Comic book Loki is now the God and Goddess of Lies - how do they compare to MCU Loki?
Oct. 5, 2023Catching up with Loki in comics as Loki season 2 arrives
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Loki season 2 is streaming nowonDisneyPlus, with the fan-favorite character continuing his journey through the MCU Multiverse with the Time Variance Authority and Mobius M. Mobius as they unravel the mystery ofKangand hismany Variants.
But what’s going on with Loki in comics? How does Loki’s current comic book status quo compare to the MCU storyline?
Interestingly enough, Loki in current comics and Loki in the MCU are quite different. In comics, Loki has recently undergone some significant changes that bring them back to their roots not just in the Marvel Universe, but also in ancient Norse mythology.
For starters, you may have noticed that comic book Loki is referred to with gender neutral pronouns. Harkening back not just to the character’s history as the fan-favorite Lady Loki, but also as a mythological shapeshifter, Loki has recently embraced their gender fluidity, with Immortal Thor #1 by writer Al Ewing and artist Martin Coccolo establishing that Thor and everyone else now refers to Loki with they/them pronouns, while Loki refers to themself as “the God and Goddess of Stories.”
Even before that, the recently wrapped Loki limited series by writer Dan Watters and artist Germán Peralta showed Loki fluidly switching between male and female presentation as well as often appearing androgynous. And that limited series also brought some other changes to Loki’s recent comic status quo.
Until recently, Loki was sitting on the throne as king of Jotunheim, home world of the Frost Giants from whom Loki is descended. But by the end of the Loki limited series, they seem to have abandoned the throne. What’s more, they’ve also given up their recent turn as the Asgardian God of Stories in favor of returning to their classic domain as the God of Lies.
We’ve also seen that change play out in the current Immortal Thor ongoing title, where Loki has resurfaced as an adversary to Thor. It’s not quite clear yet what Loki’s game is in Immortal Thor, but in Immortal Thor #2, it seems pretty clear that Loki is soon to bedevil Thor again, as they ask Thor to trust them not just as a sibling, and not just as an ally, but as an enemy. They then transform into an older, apparently villainous incarnation of the God and Goddess of Lies.
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That makes it seem like Loki knows something specific about Thor’s recent clash with Toranos, the storm god of the so-called Utgard Realm, which is populated by beings who are divine to the Asgardians in the same way the Asgardians have been perceived as gods by humans. And it makes it seem like their actions, becoming Thor’s enemy again, have some larger purpose than just doing mischief.
It’s all very poetic and mythical, recalling the fraught relationship of Thor and Loki in many classic Norse myths, as well as Loki’s original nature as a being capable of taking many forms. And, it almost couldn’t be farther from the sci-fi fueled adventures the MCU Loki finds himself undertaking in his streaming series.
But does Loki’s comic book return to a more villainous role foreshadow a similar heel turn in Loki season 2? It’s not impossible - it’s a part of Loki’s very nature, going back to their ancient mythological roots.
We’ll find out more as Loki season 2 streams on Disney Plus.
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