Livin’ la vida Loki
MANILA, Philippines - Every great hero is nothing without a great villain. The villain challenges and brings out the best from the hero. In the world of comics, villains like Magneto, the Joker, and Lex Luthor are easily the most famous. But the coolest and most beloved? Here we present our case for the God of Mischief – Loki.
Born to be bad
Loki is the poster boy for Daddy issues. For starters, his adopted father (Odin) killed his biological father (a frost giant) who hated him from the moment he was born. Growing up, he was never the favored son and was always under the shadow of his perfect brother, Thor. While most become villains after a freak accident or tragedy, it’s safe to say that Loki’s upbringing was his one big tragedy. So his motive to become a villain is something completely human: jealousy. What separates Loki from most villains is that while every other villain uses brute force or some extra superpower, Loki uses his mind (with a little help from magic) to get the job done. He uses words instead of his fists. He gets the upper hand by sheer wit and smarts. Almost like an evil Doctor Who. There’s always a method to his madness and you can never take his actions at face value. Long story short, he makes being bad look so good.
The new and lovable Loki
A couple of years ago, comic creators Matt Fraction and Kieron Gillen introduced us to a reincarnated and adolescent Loki. This new Loki used social media, hung out at cafes, and even found a teenage crush. He was still mischievous, minus the malice. No one but Thor believed that he could actually be good, though, so he continued to pay for his previous incarnation’s sins despite not really remembering them. All the same, he wanted to change, to prove himself, and to have fun while doing it in really clever and sometimes borderline catastrophic ways. We won’t spoil how that went down (the arc’s so good, it needs to be read rather than explained) so pick up Gillen’s entire Journey Into Mystery run. Think of it as Medyo Bad Boy Harry Potter. Trust us, if you enjoyed Sandman even just a little, you’re going to love reading this book.
Villain or victim?
Kid Loki found traction in the predominantly female Tumblr fanbase, mostly because he was just so freaking precious, but also because someone else had already set a precedent for a sympathetic Loki, who was just as much a victim as he was a villain: Loki, as portrayed by Tom Hiddleston. The then-unknown British actor (now growing more popular by the day with fangirls the world over because he is so charming, and have you seen those cheekbones?) turned the classic baddie from the comics into a tortured, vulnerable anti-hero-turned-villain who ended up being arguably more popular than the hero himself. His Loki was the unexpected hit of the film: a dark, brooding, and dangerous mirror to bright, golden, wholesome Thor. Misguided as Loki’s intentions may have been, Hiddleston made his anguish so raw and palpable that you almost couldn’t begrudge his attempt to destroy an entire planet. That confrontation scene with Odin? Heartbreaking. So heartbreaking, we may even forgive him for the Chitauri invasion in Manhattan.
The events of The Avengers left Loki in shackles, en route to Asgard with Thor to pass judgment for his attempt to conquer Earth. We’ll finally find out today, in Thor: The Dark World, what happens next. One thing we know for sure, though: We’re still rooting for the guy in green.
