Loki

Why do people always presume I'm lying?

You ask me why I did what I did? Ask, rather, why the serpent Nidhogg eats the roots of Yggdrasil -- Why, when the tree's death means, in turn, the dragon's ruin? Because, Thor, I keep telling you -- That is what it was born to do -- That is what I was born to do!

—Loki

Welcome, Midgardian. Allow me to introduce myself- I am Loki Laufeyson, Prince of Asgard and Jottunheim, God of Mischief and Evil, and Arch Enemy of The Mighty Thor, your hero and my dear, weak, softhearted sibling.

I was born of Laufey, King of the Frost Giants, in an age long since past, but of course, my true beginnings lie with a man with a typewriter, and his partner, who brought me, my world, and the rest of the cosmos into existence in the 1960's, the so-called Silver Age. Rest assured, mortal, I know the truth of my reality, and I can even claim credit for sharing it with a well-known other and destroying his already fragile grasp on our fake reality.

Laufey was a brute of a father, ashamed as he was of my comparatively non-giant size, but as luck- and mine own hand- would have it, Laufey would be slain in battle with the All-Father Odin, Lord of Asgard, and thanks to his love and pity I was taken from Jottunheim and raised as his own son as an Aesir, the giant who became a god, alongside his bloodson Thor.

But as Thor and I aged so did my happiness fade. The Asgardians- a race of proud warrior deities, loved Thor for his courage, his might, his reckless buffoonery, whilst my talents lay in cunning and sorcery.

And like a true brother, I came to detest him.

I arranged for Thor to be exiled to Midgard in mortal form, and plotted his death, unleashing scores of monsters and mayhem upon your world in pursuit of that goal, whilst in Asgard I schemed to to realize my destiny and take my rightful place on the Allfathers' throne. My plots against Thor were thwarted time and again, and when I pitted him against The Incredible Hulk I made new mortal enemies when Earths Mightiest Heroes united for the first time, in opposition of me.

But I was not humbled yet. I bartered with other mortals and gave them power to fight this new team; I schemed with other villains- for what am I if not a villain?- and sought to defeat Thor and his allies with their aid; and I worked, tirelessly still, to one day claim Odin's crown.

And after decades and centuries of planning and plots, I finally achieved my goal- and for my troubles, Thor brought about Ragnarok.

I did not seek the destruction of Asgard; I have never sought something so terrible, but Thor's actions freed us for the tyranny of the Shadow gods, and we were reborn.

I returned as a woman, but regained my masculinity in short order, and once again worked for the good of Asgard...and the defeat of Thor. But I paid a heavy price for my actions and I died once again, only to rise once more this time as a child- innocent, trusting, but still wily as Mischief must be.

I have become more...appreciative, of Thor my brother, for at least he, alone among the Aesir, treats me with trust and love. I now put my mind towards more...altruistic ends, and have assisted Thor and his friends in their hours of need- even if I am still more savvy about how their principles sometimes get in the way of their own good. And still I work for the good of Asgard, the only true home I have ever known.

Until, of course, a man with a typewriter needs the God of Mischief once more...

In recent times, a series of films were made that told the tales of Thor and I, as well as his allies, and the task of portraying my likeness was given to one Tom Hiddleston. One cannot imagine how delighted I was to see that he performed his role masterfully.

Tropes associated with Loki:

• Abusive Parents: Laufey was not a good father. In one particularly poignant scene, as a time-travelling adult I took revenge on a wounded Laufey with a sword, screaming "YOU WILL NEVER STRIKE ME AGAIN!"
• A Day in the Limelight: As of #622, I -- in my younger form -- have taken over the main Thor books as the protagonist (Thor is the protagonist in another one) and they have been renamed Journey in Mystery, to great critical acclaim.
• Affably Evil: Depending on my mood, but just because I'm a ruthless manipulator doesn't mean I can't be civil about it.
• Always Someone Better: Thor was this to me during our childhood in Asgard. This, coupled with Abusive Parents above, is basically my Freudian Excuse....or maybe I simply am who I am?
• Ambition Is Evil: At least, my ambitions are, or so Thor and the rest of Asgard seem to believe.
• Amplifier Artifact: The Norn Stones are my most recent example, though I have a collection of these.
• Amnesiac Dissonance: The whole point of the New Journey into Mystery Arc-I am a preteen again, with apparently no memories form before my preteen years (except for possibly in my nightmares). I therefore do not remember my hatred of Thor, which started when we were teens. Instead, I almost worship him.
• Arch Enemy
• Astral Projection
• Badass Bookworm: I may be an unusually scholarly Asgardian, but I am still a Norse god, and one does not grow up amongst the Aesir without learing how to fight, nor have a blood feud with The Mighty Thor without being good at it.
• Baleful Polymorph: Amongst other things, I have turned Thor into a frog and my own grandfather into the snow- yes, the snow, as in, all snow everywhere.
• Batman Gambit: And why does the Caped Crusader get this named after him when I have been playing Thor, the Avengers and all of Asgard like a fiddle since time immorial?
• Big Bad: Of many Thor stories, as well as the first Avengers story.
• Big Brother Worship: Perhaps I might be a little...dishonest with myself, insofar as how much I truly detest Thor, and I might begrudgingly admit there are some things I might admire about him, at least now that I have forgotten that I ever hated him in the first place. Even if daddy doesn't like it.
  • As "Kid Loki" at least, I am justified with this line of thought, as Thor is currently the only person who likes me at all and is nice to me.
• Black Magic
• Brains Evil, Brawn Good
• Cain and Abel
• Card-Carrying Villain: I am the God of Mischief and Evil, after all...
• Classic Villain
• Consummate Liar: I would say that I do not lie nearly so often as everyone else seems to believe; then again, I am so good at it, aren't I?
• Daddy's Little Villain: If only. My dear Hela is neither little -- thrice my size, in fact; apparently giantism skips a generation -- nor particularly fond of me. Our relationships are rather...strained, at best, and though we sometimes co-operate most of the time she wants nothing to do with me. Unfortunately, as the Goddess of the Dead she is much more powerful than me as well, and worse I may even be destined to someday end up in her custody. Apparently, she thinks me rather...childish, but I am the God of Mischief after all, so I do have a reputation to live up to.
• Dark and Troubled Past: My early childhood was littered with neglect and physical abuse. Also the fact I'm a runt giant, 1/5 the size of my kindred. Some offer this as an explanation for my self-loathing and mean behavior.
• Deal with the Devil: I have been pressed-gang into deals with actual devils at times such as my forced alliance with the dread Dormammu, but I have been on the better end of this more often than not; Crusher Creel, the Absorbing Man, is just one of many mortals who have gained special gifts courtesy of myself. And if I may be so modest, I am rather more honourable in my dealings than others that might be mentioned...
• Distaff Counterpart: I bear the dubious honor of being one of the few characters to become his own Distaff Counterpart. Not for the first time, either.
• Do Not Adjust Your Set / Haunted Technology: I pulled this once on Apocalypse, appearing on one his television monitoring screens and then having a chat with him from it, then popping out of it to have a proper conversation. It was fun until he took me prisoner with his Anti-Magic tech...
• Easily Forgiven: Thor and Odin always forgive me in the end and give me another chance. I used to be so convinced that they secretly hate me that I never took it.
  • Though averted with my recent return as a child, Odin has apparently run out of patience with Thor being the only reason I have not been banished or killed. The only person who has forgiven me is Thor. Everyone else wants to kill me.
• Even Evil Has Standards: I seek to rule Asgard; I do not seek to destroy it.
• Evil Chancellor: Prince Balder could not have had a more trustworthy advisor...
• Evil Is Petty: My main motivation is simply showing up Thor, by any means necessary. But then, I'd say he had it coming.
• The Evil Prince
• Evil Sorceror: My knowledge of the mystic arts is unparalled in all of Asgard, even though many mighty sorcerors and sorceresses make it their home.
• Father Of A Thousand Young: As Spider-Man was once suprised to learn, Norse gods have a lot of time on their hands. But while most of my children are normal enough and mortal, I do have a few that have...not inherited my handsome looks.
• God of Mischief and Evil
• Hand Blasts: Just in case you start thinking I'm all guile and manipulation...
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: Some believe I actually hate myself and have a raging inferiority complex, and I just love to hide it behind false arrogance and superiority.
• Lean and Mean
• Level Ate: One of my...pettier acts of mischief was to change buildings and cars into candy.
• Manipulative Bastard: I have manipulated pretty much everyone in Asgard at some time or another. Fitting, given that I am the god of deception.
  • I actually insist that I'm not really the "God of Lies", just mischief. Of course, I'm such a good liar anyway, who could ever tell?
  • I am so good that even when people know not to trust me (which has been Status Quo for fifteen real time years), I still end up manipulating them anyway.
  • My younger self in the current books is a good version of this (I need to be, since I don't have my magic, only my brains and my silver tongue).
• The Man Behind the Man: On several occasions.
• Man of Wealth and Taste: When I travel to the mortal realm, at least in the good old days, I try to dress my best- I do look good in a suit, after all.
• Master of Illusion: My movie counterpart in particular is fond of this, but I am more than his equal in my own right.
• Mind Control: I have used this on The Incredible Hulk and various others, mortal and otherwise, with varying degrees of success. As an Evil Sorceror, I can do it anytime, but how effective it is depends on the mind.
• My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Frost Giants are very big, very stupid, and typically Dumb Muscle. I am a brilliant schemer, a powerful sorcerer, and slightly shorter than Thor (the horns on my helmet notwithstanding) and fairly lean. While I am still very strong and durable, that is primarily in comparison to Earth superheroes/villains, not Asgardians and other Frost Giants.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: I once schemed to pit Thor in a deadly battle against the Hulk, but some other heroes showed up as well. My plot was soon uncovered, and - much to my later irritation - I ended up inadvertently bringing the Avengers together.
• Nigh Invulnerability As a small Frost giant I am as durable and strong as any average Aesir, though I am not naturally as durable as someone like Thor. Fortunately, as a sorceror, I do have supernatural durability as I have granted myself a range of advantages no other Aesir has- most Asgardians would be more bothered than I at the prospect of decapitation, for a start.
• Physical God
• Psychopathic Manchild: Type C, if you think, as some do, that this applied to me. But, well, God of Mischief and all that- I suppose I can understand.
• Psychic Powers
• Sibling Rivalry
• Smug Snake: I admit that sometimes I am a little...overconfident, and my plans don't go quite the way I want them to, and that I might, on the odd occasion, be somewhat responsible for my own failures, and maybe not take them as well as I could...
• Sorcerous Overlord: On the occasions I manage to take Asgard over.
• Super Empowering: I turned Crusher Creel into the Absorbing Man and have given powers to several other less known villains; I also gave The Hood some Norn Stones when his arrangement with Dormammu predicatable took a bad turn. I'm quite fond of this, really.
• Take Over The Nine Worlds
• Third Person Person: Loki has a habit of doing this in various comics.
• Time Travel: I can do this more or less at will; it gives me a distinct advantage when carrying out my gambits. Even I cannot guess how much of Asgardian history was shaped by me until I decide to go back and effect it- the disappearance of my foster grandfather, my own adoption and the death of Laufey, and who knows what else? All me, and I didn't even know it!
• The Unfavorite: It has long been obvious to me that I am Odin's least-favourite son. With that said, some would argue over whether I am correct or not, and if I am, whether I have brought it on myself with my...antics.
• The Unfettered: Whether I am opposed to Thor or working towards some mutual end, I am always willing to go further than he is.
• Villain Team-Up: I am rather fond of these; I don't see why all the other miscreants aren't as pragmatic as I am.
• Villain Teleportation: I'd be a poor master of Black Magic if I could not teleport at will....
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: When disguises are called for, mostly.
• Weaksauce Weakness: When I first appeared, I had one- I couldn't use my powers when wet. Against Thor, who could easily make it rain. Do you wonder why this is ignored now?
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Do not imagine that all my ambitions are selfish in nature; I have worked for the good of Asgard when it needed me, and the universe on occasion, and often I see the answers more clearly than the so-called "heroes" who are held back by too many ethics.
• What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic: After my reincarnation as Kid!Loki, my gold headband doesn't have his horns, but a little V that looks similar to them (the V is also on my tunic). The headband also has little wings over my ears--just like the ones on Thor's helmet. Commentary on how I could still be good, perhaps?
  • Though some artists forget them--like in the entirety of issue 628.