The Many Looks of Loki

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A shapeshifter and an illusionist, Loki, AKA the God of Mischief, has worn many faces.

Man, woman, young, old, and even animal... In Loki’s own words, "I can turn into anything, as long as it's me." While Loki was once eternally tapped to be the villain to his adoptive brother, the trickster god has fought to forge his own path in recent years. That’s why he’s now king of the Frost Giants, and on better terms with Thor. He’s not quite a hero, but Loki has renounced his status as the God of Lies. Now, he’s the God of Stories too.

Speaking of stories, Loki’s various forms and variations have appeared across time, space, and even universes in mighty Marvel lore.  Take a look back at some of his most memorable incarnations with these Marvel Unlimited comic picks!

PRIME LOKI

AKA the original model. This is the Loki who first menaced the Marvel Universe in JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY (1952) #85. Loki spent a very long time imprisoned in a tree before he broke free to terrorize Thor on Midgard. This Loki even went on to inadvertently assemble Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in AVENGERS (1963) #1, establishing himself as one of Marvel’s best bad guys overnight.

But perhaps Loki was too good at being bad, as he was the primary threat behind the ACTS OF VENGEANCE event and was later murdered at the Sentry’s hands in SIEGE (2009) #4. Thankfully, Lokis never stay dead for long. They just put on a new face.

LADY LOKI

If you think Loki’s female form looks a lot like Sif, you’re not wrong. Following his death in THOR (1998) #80, Loki manipulated events so that his return would come in a body that should have belonged to Lady Sif. In THOR (2007) #5, Thor accepted his brother as his sister, even giving her a chance to prove her redemption. Although, almost immediately after returning, Lady Loki schemed to have Thor permanently exiled from Asgard.

Lady Loki also showed a mean streak by joining Norman Osborn’s Cabal during DARK REIGN. She even contributed to his descent into madness throughout SIEGE when she goaded Osborn into attacking Asgard. By that time, Loki had relinquished Lady Loki’s body. Regardless, he has been known to revisit this female form from time to time.

KID LOKI

Loki’s apology to Thor on the verge of his own death went a long way towards bringing them back together in THOR (2007) #617. Unbeknownst to the God of Thunder, Loki had made arrangements to get his name off of Hela’s list, which allowed him to truly be reborn. And this is the way that Loki became Kid Loki, the God of Mischief’s most endearing variation. Kid Loki even headlined a run of stories in JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY (2011) #622-645!

However, Prime Loki’s influence was still felt as Kid Loki’s crow companion, Ikol. Kid Loki allowed the original Loki’s mind to live inside of Ikol, but Ikol had his own plans. He manipulated events so that Kid Loki would submit and allow his consciousness to be overridden. Although he was still Kid Loki for a while longer with the Young Avengers, this youthful version was still the old Loki at heart.

AGENT OF ASGARD

In LOKI: AGENT OF ASGARD (2014), the young adult incarnation of Loki tried to reinvent himself. Again. That’s why he agreed to work for the All-Mothers of Asgardia as a one-man secret service. You may have noticed that this Loki is very handsome indeed, almost like a movie star!

Unfortunately for Loki, the All-Mothers had their own agenda. And no matter how hard he tried to be good, his new bosses were working towards a dark future in which Loki would be a vile villain once more.

KING LOKI

By far the most evil incarnation of Loki, and one of his oldest. During the AGENT OF ASGARD run, King Loki was literally the worst enemy of his younger self. The “King” struck a deal with the All-Mothers to push his younger self back to his earlier ways because it served Asgard’s greater purpose in the timeline. King Loki may have left out the part where he massacres the Earth in the far future. But because the future isn’t written yet, King Loki may eventually reappear. But he seemed to meet a fairly definitive end during the KING THOR limited series!

THE GOD OF STORIES

King Loki sought to make his younger self embrace his darker nature yet again. And Loki almost gave in during LOKI: AGENT OF ASGARD #13! But instead of falling back into an old role, Loki reemerged with a new attitude and a new title by declaring himself “the God of Stories.”

This version of Loki isn’t above a little mischief, and he once again brought the Avengers together in AVENGERS (2018) by fanning the flames of a Celestial threat. And yet this Loki also played a key role in ending the WAR OF THE REALMS by killing his own (biological) father, King Laufey. Afterwards, Loki assumed his father’s place as King of the Frost Giants, a move that brought tenuous peace, and an alliance, with his brother Thor.

"PRESIDENT" LOKI

Once upon a time, Loki showed off a new side to his mischief when he ran for President of the United States. Daily Bugle reporter Nisa Contreras didn't buy this gimmick at all, and kept digging up the truth to deride "President" Loki’s candidacy. Of course, this silver-tongued swindler had his own motives, but his baby-kissing campaign and overt criticism of Latveria did seem genuine.

"In Loki we BeLIEve.”

ULTIMATE LOKI

In the Ultimate Universe, Loki pulled off his greatest trick. He convinced the Ultimates that his brother was simply insane... and that Loki was merely a mortal named Gunnar Golmen who had worked alongside Thor on a scientific project. Loki even seemed human when he made his debut in ULTIMATES 2 (2004) #1. But by the events of ULTIMATES 2 #13, Loki had revealed himself as the power behind the Liberators. From there, it took the combined might of the Ultimates and Asgard’s army to bring him down.

ULTIMATE COMICS THOR (2010) #1-4 shed some additional light on Ultimate Loki, including his stint on Earth as Baron Zemo during World War II. Now that’s wild.

CAT LOKI AND THE LEGION OF LOKIS 

In MIGHTY THOR (2015) #3, Loki formally introduced himself to Jane Foster: God Thunder. While attempting to convince Jane to become his ally, Loki showed off several of his different variants, including a Cat Loki and many versions that had never been seen before. Admittedly, the majority of these Lokis don’t have their own stories yet, and it’s unclear when and where they come from. All we know for sure is that there are infinite Loki, even within his own mind.

These are but a handful of the mercurial mischief-maker’s favored forms! Read more tales from Asgard starring all the Lokis on Marvel Unlimited, and watch Marvel Studios’ Loki on Disney+ now!

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