Loki Laufeyson

"You should know that deception is my greatest weapon."

- Loki the God of Mischief.

Loki, God of Mischief, Magic and Evil, is a deity/supervillain from Marvel, as well as the half-brother and archenemy of Thor, Avenger and God of Thunder.

History
Loki wasn't born as an Asgardian as Thor was, but rather as a Frost Giant. When his true father, Laufey, died, Asgard's King Odin decided to take the infant Loki in and raise him as his own son. Throughout his childhood and adolescence, Loki was resentful of his half-brother, as he was physically inferior to him in every way; except sorcery. Loki was a natural when it came to controlling the dark arts, and he put that to his advantage. He hoped to one day defeat his brother and father and become ruler of Asgard.

When into his adulthood, Loki gained the reputation as the God of Mischief. But his tricks increased from mischievous, to downright malicious and evil. He soon became known also as the God of Evil. Loki tried several times to usurp the throne of Asgard and destroy Thor, but failed at each attempt. Odin imprisoned him several times, but each time he escaped.

Loki had already left Asgard, and continued his evil work and plans of revenge on earth. He empowered several normal criminals with supernatural powers in order to help him defeat Thor and complete other schemes, including Absorbing Man, and the Wrecking Crew (Wrecker, Thunderball, Piledriver, Bulldozer). Loki also sometimes shared his schemes with The Enchantress and The Executioner, who also sought vengeance on Thor.

Loki has often made deals with or teamed up with various supervillains, most recently and infamously making a pact with Norman Osborn and his Dark Avengers and letting them into Asgard to conquer it in the Dark Reign saga.

Powers and Abilities
Loki is a master sorcerer, and has a wide variety of powers and abilities, including:

Despite being a member of the Frost Giants, Loki possesses similar attributes to those possessed by the Asgardians.


 * Superhuman Strength: Loki possesses superhuman strength that is substantially superior to that of an average Asgardian female or male.


 * Superhuman Stamina: Loki's Frost Giant metabolism grants him superhuman levels of physical stamina in practically all activities. He can exert himself at peak capacity for about 24 hours before fatigue begins to impair him. However, much like his physical strength and durability, Loki can temporarily augment his stamina through magical means.


 * Superhumanly Dense Tissue: Like all Asgardians, Loki's bodily tissues have roughly 3 times the density of the same tissues in a human being. While he has the looks and physical proportions of a much smaller person, the increased density of his body actually makes him several hundred pounds heavier than he appears. This increased density also contributes to his superhuman strength to a limited degree.


 * Superhuman Durability: The tissues of Loki's body are superhumanly durable and are roughly equal to those possessed by the average Asgardian male. However, at times, Loki had imbued himself with magical abilities that enable him to withstand injuries that would prove fatal to another Asgardian. He is able to withstand high caliber bullets, falls from great heights, powerful impact forces, exposure to temperature extremes and powerful energy blasts without being injured.


 * Superhuman Longevity: Like all Asgardians, Loki ages at a far slower rate than humans. However, unlike some other god pantheons like the Olympians, who stop aging completely at a certain point, Loki isn't fully immune to aging. Although he has recently been "reborn", he still has his memories of his previous life. While he is several millenia old, at least, he has the appearance and vitality of a young Asgardian man in his physical prime. Loki is immune to the effects of all known Earthly diseases and infections.


 * Sorcery: Loki has the ability to generate and control a great quantity of mystical abilities for a variety of purposes. His known abilities include the ability to fire powerful beams of concussive force, generate highly durable force fields, bestow superhuman attributes to living beings or inanimate objects, teleport across dimensions and augment his physical attributes temporarily. He can also bring inanimate objects to life, or mystically imbue 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’s power has been said by the Silver Surfer during their early encounters as sufficient to “decimate a planet,” and according to Dormammu, Loki’s magic nearly rivals that of his own.


 * Regenerative Healing Factor: Like all Asgardians, Loki is still capable of being injured though, also like all Asgardians, his metabolism enables him to rapidly regenerate damaged tissue much faster and more extensively than a human being. However, through the use of his sorcery, Loki's ability to heal himself is far above that of other Asgardians. His magical energies are so imbued into his body that he can reattach severed limbs and, while still a male, even reattached his own head at least once.


 * Psionics: Loki has demonstrated powerful psionic capabilities, the full limits of which aren't known. He has demonstrated the ability to project his thoughts telepathically across great distances as well as potent hypnotic capabilities. He is able to communicate with beings telepathically, though his ability to do so is greater with beings that serve him.


 * Shape-shifting: Like a number of gods or goddesses, Loki possesses highly developed shape-shifting capabilities. He is able to adopt almost any form imaginable whether it be animals, other humanoid beings, or even inanimate objects. The thought has been raised that his current form is merely a shape Loki has decided to remain in. Despite this well-known ability of Loki's, he has commented to himself, as he struggled to escape from Dormammu's mystic cage, that this is his "most soul-draining" power, apparently meaning it is more taxing than his other magical abilities. 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.

Weapons
Loki also wields a magical sword and staff, both of which he can use with great skill.

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
Loki appears in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode, the Vengeance of Loki.

The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes
Loki appears in the TV show, Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, as one of the main antagonists. He was one one responsible for creating, through the Enchantress, the Masters of Evil. He did this to distract Thor and the Avengers so he could take over Asgard and seven of the other nine realms. He was voiced by Graham McTavish, who also voiced him in the Hulk vs Thor animated movie.

Marvel Cinematic Universe
Main article: Loki (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

Loki is a tragic villain and the main antagonist in the live action 2011 Marvel Universe movie, Thor, and is the main antagonist in the live action 2012 movie, The Avengers. He is played by Tom Hiddleston. Loki will also be appearing in the Thor sequel, Thor: the Dark World, but his role in it is unknown. It has been anonouced that Loki will not be the main antagonist of the movie.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Loki appears in the videogame Marvel: Ultimate Alliance where he joins forces with Dr. Doom and the Masters of Evil in his own plan to overthrow Odin and rule Asgard forever.