This character's popularity skyrocketed pretty much the second they dropped his goofy original design and made him look more like Tom Hiddleston, really.
LOKI LAUFEYSON
Created By: Stan Lee, Larry Lieber & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Journey Into Mystery #85 (Oct. 1962)
Role: Evil Sorceror, Permanent Schemer
Group Affiliations: The Acts of Vengeance, The Cabal
PL 14 (368)
STRENGTH 10
STAMINA 10
AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 10
DEXTERITY 6
INTELLIGENCE 8
AWARENESS 5
PRESENCE 4
Skills:
Deception 12 (+16)
Expertise (Asgardian God) 8 (+16)
Expertise (Magic) 12 (+20)
Expertise (History) 4 (+12)
Insight 7 (+12)
Intimidation 4 (+8)
Investigation 6 (+11)
Perception 7 (+12)
Persuasion 10 (+14)
Ranged Combat (Magic) 4 (+14)
Stealth 4 (+7)
Technology 6 (+14)
Advantages:
Artificer, Beginner's Luck, Benefit (God), Daze (Deception), Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Magic) 2, Improved Smash, Jack-of-All-Trades, Languages 3 (Nearly Any), Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4, Ritualist, Skill Mastery (Magic), Trance, Well-Informed
Powers:
"Asgardian Physiology"
Immunity 4 (Aging, Starvation & Thirst, Cold, Disease) [4]
Immunity 4 (Drowning & Suffocation, Poison, Pressure) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [2]
Regeneration 4 (Feats: Regrowth) [5]
Shapeshift 5 [40]
"Removed From The Book of Hel" Immortality 6 [12]
"Magical Might"
Flight 6 (120 mph) [12]
Create 12 (Feats: Precise, Innate) (Extras: Movable, Selective) (50) -- [76]
- Dynamic AE: "Mystic Bolts" Blast 14 (Feats: Dynamic, Variable 2- Any Magical, Split) (32)
- Dynamic AE: "Energy Wave" Damage 14 (Feats: Variable 2- Any Magical) (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone) (30)
- Dynamic AE: "Energy Beam" Damage 14 (Feats: Variable 2- Any Magical) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Line) (30)
- Dynamic AE: "Boosted Flight" Flight +2 (500 mph) (Feats: Dynamic) (5)
- Dynamic AE: Force Field 4 (Extras: Affects Others 10, Impervious 11) (Feats: Dynamic) (26)
- Dynamic AE: Illusion (Visual & Hearing) 12 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area) (48)
- Dynamic AE: Remote Sensing 12 (Visuals & Hearing) (Feats: Dynamic, Dimensional 3) (40)
- Dynamic AE: Move Object 14 (Feats: Dynamic) (29)
- Dynamic AE: "Animate Objects" Summon 5 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Horde, 4 Minions +4) (35)
- Dynamic AE: Snare 14 (Feats: Reversible) (37)
- AE: Teleport 10 (Extras: Extended, Accurate) (40)
- AE: Movement 3 (Dimensional Travel 3) (6)
- AE: "Hypnosis" Mind Control 12 (49)
- AE: "Sleep Spell" Sleep 13 (Extras: Cumulative) (39)
- AE: Concealment (Visuals) 10 (Extras: Affects Others, Area) (40)
- AE: Nullify Energy Effects 12 (Extras: Concentration, Broad) (48)
"Empower Others" Variable 5 (Extras: Affects Others Only +0, Continuous) (Flaws: Unreliable) [35]
Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Magic Blast +14 (+14 Ranged Damage, DC 29)
Hypnosis -- (+12 Perception Affliction, DC 22)
Initiative +3
Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +10 (+14 Force Field), Fortitude +12, Will +13
Complications:
Enemy (Thor)- Loki is the enemy of all Asgard, and Thor is it's greatest defender.
Enemy (Odin)- Odin represents the order of Asgard, and is the main guy Loki seeks to manipulate or destroy.
Power Loss (Magic)- Magic requires both free hands and an open mouth. Binding Loki's hands or mouth will leave him unable to cast spells.
Total: Abilities: 112 / Skills: 84--42 / Advantages: 21 / Powers: 174 / Defenses: 17 (368)
Loki in Mythology: One of the major, major names in Norse myth, Loki is a shapeshifting Trickster God. The son of Odin and a female Jotun, Loki allies with the other Norse Gods, usually pairing off with Thor on strange adventures. Some of the stories are comedic- while shapeshifted into a female horse's form, he is mounted and impregnated, thus giving birth to Odin's eight-legged horse, Sleipnir. His other animalistic children include the wolf Fenrir, and Jormungand- the Midgard Serpent. While he is an ally at times, he eventually grows more and more sinister, ultimately being imprisoned after his machinations result in the death of Balder, most beloved of the Gods. He is said to break free of his bonds and escape, thus setting off Ragnarok- the Twilight of the Gods. He and the God Heimdall are fated to face each other in a final battle, each slaying the other.
Loki The Manipulator:
-Loki is the permanent recurring foe of Thor, and is responsible for founding The Avengers (despite that, however, he rarely encounters them in comics as far as I've seen). The ultimate manipulator, Loki likes, cheats and steals his way to power in Asgard, twists events to favour him, and he is behind EVERYTHING bad in Asgard. Honestly, I never really cared about him all that much- I found him goofy-looking and his story didn't seem particularly interesting. He was a bit goofy in Walt Simonson's run, but had some classic moments ("For Myself!"). Ultimately though, Loki's had a bigger role in the past fifteen years than he's had in the prior
forty- the way he was portrayed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe turned him into a huge fan-favorite (where he was a calm, intelligent guy to his allies, but quickly turned selfish, snide and vicious when things went poorly), and even before that, Marvel had started to use him a lot more.
Early Loki:
-Loki was already Thor's sworn enemy when we first saw him in 1962 (I don't count the out-of-continuity Loki & Thor who'd appeared in
Venus in the 1950s). A vicious bastard by that point, he was a schemer and manipulator, but Thor would usually overcome things. Loki created The Wrecker and The Absorbing Man, and accidentally formed The Avengers. His origin here is that he's the child of Laufey, King of the Frost Giants, but is a human-looking "runt" who Odin adopts from the wreckage of war, taking pity on the infant. Loki grows up with Thor as a brother, but comes to resent the Odinson for bettering Loki at all the things Aesir hold dear- bravery, strength and might. Loki, weaker and craftier, was given no respect by comparison, and grew to hate all of Asgard, often attempting various schemes in order to take it over, especially once he learn sorcery.
-Loki repeatedly attempts to have Thor killed in '60s comics, and also tries to take over Asgard repeatedly. In Walt Simonson's run, he actually acts as a bit of a Butt-Monkey, occasionally getting in some good schemes (like turning Thor into a frog temporarily), but is often knocked unconscious in comedic fashion, gets seduced by Lorelei, or generally gets disrespected. However, Simonson scores the single greatest "Character Defining Panel" in history when he stands beside Odin & Thor to face down the might Surtur (reasoning that all Loki wants would be burned to ash by the Fire Demon). Odin makes this big speech about how glorious father & sons together are in this battle, stating "For Asgard!" Thor chimes in with "For Midgard!" And Loki, of course, shouts "For Myself!" PERFECT. Loki's self-absorption, wisecracks, and constant funny observations make him one of the best guys in the cast.
Loki After The Bronze Age:
-When I got into comics, Loki was still around, but mostly manipulating things. He set off the
Acts of Vengeance crossover, convincing Marvel's top villains (and The Wizard) to "swap" super-heroic opponents and take advantage of heroes who were used to fighting other guys (the fact that the VILLAINS were also fighting new opponents never comes up). His best scheme is probably when he arranged for Thor to "kill" him, resulting in Odin banishing Thor and Eric Masterson taking his place.
-Loki dies in Ragnarok along with the other Gods, but returns in a new FEMALE body, giving Marvel "Yet Another Sexy Female Sorceress Mega-Villain" (joining Umar & Morgan Le Fay), taking part in
Dark Reign, doing the "I know more than you" manipulator thing, but with a more seductive tinge. Loki manipulates Norman Osborn during the
Siege storyline, having him invade Asgard for stupid reasons, but that whole story was rather disappointing. It ends with Loki being torn apart by The Sentry's evil self, The Void.
Kid Loki:
-Among the bigger "Loki" things was the "Kid Loki" turn- he resurrects in the form of a young boy, since his schemes prior to
Siege involved him having his name removed from the Book of Hel, making him permanently able to "cheat death". Kid Loki is expected to follow in his predecessor's footsteps (a "shadow" of Adult Loki eggs him on), but the boy refuses to behave that way, and wants to become his own person. At this point, it's very obvious that Kid Loki is Kieron Gillen's "Pet Character", as he absolutely LOVES the guy, and carts him around everywhere. Kid Loki acts like a magically-powered Calvin from
Calvin & Hobbes, engaging in schemes, running around, disobeying orders from the maternald "Goddess Trio" of Frigga, Idunn & Gaea, and more. Gillen, perhaps understanding the nature of comics and that other writers would probably mess up "his character", reverted Kid Loki to adult form in the end, having to give up himself in order to stop Mephisto.
-Naturally, Gillen started on
Young Avengers the year later, immediately bringing the character back an making him a central character. This would be INSANELY cheesy and stupid, as so many writers have done this kind of thing with their precious pets, but Gillen had a unique trick up his sleeve: Good Writing. I mean, apparently- I've never read the stuff. But people seemed to actually LIKE Kid Loki, so he became rather popular. Eventually, he quits the team after they succeed in defeating an alien parasite called "Mother"- Kid Loki reveals that he himself brought Mother to Earth, in order to swipe Wiccan's powers and return himself to full power. Guilt-ridden in the end over his actions, he abandons the team, knowing that they'd forgive him anyway, and that he "doesn't deserve their forgiveness".
-Kid Loki returns in
Agent of Asgard, going on a Macguffin Hunt for the "All-Mother". Here, he is opposed by his depraved future self, King Loki, who wishes to corrupt the boy. Eventually, Adult Loki returns, having killed Kid Loki in order to become regain his story, but he's wracked with guilt over this. Adult Loki is killed once more, but is resurrected with the other Gods to fight King Loki, and scores the final blow, earning the praise and adoration of Asgard he'd craved all along.
Loki's Might:
-Loki is an extremely powerful Mage, able to square off with Thor in the short term, but he'll have to flee after a point, as his Force Field will only hold up so much (he's PL 12 defensively). It always seems odd to me that guys like Loki & Karnilla seem to have fewer spells than the MUCH less experienced Dr. Strange, but as I've noted before, that's more Strange's issue as a character than theirs- Marvel writers added SO many powers to him over the years that he outstrips even the guys with thousands of years experience.
-However, he's not "weaker" than Strange by any means- he's much better physically, his Magic is enormously more expensive (Strange is mighty, sure, but CANNOT Shapeshift into other forms, nor can he Empower Others at will). In a fight, I'm going with Loki. However, Loki is prone to going down quickly to overwhelming physical assault- Utgard-Loki and his Frost Giants lost a few members doing it, but they had the Lokester dead to rights in one issue, bull-rushing him before he could adequately cast many spells (Thor saved him for whatever reason he tends to have).
-Kid Loki is some vague degree less strong and less magically-powerful.
And of course this, the finest example of a character-defining moment in a single panel, ever.
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