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Self Demonstrating / Loki

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"Why do people always presume I'm lying?"

"I desired the chest for my own use, Thor. Still, if I was able to sow doubt and unrest amongst thy subjects, the day was a good one for Loki, the Trickster!"
— Loki

(For full effect, read in the voice of Tom Hiddleston, Graham McTavish, Troy Baker, or Crispin Freeman.)

Welcome, Midgardian, or whichever other insignificant being you might be. (The Internet's becoming quite popular, after all.)

BEHOLD the majesty of Loki Laufeyson, Prince of Asgard and Jotunheim, God of Mischief and Evil or maybe Lies or... well, we wouldn't want to spoil the surprise would we? The universe's rightful king and Arch-Enemy of The Mighty Thor, your hero and my dear, weak, softhearted sibling.

(Or, you know, hi. I'm flexible that way.)

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 1960s, 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. Readers were introduced to me in "Journey into Mystery" vol. 1 #85 (October, 1962)

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 your puny world of 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 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 Earth's Mightiest Heroes united for the first time, in opposition of me.

But Loki cannot be humbled. 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 which looks so much better on my noble head than it does my feeble brother's.

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 from 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.

Unfortunately — or fortunately, one supposes, depending upon how you choose to look at it, I managed to rather... sunder myself in the process. Or rather, the old me did. You see, I'm not the Loki I once was — literally. The child-Loki was a copy, but I — the one destined to guide him and then take over his body after he had earned back the love and trust of my dear idiot of a brother am not the one who made the copy. I'm a bit of a copy myself now, actually — seems my skill at mischief is great enough that I was able to successfully Loki ''myself''. And sure, while I did end up nearly causing the meltdown of reality as we know it during my stint with those inperturbable Young Avengers, I discovered my heart just wasn't in it anymore.

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... benevolent 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, and in the All-Mother's secret service. After all, sometimes it takes a little bad to do good... For my misfortune getting away with... from a past (and future) like mine proved harder than originally anticipated but I can safely say I face the Secret Wars as a changed person.

A series of films tells the tales of Thor and me, as well as his allies. The lofty task of portraying my glorious likeness was given to one Tom Hiddleston. One cannot imagine how delighted I was to see that he performed his role masterfully. The fact that he has also caught the desires of many a mortal woman as myself is an especially delicious triumph over my half-brother. And if not for that green beast of few words, the outcome of the second film would have been far more enjoyable... At any rate, I also appear in the sequel, where I'm up to my old tricks again which has a most satisfying ending where I now sit on the throne of Asgard. And such an handsome man he is too — so much that I modeled my new face◊ on his portrayal. Life imitating art and whatnot. (Or is it art imitating art)? I would presume that the majority of you newer fans are reading my page in his alluring voice at this very moment. (Or the voice that belongs to Graham McTavish, for those of you who are more animation-inclined and familiar with me as well as my exploits. Or José Gilberto Vilchis, who masterfully translated Hiddleston's performance into the Latin Spanish dialect.) The other movies, better not talk about them. Not so much for Thor removing me from the throne, Odin's first born Hela beating us two with no effort, and "get help", but because of Thanos snapping my neck. Though not even death stops me — the Avengers returned to when they defeated me and allowed me to escape! This gave Hiddleston a whole series to depict my glory on Disney+ online streaming — in spite of pestilence setbacks — and the show even brought in more Lokis, including a woman and an alligator!

For some of my other exploits can be found here, here and here.

Comic Books

Anime and Manga

Film – Animation

Literature

Live-Action

Video Games

Web Animation

Webcomics

  • Alligator Loki (Infinity Comic), written by Alyssa Wong with art by Bob Quinn.

Western Animation

Tropes associated with Loki:

  • Abusive Parents: Laufey was not a good father, but he suffered for his transgressions. As a time-travelling adult I took revenge on my wounded progenitor with a sword, screaming "YOU WILL NEVER STRIKE ME AGAIN!"
    • That bastard briefly came back to life during my misadventures with Young Avengers. Let it be know our reunion was anything but happy - he literally tried to eat me!
  • Aborted Arc: The mortal known as Spider-Man once aided me in subduing my wayward daughter, leaving a debt I've yet to pay.◊ Due to the Siege, and other events I doubt I'll ever have the chance.
  • Adaptational Heroism: My movie counterpart. In there I am Anti-Villain motivated by my desire for Odin to give the same affection he gave Thor, which is hurt when I learned I was adopted. After my appearance as the Big Bad in The Avengers I acted as an Anti-Hero assisting Thor and even made a Heroic Sacrifice against Thanos.
  • A Day in the Limelight:
    • There are some who see Loki as the hero that he is and 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. Along with my solo adventures as of October 2012 I am also a member of the Young Avengers.
    • In 2014, I trust you'll all go scurrying off to your local comic vendors in order to get your little mortal paws on my new solo series, Loki: Agent of Asgard.
    • My movie counterpart received his own series, which was a big success and it appears the writers have even further plans to make me the focus of my own storyline in the future.
    • My plans for 2016 include running for president of the US so don't you mortals forget to Vote Loki!
  • Affably Evil: Depending on my mood, but just because I'm a ruthless manipulator doesn't mean I can't be civil about it.
  • Alas, Poor Villain: My apparent death in Thor: The Dark World had everyone, including Thor shaken by it. Except I survived.
  • Always Someone Better: LIES!!!! Loki has NO EQUAL, much less a superior. Nevertheless in Asgard, because of my giant heritage, I was always overlooked for my accursed brother, Thor. This, coupled with Abusive Parents above, is what lesser beings say is the source of my nature but truly I simply am who I am.
  • Ambition Is Evil: My ambitions are, or so Thor and the fools of Asgard seem to believe.
  • Amplifier Artifact: The Norn Stones are my most prominent though I have a collection of these.
  • Amnesiac Dissonance: The point of the New Journey into Mystery Arc-I was a preteen again, with no memories from before my preteen years (except for in my nightmares). I therefore do not remember my hatred of Thor, which started when we were teens. Instead, I adore him.
    • I certainly remember the big oaf now, but my feelings toward him have been quite warmed all the same.
  • Anti-Anti-Christ: Ancient prophecies tell me that it's my destiny to bring forth Ragnarök, but why would I ever do so? Even at my most vil... determined I only wanted to rule the Nine (or Ten) Realms not destroy them. Strange. (Yes. In the countless repetitions of the cycle I always did so at the end, but it was rarely my original intention.)
  • Anti-Hero: My newer comics incarnations have feared nothing more than becoming the God of Evil once more, but we are still the God of Mischief.
  • Arch-Enemy: I am Thor's greatest and most personal enemy.
  • Arrow Catch: In The Avengers, I briefly managed this with Hawkeye's arrow. Right up until it literally blew up in my face, anyway.
  • Astral Projection: One of my numerous skills is to project my spirit.
  • The Atoner: My younger incarnations have attempted this role. It's surprisingly difficult, but of course Loki is sufficiently resourceful.
  • The Bad Guy Wins: Several times, I have succeeded in my quest to rule Asgard! In early issues, this was done by stealing my stepfather's Odin-ring, which made me supreme ruler. When Thor tried to protest, our dear father responded by removing his mouth◊. Sadly, such conquests rarely last more than a few issues.
  • Badass Bookworm: My intelligence is without question and I may be an unusually scholarly Asgardian, but I am still a Norse god, and one does not grow up amongst the Aesir without learning how to fight, nor have a blood feud with The Mighty Thor without being good at it.
  • Batman Gambit: 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 immemorial?
  • Becoming the Mask: As I said repeatedly: Loki is always Loki (and only fights for Loki), but which, can be quite the question. For example, is young me my kid version, whose body he inhabits, and part he plays; or the old, whose memories and personality he possesses, but part tries to avoid; or maybe somehow in-between? For what it's worth I'm hoping for a solution that makes me less predictable. But I'm sad to say the house almost always wins. And it won. But too late for my tastes, which prompted me, well, King!Loki me, to Make Wrong What Once Went Right (or was it the other way around?). What happened? Let's just say sometimes I really hate butterflies.
  • Being Evil Sucks: I have been plagued by a guilty conscience, taking the form of the so-called "Kid Loki", whose soul I destroyed when I took over his body as part of my ploy to avoid the ignominy of predictability. Hamlet figures prominently in his accusations.
  • Big Bad:
  • 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'm justified with this line of thought, as Thor is currently the only person who likes me at all and is nice to me.
    • How deep does our love for that slightly dimwitted brother of ours go? When young me faced a Sadistic Choice of dying or becoming like past me, we solved it by destroying ourself almost completely to remake ourself but what we chose to hang on to was our only friendship, our self-determination, and our love for the big oaf.
  • Big Damn Heroes: I made quite the entrance in Thor: Ragnarok as I came with the gladiators of Saakar and a stolen starship to save the Asgardians from Hela's undead warriors. I even got beat several of those walking skeletons.
  • Black Magic: One of the many branches of power available to me and another contrast with my muscle bound brute of a brother.
  • Brains Evil, Brawn Good: So Thor's sycophants would have you believe, but intellect is always superior to physical might.
  • Breakout Villain: My comic iteration has always been a staple of Thor's storylines. However, a case could be made for my movie counterpart. He is considered the best "early" villain of the MCU (which for a while had villains who - while not always terrible - were regarded as lackluster, especially compared to the heroes). My iteration was the sole exception (for a while) and has since gone on to become one of its most beloved characters, to the point he was given a show of his own.
  • Buffy Speak: I'm approximately equivalent to a human of about twenty-one years of age now that I've gotten a fresh start in this new body of mine, and have become quite fond of your Western pop culture. Is it any wonder I sometimes do the... adjective fail thingy?
  • Cain and Abel: Well, duh! I am in the role of Cain while my brother is the Abel!
  • Card-Carrying Villain:
    • I am the God of Mischief and Evil, after all.
    • My future self, King Loki laughs his ass off at the assumption that a magic sword, which forces anyone stabbed by it to face the whole truth about himself can have any effect on him - he knows exactly what a villain he is and loves every moment of it.
  • Chick Magnet: While lesser mortals would think this only applied to me after the success of the movies, in my very first appearance◊ I wooed my brother's lover, Jane Foster. I have also had the Enchantress, Lorelei, and Sif interested in me.
  • Child of Two Worlds: Born as son of the Frost Giant chieftain, but adopted and raised by Asgardian royal family I can truly say I'm. Not that I ever really belonged to either society as both equally loathe me, albeit for different reasons. Loki is Loki. Unmatched in my own uniqueness.
  • Child Prodigy: As Kid Loki, I possess an exceptional vocabulary and my usual silver tongue, and am a master of ancient mystical languages and codes.
  • Chronic Villainy: Right before allowing himself to be overwritten by my memories, my child self called me out on it.
  • Classic Villain: Pride and Ambition are my principal traits and liars would have you believe that I also possess Envy.
  • Clever Crows: Ikol, the magpie containing the memories of what Loki was before he died. Since then my new incarnation developed quite an association with these birds... some might even suggest for some other reasons beside our intelligence, which is nonsense of course.
  • Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: For my most adventures performing tasks in Midgard for the All-Mother (tales I was allowing to be told in my own series, Loki: Agent of Asgard) and also when later troll... visiting my brother's… um replacement's book (which you should know is Thor (2014)), upon seeing the reaction Mr. Tom Hiddleston got in films, I decided to model my new face◊ on his likeness. It isn't without its difficulties, however, as I had to move my apartment once after being repeatedly confused◊ for some Midgardian named Harry Styles which probably won't be a problem after I got older.
  • 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?
  • Cool Helmet: I admit it looks better on my live action incarnation.
  • Cool Sword: I was, for a time, owner of Gram, sword of Sigurd (the Ever-Glorious), a sword that forces all injured by it to face the truth. Time-travel plays no small part in its complicated origins. Alas, my brother, in a typical moment of brainlessness and rage, destroyed it.
  • Cool and Unusual Punishment: In The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, after my defeat at the end of the first season, Odin locked me in a prison wherein a giant snake dripped poison into my eyes. A punishment copied from the original mythology, no less. But if you call that "cool" again, I'll put you through it, and see how "cool" you think it is.
  • 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, the ungrateful wretch 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, the insolent fool thinks me rather… childish, but I am the God of Mischief after all, so I do have a reputation to live up to. Though the fact that she's not really my daughter at all might have something to do with it. Girls, am I right?
  • 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 however if my oaf of a father had not abandoned me in the ice, Odin would not have taken me in and I might not have evolved into the god I am.
  • Dating Catwoman:
    • I once had a prolonged relationship with Storm, of the X-Men, when she and the New Mutants were stranded in Asgard — I even gave her back her Elemental Powers, as she had been depowered at the time. When I was… persuaded… to send them all back to Midgard, I offered her a chance to stay with me as my queen, and even had to admit to myself that having her as my own might have been worth losing the throne. While she turned down my generous offer, and I have scorned her ever since, I did sentimentally take the molten remains of the thunder-hammer I had used to empower her and reshape it into a statue of her to keep as a momento.
    • Some people have not let go of the fact that when I empowered Storm, I did so by giving her a hammer very much like Mjölnir. Or of the fact her outfit was basically a feminized version of my brother's…
  • Deadpan Snarker: Very much so. My live action incarnation has some moments this that are likely the funniest moments in the Avengers film.
  • Deal with the Devil: I have been pressed-ganged 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. If I may be so modest, I am rather more honorable in my dealings than others that might be mentioned…
  • Distaff Counterpart: So unmatched is Loki that I am my own Distaff Counterpart. Not for the first time, either.
  • Do Not Adjust Your Set: I pulled this once on Apocalypse, appearing on one of 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…
  • Doppelgänger Spin: I have had this power since the first Avengers story, though I use it more frequently in the movies.
  • Dying Moment of Awesome: In Thor: The Dark World, I managed to slay Kurse after Thor proved no match for him before the brute fatally wounded me in turn. Subverted as I survived.
  • Easily Forgiven:
    • Thor and Odin always forgive me in the end and give me another chance, but I refuse to accept their mercy.
    • Averted with my 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.
    • Initially averted with my Marvel Cinematic Universe incarnation. Thor and Odin do not forgive me after my attempted invasion of Migard, and Thor only releases me since he expected me to help deal with Malekith. But eventually played straight in Thor: Ragnarok, where Odin declares his love and even praises me for managing to enchant him before dying, and Thor and I finally reconcile after I return in a Big Damn Heroes moment and save all of Asgard's people by providing an evacuation ship and help him in defeating Hela.
  • Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Though really, I prefer striking.
  • Enemy Mine:
    • Surtur once attempted to destroy Asgard. Odin and Thor stood in his way. I temporarily put aside my differences with my father and brother to fight Surtur at their side.
    • My role in Thor: The Dark World. Malekith killed our mother, and Thor convinced me to go along with a plan of his for revenge.
    • I once tried to manipulate Mr. Sinister into stealing my genetic material from Doctor Doom, whose Anti-Magic prevented me from doing it myself. Circumstances forced us to fight our way out together.
    • I once teamed up with Spider-Man. I wanted to save one of my children from being possessed by Morwen, and Spider-Man wanted to save the world and to get Morwen to stop hitting on him.
  • Enemy Without: Leah of Hel and the former lovers of Young Avengers, who joined Mother's side, all turned out to be creations of my guilty conscience that I subconsciously brought to life to punish myself for killing Kid Loki. And that titan thinks he is his own greatest enemy.
  • Enfant Terrible: Some claim I was exceptionally wicked even as a child. My film incarnation appears to have been an innocent at first, but then Thor claimed that I stabbed him at the age of eight.
  • Even Evil Has Standards:
    • I seek to rule Asgard; I do not seek to destroy it.
    • When the time came for my younger self to make an inspiring speech to the Angels of the Tenth Realm, I felt it prudent to address the pressing fact that they would be killing babies. At almost tedious length, at that.
  • Evil Chancellor: Prince Balder could not have had a more trustworthy adviser…
  • Evil Is Petty: Loki is never petty! Admittedly, my main motivation is showing up my pathetic brother, by any means necessary but then, I'd say he had it coming.
  • The Evil Prince: Well, I am a Prince, rightfully a king and I am very good at being evil.
  • Evil Plan: I set my sights on Odin's throne or otherwise see how I can make Thor suffer.
  • Evil Sorcerer: My knowledge of the mystic arts is unparalleled in all of Asgard, even though many mighty sorcerers and sorceresses make it their home.
  • Evil Versus Oblivion: I already have stated as much my aim is conquest, not destruction. I stated this simply during a fight with Surtur, there's is no point in my ruling all that I survey if all I survey is burned to a cinder.
  • Fan Disservice: During my brief stint as king of Asgardia, I spent a night with a concubine who was a "gift" from Karnilla. I was revolted by it the next morning, but spared her feelings by telling her she did well enough.
  • Fanservice: There is a glorious nude likeness of me in the first issue of Loki: Agent of Asgard. I really am terribly handsome. (Or at least that incarnation is.)
  • Father Of A Thousand Young: As Spider-Man was once surprised to learn, Norse gods have a lot of time on their hands. While most of my children, are normal enough and mortal, I do have a few that are either immortal, such as Hela and Vali Halfling, or have… not inherited my handsome looks, such as Fenrir and the Midgard Serpent.
  • The Fighting Narcissist: If you must use such a loaded term I would say that it merely maintains a healthy and realistic awareness of my own greatness, but I can certainly fight and my style is far more based on grace and agility than brute strength.
  • Forced Transformation: Amongst other things, I have transmogrified Thor into a frog and my own grandfather into the snow- yes, the snow, as in, all snow everywhere.
  • For the Evulz: Norman Osborn was an amusing toy… for a while.
  • The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: As Hall H learned the hard way at Comic Con 2013.
  • From the Mouths of Babes: As Kid Loki, I enjoy villainous talk such as threats to dismember various infernal entities, even if I am bluffing about the actual villainy. I also observed that the mortals of the Internet "like to rut and chronicle the experience pictorially", to Thor's unease.
  • Gender Bender: I have been known to take on feminine form, in particular that of my brother's lover, Lady Sif. Why Sif? To torment him, of course. Not that that actually affected my gender (I still referred to myself as Odin's son, Thor's brother, generally he and so forth)
  • God of Evil: God of Mischief and Evil. Albeit I made arrangements to change that and became the God of Mischief and Lies instead for a while, at which point my destiny split: Either I go back to the previous title, because "lies are evil, right?", or push it more and become the God Mischief and Stories.
  • Good Old Fisticuffs:
    • While plotting out my far-reaching plans before the Siege event I realized I needed control of the Dsir, The Dreaded undead Valkyries that eat souls. So naturally the best option was to beat them into submission with my bare hands.
    • I also have slapped◊ Eric Masterson to the brink of unconsciousness.
  • Hand Blasts: Just in case you start thinking I'm all guile and manipulation, I lift my hand and fry your fatally incorrect hide.
  • Heel–Face Revolving Door: I've become one in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I make a turn every film I am in. I spent years in Asgard as Thor's ally before I ruined his big day and got him banished to Earth, then began my plot to wipe out the Frost Giants and win Odin's favor. When Thor beat me, I ended up meeting Thanos and cut a deal with him where I would bring him the Tesseract, which happened to hold on of the six Infinity Stones, and he would lend me an army to that allow me conquer Earth and rule over your mortals, as I have right to. After my defeat I will stuck in a prison on Asgard, and Thor broke me out in hopes I will help him against Malekith. As the dark elf killed our mother, I did help him, but I also took the chance to fake my own death and leave Odin on Earth, allowing me to rule Asgard disguised as him. It was fun, especially the part where I set myself up as Asgard's savior, until Thor saw through it and coerced me into helping him look for Odin. Turns out he had gone missing from where I had left him, then he died allowing Hela to return. When Thor and I got stuck on Sakaar fleeing from her, I worked my way into the Grandmaster's good graces and to keep it that way, I pretended to help Thor's break out with the intent of eventually capturing me. Unfortunately my brother had gotten wise to my tricks by this point and anticipated my treachery, and left me with some words about how predictable I was. When the rest of the slaves broke out, I actually took Thor's words to heart and decided to be Asgard's savior for real and helped out people escape. As to whether or not this sticks, well you'll have to wait and find out.
    • The last one did indeed stick. In Avengers: Infinity War Thanos came to our ship for the Infinity Stone I took from Asgard. He was going to kill Thor so I handed it over after he gambit to defeat by distracting him until the Hulk blindsided him failed. I pretended to once again betray Thor to work for Thanos in attempt to kill him with a knife since that madman was going to kill us both. All I got out of that was a broken neck.
  • Horns of Villainy: My golden circlet does nicely complement my black hair and green eyes. The horns were considerably more prominent on my earlier, villainous incarnation; my delightful new incarnation has gone for a bit more subtlety. My Marvel Cinematic Universe incarnation has done similarly, wearing a magnificent set of horns in The Avengers (2012) while attempting to conquer Midgard and a much smaller one when playing a more ambiguous role in Thor: Ragnarok.
  • Idiot Ball: Even I must admit that allowing myself to be deceived by that despicable Midgardian known as Peter Parker was not one of my finer moments.
  • I Love You Because I Can't Control You: My newest incarnation seems to be developing an attachment to a certain Miss Verity Willis because she can see through any sort of lies and illusions, and is therefore very hard for me to fool.
  • Inferiority Superiority Com… LIES!!!! No doubt spawned by my brother. I am entirely secure in my superiority and DO NOT OVERCOMPENSATE!!!
  • It's All About Me:
  • Kick the Dog: When confronting the Power Pack, I used the fact that their grandmother was dying to my advantage and taunted them about it.
  • Kill and Replace: One incarnation of me did this to another. One of my greatest regrets.
  • Killing Your Alternate Self: Kid Loki, I am so terribly sorry.
  • Kneel Before Zod: Loki will often demand that lesser beings bow to him. As you should.
  • Lack of Empathy: I think myself above you? Well yes.
  • Large Ham: I need to enjoy myself while displaying my superiority to those pathetic Midgardians!
  • Lean and Mean: My lack of excessive muscle mass is associated with my mischief because it further contrasts me with Thor.
  • Level Ate: One of my… more frivolous acts of mischief was to change buildings and cars into candy.
  • Magic Knight:
  • The Man Behind the Man: On several occasions, the villains Thor defeats were my stooges.
  • Manipulative Bastard: And an excellent one at that.
    • I've manipulated everyone in Asgard at some time or another. Fitting, given that I am the god of deception. Oh and in this case, "bastard" is meant literally. I 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 needs to be this since I don't have my magic, only my brains and my silver tongue.
    • I am not above manipulating incarnations of myself either.
  • 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 look good in a suit, after all. Thor lacks my sense of style and calls me a witch because of it.
  • Master of Illusion: My film incarnation in particular is fond of this, but I of the 616th universe am more than his equal in my own right.
  • Memory Gambit: "Kid" Loki was a scheme to let me return from death with a new lease on life and a better reputation. It did not go entirely according to plan, but Loki is nothing if not adaptable.
  • Me's a Crowd: In my most serialised adventures, there are no less than four distinctly separate versions of me; my original self (the original Loki), the younger version of myself's ghost or spirit (Kid!Loki), the current version, taking traits from both while being distinctly separate from either, with notions of redemption and... heroism (Teen!Loki), and an older version of that one, who has gone back to standard villainy (Old or King!Loki). But Teen!Loki decided to become Story!Loki instead.
  • Mind Control: I have used this on The Incredible Hulk and various others, mortal and otherwise, with varying degrees of success. As an Evil Sorcerer, I can do it any time, but how effective it is depends on the mind.
  • My Death Is Just the Beginning: Well, naturally, it is. Knowing I would in all likelihood die at some point, I planned ahead. Which came in useful when I did eventually die.
  • 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 very slender. While I am still very strong and durable, that is primarily in comparison to the so called superheroes and villains of Earth, not Asgardians or other Frost Giants.
  • A Nazi by Any Other Name: An elderly Midgardian implicitly accused me of this in The Avengers. He was, of course, incorrect. Though I do regard myself as superior to Midgardians, I am in no way comparable to that mass-murderer known as Adolf Hitler or that repugnant Red Skull! My attempts to subjugate the Midgardians are purely for their own good! Did the foolish old man not hear the speech that I gave just moments earlier explaining this?!
  • New Powers as the Plot Demands: As is common for characters whose skill lies in magic, I'm often capable doing whatever the plot needs me to with it, though not to the level of Doctor Strange since the writers still need Thor to be able to defeat me.
  • 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. Indeed, this incident is my single greatest regret in life or at least was until I killed my better self.
  • 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 that muscle-bound moron, Thor. Fortunately, as a sorcerer, I 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.
  • Not Distracted by the Sexy: I am not so easily swayed by a pretty face and body, but on occasion I have been distracted by both Lorelei and her sister Amora The Enchantress.
  • Odd Friendship: Spider-Man and I had a short lived one during our brief team-up. It was certainly entertaining, everyone can agree on that, given our mutual wit. By the end I was grateful enough that told he could get a favor from in the future, which never amounted to anything despite the number of fans wishing for him to use it to get me to undo One More Day.
  • Oh, Crap!: In Thor: Ragnarok when I saw the Grandmaster's champion was the Hulk. I quickly wanted to get off the planet. Luckily the beast didn't notice me.
  • Otherworldly and Sexually Ambiguous: My younger self and also our later God(dess) of Stories incarnate would change gender for no reason other than we could (and we only could because we were thanks to some limitations placed on our shapeshifting those days), and would also identify accordingly. Yes. That's Goddess, or Mistress or generally she when we were a woman. Thank you very much.
  • Papa Wolf: My relationship with my children can be strained at best, but as it became evident with my (temporary) partnership with Spider-Man, I DO care for my progeny, and as Morwen painfully learned , I do not take lightly anyone possessing them.
  • Pet the Dog: Even I would not be so cruel as to make Karma return to her bloated state after her time in Asgard let her regain her prior appearance.
  • Physical God: I am of Asgard; my power, my age, my strength are all godlike.
  • Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: I would like to safely say that this is not the case. It looks like assimilating my child self has given me knowledge of Internet culture and popular media such as Game of Thrones, despite being of a species and from a culture vastly different from that of Midgard.
  • Pop-Cultured Badass: Though for much of my history I had a disdain for anything mortal, I have to admit I became this after I was resurrected in the body of a child and discovered the internet. I'm now one of the very few Asgardians who carry a cell phone (I even boost the reception with magic), will use the internet to accomplish my goals, play video games, and constantly make pop culture references, having apparently become quite the fan of many movies and TV shows which I get via "torrents of bits".
  • Pretty Boy: Some would that my Loki: Agent of Asgard and The Avengers incarnations typify this trope… if you go in for that sort of thing.
  • Progressively Prettier:
    • While I have always maintained a certain "je ne sais quoi", there is no arguing that, as Kid Loki, my design grew from "eyebrowless goblin child◊" to "handsome young lad◊."
    • Having now been granted an older body through Wiccan's magic, I now have the appearance of a young adult in their late teens/early twenties. The reaction from the denizens of the internet seems to be, and I quote, "Oh no he's hot."◊
  • Psychopathic Manchild: Type C, if you think, as some do, that this applied to me. God of Mischief and all that- I suppose I can understand.
  • Psychic Powers: I can enter the minds of hapless victims, such as the Hulk to turn him on Thor.
  • Rage Against the Author: It's hard not the read the entirety of my younger self's sacrifice without seeing a touch of… aggravation at the fact that, because of the Editors and my new found popularity as the villain of the Avenger's, no matter what this was only a temporary arrangement. He even looks at the viewer while describing how it's beyond either of our power to make the story have a happy ending. (He declares that an unspecified "they" won't let me change, the imprudent brat). The only way for the new Loki to be allowed to change without being forced to become evil at some point in the future under a new writer is for my younger self to be entirely erased from existence. This is admittedly something that can be undone if someone has the gall to.
    Leah: Better to die as good fiction than live as bad.
  • Redemption Equals Death: The first time I took responsibility for my deeds and sided with heroes, I got torn apart by an eldritch horror.
  • Reality Warper: Some of my incarnations have possessed such power. Only appropriate, considering that I am a god - and a particularly magnificent one.
  • Sadly Mythtaken:
    • Originally Laufey was my mother, and I was the blood-brother of Odin. Meaning: I'm Thor's adopted uncle, not his adopted brother. Don't tell him. He would be so disappointed.
    • My Ultimate incarnation does, however, hew more true to the original myth, though I am still Thor's brother.
  • Say My Name: I once commanded an army of mortals to do so, in the meager palace they call "Hall H".
  • Screw Destiny: My core motivation approximately since the events of Siege when I realized that my role as the God of Evil clashes with my role as the God of Mischief and Chaos by making my actions... a little more predictable than I'd prefer. Unfortunately, my own magnificence and style as a villain now stand in my way even embodied by my own future self, but then again, it is only fitting that the greatest rival of Loki is Loki himself.
    • This became more difficult in the Autumn 2014 event AXIS, no thanks to that foolish mortal Schmidt tampering with the brain of Charles Xavier and letting himself be possessed by Onslaught. Not to mention to Von Doom trying to kill me to prevent me from what I'll become afterward. Or will I? What is Loki if not resourceful and full of surprises. I broke the timeline and freed myself from that particular future for good.
  • Sealed Evil in a Can:
    • Odin once imprisoned me in a tree. I would become free only if my plight caused someone to shed a tear. No one missed me strongly enough to want to cry, so I resorted to poking Heimdall in the eye with a leaf.
    • Something similar happened to my Ultimate incarnation, imprisoned in "The Room Without Doors" for causing Ragnarok, though I was eventually freed by a human accomplice.
  • Sibling Rivalry: With Thor, of course. A movie named after the brute highlighted my conflict with him and what it was like growing up in his shadow.
  • 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. But if you were a Physical God and master of sorcery with a genius level intellect, you'd be high on yourself too.
  • Sorcerous Overlord: On the occasions I managed to ascend to my rightful place as King of Asgard, it is typical my magical might that leads me there (along with my cunning, of course).
  • Squishy Wizard: Only in comparation to Thor. To all of you puny Midgardians, I am a Kung-Fu Wizard.
  • The Starscream: In Thor: Ragnarok when I was pretending to be friends with the Grandmaster, I was naturally planning to one day kill that lunatic and rule Sakaar myself.
  • Status Quo Is God: Deep down I know I will always be Loki. And I wouldn't have it any other way. But I would totally rules lawyer what and/or who Loki is when given a chance, and I would die and/or kill for that chance. You've been warned.
  • 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 predictably took a bad turn. I'm quite fond of this. I didn't let The Hood keep the Norn Stones since I found the Avengers needed them to fight the Void. What, you thought I let somebody keep something like those even if I needed them myself?
  • Superpower Lottery: When you are from a race of gods that can lift tons above one's head and has mastery over sorcery, this isn't really surprising.
  • Super-Strength: While not on the level of Thor, I am a Frost Giant and stronger than you mortals by far. Eric Masterson found this out the hard way◊.
  • Take Over the World: Loki is the rightful lord of all creation and someday all will bow before him!
  • Theory of Narrative Causality: Not that I was ever averse to playing with the fourth wall occasionally, but my young incarnations are especially strong believers in the power of the narrative. Not only have they something against our authors, but they also had at least three plans involving rewriting the story, be it our own or dear old Uncle Cul's. It's no wonder we became the God of Stories.
  • Third-Person Person: Loki has a habit of doing this in various comics.
  • Those Wacky Nazis: My Ultimate Universe's incarnation utilised those clods to attack Asgard, and bring about Ragnarok.
  • Time Travel: I can do this more or less at will; it gives me a distinct advantage when carrying out my Plans. Even I cannot guess how much of Asgardian history was shaped by me until I decide to go back and affect 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!
  • Took a Level in Badass: In my earliest appearances, I was more of a nuisance than a major threat, but it wasn't long before Loki became truly menacing.
  • Trash Landing: My confrontation with the wayward Sigurd (the Ever-Glorious) resulted in our falling into a pile of mortal refuse. The rest of that confrontation... did not go well for Loki. I still managed to acquire the last laugh on him, though.
  • Troll: Half-giant if we want to be accurate but alas the denizens of the internet wouldn't take that for an answer. But yes, I do occasionally scheme, manipulate, annoy or outright hurt people for "funsies".
  • Truth Serum: My newer incarnation spiked the punch at a high school dance with Asgardian truth elixir in an attempt to locate a notorious villain. The irony is delicious, don't you think? Even if the punch was not.
  • Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: I was ugly, but my wife was the beautiful Sigyn. I also had love affairs with Lorelei.
  • Unexplained Recovery: At the end of Thor: The Dark World, I am not only alive, but disguised as Odin. I think I'll keep it a secret how exactly I pulled that off.
  • The Unfavorite: It has long been obvious to me that I am Odin's least-favourite son but he will regret so contemptuously underestimating me when all of Asgard bows at my feet! Or, as our God of Stories incarnation decided, screw them, I won't sacrifice myself for their acceptance anymore. We refused Odin's "So Proud of You" and mocked our King!Loki incarnation for wanting it in the first place. Well yes. It was the end of the world.
  • The Unfettered: Whether I am opposed to Thor or working towards some mutual end, I am always willing to go further than my spineless brother.
  • Used to Be a Sweet Kid: In the 616th universe, I was hardly born a villain. My "Kid Loki" incarnation was also a charming boy who wished to do good.
  • Villain Team-Up: While Loki is incomparable, I will sometimes work with my inferiors if need be; I don't see why all the other miscreants aren't as pragmatic as I am. Why, once I led almost every mortal villain to perform Acts of Vengeance..
  • 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?
  • We Can Rule Together: In Thor: Ragnarok, I offered Thor a chance to get out of the Gladiator Games the Grandmaster stuck him, and a chance for a live outside of them once I disposed of the Grandmaster. As you can expect, he refused.
  • 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.
  • Which Me?: Loki admits that he can confuse even himself by talking about himself. Like it took a long time for little me to realise, who old me's spirit talked about, when mentioning Loki only dying for Loki. In theory when I say Loki that can mean any iteration of me mentioned under Me's a Crowd, or abstracts like the story, archetype, general role or ideal of Loki. When I say I that means explicitly me personally, if you were wondering.
  • Would Hurt a Child: I have to admit I never cared much for other people's children and gladly used them to gain advantage over their parents.
    • The Ikol manifestation of me certainly would hurt a child - even if that child was another incarnation of me. Much to my remorse.
  • Wouldn't Hurt a Child: At least until my new incarnation came around. Turns out existentially scarring myself by destroying and assimilating my child self got me slightly fond of them, so I'm at least against child murder as the Angels of Heven can attest. Wiccan owes his life to my unwillingness to complete the plan of tricking him into committing suicide, even if I endangered the world by doing so.
  • You Can't Fight Fate: As long as the tales of my prior activities exist, I shall be drawn back to my old habits. Given that I would rather die than be so predictable, efforts are underway to erase them.

Anyway, Midgardian, I guess that I have shown you everything about me. With that in mind, kne—
"LOKI!!! This is a free page!"
Errr... brother issues. Thor's not happy about website domination...errr...I'll try to calm him down and hope he doesn't bring that green brute along with him... I'll be back!

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