Loki Laufeyson (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

Note: ''This page is for the incarnation of Loki from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The mainstream version can be found here: Loki (Marvel).''

"I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose."

- Loki to Nick Fury.

"Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel."

- Loki to the kneeling crowd of Germans.

"It burns you to have come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power. Unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share? And then to be reminded what real power is."

- Loki, talking to Nick Fury about the Tesseract.

"You are, all of you, beneath me! I am a god, you dull creature!"

- Loki to the Hulk.

Loki is the main antagonist in Thor and The Avengers and a supporting protagonist in Thor: The Dark World. He is the adopted brother/nemesis of Thor, son of Odin and Frigga, and the enemy of the Avengers.

He is portrayed by English actor Tom Hiddleston.

Thor
Loki intially appears as a supporting character in Thor, but gradually becomes the main antagonist after he is revealed to be the biological son of Laufey.

Admittedly jealous of his step-brother, Thor, and anxious about a kingdom ruled by the loud and violent God of Thunder, Loki allows several Jotuns to enter Asgard, who then proceed to try and steal the Casket of Ancient Winters during Thor's coronation. Later Loki admits that it was 'just a bit of fun' meant to ruin his brother's special day and to keep Asgard from his reign for a short while longer. In the wake of this intrusion, Thor is eager to launch a counterattack, and Loki appears to attempt to dissuade him while possibly actually goading him into action. On leaving, Loki leaves word with a guard to inform Odin of their departute, although whether this is through concern for their safety or desire to make Thor lose favor with Odin is unclear.

Once in Jotunheim, Thor leads himself and his friends into conflict and attacks the Jotuns even after being granted safe passage home. During the ensuing fight, Loki uses his abilities to save his brother and friends in several instances, including creating false versions of himself and hurling magic daggers at the Jotuns. He is then attacked by another that siezes him by the wrist. Loki is surprised by his own resistance to the Jotuns' freezing touch and sees his flesh turn Jotun blue and then return to Asgardian colour, a revelation that sews doubt about his origins in his mind. Odin arrives and takes the group back after Laufey promises that Thor will have the war and death he desired. Thor and Odin exchange heated words and insults until Odin, saddened by his son's arrogance and lack of wisdom, decides to punish him. Loki tries to intercede on his brother's behalf but is given a stern reprimand by Odin, prompting him to withdraw and be silent. Odin banishes Thor to Midgard (Earth) while Loki watches in horror; Odin also sends Mjolnir, enchanting it to only allow a worthy person to lift it and acquire the 'Power of Thor'.

Loki and the other warriors go to the healing room to treat their wounds. Loki still wonders about the changing of his flesh on Jotunheim and decides to see if he can induce it using the Casket of Ancient Winters. While he lifts it, visually repeating to himself that 'this cannot be, this is impossible', his skin up to his hairline turns Jotun blue and his eyes turn Jotun red. He is interrupted by Odin and confronts him regarding the incident. He learns that Odin discovered him as an infant left to die in the temple of the Jotuns during the final battle of the ancient war. On Loki's heated insistence, Odin also reveals that his purpose in rescuing him was not solely out of compassion, but also in the hopes that peace could be brought permanently through Loki, although he states that those plans no longer matter. Infuriated that he had been lied to and had been taunted with the promise of a possible birthright, Loki shouts hatefully at Odin and, overwhelmed by the stress of his family falling apart coupled with the impending war with Jotunheim, Odin falls into the deep "Odinsleep" in front of him.

With Thor already banished to Earth for the attack on Jotunheim, Loki is offered the position of king by his mother and assumes the role of Asgard's regent. From his position of power he goes briefly to Midgard to lie to Thor telling him their father has died and that their mother forbids his return, as well as trying unsuccessfully to take Mjolnir for himself. He then visits Jotunheim under the guise of trying to repair the damage his brother has done, but instead offers Laufey a chance to slay Odin while he sleeps, promising to return the Casket to him in return, which Laufey accepts.

When Sif and The Warriors Three disobey Loki's command to wait for his word by going to Midgard to retrieve Thor, he confronts and freezes Heimdall for allowing them to leave. He then sends The Destroyer after them to eliminate everything in its path and ensure that Thor cannot return home. This action proves his undoing when Thor's courage in confronting the automaton paves the way for his return, and just as Loki betrays and kills Laufey in Odin's chamber, Thor arrives to challenge him over his actions. The resulting fight quickly moves to Heimdall's Observatory where Loki has connected the Bifrost to Jotunheim, threatening to destroy it. Thor's power ultimately overpowers Loki's cunning, at the cost of the observatory and the Bifrost.

As Loki falls into the abyss below, the spear in his hand was grabbed by Thor who in turn was anchored to the remnants of the bridge by the newly-awakened Odin. He appeals to his stepfather that by annihilating the Jotuns he was doing what was best for Asgard. Odin sadly rejects this, and with his Asgardian life now in tatters, Loki releases the spear and allows the wormhole created by the Bifrost's energy to claim him.

The trickster is not so easily felled however, and sometime later an apparition of himself appears on Earth, where he begins to influence Erik Selvig, who has been summoned by S.H.I.E.L.D. to turn his scientific knowledge to the task of unlocking the secrets of a mysterious blue-glowing cube, which would supposedly be the key to unlimited sustainable energy for Earth. Loki's apparition whispers words of encouragement to proceed.

The Avengers
Loki returns as the main antagonist of The Avengers. He has become an ally of Thanos and commands a vast alien army known as the Chitauri.

Loki makes his first appearance in the film when he emerges from the portal created by the Tesseract at the S.H.I.E.L.D. building. He brainwashes Hawkeye, Dr. Erik Selvig, and various other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and takes the Tesseract. The portal created by the Tesseract results in the destruction of the building, though S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury survives, as do agents Phil Coulsen and Maria Hill. Fury decides that Earth is in danger and decides to assemble the Avengers.

After securing an area to determine the next course of action for the cube, Loki noted the scepter's gem glowing and calling out to him. He allowed himself to enter a trance where he could appear to the Chitauri leader and his army in a metaphysical form. The Chitauri leader warned Loki that if he failed at his pursuit of earth and the Tesseract did not fall into their hands to be given to Thanos, that there would be no place for him to hide from the overlord's wrath and that he would beg for something as sweet as pain. Now unsettled about potential failure and more determined than ever, Loki went to Stuttgart, Germany with Hawkeye and other turned agents in order to retrieve iridium, necessary to stabilize the portal.

Here he disrupted a gala at a large museum while Barton raided a secure installation for iridium. Loki struck terror into the hearts of patrons and guests by securing the one thing needed for Hawkeye to breach the iridium lock's security measures: the curator's eyeball. Loki strode out after the screaming crowd into the streets where he made several copies of himself, trapping the people and demanding that they kneel before him. Loki bragged that this was man's purpose, but a single man challenged him and his intentions. When Loki prepared to kill the old man, Captain America appeared and challenged him. Seconds later, the Quinjet carrying Black Widow also challenged him from the sky. After a brief battle with the super-soldier, during which Loki had the upper hand, Iron Man arrived and threatened to fire upon Loki, daring him to make a move. Outnumbered, he allowed himself to be captured, secretly plotting to use this to his advantage. As they journeyed to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Thor arrived and extracted Loki from the jet.

Thor attempted to reason with Loki, imploring him to remember that they were brothers (even if not by blood) and to return home to Asgard and surrender the Tesseract. Loki, however, still resented his brother, and refused to cooperate. Thor was tackled by Iron Man before he could say any more, and Loki remained on his perch as he watched them battle before agreeing to ally themselves. They took him into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody aboard the helicarrier, where he was placed in a confinement capsule designed to hold the Hulk. Loki taunted Fury about his attempts to control the Tesseract and his gathering of misfits to defend Earth. Loki's mere presence was enough to provide a disruptive element that would fragment the only group of heroes that had any hope of stopping him. When Black Widow arrived to speak with him, apparently to offer a deal in exchange for Hawkeye's freedom, he subjected her to a play of wits where he ferreted out her deeper misgivings, but was completely caught off guard when she tricked him into revealing that there was already a monster among them and that it was not him. From this, she concluded that the monster was Banner and that he had planned to use the Hulk to destroy the ship and the heroes as well.

However, Loki's plan to use the Hulk, only one aspect of his real intentions, did follow through as another jet carrying Hawkeye and the rogue agents came to his aide, following a signal from the scepter. The wounded Banner transformed into the Hulk, destroying much of the helicarrier, while one of Loki's controlled agents freed him from the cell. Loki then used illusions of himself to trick Thor into entering the cell and to distract Agent Coulson. Loki mortally wounded Agent Coulson and ejected Thor's cell from the helicarrier. Though he retrieved his scepter, Hawkeye was released from the mind control, and Loki headed to New York, where Selvig waited with the Tesseract at Stark Tower.

Loki prepared to welcome his army and begin his glorious, but brief, war on the earth. Tony Stark, still alive after the raid and having figured out his plan, caught up with him at the Tower and abandoned his wrecked Iron Man suit to threaten him. When Loki grew weary of the threats he tried to subjugate Stark with the scepter, only to be physically blocked by the arc reactor in Stark's chest. Annoyed, he threw the inventor out of a window, and was surprised when a freshly built Iron Man armor rocketed out after the man. Loki found himself briefly under attack when the fully suited Iron Man rocketed back up to retaliate before the Tesseract opened the portal, allowing Loki's Chitauri army to come pouring through. With his triumph near at hand he was confronted by his brother, Thor, who demanded that he at once deactivate the Tesseract or the thunder god would destroy it. Loki refused, claiming that nothing could stop his war.

The brothers fought a second time, Loki's scepter matching Thor's hammer. Blasts from the gem almost completely destroyed the Stark Tower logo on the side of the balcony, blasting the giant letters and debris off the side. When the confrontation came to stalemate with them grappling each others' necks, Thor urged Loki to look around him at the destruction he caused and asked if he truly believed it would all end with his rule. While Loki was unsure of himself, his eyes reverted to their normal green state temporarily as he claimed it was too late to stop the madness, but briefly considered Thor's appeal to work together to end it all and redeem himself. The will of the Tesseract over his mind was stronger than his guilt, however, and he instead stabbed Thor with a throwing knife, preparing to strike him down with the scepter as he knelt before him and laughing in amusement at the sentiment. This did little more than enrage the thunder god, who disarmed his adoptive brother of his staff and picked him up before slamming him down hard on the ruined balcony.

Loki threw himself off the building as he was defeated and managed to land on one of the Chitauri's small flying craft. From there, he led an attack on the city. When the first of the Chitauri's massive Leviathans was detroyed by the Hulk, he commanded the Chitauri on the other side of the still-open portal to send the rest of their massive armada, overwhelming the city's defenses. An aerial chase after Black Widow left his craft destroyed by one of Hawkeye's arrows and Loki landed back on Stark Tower, where the Hulk confronted him. Loki's frustrated rant goaded the Hulk into simply picking him up and repeatedly slamming him into the ground. Loki was too stunned to fight or threaten any longer, more wounded physically than he had ever been before.

When he eventually summoned the strength to crawl, he found himself face to face with six of the Earth's mightiest, having defeated the Chitauri army and closing the portal, takeing it in pretty good stride however he simply calmly requested the drink that Stark had offered before. After the Tesseract was relinquished to Thor, Loki was bound and placed in a metal muzzle (likely to prevent pleading, threatening, or perhaps use of magic) and led to an open area in Central Park with his brother. From there, Thor used the power of the Tesseract to transport both of them home to Asgard.

Thor: The Dark World
Loki returns in the sequel to Thor, however he is not the main antagonist again like in Thor and The Avengers, but a supporting character. Thor asks Loki, who is now imprisoned in Asgard, for help against Malekith the Accursed, as he is the only one who knows an other way out of Asgard. Even though Thor was wary of Loki's loyalty, the God of Mischief finally came through for the right team in the end. Saving his step-brothers life and even throwing himself on top of Jane Foster twice to protect her from damage he took himself, the second of which would have killed him had Thor not intervened. Loki makes peace with Thor when the former supposedly dies from injuries, apologizing for his past actions and stating he did not perform his final heroic deads to impress Odin. Loki's sudden appearance in Odin's place on the throne unbest known to Thor or possibly anyone leaves questions open for Loki's future actions.

Personality
In Thor and The Avengers Loki was, for all intents and purposes, a narcissist. He is generally shown as selfish, manipulative, bitter, resentful, arrogant, deceitful, greedy, egomaniacal and slightly bloodthirsty. Loki's negative traits were born through a tragic desire to be admired by his parents as much as Thor was. This, combined with finding out his parents had kept his true birth a secret from him his whole life pushed him to the breaking point.

Through the first three-quarters of Thor, Loki was rather quiet and displays little emotions except the occasional shallow smile, keeping attention off himself. Even though his actions of letting the Frost Giants into Asgard, tricking Thor into storming Jotunheim and ratting Thor out to Odin were all intentional to keep Thor off the throne, Loki claims to have not predicted Thor being banished as a result. Loki also attempted to defend Thor before the latters’ banishment, implying he cared for him under his jealousy. However, being put on the throne while the Allfather was in the Odinsleep increased Loki's sense of self-worth much higher, and he felt having the Destroyer kill Thor was justified if it meant he would be king instead of Thor, who was still unfit for the position. This and Loki's attempted to destroy all of Jotunhiem were deluded attempts to prove to Odin he was capable of making the hard choices for the good of the nine realms. The second action almost qualified Loki as a Planet Destroyer and Genocide villain. Odin rejecting Loki's attempts broke his heart, and he felt death was better than remaining in Thor's shadow.

During The Avengers, the Tesseracts' powers had dramatically amplified all of Loki's negative qualities, making him a full fledged sociopathic fiend perfectly happy to murder, torture and destroy to reach his goal. Loki's delusion had been expanded too, as he felt he was, to use his word "benevolent" despite having almost levelled Manhattan and killed over eighty people, including making numerous attempt on The Avengers lives. Some of Loki's behaviour in The Avengers possibly stemmed from his fear of the mighty Thanos.

By the time of Thor: The Dark World, with the Tesseract no longer influencing him and being alone in jail for about a year, Loki had time to get his head on strait. It took the death of his beloved mother, Frigga, for Loki to remember where his heart truly belonged. Loki had also developed a childish sense of humour, making and performing harmless jokes and pranks with his magic much to Thor's irritation.

Trivia

 * Loki is the first villain to appear in more than one film related to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has appeared in Thor and The Avengers, and he will appear in the sequel Thor: The Dark World.
 * Loki is similar to Scar: Both are jealous of their brother, both are obsessed with power, both are the youngest of their brothers.
 * He is also similar to Kahmunrah: Both become jealous of their brother, both are obsessed with power.