LOKI
Real Name:
Loki Laufeyson
Occupation: God of Mischief
Legal Status: Exiled Citizen of Asgard
Identity: The general populace of Earth is unaware of the existence of Loki except
as a character from mythology.
Other Aliases:
The Scarlet Witch, Loke, Logi (alternate spellings), Thokk
Place of Birth:
Jotunheim
Marital Status: Separated
Known Relatives:
Farbaut (father, alias Laufey/Lausus, deceased), Laufey (mother, alias Farbaut/Farbauti), Byleist, Helbindi (brothers,
deceased), Utgard-Loki (possible grandfather), Odin
(foster father),
Frigga
(foster mother), Thor,
Balder, Hermod,
Hoder, Tyr,
Vidar (foster brothers),
Sigyn (estranged wife), Angrboda (second wife), Narvi, Vali (sons by Sigyn,
deceased), Hela (daughter by Angrboda), Fenrir, Jormungard (sons by Angrboda),
Group Affiliations: The Gods of Asgard, The Cabal, occasional ally of Hades, Coyote, Bres, Tyr, Amora the Enchantress, Skurge the Executioner, Karnilla, Lorelei, Ulik, Cobra and the Absorbing Man, former ally of Doctor Doom, former prime-mover of the "Acts of Vengeance"
Base of Operations:
Dragonfang, a castle on the outskirts of Asgard
First Appearance:
(historical) Venus #6, (modern) Journey into Mystery #85
Origin: Journey Into Mystery #112, 113, 115
History:
In childhood, Loki greatly resented the fact that the other Asgardians greatly favored the young Thor, who already had a nobility of spirit and excelled in all his endeavors over himself. As a boy, Loki began studying the arts of sorcery for which he had a great affinity. His hatred of Thor grew, and while still a boy, Loki vowed to become the most powerful god in Asgard and to destroy Thor to achieve this end. After achieving adulthood, Loki began making alliances with known enemies of Asgard.
As Loki grew to adulthood, his inborn propensity for mischief had begun to manifest itself and he earned the nickname of "God of Mischief," but as his deeds became increasing malicious, and his lust for power and revenge became apparent, he also became known as "God of Evil." Loki attempted many times over the years to destroy Thor and seize the throne of Asgard for himself. Several of his acts of mischief became recorded by the Vikings and German tribes who worshipped the Asgardians as gods. Although sometimes amusing and helpful to the gods, Loki's most infamous acts include ransoming the goddess Freia to the giant Hrimthursar, invading uninvited the party of Aegir in honor of the gods and indirectly creating the curse on the ill-fated Ring of the Nibelung. At times, Loki even incited strife between the pantheons of foreign gods such the Olympian Gods of Greece, the Danaans of the Celts and the Anasazi of the North American tribes. His most malicious act by far was by setting into motion the events to Ragnarok, The Twilight of the Gods, but tricking the his foster brother Hoder to slay Balder. Leading the forces of evil into Asgard, Loki was slain by the god Heimdall. Much of these events seemed to have occurred during a previous incarnation of Asgard which was afterward restored by forces under Odin's control. In the new Asgard to rise from the foundations of the previous Asgard, several gods were reborn or recreated from their previous lives: Loki's sons, Narvi and Vali were not reborn in the new Asgard; however, the goddess Hela, the daughter of this previous Loki, returned to life and she refers to the reborn Loki as her father still. However, the prophecies linking Balder to Ragnarok remained in effect.
At one point, Loki was imprisoned bound to a rock as the venom of a serpent dripped to his head. Loki's faithful wife, Sigyn, remained by his side to collect the venom in a bowl to protect him, but every time she turned to empty the bowl, the venom dropped on to Loki and burned him. Finally, Odin mystically imprisoned Loki within a tree as punishment for his many crimes. Sometime thereafter, Thor was banished to Earth to learn humility in the mortal form of Dr. Donald Blake.
Shortly after Thor regained his memories and the ability to resume his godly form at will, Loki succeeded in freeing himself from his imprisonment. There followed a long succession of clashes between Loki and Thor. Sometimes, Loki battled Thor directly, and on other occasions, Loki used pawns to battle Thor, some of whom he temporarily endowed with increased superhuman power, such as the Cobra and Mister Hyde. Loki is responsible for transforming "Crusher" Creel into the Absorbing Man and for the revival of the Asgardian Destroyer as an opponent for Thor. Loki has attempted to turn Odin against Thor and to steal Mjolnir, Thor's enchanted hammer. On one occasion, Loki mystically exchanged bodies with Thor. Loki has temporarily seized control of Asgard of Asgard when Odin was incapacitated. However, Loki has invariably been thwarted in his bids for power and revenge by Thor.
Recently, Loki joined Thor and Odin in their battle against the demonic Surtur. Surtur intended to destroy Asgard, and Loki, whose goal is to rule Asgard, thereafter felt obliged to stop him. After Odin and Surtur vanished at the end of the battle, Loki began his machination to be named the new ruler of Asgard. As part of his plans, he magically transformed Thor into a frog, using power drawn from Surtur's abandoned sword, but Thor was restored to his true form when the Asgardian Volstagg destroyed the engine draining power from the sword. Loki was unable to prevent the ascension of Balder to the Asgardian throne after Thor refused the throne himself in order to remain protector of Earth.
Odin, however, resurfaced as the Egyptian god
Seth attempted to conquer Asgard and regained the throne. Loki again came to
Asgard's defense but only for his own selfish desires. He even masqueraded as
Odin for a while and merged Thor with a mortal man named Eric Masterson and
magically buried Thor's consciousness deep within Masterson. During this time,
Masterson was the new Thor and became the hero Thunderstrike even after he and
Thor were separated. After Odin regained power over Asgard once more, Loki was
now permanently exiled. Loki was among the Asgardians affected by Odin's spells
to protect the Asgardians from Seth's tampering with Yggdrasil and was
transformed into a mortal corporate trader named Tso Zhung without any
knowledge of his immortal existence. Odin had intended for Thor to restore the
Asgardians to their true forms, but Thor at that time had been seen to a
"pocket universe" by Franklin Richards to protect him from the events
of Onslaught. Seth was later defeated and the gods regained their true forms,
but the experience left them vulnerable to the Dark Gods. By now, Thor had
returned to Earth but had been merged with a mortal named Jake Olson to conceal
him from the Dark Gods. After the Dark Gods were defeated, Loki plagued Thor by
attacking him indirectly through Jake Olson, but to contend with his treachery,
Odin remade Loki over as Loren Olsen, a clone of Jake, stripped of Loki's
godhood and power.
Odin, however, sacrificed himself on Earth in a renewed battle with Surtur,
and Thor finally accepted the throne of Asgard in the view of his apparent
demise. Loki's godhood was restored by the goddess Karnilla and he set out a
revised version of Ragnarok using the recovered forges that had created Mjolnir.
Thor meanwhile learned that the recurring incarnations of Asgardians had been
set in motion by mysterious beings known only as "Those Who Sit Above In
Shadow." In order to put a end to the recurring cycles of Asgard, Thor slew
Loki attacking Asgard and then carried his still conscious head on his belt as
he opened Asgard to the forces of Surtur. Asgard was destroyed in the aftermath,
and the Asgardians were lost except for Thor who disappeared into a deep sleep.
In Asgard's destruction, "Those Who Sit Above in Shadow" followed them
in death and were unable to revive them.
Thor eventually woke and reappeared on Earth soon thereafter and was able to
reclaim his godhood and the still present Odin-Force, which he required to
restore Loki and the Asgardians to life. Loki was restored to life, however, in
the body of Thor's love, Sif. By now, Loki's interest had changed from conquest
of Asgard to the complete humiliation and driving out of Thor with the
Asgardians. She claimed to have no more plans now that Ragnarok was over, but
used subterfuge and deceit to force Thor into slaying Bor, the father of Odin; a
murder which resulted in Thor being driven from Asgard. Loki soon joined the
Cabal, the antithesis to the Illuminati, in order to use Norman Osborn as his
lackey and foil in creating as much strife and disorder among the heroes of
Earth. From behind the scenes, Loki soon began impersonating the Scarlet Witch
among the Avengers in order to keep Osborn's own plans for power from interrupting
her own plans to return to Asgard to its proper place in the Nine Realms. Thor
eventually separated Loki from the body of Sif. Unfortunately, Osborn sent the
forces of HAMMER, his counterpart to the now defunct SHIELD, into attacking Asgard which following
the last Ragnarok now existed on Earth. As Asgard faced destruction, Loki used
the Norn Stones to help the Avengers prevent the destruction of Asgard and
surrendered his life in the process.
Before the Siege of Asgard, however, Loki had manipulated Hela into taking
his name out of the Book of Hel, allowing himself to be reborn as a young boy in
Paris named Serrure, ("lock" in French), without any memories of his
acts as an adult. Just what occurs next remains to be seen.
Height: 6' 4"
Weight: 525 lbs.
Eyes: Green
Hair: Black
Strength Level: Loki possesses the normal strength level of an Asgardian male
of his age, height and build who engages in minimal regular exercises; he can lift (press)
about 30 tons under optimal conditions.
Known Superhuman Powers: Loki
possesses the conventional physical attributes of the Asgardian gods and certain
innate powers to tap into and manipulate mystical energies. Like all Asgardians,
he is extremely long-lived, but he is not immortal like the Gods of Olympus. He
has not aged since reaching adulthood and cannot die by any conventional means.
He is immune to all Earthly diseases and is resistant to conventional injury. If
he were somehow wounded, his godly life force would enable him to recover with
superhuman speed. It would take an injury of such magnitude that it dispersed a
major portion of his bodily molecules to cause him a physical death. Even then,
it might be possible for a god of significant power, such as Odin or for a
number of Asgardian gods working together to revive him. Loki also possesses
superhuman strength and his Asgardian metabolism provides him with far greater
than human endurance in all physical activities. (Asgardian flesh and bone is
about three times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the
superhuman strength and weight of the Asgardians.) His Asgardian metabolism
gives him superhuman endurance in all physical activities.
Besides his physical attributes, Loki
possesses a host of magical skills. Among these is his ability is his ability to
transform his shape at will into those of other creatures. He has become such
animals such as a snake, eagle, mouse and bee, gaining the basic natural
abilities inherent in each form. While he can take on the likeness of another
god, giant or human, he will not necessarily gain the special physical or mental
powers of the being he imitates. Loki can also transform external objects into
other forms and substances by magic; for instance, he has turned clouds into
dragons. He can also bring inanimate objects to life, or mystically imbued
objects or beings with specific but temporary powers. He has, for example, augmented
the might of human criminals as the Cobra and Sandu. These magical effects remain only
for as long as he maintains the spell that created them.
Loki can project highly powerful concussive
blasts of magical energy. He can also create magical energy fields which serve
various purposes. With great concentration, Loki
can create a field of sufficient resilience to repel Thor's enchanted hammer
(although repeated blows would undoubtedly penetrate it) or physical objects
such as large-caliber projectiles. He can also surround objects with mystical energy
to levitate them. He once lifted and supported an entire structure off the
ground for several minutes. He can also mystically levitate himself and thereby
fly at great speed. As with his influence over matter, his magical energy feats
only last as long as he maintains them.
Loki also has number of mental and
extrasensory powers analogous to psionic abilities. He can broadcast his thoughts
into other minds as well as plant compelling hypnotic suggestions. These telepathic
abilities do not appear to be limited by distance. He can cast his thoughts across
dimensions, but he cannot perceive the thoughts of others. He does have certain
extra-sensory powers of perception, however, enabling him to see and hear events in
distant places simultaneously to their occurrence. He can also mentally project an
image of himself, in a manner not unlike astral projection, through which he can
communicate with other beings in other places.
Loki can also magically create rifts between dimensions, allowing him or other
objects passage from one universe to another. Most often this rift occurs between
Asgard and Earth.
Loki also has a vast knowledge of spells which he can use for many magical
effects.
Loki has used his magic to enable him to
endure injuries with little or no effect which would ordinarily kill another
Asgardian. He has even been beheaded, and yet he continued to live, magically
reattached his head to his body and was in the same condition as he was before
his beheading.
Weapons/Paraphernalia: Loki occasionally employs certain mystical power
objects, such as the Norn Stones or rare Asgardian herbs, to augment his own
magical powers. These objects or substances are generally used to enhance his
immediate personal strength or abilities, or to create a permanent mystical
transformation, such as that which gave the Absorbing Man his power. He once
used the mystical sword of Surtur along with various Asgardian equipment to
transform Thor into a frog while Loki was in Asgard and Thor was on Earth. The
destruction of the engine drawing power from the sword resulted in Thor
regaining his true form.
In ancient times, Loki used an enchanted Rime Mask which he used to change
form. It fell into disuse after he found spells to change form without it. On
earth, the mask was used to bring out the true natures of mortals. Bank clerk Stanley
Ipkiss used it in his short career as the maniacal hero, Mask. Loki has since
recovered it from cartoonist Tim Avery.
Comments: This profile pretty much describes Loki as he has appeared
in the Marvel Universe; although he has appeared in the DC Universe (War of the
Gods #2), those appearances are not remarkable enough to appear here.
Loki was played by actor Tom Hiddleston in Thor (2011), The
Avengers (2012) and Thor: The Dark World (2013), by Ian Hughes in Hercules:
the Legendary Journeys (Episode: "Norse By Norsewest"), by Alan
Cummings in Son Of The Mask (1994) and by
Richard Grieco in The Hammer of Thor (2011).
In Norse myth, Farbaut is the ferryman to the underworld, and Lausus (Laufey) is his
wife. In the Marvel Universe, their genders have been reversed. Loki's mother
appears (as Farbauti) in Loki #3 in Marvel Comics.
In some sources, Loki is considered the same as Logi, the god of fire, whom Thor
encountered in the Hall of Skrynir, but since Loki was present as well, this
could not be
the case.
Clarifications: Loki is not to be confused with:
Last updated: 05/25/14