Loki Appreciation 2018

[Raye]

Yeah, that works better with the horns. OMG, turn it into a coloring page! That would be too fun LOL

Warping Jean to Carol would make too much sense and is something I very much desire now.

Aaron has been playing the long game. You know, I honestly feel like we need to blame Secret Wars for some of this. It's like Aaron thought he could play Hickman's long game but then made the mistake Hickman didn't: Hickman and Marvel didn't let the plan slip until near the end, whereas Aaron made it clear from a long time ago that he had some grand plan. And then there were all those smaller mysteries that drug on for too long.

I don't think it is a mistake to play things over the long term and let on that there is something building, lots of things do that and it is fine. Where I think he ran into problems was that he lost forward momentum on the Malekith front, and more specifically what exactly Loki, Thor, and a couple others are doing in that whole situation, for a large chunk of the time Jane was around. What I suspect happened is that Jane was not supposed to last nearly as long as she did, but she was more popular than anticipated, and other writers wanted to use her on the Avengers and stuff, so Aaron padded out her story to allow that to happen. As far as Jane specifically went, it worked ok, but the War of the Realms plot slowed to a crawl in the background because I presume he wanted Thor Odinson to be the one with the hammer when it wrapped up. If it had kept momentum going, and wrapped up when it was probably originally planned, it would have been fine. But it got stretched out so it feels like Malekith and Loki and a few others spend a lot of time just sitting around. I mean yeah, we'd get reminded of it from time to time. Fairly frequently we got at least a little tidbit of the whole War of the Realms thing, it wasn't dropped completely or anything, but it was moving forward at a snails pace, which resulted in Malekith etc. not actually accomplishing much, so it didn't feel like as much of a major threat so much as sort of a background annoyance

*edit - I have decided to go with markers... but not JUST markers. I ordered some metallic gold paint and I think it might be neat to use that on all his shiny gold costume bits. (along with the blackest black paint you can get, which i may use on the hair. we'll see.) But the rest, I am still deciding on black and white (the markers i ordered are all grays) or colour. if colour, i will need to get a couple colours, (I am re-building my marker collection, i have a few holes to plug, most notably in this case, I need a yellowish green and some flesh tones) which may take a while.

[Raye]

So, Loki was not in Avengers or Squirrel Girl (the cover and solicit lied! no Loki, no Kraven, no Wolverine) since his appearance on the cover for Squirrel girl now appears to be some kind of miscommunication, he probably won't appear for the rest of the arc. But i still think he may appear in Avengers, because it just feels like they have to resolve the whole abducted by Celestials thing, but apparently not quite yet. I am really doubting Namor as the new member now, though. He did appear in Infinity Wars, as the preview already revealed. and... ok....

So he talks to Emmaverine, who says that he feels like in the future he gets the Phoenix Force, so will send himself a message, and then *poof* Phoenix Wolverine arrives, along with King Thor hiding in his flames, whom Loki recognizes and they say hi to one another, basically, before Phoenix Wolverine pulls apart Emmaverine. Which is like, ok, so there's another instance of Thor leaking into other things, presumably as part of the whole War of the Realms thing, which i guess is interesting in a way. But I also don't understand how it makes sense here, because they are currently trapped in the Soul Gem. So I am not really sure how Emmaverine gave a message to his future self, which, in the Soul World, would presumably be the future of the Soul World, not the future of the main universe. And even if it was him sensing events in the main universe, then not like he needed Loki to tell him the deal here, as happened last issue, is it? Because he can sense the true universe through this vision of the future (which is explained by telepathy..... how...? since when is Emma or Wolverine a precog?) but.... ok whatever... Phoenix-Wolverine tosses the Power Gem to Loki, but Emma takes it, but he seems ok with this because he inexplicably knows exactly how the whole thing works, when no one else does, and thus that she is the one who should wield it. Devondra attacks, Emma and Loki leave Wolverine to fight it off while they go to gather the others, Who Loki has already picked, and says he arranged it by thinking about it, because he knew Gamora would read his mind, and then she, for some reason, did what he wanted rather than try to prevent what he wanted. Which makes no sense, because if that were the case that she had read his mind, she could also see WHY he wanted things this way, which was to defeat her. Great logic there, Gamora. I mean yeah I get that you could make a case for her wanting to be stopped, but the rest of her actions don't seem to support that. They collect Kamala and Kang, then on to Scott Lang and the Hulk, and they are able to separate them, somehow, by combining their powers. And then to collect Adam Warlock (Phoenix Wolverine told them to) after which Devondra attacks again, and Loki and Emma want to go fix the universe, but the others want to fight Devondra, so Emma telepathically summons a bunch of heroes to come fight so they can go do their universe fixing stuff. And there's some alt-universe shenanigans, as alt-Phyla and Moondragon hop universes, mixed in there, somewhere. And that's about it, aside from Gamora hacking away at the God Quarry, but not really getting anywhere, she hits a barrier, the edge of the universe, all the while continuing to be tormented by visions of Thanos, before the Watchers show up to bear witness to the next issue.

So yeah. I think in the end, this will probably work out well for Loki overall, but this was kind of a mess. One ass-pull after another, and characters just knowing things they had no right to know.... Like, ok I get that Loki is smart, and he is good at figuring things out. But he is coming across as omniscient, rather than clever. Clever still requires learning things and having some starting knowledge to put the pieces together with. He doesn't have that, he's just pulling knowledge about things he ought to know nothing about out of thin air whenever it's convenient. In Thor, and some of his guest appearances where he drops cryptic clues, it's like, he's in the background, so you can easily assume he's just doing the necessary research off panel, or he's seen the future, or something, so it still feels more like he's smart rather than omniscient. But he's the focus of things here, so we can see his process, and he's just knowing pretty much everything with no explanation, and there is no off panel time where we can assume he's learned all this stuff. And if it was future knowledge, then he should have known more in the beginning, rather than knowledge convenient to the situation just kind of occurring to him, at the right moment. And of course i mentioned Emmaverine just knowing about being a future host of the Phoenix Force, which just occurred to him at the right moment. It's a mess.

Also, I get the sense that there will be some kind of time travel shenanigans involved here which will explain some of the oddities of previous issues, like Wolverine stabbing Loki to determine his sincerity back at the beginning, like Emmaverine did. And that it's expected that we go 'oh, of course, it all makes sense now' but no, those issues were still a chore to get through the first time around, and a time travel twist won't make me look upon them more favorably, even if it does explain away some of the weirdness.

[Rosebunse]

I really want to enjoy Infinity War, I really do. I like the writer, I like the artist, I like the characters, but I just can't get into it and enjoy it.

[Raye]

I mean, at least I am pretty sure Loki won't be like, hurt by it. But yeah, this series seems like it's just touching on so many of my pet peeves. Nearly over tho.

Anyway, my new markers arrived today, so i began choosing colours for that drawing. i think i went a bit dark on the front of the face, as i was trying different layering options, but oh well, just the test image. Now to transfer it to it's final home, and do it for real.

[Rosebunse]

No, the dark around the face works great, especially for Loki. What sort of markers were those?

[rpmaluki]

This is amazing. I like it.

[Raye]

thank you! still quite rough, tho, just a printout of the sketch to figure out the colours. finished one will be properly inked and be a bit larger and just generally nicer (in theory). and I think i will try lighteining the shirt some, having a second look at it, but I am a little short on very pale greens, it turns out. Maybe just darken the side panels with layering a smidge more.

No, the dark around the face works great, especially for Loki. What sort of markers were those?

It is an assortment of markers i had been assembling over many years (though they had been collecting dust for a while, and i recently decided to start using them again. they are expensive and it is a shame to not use them. Surprisingly few had dried out in the 7 or so years they had been in storage) So it is mostly Tria markers, those were the backbone of my collection for a long time, and are still the ones i have the most of, by far. But I have the old version, which they no longer make or sell refills for. They used to be associated with Pantone, but then a while back that association ended, and they changed them, so i switched to Copic. (if it has a letter in front it is Copic, no letter it is Tria.) and there are a few Prismacolors and Chartpak markers in the mix as well.

[Raye]

Not a ton of mention of Loki in the solicits today, but he is mentioned in the solicit for Asgardians of the Galaxy, and featured prominently on the cover:



ASGARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #5
CULLEN BUNN (W) • MATTEO LOLLI & STEPHANIE HANS (A)
Cover by Dale Keown & Jason Keith
RAGNAROK IS HERE!
It’s the final battle for Earth as the Asgardians take on Nebula’s full armada! But the undead may be the least of their problems. Just want is their supposed ally Loki up to now? Don’t miss the end of the first thrilling arc!

so, this does sound and look kinda sinister, but I will see what is going on here, there are a lot of potential scenarios here.

[Rosebunse]

We also have the beginning of the invasion of the Frost Giants in Thor. I think this is going to end up being a busy month for Loki. Plus I have a feeling he'll end up in Guardians of the Galaxy. Don't know, but I do.

[juan678]

[rpmaluki]

Not a ton of mention of Loki in the solicits today, but he is mentioned in the solicit for Asgardians of the Galaxy, and featured prominently on the cover:



ASGARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #5
CULLEN BUNN (W) • MATTEO LOLLI & STEPHANIE HANS (A)
Cover by Dale Keown & Jason Keith
RAGNAROK IS HERE!
It’s the final battle for Earth as the Asgardians take on Nebula’s full armada! But the undead may be the least of their problems. Just want is their supposed ally Loki up to now? Don’t miss the end of the first thrilling arc!

so, this does sound and look kinda sinister, but I will see what is going on here, there are a lot of potential scenarios here.

I have no idea what's going in this book but that definitely doesn't look like it's Kid Loki or as I like to say, Loki is Loki is Loki no matter what he does/looks like.

[Raye]

It was pretty much confirmed last issue that it isn't Kid Loki, he said he was a 'shadow' of the real Loki who was currently busy in Infinity Wars, and apparently felt it necessary to be in two places at once. Whether he was created consciously or not, or if he has gone rogue in some way, I don't know, but either way it definitely is not Kid Loki, just looks like him.

So I just read Thor. And the King Thor and Phoenix Wolverine appearance in Infinity Wars now makes even LESS sense...
spoilers:

Because Wolverine sacrificed himself to empower Mjolnir with the Phoenix Force so Thor could defeat Doom. So there was like, no opportunity for that visit to the past to happen. The fight with Doom after Wolverine was gone took like a hundred years, and in that time Loki was whispering in Ego's ear until he finally got the Necrosword, just as Thor crawled out of the Earth and collapsed, apparently dying. Loki definitely came across as full on villain in the final page...

end of spoilers

The final page is not the Loki like to see, for sure, but at least it's thousands and thousands of years in the future, and as I have said before, we see a new horrible future of the MU every other week, it's kind of hard to take them seriously, because they can't all be true. So I just hope it won't mean his characterization in the present is abandoned.

Edit - Oh, and yes, he is likely involved with the Frost Giant story, because Laufey. I hope to see this lingering question of his biological parentage they have been sort of teasing resolved, personally. I also hope he betrays the Frost Giants.

As for GotG, while i thought The Destroyer, and thus probably Loki, may have been one of the silhouettes, or alternately Groot, they released the full lineup and the big guy was indeed Groot, and Loki was not among the lineup. I don't remember all the characters off the top of, my head because there were like 10 or more, (though apparently being whittled down to 5 or 6 in the first arc) but yeah, no Loki.

[Rosebunse]

I meant more as a supporting character or enemy in GotG.

As for this issue of Thor, it just feels so weird to think that the Necrosword is really just a symbiote. Yes, it all fits and it makes perfect sense and it is clear that that was the intent from the beginning, but it is just so weird.

It also gives us a much better idea of what it is doing to hosts like Ego and probably Loki. Its does have its own goals, which still seems to be the destruction of all gods. It does make me wonder if Loki realizes that and what his own goal is. Aaron is clearly writing a Loki who wants to do good and wants to save the world, so what is his endgame here? And can he survive the sword's influence?

[Raye]

Oh, yeah, maybe. though my real hope once both Infinity Wars and War of the Realms are concluded is that he retreats from the wider stage for a bit, and we can get something a bit more personal with him. That doesn't discount the occasional guest appearance elsewhere. But I just want to get away from universe wide plots and schemes that necessitate that we are kept at arms length and are forced to guess what he's up to. At this point I am less interested in what he does, or that his actions have a large effect, than I am with just getting inside his head again and seeing why and how he does what he does, what he thinks about things, get into some of his relationships, etc. Small scale, character heavy stuff.

I don't think the Necrosword is 'just a symbiote' it's of similar origin, in that both were created by Knull, but they are different in a lot of ways. The sword was purposefully created with a specific role for it to fill, it was the weapon of Knull himself, before it was stolen by Gorr. I think it is obviously much more powerful than your average symbiote, like the Venom or Carnage symbiotes, which are more like.... leftovers.... I think if Knull is the god of the symbiotes, the sword is at least equivalent to an angel/demon or demigod, while the more usual symbiotes are the mortals. Not on Knull's level, but still a huge step above an average symbiote. I mean there is a reason Loki wanted the Necrosword specifically, and didn't just grab any old symbiote. I also don't think it bonds with hosts in the same way as symbiotes, even though it does seem to need a host/wielder. Gorr seemed unaware that it was sentient or even had a name until Thor told him, and he had been using it for centuries at that point. So while it did talk to Thor after a fashion, it is obviously not like typical symbiotes in that there is a joining of minds and battle for control, at least not in the same way. I think there likely is some influence it exerts, it's just far more subtle about it.

As for what Loki's endgame is, first we have to remember this is a different Loki. King Thor is different than present day Thor in a lot of ways, and the same probably holds true for Loki, more than likely, so his motivations in the present likely have little to do with his actions in the far off future. We don't know what he's been through or seen in that time, there is no telling what is motivating him, it could be anything. But I still suspect it likely boils down to a cycle of death and rebirth of the universe. The old universe has to die before the new one can be born, and Thor mucked that up by re-creating humanity.

[Rosebunse]

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

The preview for the Thor What If? is here