#loki's shenanigans

[readinglokicomicsfromthestart]

Loki makes some dragons, Thor makes some hammers. From Journey into Mystery #92 (May 1963).

[iamanartichoke]

The thing is, is that Loki is just bored on Midgard. Contrary to what people like to believe about him, he hasn’t been a villain for a thousand years. Villainy isn’t an inherent character trait, nor is it even in Loki’s basic personality.

That’s what gets him. Loki is misunderstood about many things, but his general nature is probably one of the most misunderstood things about him. Especially on Midgard. Thor’s Avenger friends accept him, but grudgingly. They eye him warily when they think he isn’t looking. They hold themselves just slightly too on edge when in his presence. They whisper about him when they think he can’t hear, wondering if the fact that he’s been curled up in the corner with a thick book for the majority of the day means he’s plotting something nefarious with his book of spells and witchcraft. God forbid - God forbid - Loki just happens to enjoy reading, and the books on magic that he finds on Midgard are archaic, anyway. It’s like the equivalent of being a modern brain surgeon and reading a book about mending broken legs in the Middle Ages. Nothing Loki reads is actually useful to him, but his interest in the subject allows him to appreciate the material, regardless.

Anyway, that’s beside the point. The point is that, even though he’ll occasionally help the Avengers out (if Thor asks him and if he’s feeling generous) Loki isn’t friends with them and isn’t part of their group. Political handwavey stuff which requires him to go with Thor to represent Asgard at meetings and whatever also gives him something to do. But, when he isn’t occupied with these things, and he isn’t twirling his mustache as he plots world domination (honestly, some people act like they’ve never seen someone have a mental break before) he has a lot of free time. A lot. And since Loki has spent much of his life being a prince and a scholar and he can be neither of those things on Midgard (for one thing, the “kingdom” of Asgard is still little more than a band of refugees in a suburban housing development, and for another thing, yeah, Midgard has books, but it would be like a doctoral student only having access to elementary school libraries), he doesn’t really know what to do with himself day in and day out.

All of this is to say that Loki is just bored. While villainy may not be in his nature, mischief certainly is, and a bored Loki with an arsenal of Midgardian trinkets and customs at his disposal is the reason why Thor, after several migraines, an actual ulcer, and an incident that later become known as the Great New Asgard Lightning Strike of 2018, had to literally get medicated after awhile.

None of this, of course, is Loki’s fault. It’s just the way things are. 

@thesaltofcarthage (+ if anyone else, like, wants to be tagged in these posts, let me know XD) 

[readinglokicomicsfromthestart]

Loki’s opinion of the power of the norn stones seems to have diminished over the years. I guess he did wield the infinity stones in the interim. Also I wonder what other “top six” are. Infinity stones? Cosmic cube? idk. ...OTOH, he is relying on them to rule Jotunheim these days, so....

JiM #116 (may 1965) and Loki #1 (2019)

[readinglokicomicsfromthestart]

Loki takes the form of Space Abraham Lincoln to try to convince Drax to let him borrow/steal the Guardians’ spaceship. Because Lincoln has the most trustworthy face in the galaxy, obviously. 

[readinglokicomicsfromthestart]

Mischief! No detailed comparison or analysis here, just a couple displays of Loki’s powers. My favorite bit is Loki in the upper right side: “Priceless! I haven’t had this much fun in centuries!” And, to be honest, for both of these being vintage “villain Loki,” they’re pretty mild forms of mischief, aren’t they? I am curious to see if over the years the intent will become more malevolent and “evil” the way Ikol’s explanation to kidloki made it sound... (from Journey into Mystery Jan. 1963 #88)

[readinglokicomicsfromthestart]

proposal: Night at the Museum, but Loki is the reason all the displays have come to life. A+ for creativity, classic Loki! From Journey into Mystery #94 (July 1963). 

[readinglokicomicsfromthestart]

If you squint and really want it to be, this could *almost* come close to going in the direction of the metafictional fourth-wall play that Agent of Asgard and the God/dess of Story does, and that kidloki gets into when he (re)writes Leah, or even when Young Avengers Loki lets Billy and Teddy escape by breaking open the comic panels... If only they’d made some comment about drawing or the images not being drawn... (from Journey into Mystery Jan. 1963 #88)