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Player Information

Name: lindsey
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Character Information

Character Name: Loki Laufeyson
Canon: Marvel Cinematic Universe (Thor/The Avengers)
Canon-Point: from the end of Avengers
Age: 1000+ years-old but possessing eternal (or extremely protracted) youth
History: ( link )

Personality:

Loki is the Norse god of mischief and an agent of chaos. The son of frost giants, he was adopted by Odin during Asgard's defeat of Jotunheim in the last great war and made prince of Asgard, brother of Thor. Though he may not be the titular character of the 2011 movie Thor, it is a story about Loki's origins as much as Thor's; it is no coincidence that as Thor comes into his own as a hero, Loki comes into his own as a villain.

"Loki has always been one for mischief, but you're talking about something else entirely." –Fandral, Thor (2011)

Mischief does not necessarily connote evil. In the beginning, Loki was many things, but evil was not one of them. He was always different, however his adoptive family tried to make him feel otherwise. In a culture of brutish warrior gods, Loki didn't quite fit. He was characterized by intelligence, cunning, and a sharp "silver" tongue. He preferred books, tricks, and magic over weapons and fighting (although he was never lacking in the latter categories, either—but his weapons of choice were what most would consider a coward's weapons: small, swift throwing knives that could easily be concealed). If Loki ever found any favor in Asgard, it was likely by his association with Thor.

Ever since they were boys, it would seem, Loki lived in Thor's shadow. Not only was Thor the oldest son of Odin and next in line for the throne, but he embodied the Asgardian ideal: He was brave, strong, golden, and a skilled warrior. Loki was his opposite in almost every way, and, as Sif expressly puts it, "he's always been jealous of Thor." And yet, Loki was always seen by Thor's side, up until the very moment that Odin cast Thor out of Asgard as punishment for endangering the peace between Asgard and Jotunheim. For the most part, Loki hid his jealous and bitter feelings passably well. He was (and still is) a master at hiding, in fact, not only his feelings, but his motives, his intentions, and even his physical presence—the only one able to cloak himself from Heimdall's all-seeing eyes and all-hearing ears. He's a slippery character who is hard to get a read on most of the time. But whatever he's thinking or planning, it's always safe to bet that he's up to no good.

Most of Asgard knew this on some level, even Thor who is at times the most foolishly idealistic and trusting of them all. In a key scene that was cut out of the beginning of the movie, when Thor and Loki are bantering before Thor's coronation, Thor tells Loki, "You are incapable of sincerity," but with a smile, because at this point Loki was still just a harmless prankster. Towards the end of the movie, though, when Thor returns to Asgard to take his brother down, he says, "You're a talented liar, brother. Always have been," this time with more heat, because by then it had been clearly demonstrated that Loki was more than just a harmless prankster. Fueled by jealousy, resentment, ambition, and desperation, he had become a dangerous villain who moved beyond pranks and tricks to full-out manipulation, deception, and schemes to win his father's favor, even if it meant wiping out an entire race. What was it that led to this evolution, from mischief to evil? Mostly, it was circumstances and events that caused the shifts and catalyzed the development of things—greatness, ingenious, evil—for which Loki had long since had the potential.

One of the first events was the discovery of his true heritage. Although Odin and Frigga decided to hide Loki's Jotun heritage from him to keep him from feeling "different," it's obvious that he always felt different anyway. A sneaky sorcerer instead of a brave warrior, he was constantly looked down upon for not living up to his older brother's standard and was never quite taken seriously. There are multiple instances throughout the movie where he tries to speak, tries to assert himself, only to be shut down. On the rainbow bridge as they attempt to leave for Jotunheim, Loki tries to sweet-talk Heimdall into letting them pass.

Loki: Good Heimdall.
Heimdall: You're not dressed warmly enough.
Loki: I'm sorry?
Heimdall: Do you think that you can deceive me?
Loki: You must be mistaken—
Thor: Enough! Heimdall, may we pass?

Heimdall does let them pass, and as the warriors push past Loki, Volstagg quips, "What happened? Silver tongue turned to lead?" Everyone laughs, except for Loki. A similar thing happens when Loki is trying to calm Thor down in front of Laufey to prevent the outbreak of a fight between them and the frost giants.

Loki: Thor, stop and think. Look around you. We're out numbered—
Thor: Know your place, brother.

And again when Loki tries to intervene during Odin and Thor's argument, after Odin rescues them from Jotunheim. Loki was always viewed a rung on the ladder lower than everyone else, always the less favored. He took refuge in lies and tricks. So when Loki discovered that he was not a true Asgardian, that he actually belonged to that race of monsters ("that parents tell their children about at night"), it made entirely too much sense. But rather than coming as a relief, it devastated him to learn that he was different, and for reasons almost entirely beyond his control, and that he had been lied to his whole life by the people he held most dear—his mother and father. Odin claimed that they wanted to protect him from the truth, but Loki saw it in an entirely different light.

Loki: It all makes sense now, why you favored Thor all these years. Because no matter how much you claimed to "love" me, you could never have a Frost Giant sitting on the throne of Asgard!

This revelation at once confirmed everything Loki ever wondered or doubted about himself, turned his world upside-down, and catalyzed his descent into temporary madness.

Another major event was his ascension to the throne, which was by default since Thor had been banished from Asgard, making Loki the only remaining son of Odin. In another key deleted scene, when Loki is handed Odin's spear, Gungnir, and told he is to become king, his initial reaction is not what most people might expect. He seems confused and almost distraught by the prospect. When he visits Thor on Earth, he calls the throne a "burden," and though he's mostly choosing his words in order to deceive Thor, it's possible that that part, at least, isn't a total lie. At the end of the movie, he tells Thor, "I never wanted the throne! I only ever wanted to be your equal." This was likely an instance where Loki was being entirely honest. At that point, there was no reason to lie or deceive anymore, and he had become unhinged to the point where hiding the truth ceased to matter. Regardless of whether he wanted it or not, Loki did find himself in possession of the throne, and in possession of power for which he was not at all prepared. Combine a sudden endowment of great authority with deep-seated feelings of jealousy and bitterness, driven by ambition and a desperation to prove oneself, and you have a disaster waiting to happen. Which was exactly what happened.

Once he became king, Loki did everything in his power (newly enhanced) to ensure he got what he wanted, at whatever cost, even if he had to kill his own brother or deceive his mother, or let the enemy frost giants into Asgard. What he wanted was to rise above the brother in whose shadow he'd always dwelled, and to prove himself to the father that always seemed to favor Thor more than him. In order to achieve these aims, he lied and he schemed. He effortlessly deceived Thor into thinking that their father was dead and that he was forbidden to return home; he tricked Laufey into agreeing to come to Asgard to kill Odin; and he fooled his mother into thinking he was the hero when he double-crossed Laufey and killed him instead. For that brief shining moment, he was the hero. But then Thor returned from Earth and ruined his plans by exposing him for the liar he is. Still, Loki tried to salvage his plans, which were to destroy Jotunheim, and still, Thor tried to stop him. Despite everything, Loki was still Thor's little brother. Thor needed to make sense of it, and when he directly confronted his brother, the truth came out.

Thor: Why have you done this?
Loki: To prove to Father that I am a worthy son! When he wakes, I will have saved his life. I will have destroyed that race of monsters. And I will be true heir to the throne!
Thor: You can't kill an entire race!
Loki: Why not? [laughs] And what is this new found love for the frost giants? You, who could have killed them all with your bare hands.
Thor: I've changed.
Loki: So have I.

"Now fight me," Loki says. Thor refuses. "I will not fight you, brother!" "I'm not your brother, I never was." "Loki, this is madness." "Is it madness? [tears in his eyes] Is it?" By that point, Loki had quite possibly entirely lost it. In the end, he lost to Thor as well. Odin awoke just in time to catch Thor and Loki from falling off the bifrost, and as they dangled Loki tried one last time to gain his father's approval, to see if after everything, after he tried his best, he had finally proven himself. Odin just tells him No, Loki. It wasn't until that moment that Loki was utterly defeated. Crushed, rejected, he let himself fall into the depths of space.

But letting go wasn't an act of giving up. If anything, Loki's defeat at the end of Thor only renewed his sense of self and purpose, and he returns in Avengers even more ambitious, more power-hungry, and more dangerous than ever before.

"Loki's mind is far afield, it's not just power he craves, it's vengeance, upon me. There's no pain that would prise his need from him." –Thor, The Avengers (2012)

There really isn't much else left to say about Loki's development after Thor. Loki as he appears in Avengers is the product of everything that happened before. Loki in Thor is a wayward son struggling to discover himself, every bit a foil of Thor, whose path follows an opposite trajectory, developing countepoint to his brother. Loki in Avengers is a Loki who has found himself, and he's found himself by rejecting his family, casting off the shackles of his former life, and striving to make a new kingdom for himself on Midgard (or, Earth). Having tasted power once, he craves it all over again.

Still, Loki is more complicated than the run-of-the-mill villain. His previous qualities remain—secrecy, sorcery, cunning and intellect, deep-seated bitterness and jealousy—and now they are all fueled by rage against Thor and not only a lust for power, but also for vengeance. He not only wants to rule Midgard, but he wants to take it from Thor, who has long since been its protector. Thor, for his part, just wants Loki to come home. He begs him to "give up this poisonous dream," supplications that seem to fall on deaf ears.

It's all "seems" with Loki. He seems confident, but certain of his actions speak of desperation. He allies himself with a race of aliens called the Chitauri, who promise him power and an army in return for the domination of Earth. He seems to know exactly what he wants, but his behavior suggests otherwise. Phil Coulson, a SHIELD agent on the verge of death by Loki's hand, tells him, "You're gonna lose."

Loki: Am I?
Coulson: It's in your nature.
Loki: Your heroes are scattered, your floating fortress falls from the sky... where is my disadvantage?
Coulson: You lack conviction.

This hints that, despite all of Loki's efforts, despite his desire for power and vengeance, when it comes time to deliver the final blow, he'll probably pull his punches. Coulson isn't the only one who knows it. Whether Thor knows or is merely hoping, he keeps trying to bring Loki back. He keeps trying to reason with him, because Thor believes that Loki isn't beyond saving. (What he probably fails to realize is that Loki doesn't want saving, but that's another story.) The part in the movie that shows Loki's inner conflict most clearly is the scene when he and Thor go toe-to-toe on the roof of Stark Tower. They begin with weapons in hand, Thor's hammer against Loki's scepter, but in the scuffle they lose the weapons and throw punches instead, fighting as only brothers who've deeply hurt one another can. At an impasse, they stand locked together and Thor once again tries to reason with Loki. Rather than rejecting Thor's entreaties with a simple no, Loki says, "It's too late to stop it." It's too late, suggesting that if it weren't too late, things might be different. Thor latches onto that glimmer of hope and says, "We can. Together," and, not for the first time, Loki's conviction seems to waver. But in the end he snaps right back, and rather than a verbal response he delivers a non-lethal stab into Thor's side with a hidden dagger and then utters the word, Sentiment. Enraged, hurt, and betrayed all over again, Thor grabs Loki and throws him onto the ground, at which point Loki makes his escape and turns his attention elsewhere in the midst of his army's attack on New York. In the end, Loki loses—as Coulson predicted—and Thor brings him back to Asgard in chains.

What's important to remember about Loki is that he is more than a villain. He's a god of mischief, mayhem, and chaos. He's a chaotic neutral character. He is motivated by rage, jealousy, hatred, and vengeance, but for all that, he always fails to finish the job. It could be that he's no match for Thor and the other Avengers, but that's not entirely the case. It could be, as Coulson suggests, that it's in his nature to lose. Maybe it's just ~~comic book~~ cosmic law that the good guy always wins. If one were to look for the answer in Loki's character, however, one would probably find that he is too complex for any one explanation, and that his goals, his desires, and his motivations are often conflicting.

Ultimately, he desires chaos, and there can be no chaos without order. To end one would necessarily end the other. Loki may always lose, but as evidenced by Thor, The Avengers, and quite likely the upcoming Thor 2, he always comes back to start it all again.

Abilities/Powers:

sorcery*

*called a "master of magic"; his magical powers may very well be limitless, but the powers he displays in the movie(s) include transforming (e.g. wine into snakes), creating incorporeal illusions (of himself), and making objects appear from thin air; he can also travel between worlds through secret means (for example, in the Thor post-credits scene, he is shown existing in some in-between space, appearing only in a mirror, displaying his ability to travel between worlds and slip in and out of places undetected)

god-like strength (though less than Thor's)
god-like durability
god-like longevity
possible imperviousness to extreme cold (due to his jotun heritage)
kick-ass viking god combat skills

Items:

throwing knives
magic books

Samples

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