Is it just me, or is it getting crazier out there in the multiverse?… and who’s behind it?
Loki, the god of mischief, the son of Fárbauti, the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr, husband of Sigyn, and the father of Narfi.
Back in the days when Marvel began his era with The Avengers, and My satisfaction threshold was below my feet, I saw Loki for the first time ever, in his golden-green amulets, spiky hairs, and with that beautiful illuminating smile. And I thought to myself… “hey! what a unique way to fire your magic stick”. But I also wondered, what the hell is this character? He was partly intimidating and partly funny. Yet, two sides countering one another. In the new series, Loki’s gender is described as fluid. This is quite interesting because I know there is lady Loki, kid Loki, Loki of different height and weight and hair, and why not a grandpa Loki. He can change his appearance. He is charming and deceitful. He can be highly intelligent but also fairly stupid at times. He is not pure evil by heart but wants to be. He loves his brother and father but also hates them.
What an ambiguous character that is! and now as I think back, I wonder how difficult it must have been to play a character like this. Or Is it because the studio has no idea what they were doing? Telling the actor, “make him funny, but also serious. He is a villain, but also a hero. Give him an evil smile and also a caring one”.
To this, the series answered, that it’s not only us, But he himself is confused with his role to the world. Is he born evil as a descendant of the frost giants? or is he benevolent, like his family in Asgard? We know that he can shift his personality for the mask that he adopts. Is it this ability of his along with the dilemma of his purpose, that made this persona who is ever-changing?
In Norse mythology, Loki’s intentions are more complex than what is shown in Marvel. Sometimes, he would assist the gods and sometimes behaves maliciously towards them. In many separate incidents, he appears in the form of a salmon, a mare, a fly, and possibly an elderly woman named Þökk (Old Norse 'thanks'). Loki's positive relations with the gods end with his role in engineering the death of the god Baldr, and eventually, Váli binds Loki with the entrails of one of his sons. The aftermath of which is fantasized in the book Eight days of Luke and in Sandman.
The Poem Lokasenna depicts the exchange of several insults between Loki and the Æsir. It takes place during a banquet held for the gods by Ægir and Rán. In which Loki hurls insults upon the gods, probably with little or no foundation.
"In shall I gointo Ægir's hall,
For the feast I fain would see;
bale and hatred I bring to the gods,
And their mead with venom I mix."
When the gods spoke, Loki could not bear to hear the truths and kills the servant Fimafeng. In response, the gods grab their shields, shrieking at Loki, and chase him out of the hall and to the woods.
"Bethink thee, Eldir, if thou and I
shall strive with spiteful speech;
richer I grow, in ready words
if thou speakest too much to me."
Loki’s appearance is revealed in the book American gods at the climax of events (skip this paragraph to avoid spoilers) (You did not? what a brave little soul you are!). Throughout the book, we were introduced to Mr. World, who had assembled a group of new gods to go to war with the old gods. Odin, on the other hand, formed his own group of alliances, which was in the time apportioned in parts. It was revealed at the end that, Mr. world is actually Loki. He, along with his father, was deceiving all gods to engage in war to restore his father to power and those who dies will be sacrificed in the name of Odin.
Wednesday appeared not only in American gods but also in the book Eight Days of Luke by Diana Wynne Jones. Where we were introduced to a boy named luke and in the afterword of the book revealed that Luke was actually Loki. When David (the main character of the story) returns to his hometown of Ashbury from boarding school to discover that his relatives-cum-guardians have nothing arranged for his summer and he will have to endure their mistreatment for his entire holiday. While walking in the garden, in a fit of frustration he makes up words to use as a curse. David's words seem to cause the garden wall to crumble, and to release a boy a year or so older than him, with flame-red hair, who identifies himself as Luke in an odd reference to being released from his "chains" and "bowls of venom". The two hastily repair the wall, and David notices that Luke's touch seems to burn the bushes growing beside the wall. The following days in the life of David, introduced each new figure from the Norse Mythology, starting with Loki on Sunday. David notices more odd things about Luke; he can entertain his friend with fiery doodles. Also, when Luke is asleep, he seems ageless and heals uncommonly quickly. On an occasion, Luke says that he "can't bring the dead back to life" but simply kindling a flame will summon him.
The Þrymskviða poem is one of the funny ones that I had encountered. The story partly diverts from Loki and relies heavily on Thor, but I wanted to share this story with you because it is such a charming story. Þrymr had hidden Mjöllnir eight leagues beneath the earth, from which he will retrieve it if Freyja agrees to marry him. As a result, the gods and goddesses meet and hold a thing to discuss and debate the matter. The god Heimdallr puts forth the suggestion that, in place of Freyja, Thor should be dressed as the bride, complete with jewels, women's clothing down to his knees, a bridal head-dress, and the necklace Brísingamen. Thor rejects the idea, and Loki interjects that this will be the only way to get back Mjöllnir, and points out that without Mjöllnir, the jötnar will be able to invade and settle in Asgard. So the gods dress Thor as a bride, and Loki states that he will go with Thor as his maid and that the two shall drive to Jötunheimr together. Early in the evening, the disguised Loki and Thor meet with Þrymr and the assembled jötnar. Thor eats and drinks ferociously, consuming entire animals and three casks of mead. Þrymr finds the behavior at odds with his impression of Freyja, and Loki, sitting before Þrymr and appearing as a "very shrewd maid", makes the excuse that "Freyja's" behavior is due to her having not consumed anything for eight entire days before arriving due to her eagerness to arrive. Þrymr then lifts "Freyja's" veil and wants to kiss "her" until catching the terrifying eyes staring back at him, seemingly burning with fire. Loki states that this is because "Freyja" had not slept for eight nights in her eagerness. The "wretched sister" of the jötnar appears, asks for a bridal gift from "Freyja", and the jötnar bring out Mjöllnir to "sanctify the bride", to lay it on her lap, and marry the two by "the hand" of the goddess Vár. Thor laughs internally when he sees the hammer, takes hold of it, strikes Þrymr, beats all of the jötnar, and kills the "older sister" of the jötnar. Happy ending.
Anyway.
Loki’s notions had also been stated differently over the years. He is the “god of fire”, a variant of Lucifer, a hypostasis of Odin, a typical example of a trickster figure, or the best depiction of them all… Loki was originally a spider.
Gaiman's comic The Sandman has a Loki of its own. He was freed from his punishment of being bound while a snake dripped its venom in his face, by Odin, so he could accompany Odin and Thor to the Dreaming in order to petition for the key to Hell as a way of avoiding Ragnarok. Loki tried to escape by posing as another god. Dream, however, was not fooled. He let Loki go, but Loki would owe him a favor. Loki helped Puck kidnap Daniel Hall, which led to Dream's eventual destruction. The Corinthian broke Loki's neck and took his eyes. Shamed he begged for death, but the Corinthian refused to kill him. Odin and Thor then recaptured Loki, who tried to convince the Aesir that he had been captured by Dream. Odin scoffed at such notions and had Thor carry him back to his punishment. Loki tried to goad Thor into killing him by revealing that he has slept with Thor's wife. Odin, however, stops him.
In the video game Warriors Orochi 4, Loki hides in Perseus's identity and rebels against Zeus's machinations by entering Orochi's dimensional realm. Of course, at the commands of Odin. While disguised as Perseus, Loki was notably more sympathetic to the humans than the other gods of Olympus, possibly owing to his status as a demi-god. As such, he sees it as his responsibility to safeguard them, even if it means opposing his family. During his time with the humans, he got along with three humans. He would also learn first-hand of humanity's stubborn defiance in the face of impossibility as well as their refusal to give up hope. When his deception is revealed, Loki still sports his gentle smile, though using it to hide his true, vengeful, nature. Bitter about the demise of his Asgardian friends and the loss of his powers, he is not above scheming and manipulating others for his own ends, seeing humans as a means to an end.
A couple of days ago, I saw a clip from Thor-the dark world. Yes, that audiobook about some fairies you might have heard about but skipped because the internet said so? Anyway. In the scene where Loki was in a cell and Thor came to meet him to ask for his help, I noticed how Loki holograms the whole room to hide his frustrations and weakness. And then I started to notice it everywhere. Marvel did showcase it to extends, but in Lokasenna too, you can see how his frustrations with the gods who are more powerful than him, had led him to a quarrel without a plan. This is quite unlikely for the god of mischief who has plans within a plan. It’s the illusion that he thinks of himself that wakes him weak. All his plans go to inevitable failure because of his lack of focus. He can do many things, but he can not do one thing with perfection. He can not be anything with perfection, as the wise Thor or like the cunning Odin. He is the worst of both. I noticed that, whenever a story involves the presence of Loki, he always hides in aliases. Except for when he is among his family. Because as we know, families can always smell our presence. In American Gods, In the seven days of Luke or in that video game I never played, Loki’s disguises and his acts are so convincing that even the gods were made fools of. That is what he does. That is what he is best at. Yet, his comparison with others stops him from achieving his true potential. What is Loki? what makes him tik?… we will never be able to answer these questions with a corrupted source like him. But at least he can sing and dance and can talk silly nonsenses for hours.
[it had been a crazy few weeks]