though Loki is on Laufey's side here.

*edit - just checked and the Watcher is still narrating at least one of them, the Flash Thompson/Spider-Man one, it's just not Uatu, it's Nick Fury/The Unseen

[Rosebunse]

Well, I don't think it is our Loki narrating this, it is the Loki of that universe, and not like he is narrating any of the others I've seen, I think it is just this one, so it is probably just a framing device of him telling someone or other about what happened, rather than him taking the place of the Watcher. But it is likely that it is kind of a nod to his current status in the comics. (even tho the God of Stories thing apparently didn't actually take)

But, assuming it is that universe's Loki telling events, it doesn't seem he is too fond of Laufey there either, and he spoke well of Odin, so I am thinking he and Thor may be working together. Or maybe him and Freyja. Laufey didn't have her killed, he had her imprisoned, and the interview said something about a nod to the MCU Loki, where they were very close. Either way it doesn't sound as though Loki is on Laufey's side here.

*edit - just checked and the Watcher is still narrating at least one of them, the Flash Thompson/Spider-Man one, it's just not Uatu, it's Nick Fury/The Unseen

I do wonder how long Nick Fury will stay as The Unseen?

Of course Loki isn't going to be fond of Laufey. Laufey is still a jerk and a horrible father to him. He's just going to be nicer to Thor because Thor is physically stronger than Loki.

Loki and Freya are an odd couple, especially since we didn't even really know Freya until not that long ago. But I personally enjoy their frankly unhealthy relationship. While Aaron and Ewing show us two very different Freyas, I think the two versions are pretty complimentary to each other.

If Laufey does have her imprisoned, then Loki may go to find her. She'll be the one to teach him magic and scheming.

[Raye]

It feels as though Marvel wants to keep him in that role for the foreseeable future. I think they want Nick Fury to match the MCU depiction, so... though it would help if Nick jr. wasn't fairly dull, and SHIELD wasn't dismantled but, still, that's what it feels like, that Nick sr. had to be moved off the board so Nick jr. could take his place in the books. Always the possibility they could change their minds, tho.

Yeah, I mean not too surprising that Loki's not exactly a fan of his father, but keep in mind, this is an alternate universe, so it won't necessarily be the same as in the main universe. It does seem like a 'one changed event' thing, but that still leaves a lot of wiggle room, considering how little we really know about Laufey. As far as Freyja goes, she LOOKS about the same, but personality wise, she may be closer to the MCU. Just saying, I wouldn't assume Loki and Freyja's personalities or their relationship will be the same as it is in the main universe. It can't be, the circumstances won't allow it, they are approaching each other from completely different situations. That one changed event places Freyja in a position where she has no power, and though she may take on a sort of motherly role with Loki, it can't be to the same degree, and she won't have the same kind of power that she does in the main universe, and would not have been able to do some of the more shady things she's done. That event also defined Loki's entire character in the comics, and if they are taking a 'nurture' approach, he may end up in a very different place, and the same goes for Thor, otherwise it wouldn't be much of a story, really. I mean, I guess it would be making a statement about the characters nature being fixed no matter the circumstances, (which would be bad news for Loki's face turn in the main universe) but if they end up largely the same, just in a different location and with blue skin, it wouldn't be a lot of fun to read, so i sort of doubt they are taking that route. Just saying, it won't be the main universe's adult characterizations plunked in a different setting, it's them as children, before they grew into the people they'd become, so we can't make assumptions about things based on their main universe depictions.

As far as main universe Freyja goes, i still think it's pretty jarring how differently she (and Odin) was handled in the two books, and I have trouble reconciling them. It's almost like somehow wires got crossed and Odin and Freyja's personalities got swapped in one of the books. But if Freyja (or Loki, or preferably both) at least acknowledges what she did in Agent of Asgard, it would smooth things over some in terms of making them fit with each other.

*edited to add - I do think elements of their main universe personalities will come through. I'm sure Loki will be clever and mischievous, while Thor is brave and kinda reckless at times, and such. but I am just saying that their changed circumstances will probably take both of them in some different directions as well, which may make things go quite differently if it was the main universe Loki and Thor in the story.

(also, I think Freyja has been around for a long time, they just changed her name in the comics. Yes, it makes it confusing, since she is treated as different characters by some sites, but if you look at the stories, it's pretty clear she's intended to be the same character as Frigga in the early comics, even though they were possibly different characters in the mythology. (.... maybe. there is debate about this. Some say they are different, some say they refer to the same goddess, whose name shifted over time with changes in language... so it kinda fits in a way, if you think about it) So yeah, we've had plenty of time to get to know her.)

And oh yeah, I keep forgetting to post this.



An exclusive Pop at Walgreens. so if you're in the States, you can go get that "soon". (even tho yeah it's not one of Loki's finer moments, but I still thought it was a funny scene )

[rpmaluki]

And oh yeah, I keep forgetting to post this.



An exclusive Pop at Walgreens. so if you're in the States, you can go get that "soon". (even tho yeah it's not one of Loki's finer moments, but I still thought it was a funny scene )

I love how you can see the pain on his face, lol. Definitely not one of his finer moments.

[marge_23]

It feels as though Marvel wants to keep him in that role for the foreseeable future. I think they want Nick Fury to match the MCU depiction, so... though it would help if Nick jr. wasn't fairly dull, and SHIELD wasn't dismantled but, still, that's what it feels like, that Nick sr. had to be moved off the board so Nick jr. could take his place in the books. Always the possibility they could change their minds, tho.

Yeah, I mean not too surprising that Loki's not exactly a fan of his father, but keep in mind, this is an alternate universe, so it won't necessarily be the same as in the main universe. It does seem like a 'one changed event' thing, but that still leaves a lot of wiggle room, considering how little we really know about Laufey. As far as Freyja goes, she LOOKS about the same, but personality wise, she may be closer to the MCU. Just saying, I wouldn't assume Loki and Freyja's personalities or their relationship will be the same as it is in the main universe. It can't be, the circumstances won't allow it, they are approaching each other from completely different situations. That one changed event places Freyja in a position where she has no power, and though she may take on a sort of motherly role with Loki, it can't be to the same degree, and she won't have the same kind of power that she does in the main universe, and would not have been able to do some of the more shady things she's done. That event also defined Loki's entire character in the comics, and if they are taking a 'nurture' approach, he may end up in a very different place, and the same goes for Thor, otherwise it wouldn't be much of a story, really. I mean, I guess it would be making a statement about the characters nature being fixed no matter the circumstances, (which would be bad news for Loki's face turn in the main universe) but if they end up largely the same, just in a different location and with blue skin, it wouldn't be a lot of fun to read, so i sort of doubt they are taking that route. Just saying, it won't be the main universe's adult characterizations plunked in a different setting, it's them as children, before they grew into the people they'd become, so we can't make assumptions about things based on their main universe depictions.

As far as main universe Freyja goes, i still think it's pretty jarring how differently she (and Odin) was handled in the two books, and I have trouble reconciling them. It's almost like somehow wires got crossed and Odin and Freyja's personalities got swapped in one of the books. But if Freyja (or Loki, or preferably both) at least acknowledges what she did in Agent of Asgard, it would smooth things over some in terms of making them fit with each other.

*edited to add - I do think elements of their main universe personalities will come through. I'm sure Loki will be clever and mischievous, while Thor is brave and kinda reckless at times, and such. but I am just saying that their changed circumstances will probably take both of them in some different directions as well, which may make things go quite differently if it was the main universe Loki and Thor in the story.

(also, I think Freyja has been around for a long time, they just changed her name in the comics. Yes, it makes it confusing, since she is treated as different characters by some sites, but if you look at the stories, it's pretty clear she's intended to be the same character as Frigga in the early comics, even though they were possibly different characters in the mythology. (.... maybe. there is debate about this. Some say they are different, some say they refer to the same goddess, whose name shifted over time with changes in language... so it kinda fits in a way, if you think about it) So yeah, we've had plenty of time to get to know her.)

I honestly don't think Freyja and Odin are too different in the sense of scheming. Yes, Aaron's Odin is a blustering hot head and Freyja often comes off as calm and collected but when it comes to ruling I think they are both plenty capable of doing some sketchy plotting. Neither of them are above committing some shady actions in order to preserve the greater good. At least, that's how it was with previous portrayals of Odin. I'm not 100% with Aaron's Odin because he doesn't really come off as intelligent. But Freyja has definitely come off as a very calculating leader in both portrayals (for Aaron and AoA)

[Raye]

In terms of general plotting, yeah, I guess, though I was thinking more of how they treated Loki specifically.

So I read the What If, and it was cute, a little sad. I kind of wish it could have been stretched out a bit more, but they had 20 pages to work with, not much to be done about that, just some parts felt a bit rushed and glossed over due to the space constraints. Though it was titled after Thor, it was actually more Loki's story. He kind of got a happy ending for once... Though it took some tragedy to get there, but he learned a lesson from it. spoilers:

so basically my hunches above were pretty correct, Loki sided with Freyja, and the captions were his, as he told his story to his children. So basically, Loki and Thor became friends, but along the way Thor became thoroughly indoctrinated by Laufey, and Laufey made Thor his heir. Loki, sad about the rejection, but not wanting to hurt his brother, turned to Freyja, and they bonded, she taught him magic, etc. But.... He made one mistake, he told neither her nor Thor the other was alive, wanting to keep her attention to himself, afraid she'd dote on Thor if she knew he was alive. So time passes, and Laufey wants Loki and Thor to invade Muspelheim with him which Loki totally doesn't want to do, so he arranges to break Freyja out so they can head to Midgard and live out their lives in peace. But Laufey gets wind of the escape and he brings Thor with him to Asgard (Freyja is trying to activate the Bifrost so they can get to Midgard) and they attack Loki and Freyja. Loki stabs Laufey in the eye, and then Thor attacks them, and kills Freyja, who he did not recognize. The captions here say he regrets not being more truthful about the situation, as he sees it could have averted tragedy if he had been more honest. Thor is mad at Loki for not telling him, but Loki pleads with Thor, saying he just wants to live his own life, and Thor lets him go. Loki lives out his life on Midgard, apparently getting married and having kids and what appears to be a happy life, and he says he became a great hero on Midgard. Just before a thunderstorm rolls in, and the amulet he had carved for Thor when they were children falls from the sky.

end of spoilers

So yeah, bittersweet, but I liked it. Feels like there is definitely more they could tell of Thor and Loki's lives after Loki left, I am curious what Loki got up to on Midgard for sure, and curious about Thor as well.

There is one thing that may be relevant to the main universe though. They used the young Loki shown in the more recent flashbacks, but they de-blued him some, he is more purplish, at least early on, and Thor notes that he does not look like a frost giant. So, since they used current Freyja's current look, and used Loki's current canon look when he was a child, his adult form may carry over to the main universe as well. Which is basically blue, but not as blue as other frost giants, spiral tattoos on forehead, green eyes, black hair, and regular humanish height. Horns never grew in, btw. So that is pure fashion. But basically all he seems to change as far as his appearance goes is his skin colour. But it does seem to lend support for the idea that Loki is not a pure frost giant as has been very vaguely hinted at in the comics, and that Laufey is not his biological father. Though we got no more on that and his mother is not mentioned at all.

[marge_23]

In terms of general plotting, yeah, I guess, though I was thinking more of how they treated Loki specifically.

So I read the What If, and it was cute, a little sad. I kind of wish it could have been stretched out a bit more, but they had 20 pages to work with, not much to be done about that, just some parts felt a bit rushed and glossed over due to the space constraints. Though it was titled after Thor, it was actually more Loki's story. He kind of got a happy ending for once... Though it took some tragedy to get there, but he learned a lesson from it. spoilers:

so basically my hunches above were pretty correct, Loki sided with Freyja, and the captions were his, as he told his story to his children. So basically, Loki and Thor became friends, but along the way Thor became thoroughly indoctrinated by Laufey, and Laufey made Thor his heir. Loki, sad about the rejection, but not wanting to hurt his brother, turned to Freyja, and they bonded, she taught him magic, etc. But.... He made one mistake, he told neither her nor Thor the other was alive, wanting to keep her attention to himself, afraid she'd dote on Thor if she knew he was alive. So time passes, and Laufey wants Loki and Thor to invade Muspelheim with him which Loki totally doesn't want to do, so he arranges to break Freyja out so they can head to Midgard and live out their lives in peace. But Laufey gets wind of the escape and he brings Thor with him to Asgard (Freyja is trying to activate the Bifrost so they can get to Midgard) and they attack Loki and Freyja. Loki stabs Laufey in the eye, and then Thor attacks them, and kills Freyja, who he did not recognize. The captions here say he regrets not being more truthful about the situation, as he sees it could have averted tragedy if he had been more honest. Thor is mad at Loki for not telling him, but Loki pleads with Thor, saying he just wants to live his own life, and Thor lets him go. Loki lives out his life on Midgard, apparently getting married and having kids and what appears to be a happy life, and he says he became a great hero on Midgard. Just before a thunderstorm rolls in, and the amulet he had carved for Thor when they were children falls from the sky.

end of spoilers

So yeah, bittersweet, but I liked it. Feels like there is definitely more they could tell of Thor and Loki's lives after Loki left, I am curious what Loki got up to on Midgard for sure, and curious about Thor as well.

There is one thing that may be relevant to the main universe though. They used the young Loki shown in the more recent flashbacks, but they de-blued him some, he is more purplish, at least early on, and Thor notes that he does not look like a frost giant. So, since they used current Freyja's current look, and used Loki's current canon look when he was a child, his adult form may carry over to the main universe as well. Which is basically blue, but not as blue as other frost giants, spiral tattoos on forehead, green eyes, black hair, and regular humanish height. Horns never grew in, btw. So that is pure fashion. But basically all he seems to change as far as his appearance goes is his skin colour. But it does seem to lend support for the idea that Loki is not a pure frost giant as has been very vaguely hinted at in the comics, and that Laufey is not his biological father. Though we got no more on that and his mother is not mentioned at all.

That issue made me kind of sad. It dawned on me that Thor used the same hammer that killed his father...to kill his mother. And poor loki gets rejected no matter what. Kind of sucks

[Raye]

In a way, especially for Thor. But for Loki, though it involved some tragedy when a Thor killed Freyja, it was also kind of hopeful. It showed that certain aspects of his and Thor's characters were kind of the same in different situations, as I mentioned above, Thor was brave to the point of recklessness and good natured, while Loki was more about his smarts and trying to trick his way out of situations, and had a secretive and deceitful streak. But it also showed that those traits don't determine their paths, their situations do. What did Thor in was that he could be led by his desire for approval, I don't think he cared much if Laufey loved him, but he did care that he approved of his actions, and he'd do what was needed to get that without even really thinking about it. (though it helps that he naturally has traits Laufey valued) But Loki was more about a desire for love. While in the main universe I think that got warped into a desire for approval, and that went bad places, and of course approval is tied up in love in a way. But here, mostly he was just lonely, he never reached the point where he got bitter and mad about it, probably because he at least had Thor and Freyja. He just wanted friends and for people to like him, that's all. But he wanted them to like him for himself, not become something he wasn't to get that. He still valued following his own path and having agency over his life more than anything, while Thor accepted a path someone else chose for him. And if allowed to do his own thing... Turns out he is not evil, he just ended up living a quiet but happy life, and though we don't know the details, he was apparently a good person. Even if he did lie to his family about who he really was.

But yeah, it shows that if this Loki can be a good guy, then our Loki trying to better himself is not a lost cause. Though it will be harder for him, because there is so much more baggage at this point, all the things he has done will just make it harder to get the love I still think he wants (think of how he acted in Hel with his brothers) and it may be that he just has to extract himself from a situation that is toxic for him, and everyone else.

[Raye]

Loki did not appear in any books I read this week, but i found it interesting that in Iron Hammer, his absence was a notable story point. So basically, in that book, all the characters were warped as one Iron Man related character, and one Asgardian character. So beyond the titular Thor and Iron Man, you had Malekith warped with Mandarin, Hela and Madame Masque, Etri and Ho Yinsen, etc. And then there was Stane. Obviously, based on his name, Obidiah Stane is one half, but from the first issue, i couldn't figure out the other half. He was Iron Hammer's brother, but couldn't be Loki cus he never got warped, and Balder or Tyr didn't seem to fit, so i thought maybe Arno, but then that would be two Iron Man characters warped together, which wouldn't fit with the rest being one of each... i have to say i was really confused by that, and it never did clarify his other half in the first issue. But after reading issue 2, i see now that it was intentional that you couldn't figure out who he was warped with because he wasn't warped. Not fully, anyway. His backstory got changed as if he were warped with Loki, but the warp itself never actually happened, so he was in this weird limbo state where he was missing a part of himself, it is even spelled out pretty clearly in the dialogue, where he says things like "sometimes I hear a voice in my head. Like the other half of myself, the one i should be merged with... but all I am is me." So now I am wondering if Gamora intended to merge Loki with Stane, but Loki magicked his way out of it, rather than what it appeared in Infinity Wars, where she just kinda tossed him in there running free. It makes her look less stupid if that's the case.

Preview for Asgardians of the Galaxy: https://www.cbr.com/asgardians-of-the-galaxy-3/
Loki has nothing to say in it, but he does like, vaporize an undead god with Destroyer face beams, and I presume all the talk about deception and lies will be relevant to his inclusion in the story.

And I have been busy with some stuff that came up recently, but I did begin inking that drawing:



just the initial pass, line weight i will do later, to allow for some bleed fudging. I kinda goofed one of the buckles, but at least they are metallic so i can actually cover that up with some metallic paint in the end.

[Fanto.mx]

And then there was Stane. Obviously, based on his name, Obidiah Stane is one half, but from the first issue, i couldn't figure out the other half. He was Iron Hammer's brother, but couldn't be Loki cus he never got warped, and Balder or Tyr didn't seem to fit, so i thought maybe Arno, but then that would be two Iron Man characters warped together, which wouldn't fit with the rest being one of each... i have to say i was really confused by that, and it never did clarify his other half in the first issue. But after reading issue 2, i see now that it was intentional that you couldn't figure out who he was warped with because he wasn't warped. Not fully, anyway. His backstory got changed as if he were warped with Loki, but the warp itself never actually happened, so he was in this weird limbo state where he was missing a part of himself, it is even spelled out pretty clearly in the dialogue, where he says things like "sometimes I hear a voice in my head. Like the other half of myself, the one i should be merged with... but all I am is me." So now I am wondering if Gamora intended to merge Loki with Stane, but Loki magicked his way out of it, rather than what it appeared in Infinity Wars, where she just kinda tossed him in there running free. It makes her look less stupid if that's the case.

This is such a cool catch. Why didn't Loki get warped-merged with anyone? He should have. That's a really cool answer because it applies the new rules of the story evenly and keeps things from being accident or coincidence despite breaking the rules of the world. And it's all there in the text -- just not the text of Infinity Wars. But then, the text of Infinity Wars is like the high school lecture notes about a much larger story that the student didn't really read.

This happened and this happened and this -- did I miss something? How did Loki get there? -- anyway, this happened and this happened. Now I can say what happened, mostly.

What do you mean "What is the theme?" What do you mean "What does this mean?"

[Raye]

Yeah, I like those kids of details. It turns it from just getting from point a to be in the plot into world building, and i love world building. It helps things all hang together and make sense, rather than just a bunch of handwaves.

So, Adam Kubert just posted this:



https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp0TNP2g...=1mwkt3bhy77nr

The tags and his comments indicate it is a mystery what this is for, and Adam isn't currently the main artist on any book, last thing he did was Soldier Supreme, but of course that just concluded. But i did a little poking around, and he is listed in the November solicits as one of the artists on Avengers #10/700, so I have a hunch it is for that. We know Loki has to show up in Avengers again to resolve the whole 'abducted by Celestials' thing, but it is notable that he is appearing in 10, because that is the one where the 'startling' new member joins the team, so it is looking more and more likely that my initial hunch that Loki would be the new member is gaining more support.

[Rosebunse]

Nice catch on that Instagram find.

It almost looks like Loki is being contained in something? And is his eye weird because of an art mistake or something else? But you are looking to be more and more right about him being the mysterious new member.

So it was a big day for Loki today. I really enjoyed this issue of Infinity War and I think Duggan showed Loki and Emma at their best.

The hard thing is the timeline here. We don't know if Duggan and Aaron just have disregarded it or if there's some plan going on. However, if he is being contained in that image, then I wonder if he's still being contained by the Celestials and his whole thing in Infinity War is just him trying to find a way to escape them?

There's also the new Asgardians of the Galaxy, which also seems tied to Infinity War still. Is Kid Loki just a fragment of Loki? If Loki can do that, why not break off an even larger cut of himself? Would the Celestials care so long as they have a Loki to punish?

[Raye]

Well, he accomplished a lot, but... ugh, all the lazy handwaves...

Timeline seems to be Hel arc of Thor, because obviously Skurge and Valkyrie are still not recruited there, and Thor doesn't seem surprised that Loki is running around, then Avengers first arc because Dr Strange is there (he did not find the Time Gem until after he had left) then Asgardians of the Galaxy and Infinity Wars happen concurrently, then we get back to things with the Namor arc in Avengers after a few flash forward/back issues to stretch things out some, after Infinity Wars concludes. (Thor is still in flash forward/back mode, but same for it once that finishes) Which is why I don't think the Celestials are holding Loki prisoner. He either escaped awfully damn quick, or they had no intention of keeping him in the first place and let him go, maybe even sent him to do something. If he has been held prisoner the whole time, then yeah, there is a BIG timeline problem, so I just don't think he's being held prisoner at all.

I don't think Loki is being contained there, he just looks like he's... walking. And it's a closeup simply because he is saying something. (which is why he's squished into the bottom of the panel, presumably he has a lot to say there and they need room for the speech balloon)There is some kind of hill behind him, so he's not in a room or anything, he's out in the open. I suspect he may just be in the arctic, by their new base of operations, and it's not so much smoke as steam because it's so damn cold. (note that some is coming from his mouth in the first panel) or he may have been blasted causing him to smoke, maybe by Thor, or could be Robbie, or maybe even Carol. Robbie could be some kind of Penance Stare type deal, I was totally expecting him to lay a Penance Stare on Loki during the first arc, but it never happened, but I think it HAS to happen at some point. Aaron gave him that ability for a reason. He does look like he may have a messed up eye, but then again, Kubert's style is fairly loose, so it's hard to say.

And yeah, Asgardians Loki is a 'figment' 'fetch' etc of Loki, he split himself in two, he explained that in issue 2. And remember when he did that in Young Avengers (though it was Leah, not him) it drained most of his magic to maintain her. So I don't think this is something he's going to do a lot of. That may be part of the reason he was using the Destroyer, "Kid Loki" may be greatly weakened, and same for Loki Prime. (though he did seem capable of a convincing illusion of Amora) and Loki Prime is using mostly Infinity Gem power. If Loki could create duplicates of himself which all had the same level of power as his 'prime' body that is so ludicrously OP, he'd be utterly unbeatable, it makes more sense that any dupes have to share his power.