Loki Appreciation 2018

[Rosebunse]

Sorry if I spoiled anything about the movie! I am honestly the worst when it comes to spoilers! I'll just assure you that you'll enjoy it, especially as a comic book fan. In fact, I think that's part of the problem of the movie-you really have to be a fan of the comics to appreciate some of it. That's not going to be a problem for us, but for normal people, I feel like some of it was confusing or at least narmy.

Part of the fun with Loki at the moment is how other writers interpret him, as well as other artists, some of whom keep going with his AoA look, which I honestly find somewhat annoying. Someone, please, just pick a look and go with it!

[Raye]

Well, the only real difference between Agent Loki and the current costume is the coat and length of his hair, really. The horns on his crown have a distinctive shape that are different from the Agent costume in the character sheet Dauterman did, but (though it kind of annoys me, since I come from an animation background where staying on model was hammered into me) I know most comic artists tend to take liberties, so I don't really expect that to be adhered to that strictly... So, coat and hair. Mostly the coat. Take the coat off, which he has been doing a fair bit recently, and I expect it to be absent for the entirety of his time as Sorcerer Supreme since it would not work very well with the Cloak of Levitation, and the current costume and AoA costumes are basically identical. I don't think I have seen anyone draw him in his old coat without the metal shoulders?

[Rosebunse]

Well, the only real difference between Agent Loki and the current costume is the coat and length of his hair, really. The horns on his crown have a distinctive shape that are different from the Agent costume in the character sheet Dauterman did, but (though it kind of annoys me, since I come from an animation background where staying on model was hammered into me) I know most comic artists tend to take liberties, so I don't really expect that to be adhered to that strictly... So, coat and hair. Mostly the coat. Take the coat off, which he has been doing a fair bit recently, and I expect it to be absent for the entirety of his time as Sorcerer Supreme since it would not work very well with the Cloak of Levitation, and the current costume and AoA costumes are basically identical. I don't think I have seen anyone draw him in his old coat without the metal shoulders?

In Ewing's run, he at least was bare foot and his outfit was a lot more tattered looking.

I mean, I get it, the AoA outfit was basically perfect. He looked like a heroic Loki-we had the fur trip, the green and gold, the horns worked well, the green nail polish, and with enough belts and swords to make everyone happy. It was modern comic book chic that mixed well with classic Loki.

Given his importance at the moment, I do have to wonder just how well known the plans regarding Loki are and what writers have been told they can or cannot do with him.

[Raye]

Oh, i wasn't really thinking of the whole barefoot thing, since that only lasted like one issue. Even that was mostly the same, just all tattered. I just figured he found himself a new pair of shoes and gloves, probably had a backup pair laying about, and that was that. I mean maybe they could have designed some new boots, but... It WAS a good look for him, I don't really see any reason to toss it aside, especially since Aaron walked back a lot of the changes from those final couple of issues. The only problem with the costume is that it is detail heavy, and a lot of artists have trouble with those details. But yeah, the artists aren't drawing him in his old costume, the new costume is just very similar to the old, aside from the coat

[Riimi]

As for Doctor Strange, super stoked for it, but I do keep reminding myself that it is Strange's book, and Loki will just be a supporting character, I don't want to go in and end up disappointed because I was expecting more Loki. But i really hope that if this is a longer lasting status quo, a spinoff book for Loki will happen. It seems from interviews that a lot of people are really interested in Loki being in that position so hopefully Marvel takes notice of that.

*edit - Loki tease from Squirrel Girl, of him being totally honest about himself. really.:
https://twitter.com/Wil_Moss/status/926467658740101121

Attachment 57343

*edited again - and as I think about it, I think why I am excited about this issue is that this comic is, for the purposes of the issue, written by Loki himself. So we have had his motives obscured for so long, this is the first time in a long time we get a look inside his head. Sure, he's probably lying, obviously. It's Loki. It's also not by his 'main' writers, so.... But this is Squirrel Girl saying 'write whatever you want about yourself' so this is him kinda putting out the image he wants the world to have of him. is he ACTUALLY what he says on the page? not really. But it's what he wants to be. Or at least what he wants people to think he is.

Also, it will give us an idea of how North will write him. The last time he wrote Loki (aside from the birthday issue, but he had a pretty small part in that) was right before Thor found out about Kid Loki. So it was quite a while ago. It will be interesting to see what North's take on him is now. It's also him writing Loki, even if it is only for a couple pages, as the central character, rather than backing up Squirrel Girl in her story. If Loki is to get his own book again because of the Sorcerer Supreme thing, and if Cates or Aaron don't write it, I think North would be a good candidate for it, assuming this and the following arc of him going to rescue Nancy are good. I don't think I would want it to be in quite the same tone as Squirrel Girl, but I wouldn't mind a lighthearted take on him, to kinda balance out all the other dark stuff he's dealing with right now.

I hadn't really connected the number of interviews to the amount of interest in Loki being the Sorcerer Supreme, but it makes sense. I don't remember there being this much noise when he was running for president. Maybe because, although president is a big deal in real life, it isn't so much in the Marvel Universe? That, and everybody was fed up with politics (and still kind of is), especially with how divisive it became in the U.S. (America-centric pov, not sure how it is elsewhere). Also, while Loki being a politician fit, I don't feel like being an American politician fit as much. Whereas, the Sorcerer Supreme is a well established role in the MU, and Loki is well-established as a Sorcerer. There really has been a lot of interviews, and I've seen several people mention that they're going to pick the series up (although several of them were doing so for Strange's POV). So, here's hoping it's popular enough for a spinoff or for a situation rather like the current Thor's (where she's popular enough to be the main focus for an arc or two). *crosses fingers while simultaneously trying not to get too hopeful*

Pffft...Haha ha! OMG, that picture! I'm pretty sure if you looked up "trying too hard", that picture would be the illustration. That is some dedication, right there. Half expecting that fact to be lampshaded/addressed in the story. Or it could just be Loki being self-aggrandizing. He's done that a lot less since GUILT, but I honestly wouldn't want it gone forever, it's hilarious as long as it isn't driving him to villainy.

I'll throw in some additional love for Squirrel Girl, I picked it up because of the Rattotoskr issue, loved it, and have more or less followed it since then. It's definitely a different take from the "meme-Squirrel Girl", which I think also puts people off.

About Loki's costume: obviously, needs more belts. And pockets. Just make it one giant pocket made out of other pockets. It will be super 90s throwback chic. (sarcasm tag required).

[kaimaciel]

Regarding the THING in Thor Ragnarok:

spoilers:

It's obvious that Loki took the Tesseract when he went to the vault to unleash Surtur, I wish he didn't do it but I can understand why he did. What's bothering me is how many people regard this as "Loki ruined everything again" or "Loki is evil and Thor is an idiot for trusting him with the vault", or "why did Thor trust Loki again?!". It is very possible that Loki will give the Tesseract to Thanos in the next movie, considering the leaked Infinity War trailer is almost guaranteed, but his intentions might change everything. Many people don't take into consideration Loki's arc in this movie, nor his character development. When Thor is sent to the dungeons in Sakaar, Loki tries to convince him to wait until he gets close enough to the Grandmaster to murder him and he and Thor can rule it? Live large? (it's not explained, but oh well), when Thor gives him the silent treatment, Loki tried to dissuade him from going back to Asgard and get himself killed by Hela, only when Thor berated him for faking his death, usurping the throne and blamed him for Odin's death and Hela's subsequent release, Loki became cold again and told him that he bet against him and not let him down, before disappearing. During their escape, when Loki tells Thor that they might as well be strangers now and that he should stay on Sakaar and Thor agrees, he's both surprised and then obviously hurt. Then he tries to betray Thor again and is left tased with the obedience disk on Sakaar with the control out of reach while Thor, Bruce, and Valkyrie leave for Asgard. Now, this is my conjecture but until we get confirmation from Marvel I assume it to be right: Thor had no idea the slaves would find the big ship and try to leave Sakaar, he also didn't don't they would find Loki, release him and ask him if he wanted to escape with them. The point I'm trying to make is, Loki didn't need to go back to Asgard with the gladiators, he could have told them to go anywhere else, but in his assumed leadership he made them go back to Asgard. Thor didn't plan for the escape ship to show up and get the Asgardians out of Asgard, they were planning on defeating Hela and lead the people to the Bifrost but it didn't work out. When Loki shows up with Kord and the gladiators, Thor sees this and smiled. It's possible that Heimdall knew Loki was coming because he told him so, but we never see him tell Thor that Loki was coming with help. I'm guessing Thor hoped Loki would do the right thing and come back, hence the "you're late" line when they finally meet, but he had no way of knowing he would. Same thing with Surtur's crown and the Eternal Flame. Thor told Loki to resurrect Surtur, which Loki did, the fact that the Tesseract was also there probably never crossed his mind during the battle. When Asgard was destroyed, Loki didn't need to go back to the ship. He had the Tesseract, the Grandmaster's orgy ship, he could have left to anywhere he wanted, but he didn't. He went back to the ship and Thor, who didn't actually expect Loki to be there in person, found out that in fact, Loki had come back (the "I'm here" scene almost made me cry). The coronation scene is also surprising regarding how it mirrors the coronation from Thor 1. Thor walks up to the "throne", to the sound of the coronation music from Thor 1 no less, Valkyrie and Hulk on his right side, Heimdal, Korg and Miek on his left. Before he sits down, Loki walks from the right and stands on his right side, in front of Valkyrie and Hulk, at ease, smiling, the Prince of Asgard. So, I really, really don't want Loki to just become evil again and simply hand Thanos the Tesseract. It would be a huge disservice to his character development in this movie, repetitive and very annoying. I hope he gives it to either bargain for his, Thor's and the Asgardians lives to be spared or to stop Thanos from killing Thor or to offer himself with the Tesseract so Thanos won't kill Thor.

end of spoilers

[krazijoe]

Regarding the THING in Thor Ragnarok:

spoilers:

It's obvious that Loki took the Tesseract when he went to the vault to unleash Surtur, I wish he didn't do it but I can understand why he did. What's bothering me is how many people regard this as "Loki ruined everything again" or "Loki is evil and Thor is an idiot for trusting him with the vault", or "why did Thor trust Loki again?!". It is very possible that Loki will give the Tesseract to Thanos in the next movie, considering the leaked Infinity War trailer is almost guaranteed, but his intentions might change everything. Many people don't take into consideration Loki's arc in this movie, nor his character development. When Thor is sent to the dungeons in Sakaar, Loki tries to convince him to wait until he gets close enough to the Grandmaster to murder him and he and Thor can rule it? Live large? (it's not explained, but oh well), when Thor gives him the silent treatment, Loki tried to dissuade him from going back to Asgard and get himself killed by Hela, only when Thor berated him for faking his death, usurping the throne and blamed him for Odin's death and Hela's subsequent release, Loki became cold again and told him that he bet against him and not let him down, before disappearing. During their escape, when Loki tells Thor that they might as well be strangers now and that he should stay on Sakaar and Thor agrees, he's both surprised and then obviously hurt. Then he tries to betray Thor again and is left tased with the obedience disk on Sakaar with the control out of reach while Thor, Bruce, and Valkyrie leave for Asgard. Now, this is my conjecture but until we get confirmation from Marvel I assume it to be right: Thor had no idea the slaves would find the big ship and try to leave Sakaar, he also didn't don't they would find Loki, release him and ask him if he wanted to escape with them. The point I'm trying to make is, Loki didn't need to go back to Asgard with the gladiators, he could have told them to go anywhere else, but in his assumed leadership he made them go back to Asgard. Thor didn't plan for the escape ship to show up and get the Asgardians out of Asgard, they were planning on defeating Hela and lead the people to the Bifrost but it didn't work out. When Loki shows up with Kord and the gladiators, Thor sees this and smiled. It's possible that Heimdall knew Loki was coming because he told him so, but we never see him tell Thor that Loki was coming with help. I'm guessing Thor hoped Loki would do the right thing and come back, hence the "you're late" line when they finally meet, but he had no way of knowing he would. Same thing with Surtur's crown and the Eternal Flame. Thor told Loki to resurrect Surtur, which Loki did, the fact that the Tesseract was also there probably never crossed his mind during the battle. When Asgard was destroyed, Loki didn't need to go back to the ship. He had the Tesseract, the Grandmaster's orgy ship, he could have left to anywhere he wanted, but he didn't. He went back to the ship and Thor, who didn't actually expect Loki to be there in person, found out that in fact, Loki had come back (the "I'm here" scene almost made me cry). The coronation scene is also surprising regarding how it mirrors the coronation from Thor 1. Thor walks up to the "throne", to the sound of the coronation music from Thor 1 no less, Valkyrie and Hulk on his right side, Heimdal, Korg and Miek on his left. Before he sits down, Loki walks from the right and stands on his right side, in front of Valkyrie and Hulk, at ease, smiling, the Prince of Asgard. So, I really, really don't want Loki to just become evil again and simply hand Thanos the Tesseract. It would be a huge disservice to his character development in this movie, repetitive and very annoying. I hope he gives it to either bargain for his, Thor's and the Asgardians lives to be spared or to stop Thanos from killing Thor or to offer himself with the Tesseract so Thanos won't kill Thor.

end of spoilers

I think.
spoilers:

Loki stole the fake gauntlet.

end of spoilers

[kaimaciel]

I think.
spoilers:

Loki stole the fake gauntlet.

end of spoilers

I wish that was true but...

spoilers:

We see him hand the Tesseract to someone huge in the Infinity War leaked trailer.

end of spoilers

[Riimi]

Regarding the THING in Thor Ragnarok:

spoilers:

It's obvious that Loki took the Tesseract when he went to the vault to unleash Surtur, I wish he didn't do it but I can understand why he did. What's bothering me is how many people regard this as "Loki ruined everything again" or "Loki is evil and Thor is an idiot for trusting him with the vault", or "why did Thor trust Loki again?!". It is very possible that Loki will give the Tesseract to Thanos in the next movie, considering the leaked Infinity War trailer is almost guaranteed, but his intentions might change everything. Many people don't take into consideration Loki's arc in this movie, nor his character development. When Thor is sent to the dungeons in Sakaar, Loki tries to convince him to wait until he gets close enough to the Grandmaster to murder him and he and Thor can rule it? Live large? (it's not explained, but oh well), when Thor gives him the silent treatment, Loki tried to dissuade him from going back to Asgard and get himself killed by Hela, only when Thor berated him for faking his death, usurping the throne and blamed him for Odin's death and Hela's subsequent release, Loki became cold again and told him that he bet against him and not let him down, before disappearing. During their escape, when Loki tells Thor that they might as well be strangers now and that he should stay on Sakaar and Thor agrees, he's both surprised and then obviously hurt. Then he tries to betray Thor again and is left tased with the obedience disk on Sakaar with the control out of reach while Thor, Bruce, and Valkyrie leave for Asgard. Now, this is my conjecture but until we get confirmation from Marvel I assume it to be right: Thor had no idea the slaves would find the big ship and try to leave Sakaar, he also didn't don't they would find Loki, release him and ask him if he wanted to escape with them. The point I'm trying to make is, Loki didn't need to go back to Asgard with the gladiators, he could have told them to go anywhere else, but in his assumed leadership he made them go back to Asgard. Thor didn't plan for the escape ship to show up and get the Asgardians out of Asgard, they were planning on defeating Hela and lead the people to the Bifrost but it didn't work out. When Loki shows up with Kord and the gladiators, Thor sees this and smiled. It's possible that Heimdall knew Loki was coming because he told him so, but we never see him tell Thor that Loki was coming with help. I'm guessing Thor hoped Loki would do the right thing and come back, hence the "you're late" line when they finally meet, but he had no way of knowing he would. Same thing with Surtur's crown and the Eternal Flame. Thor told Loki to resurrect Surtur, which Loki did, the fact that the Tesseract was also there probably never crossed his mind during the battle. When Asgard was destroyed, Loki didn't need to go back to the ship. He had the Tesseract, the Grandmaster's orgy ship, he could have left to anywhere he wanted, but he didn't. He went back to the ship and Thor, who didn't actually expect Loki to be there in person, found out that in fact, Loki had come back (the "I'm here" scene almost made me cry). The coronation scene is also surprising regarding how it mirrors the coronation from Thor 1. Thor walks up to the "throne", to the sound of the coronation music from Thor 1 no less, Valkyrie and Hulk on his right side, Heimdal, Korg and Miek on his left. Before he sits down, Loki walks from the right and stands on his right side, in front of Valkyrie and Hulk, at ease, smiling, the Prince of Asgard. So, I really, really don't want Loki to just become evil again and simply hand Thanos the Tesseract. It would be a huge disservice to his character development in this movie, repetitive and very annoying. I hope he gives it to either bargain for his, Thor's and the Asgardians lives to be spared or to stop Thanos from killing Thor or to offer himself with the Tesseract so Thanos won't kill Thor.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

I hadn't seen the leaked trailer. That's disappointing if he just hands it over, but it could be misdirection. I was fine with him stealing it in the first place - as someone else said, there's no iteration of Loki in any universe who wouldn't have stolen it--and the thing was otherwise going to get lost if the fire wasn't enough to destroy it. Bargaining with Thanos, on the other hand...well, that looks bad. Although the fact that we see what is probably his ship after the credits in Ragnarok makes it more likely, imo, that Loki uses it as a bargaining chip. Either that or he pretends to still be working for Thanos (to avoid getting squashed) and does the double agent thing.

end of spoilers

[Rosebunse]

How do we use spoiler tags again?

And I'm going to keep assuming that the comics offer some clues to the movies here.

[kaimaciel]

How do we use spoiler tags again?

And I'm going to keep assuming that the comics offer some clues to the movies here.

(spoil) stuff (/spoil) with these []

I don't think the comics answer anything, Rose. At least not where they are heading with Loki.

Oh! And this:

https://www.cbr.com/thor-ragnarok-sets-up-loki-movie/

I know the MCU will never do JIM and AOA but my God I wish they tried. It wouldn't need to be exactly like the comics (especially the AOA ending), but it would be amazing to see a redemption arc based on those stories. I mean, Young Avengers as a TV series? Sign me up!

[calyx]

spoilers:

The bit in the Infinity War trailer with Loki here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LD8SG1z-z4&t=80 I assume it's a bargain and that's the crashed spaceship behind, that's what Loki always does, including in mythology, is bargain (terribly? cleverly?) to win, rather than heroically and honestly lose. He takes some hard decisions, and no one is really happy with him in the end. The Infinity Gauntlet in the vault from the first Thor was retconned later as being with Thanos, so Hela knocks it off its pedestal contemptuously as fake.

end of spoilers

[Rosebunse]

(spoil) stuff (/spoil) with these []

I don't think the comics answer anything, Rose. At least not where they are heading with Loki.

Oh! And this:

https://www.cbr.com/thor-ragnarok-sets-up-loki-movie/

I know the MCU will never do JIM and AOA but my God I wish they tried. It wouldn't need to be exactly like the comics (especially the AOA ending), but it would be amazing to see a redemption arc based on those stories. I mean, Young Avengers as a TV series? Sign me up!

I honestly don't ever want to see JIM in movie form. That story is incredibly depressing and hard to watch, unless they change the ending, in which case then it's not really the same thing.

Sorry if this doesn't work! But spoilers below in case they don't and I try to edit them!



spoilers:

I feel like the Loki in the movie is in a much different place than comic book Loki. Movie Loki already seems aware of the trap fate has for him and is trying to avoid it. That's part of the reason he returned to Asgard with that ship. So unless he royally screws up in Infinity War, which is more than likely, I'm not sure a JIM storyline would be the same.

end of spoilers

[calyx]

I don't reckon a Loki solo movie will happen unless Marvel starts to get really profligate with its franchise (here's hoping - finally a Black Widow movie). I'd love to see it of course, with comic borrowings - though not JIM - but I think Loki's popularity is of the cultish breakout sort for the villain. He'd be a hard sell as a lead - imo he's not masculine or sexual or heroic enough to get enough casual moviegoers. ↗Big budget, ↗common denominator.

[Raye]

Wow, so many spoilers

I dunno what all is being said specifically, but I for one would love a JIM movie or TV series. I'd prefer TV series, because i don't think a movie could do it justice due to length constraints. But with Disney backing away from Netflix, not entirely sure where it would be told. Of course, Loki would have to die, first. But that actually would kinda have to happen sooner or later, anyway, because unlike in the comics, actors age, and Hiddleston won't be able to play Loki for that much longer before the notion that he is immortal breaks. Yeah, it would be sad at the end, but the sad ending doesn't stop the comic from being good, so shouldn't stop the TV series from being good, either.

I hadn't really connected the number of interviews to the amount of interest in Loki being the Sorcerer Supreme, but it makes sense. I don't remember there being this much noise when he was running for president. Maybe because, although president is a big deal in real life, it isn't so much in the Marvel Universe? That, and everybody was fed up with politics (and still kind of is), especially with how divisive it became in the U.S. (America-centric pov, not sure how it is elsewhere). Also, while Loki being a politician fit, I don't feel like being an American politician fit as much. Whereas, the Sorcerer Supreme is a well established role in the MU, and Loki is well-established as a Sorcerer. There really has been a lot of interviews, and I've seen several people mention that they're going to pick the series up (although several of them were doing so for Strange's POV). So, here's hoping it's popular enough for a spinoff or for a situation rather like the current Thor's (where she's popular enough to be the main focus for an arc or two). *crosses fingers while simultaneously trying not to get too hopeful*

I was actually thinking not so much the sheer number of interviews (though that too, i guess) but that in the interviews, they always ask questions about Loki rather than Strange, to the point that Cates has had to point out that it is Strange's story, not Loki's. The next round of solicits in a couple weeks might give us more of a hint about how long Loki will have the title, and thus how likely a spinoff is. But I do feel like this could definitely tie into the Final Host thing in a pivotal way, and thus necessitate it being a longer lasting status quo. Also with the (completely unsourced, take with a massive grain of salt) rumor that there will be a lot of cancellations over the next few months, they will need to create some new books as replacements, if true. And hell, I don't think Loki strictly needs an excuse like being Sorcerer Supreme to get a new book, it's just that it would give it a major hook with some strong story potential, and bring in some probable additional readers curious about it to help keep it going.

Just over a week until it starts, though! hopefully it lives up to expectations.

Pffft...Haha ha! OMG, that picture! I'm pretty sure if you looked up "trying too hard", that picture would be the illustration. That is some dedication, right there. Half expecting that fact to be lampshaded/addressed in the story. Or it could just be Loki being self-aggrandizing. He's done that a lot less since GUILT, but I honestly wouldn't want it gone forever, it's hilarious as long as it isn't driving him to villainy.

I think the recent character developments have tempered his inflated ego, but I still think it's there to an extent. I think he will always be fairly self-interested, and think himself pretty awesome, and try to get others to see/acknowledge that. (and be hurt if they don't) and yeah, it could be quite fun, if it's directed in a more positive way.

One thing I think that's been lost a bit recently due to all the dark stuff he's been going through, is that Loki can be a really fun and funny character when not dealing with overwhelming guilt, which he has to get over at some point to an extent. i mean, he's the god of mischief. He gets into trouble and then comes up with.... creative ways to get back out of it. He also has a sharp, sarcastic sense of humor, tons of room for fun stories with those traits, he doesn't have to be all about the angst.