Loki Laufeyson

"You must be truly desperate to come to me for help"

- Loki to Thor

Loki Laufeyson is an Asgardian prince, the God of Mischief and a major supervillain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A misshapen Frost Giant, he is the adopted brother and nemesis of Thor, the adopted son of Odin and Frigga, and the biological son of the Frost Giant Laufey and the enemy of The Avengers.

Early life
Adopted by Odin and Frigga at the end of the Asgardians' war with the Jotuns, Loki is treated as a prince of Asgard and was never informed of his true heritage throughout his youth. Loki is smaller and thinner, and has a darker hair colour while paler in complexion than the Asgardians. Throughout their childhood Loki spent much of his time trying to prove himself as Thor's equal, while studying magical arts rather than physical prowess.

Captain America & Thor: Avengers
One of the Warriors Three, Fandral, was captured by the Dark Elves and taken to the Citadel of Spires, a tower owned by Alflyse, the queen of the Dark Elves. Thor, Sif, Hogun, Volstagg, and Loki decided to save their friend.

The adventureous Asgardians sneaked into Svartalfheim, the realm of the Dark Elves, and though they were attacked by numerous monstrous creatures, they reached the Citadel. While Hogun, Thor, and Volstagg attacked the front door, Loki and Sif went through the caverns beneath the tower. Once inside the caverns, Loki unsuccessfully flirted with Sif.

When they were attacked by giant bats, Loki realized that they are just an illusion. When they entered the tower, they encountered Malekith, Alflyse's royal mage. Loki told Sif to go ahead while he faced Malekith alone. However, the dark elf proved to be more difficult foe than Loki expected.

Loki's battle with Malekith ended up in the Citadel's courtyard where Thor used his hammer, Mjølnir, to defeat Malekith. Then, while Loki distracted Kurse, Thor destroyed the tower and defeated all of the Dark Elves. In the end, Loki and Thor decided to work together more often.

Thor
"That was just a bit of fun, really."

- Loki

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.

Thor: The Dark World Prelude #1
As Loki struck a deal with Thanos and The Other which involved him going to Earth to take the Tesseract, his mother discovered he was alive and tried to speak to him, but Loki told her it wasn't a good time to talk.

Fury's Big Week
Loki, unseen to everyone and possessing Erik Selvig's body, is introduced by Nick Fury to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S.' underground base. In here, he meets Clint Barton, who will be Selvig's bodyguard and guardian. Loki recognizes him, and, after asking if he was part of the team in New Mexico, he remarks that he has quite a good memory for faces.

The Avengers
"Kneel before me! I said, KNEEL! 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 before a crowd of kneeling humans

After falling through the wormhole, Loki arrived in a part of the universe unknown to both the Asgardians and humans and came into contact with The Other, a servant of Thanos, who offered a pact that would allow him to become ruler of the Earth while Thanos and the Chitauri would take the Tesseract, the cosmic cube left on Earth being studied by S.H.I.E.L.D. Thanos gave him ancient knowledge through the powers of the Tesseract, providing him with a golden bladed staff with a blue gem that was powered by the cube itself. It acted as a very powerful weapon, and also as a mind control device, bending those who were touched by the gem's power to its will.

After accepting the deal, Loki turned his focus back to Earth in search of a suitable agent, someone close to the Tesseract. He found Erik Selvig, a friend of Thor's and a renowned astrophysicist, who had been summoned to the task of unlocking the secrets of the mysterious cube. In time, Selvig came to understand some of the Tesseract's capabilities, and through Loki's influence he developed equipment that would focus some of that power. When the time was right, Loki activated the Tesseract, forming a temporary portal that pulled him through to its location on Earth. He was immediately confronted by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who fired guns at him only to learn that bullets bounced off of his body. Nick Fury attempted to keep him away from the Tesseract after, but Loki managed to use the scepter to subjugate and control Hawkeye and Selvig, as well as a number of other agents by placing the tip of the scepter at their chest near their heart and allowing the power of the gem to overtake them. He explained to Nick Fury that he wanted the Tesseract as part of his 'glorious purpose' which was to free the earth and humanity from 'freedom... life's great lie' as their one supreme king.

Fury tried to flee with the Tesseract, but then decided to stay and allow himself to die with the cube if it meant stopping Loki as well. Selvig and Hawkeye informed Loki of Fury's intent, prompting Loki to gather the turned agents and leave with the Tesseract after attempting to kill Fury, avoiding Maria Hill's attempt to stop them. The energy it had unleashed consumed the area and the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. compound with it. 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, blasted him with his repulsors, and threatened to fire the entirety of his arsenal 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, he quietly 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 Prelude #2
Loki is taken back to Asgard as prisoner. Odin tells him that "The boy I knew is dead. What remains is a creature I do not recognize" and the reason Loki is still alive is because Frigga still thinks of Loki as a son. Odin addresses Loki as Loki Laufeyson now.

Thor: The Dark World
"You must be truly desperate to come to me for help."

- Loki

Loki Laufeyson is the adopted brother of Thor, raised alongside him from birth by Odin. Upon learning his true lineage, Loki sought to conquer both Asgard and Earth but was stopped by Thor and the Avengers. Still arrogant and unrepentant, Loki sits in the dungeons of Asgard, with only his mother Frigga seeing any hope for him. But when an ancient enemy seeks the destruction of Asgard, Loki finds his loyalties tested.

Character traits
Unlike his adoptive brother, Loki is not an impulsive man, quite the opposite: thoughtful, manipulating, farseeing, he's the perfect tactician. Loki is mischievous by nature, always eager to prove himself. Being physically weak, he developed a sharp intellect and an acute mind to overcome his handicap among the Asgardians. He's pitiless and obstinate, ready to destroy everything in his path for his goals. Brilliant and smart, he's an incredible foe for a society mostly based on brutish combatants.

By The Avengers, Loki had become more dangerous than ever before. He was more cunning and devious, although he was still deeply conflicted. During his encounters with Thor, he showed that he still cared for his adoptive brother and father, but also still resented them: Odin for lying to him about his heritage and Thor for overshadowing him all his life ("I remember a shadow, living in the shade of your greatness".) He may also have developed delusions of grandeur, as he believed that Thor tossed him into the wormhole left by the destruction of the Bifrost, when in truth he allowed himself to fall in after Odin didn't approve of what he had done. He had also become even more ruthless than ever before, if not sadistic. This is evident when he smirked while striking the device in the curator's eye socket, and when he threatened Black Widow that he will make Barton torture her in ways she fears, awaken him to see her dead, and then kill him as well.

For all his craftiness, Loki has a tendency to bring about his own undoing. In Thor, he sends the Destroyer to kill his brother, which results in Thor regaining his powers after laying down his life for his friends. In The Avengers, Loki has a hand in unleashing the Hulk upon the Helicarrier and killing Coulson; both incidents come back to haunt him as Coulson's death is what unites the Avengers to go after him and the Hulk ultimately beats him into submission.

Powers and Abilities
Being a misshapen Frost Giant, Loki possesses some of the characteristics of his kind, including resistance to extreme cold and to his brethrens's frost powers. He also possesses superhuman physical abilities, such as strength, stamina, speed and reflexes, but to an extent closer or even equal to the Asgardians. He's a skilled magician, specializing in the art of illusion, and can create mirages of himself, make himself invisible to anyone, included the omniscient Heimdall, and can even control the minds of lesser beings like humans. Loki proves some skills in combat while battling the Frost Giants on Jotunheim and wielding Odin's spear, Gungnir.
 * Superhuman Strength: Loki possesses a formidable strength as a result of his Jotun lineage that is comparable to his Asgardian contemporaries. He kicks a man several yards into a wall, and throws another across a room and through a window. He was able to overpower Captain America with ease. His strength also extends his ability to leap distances far in excess of human capability.
 * Superhuman Durability: As a Jotun, Loki has a resilient body with a tolerance for trauma that's similar to the Asgardians. Of particular note is his pronounced tolerance for cold. High caliber bullets will simply bounce off him. Loki has taken multiple blows from Captain America and a blow from Captain America's shield which failed to injure him. He also withstood a full blast from a weapon based on the Destroyer, multiple blasts from Iron Man's repulsors, and a small explosive arrow from Hawkeye, and in each case he got out with only minor damage. He also was not crippled or seriously injured after getting a fierce beating from the Hulk.
 * Superhuman Longevity: Loki has the capacity to live for hundreds of years, if not indefinitely. Loki was a baby at the end of the last great war between the Asgardians and the Jotuns over a thousand years ago.
 * Superhuman Speed/Agility: Loki is fast enough to catch Hawkeye's arrows in mid-flight, inches away from his face. He also used his speed in his fight against Captain America, during which he easily gained the upper hand, at one point even smashing Cap's shield into the ground.
 * Sorcery: Loki is a master of magic. He can create illusions, including copies of himself, can teleport others (and possibly himself) to wherever he wants, and can influence people with his mind. He was also able to exert a more potent hypnotic control when using his sceptre directly on people who were trying to stop him. He can also conceal himself and others from sight. Loki can summon objects out of thin air, as seen when he summons the Casket of Ancient Winters and uses it against Heimdall, freezing him solid. He can also alter his appearance and attire at will.
 * Cold Manipulation: As a Frost Giant, Loki can generate mystic cold, as seen when he froze the lightning in the Bifrost Bridge to jam its functions.

Abilities
Loki has shown that being a "god" of a different world, he is able to understand and eventually utilize Earth and other alien technology to an excellent degree, such as using the eye device on the scientist and learning to use the control console that controls the cage.


 * Expert Combatant: Loki has extensive combat training that allowed him to fight off and kill several Jotuns in Jotunheim, easily kill several S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives, and hold his own against Thor and Captain America for a time.

Weapons

 * In battle, Loki uses throwing knives to injure his enemies, though he is also proficient with a spear.
 * While he was the king of Asgard, Loki used magic artifacts like Odin's spear, Gungnir, which can project mystical blasts of energy, and control the Destroyer or the Casket of Ancient Winters.
 * Loki used a special staff that was exceedingly powerful. He was able to use it as a means of energy projection of a powerful blue laser blast which was powerful enough to kill several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Loki also used the staff to put people under his mind control and even used it as blade to stab Agent Coulson with.

Friends and Allies

 * The Destroyer
 * Chitauri - Army
 * Thanos - Reluctant alliance
 * The Other - Reluctant alliance (serves as a messenger between Loki and Thanos)
 * Frigga - Adopted Mother (Loki feels no anger towards his adopted mother outwardly as she has been the only person who has treated him as an equal and even set him on the throne for a time.)
 * Tyr - Adoptive older Brother.

Enemies

 * Thor - Adoptive Brother, arch-nemesis, former ally and friend
 * Odin - Adopted Father, former ally and friend (Loki feels animosity towards his adopted father for him favoring Thor, but still desires to please him which causes him a great deal of conflict and anger. In The Avengers, Loki no longer considers Odin his father.)
 * Laufey - Biological Father
 * Frost Giants
 * Heimdall - Former ally
 * Fandral - Former ally
 * Hogun - Former ally
 * Sif - Former ally and friend
 * S.H.I.E.L.D.
 * Nick Fury
 * Steve Rogers/Captain America
 * Tony Stark/Iron Man
 * Bruce Banner/Hulk
 * Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
 * Clint Barton/Hawkeye - Unwitting pawn
 * Erik Selvig - Unwitting pawn
 * Humanity

Appearances/Actors

 * Marvel Cinematic Universe (3 films)
 * Thor (First appearance) - Ted Allpress (young) and Tom Hiddleston
 * The Avengers - Tom Hiddleston
 * Thor: The Dark World - Tom Hiddleston
 * Marvel Cinematic Universe (1 TV series)
 * Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
 * "Pilot" (Mentioned only)
 * "0-8-4" (Mentioned only)
 * Marvel Cinematic Universe (3 comics)
 * Captain America & Thor: Avengers
 * Fury's Big Week
 * Thor: The Dark World Prelude

Behind the scenes

 * At first, Tom Hiddleston auditioned to play Thor, but Kenneth Branagh decided he was more fit to play Loki.
 * Hiddleston had to go through a strict diet since Branagh wanted Loki "to have a lean and hungry look".
 * Hiddleston took inspiration from Peter O'Toole's interpretations from The Lion in Winter and Lawrence of Arabia.

Trivia

 * Loki is based on the god of mischief in Norse mythology. In the myths and legends circulating Loki, he was not adopted by Odin and his biological father was the giant Farbauti and Laufey was his mother. These concepts were invented by co-creator Stan Lee out of creative liberty.
 * In the comics, Loki never meets his biological father after being adopted by Odin, while in the movie he even allies and eventually betrays him.
 * At the end of Thor, Loki looking at the Cosmic Cube and deceiving Nick Fury is a hint to the comics continuity, in which he's the villain to stop which The Avengers assembled for the first time.
 * Loki was the main antagonist in Thor and The Avengers.
 * Loki is the first villain to appear in more than one movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He is appeared in Thor and The Avengers and will appear in Thor: The Dark World.
 * As such, he is also one of few antagonists not to be killed in their debut appearance, others being Abomination and his allies The Other and Thanos.
 * Loki's robes bear more resemblance to the more medieval-looking version of the character in the Ultimate Comics universe than the more familiar spandex-wearing, jester-like character of the mainstream Marvel Universe. Like the Ultimate incarnation, he wears dark green robes and has dark, long hair while still retaining the traditional horned helmet.