Comic Book / Vote Loki

Lies you can believe in!

"The whole process is just fascinating. They're not really competing with their ideas — They are competing with stories."

— Lucas Loki, issue #1

Vote Loki is a 4 issue Marvel comicbook miniseries that ran as part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel line from June to September of 2016, based on an idea of Tom King's, written by Christopher Hastings, with art by Langdon Foss. It picked up roughly where Loki: Agent of Asgard left off.

It's exactly what it sounds like, a political satire in the grand tradition of fictional characters running for presidency, in this case Loki, God of Lies... we mean Stories. Besides, what's modern politics about if not image building and presenting narratives people believe anyway?

Because this book is part of the Thor family, characters from this series can be found here.

The 2021 live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe series Loki features a Loki variant◊ who comes from a timeline where he became President, apparently based on this storyline.

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Tropes found in this comic:

• Aesop Amnesia: If nothing else in this series Loki learned that just teleporting in people's homes is rude and he shouldn't do it. He also forgot it by the end of the series on which Nisa hangs a lampshade. And Loki answered that he didn't exactly forget it... just chose to ignore it as the end of his campaign means he can go back to his usual ways of not giving a shit.
• At Least I Admit It:
  • Loki's reaction to being called a liar.
  • Also basically his whole campaign platform.
• Bland-Name Product: Twotter
• Bodyguarding a Badass: Angela is Loki's chief of security.
• Continuity Nod:
  • In issue #2 Thor is very sorry, but can't really do anything about Loki because of the problems she faces in her own book (panel includes a picture of Cul sitting on the throne).
  • Issue #3:
    • Loki mentions his evil future version amongst the enemies he fought.
    • The plot point that Latveria descended into a civil war after Doom abdicated introduced in Invincible Iron Man is expanded upon.
  • Issue #4 acknowledges Angela's mercenary tendencies.
• Corrupt Politician: Adam Hitt, former New York governor. The someone in the It's Personal example. We might see more given the subject matter.
• Didn't Think This Through: Turns out Loki in all the campaigning never got around actually deciding what his policies would be if he got elected, basically basing his entire political carrier on the quicksand of "I'm better than the other two because I'm honest about lying" and letting people project into his non-answers. This might be a deliberate lampshade hanging on his part though.
• Divide and Conquer: The ending implies that one of the other candidates made a deal with Loki, so he enters the race and evens the odds.
• Do Not Adjust Your Set: In the last issue Loki hijacks all TV to make some live announcements.
• Do Wrong, Right: Loki totally approves of politicians lying, but is deeply dismayed by how badly they do it.
• Election Day Episode: Loki runs for president. It also ends with him urging the readers to go and vote for whichever candidate they want to.
• Facepalm: On his live Talk Show J. Jonah Jameson does this (only inches away from Head Desking even), when Loki starts his explanation on how gods work.
• Footnote Fever: Not the comic itself, but the marketing for it. In May of 2016 various Marvel titles had green footnotes advertising it saying things like:
  Vote Loki 2016! Be(lie)ve!
  Vote Loki 2016! Lies you can believe in!
  Vote Loki 2016! Ragnarok the vote!
• Gender Bender: Loki can be a woman when they feel like it.
• Gone Horribly Wrong: Nisa's one plan to thwart Loki that actually works results in a wave of violence directed at his supporters and occasionally perpetrated by his supporters. Both Nisa and Loki are horrified by this.
• Honesty Is the Best Policy: Loki's rhetoric involves a lot of just admitting it (and spinning it in his own favor). For example: Accusing the people supporting him of being a cult? Duh. He's a god, of course he has worshippers.
• I Meant to Do That: Loki claims that everything in this book was part of his plan. Yes. Even making an Intrepid Reporter out of Nisa.
• Intrepid Reporter: Nisa Contreras, our viewpoint character.
• It's Personal: Nisa's dislike of corrupt politicians and Loki is founded upon losing her home thanks to a superhero battle against Loki and someone embezzling the funds donated by Iron Man for the rebuilding.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Loki on the last pages as he muses what kind of story this was and what the moral could be if there is any. The accompanying Aside Glance doesn't help either.
• Make It Look Like an Accident: The most obvious conclusion about the traffic accident that seemingly killed off the Hydra agents. It also neatly ties into the fact that Angela is a mercenary who would kill if you pay her enough.
• Manipulative Bastard: Loki, to nobody's surprise.
• Memetic Mutation: In-universe, Loki's Do Wrong, Right speech goes viral even spawning Image Macros, parody videos and all. Then they begin to turn this joke popularity into actual one.
• The Mole: Angela maybe. She claimed to be one but from what's shown her whole "betrayal" could very well be staged. If we believe that Loki had no actual intention of winning.
• Out-of-Context Eavesdropping: People in the elevator listening to Nisa's phone call to the hospital (she was asking about the injured Hydra agents) only heard the part about calling Hydra and ran for their lives.
• Pronoun Trouble: Nisa when talking about Loki's interview to Thor.
• A Rare Sentence:
  I never thought I'd say this, but thank god Loki was there to stop them!
• Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: Nisa seriously considers moving far far away if Loki wins.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: Loki's post Secret Wars (2015) design is best described as pulled out of a norse dumpster meets somewhat gothy; this series shows that they can rock the fashionable business woman look if they want to (according to teaser images Sharp-Dressed Man too) despite the art.
• Shooting Superman: Nisa threatened Loki with a gun when the jerk just teleported in her apartment.
  Loki: Don't shoot. It wouldn't do anything, but I'll be good.
• Shout-Out: Issue #2's cover is a shot out to a very famous silver age cover with Captain America (the Hitler punching one), which in light of what storylines were running alongside this comic seems highly ironic. Oh and neither Captains America appear in the issue.
• Stopped Reading Too Soon: Loki exploited this trope. Yes, giving an interview to your most well known skeptic and letting her write her (undoubtedly very skeptical) article about you sounds like a honest and way too trusting move... until you realize that most people (including Jane Foster as Thor) won't read past the headline. Which the editor changed to an out of context quote for some odd reason.
• Supervillain Lair: A guy calls NYPD daily to Ophidia Research claiming it's Loki's secret lair... or maybe campaign headquarters? We're not sure what's the difference.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: Loki spent the first half of the first issue repeatedly denying that he intends to run, but has a birth certificate if you were wondering. Then he admitted it to Nisa and as she gave her an exclusive interview.
• That Man Is Dead: Loki is still adamant on claiming that he isn't original Loki. Explaining this to people included things like telling about the death-rebirth cycle Asgardians go through thanks to their mythological nature. Understandably to call it a tough sell is somewhat an understatement though.
• Twofer Token Minority: Nisa joked that Loki could be America's first super villain and female president.
• Villainous Rescue: When Loki saves the candidates from a Hydra attack (that he planned himself).

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