Loki (Earth-199999)

Loki, born 965, is a Frost Giant and Asgardian, known for being the adopted son of Odin and brother of Thor. In truth, Loki is the son of Jotunheim leader Laufey, though none but Odin and Frigga knew this. Nonetheless, Loki was frequently treated as an other by those in Asgard, and spent much of his formative years searching for and—at least, in his eyes—failing to achieve his father's approval. Having spent over a millennium unaware of the origin of his birth, Loki felt overlooked next to Thor, Odin's trueborn heir. In 2010 he attempted to orchestrate a grand plan to "save" Odin and Asgard from Laufey and the Frost Giants, but failed at the hands of Thor, and cast himself out of the realm to an unknown fate.

Biography

God of Mischief

In May of 2010, as Loki's brother Thor was set to inherit Odin's throne as king of Asgard, Loki set into action a plan to take the throne for himself. He magically arranged for three Frost Giants of Jotunheim to arrive in Asgard and attempt to steal the Casket of Ancient Winters from the treasure room. Apparently, the Giants themselves were not aware of who had done this, only that a path had been made. Loki magically concealed the Giants' arrival in Asgard, keeping the eyes of Bifrost keeper Heimdall away. They were killed almost immediately by the Destroyer, but the incursion was enough to throw a wrench into Thor's aspirations. Thor insisted that Asgard retaliate for the affront to their realm, but Odin was not willing to start an all-out war, and interpreted Thor's headstrong desire for vengeance as a sign that he was not ready to be king. Loki got into Thor's ear and subtly encouraged his ideas, widening the rift between him and Odin. Disregarding Odin's wishes, Thor formed a party, including Loki himself, to go to Jotunheim and demand answers. They were joined by Sif and the Warriors Three—Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg. Before their departure, Loki secretly informed a guard of their trip and told him to tell Odin. He would later claim that this was in case things went awry, though his true intentions were likely not so simple.

Arriving at the throne of Laufey, king of the Frost Giants, Thor demanded to know why they had come to Asgard, while Loki deceptively played peacekeeper. Laufey cryptically told him that there was a traitor in the house of Odin. The impulsive Thor was insulted, and a battle ensued between the Giants and the Asgardians. Volstagg observed that the touch of a Giant caused moderate frostbite; this confused Loki moments later when one such touch had virtually no effect on him. The Asgardians fought valiantly but were forced to retreat; as they approached the entrance to the Bifrost home, they were interrupted by the arrival of Odin. Odin pleaded with Laufey for peace, but was refused. In response, Odin blasted the swarm of Giants back to allow himself and the rest of the party safe passage back to Asgard. For his arrogant betrayal and for breaking a thousand-year truce, Odin declared his son unworthy, stripped him of his power, and cast him out of Asgard and into Midgard. In the process, Odin took Mjölnir, and whispered an incantation into it declaring that anyone worthy of wielding it "shall possess the power of Thor," throwing it to Midgard as well. Loki had succeeded in driving his brother to being banished from Asgard.

Visiting the treasure room, Loki grabbed the Casket of Ancient Winters and observed that the extreme cold merely turned his skin blue—like a Frost Giant's. Loki confronted Odin, who admitted that Loki was Laufey's son, and that he had taken him from the Frost Giants after defeating them a millennium ago in the hopes of creating a lasting peace in the future. Loki was enraged, and Odin suddenly went into his Odinsleep, a periodic state of deep hibernation that recharges his magical energy. With Odin's wife Frigga watching over him, Loki took the opportunity to declare himself the new king of Asgard. Odin had put off Odinsleep for some time, and those around him feared that this sleep may be his last. Sif and the others beseeched Loki to reverse Thor's banishment, but he refused, claiming to have the stability of Asgard in mind.

Loki traveled to Midgard, appearing before Thor, who was being held in custody by S.H.I.E.L.D., and informing him of the supposed situation in Asgard. He told Thor that Odin was dead, that he himself had become king, and that a truce with the Giants had been reached that was predicated on Thor's lasting exile. Loki disappeared from Thor's sight, and covertly maneuvered through the small S.H.I.E.L.D. installation, at the center of which was Mjölnir, which had not been moved from its crash site, despite the efforts of many to do so, including Thor. Loki pulled on it heartily, but was also unable to budge the great hammer.

Loki next visited Jotunheim, proposing to Laufey a way of defeating Odin once and for all. He proposed allowing a small group of Giants into Asgard, as before, to kill Odin as he slept. In return, he would grant Laufey the Casket of Ancient Winters, and the two realms would live in allegiance from then on. Laufey enthusiastically accepted his son's offer. Loki had magically concealed this visit from Heimdall's sight, and upon returning to Asgard, Heimdall was suspicious of Loki's hidden actions. Loki reminded Heimdall that he was his king, and that he was sworn to serve him. Later, from a balcony at the royal palace, Loki observed a conspicuously unauthorized use of the Bifrost, as Sif and the Warriors Three traveled to Midgard to bring back Thor. Loki went into the treasure room, wielded the Casket, and used a magical path to Midgard to send the Destroyer and ensure that Thor did not return. He then confronted Heimdall at the entrance to the Bifrost, relieving him of his duties and freezing him where he stood.

Loki observed the Destroyer's progress in Midgard. It did battle with Sif and the Warriors Three, easily fending them off until Thor told them to retreat. Thor offered up his life to stop the attack, and the Destroyer powerfully slapped him across the small-town street. Seemingly dead, Thor was soon revived by Mjölnir flying into his hand, having at last deemed him worthy. Once again at full power, Thor easily dismantled the Destroyer. A distraught Loki quickly enacted his plan, letting a group of Frost Giants, including Laufey, into Asgard through the unguarded Bifrost. Laufey went ahead of him and into Odin's chamber, where he was sound asleep. As Laufey knocked Frigga aside and went to stab Odin with a dagger of ice, Loki vaporized the Giant with his magic staff, "saving" his father from death. Thor soon appeared, having returned to Asgard with help from a thawed Heimdall, but Loki blasted him out of the tower they occupied.

Loki made haste for the Bifrost for the final stage of his plan: he would destroy Jotunheim and the Giants by aiming the energy-filled Bifrost at it nonstop, ending the war and being declared a hero of Asgard. He was again interrupted by Thor, and the two did battle. Thor disabled Loki with an electric blast as the intensity of the Bifrost reached critical levels. Seeing no other way to deactivate it, Thor took his hammer to the bridge itself, rending it asunder and creating a gigantic magical explosion. Thor and Loki were left hanging off of the side of the bridge: Loki holding his staff, Thor holding the other end, and Thor being held by the awoken Odin. Loki tried to explain his actions to the Allfather—seeing his disapproval, a despondent Loki let go of his grip, falling into the wormhole left behind by the Bifrost.

Invasion of Earth

At the other end of the wormhole, Loki found himself in a remote area of space, an asteroid field known as the Sanctuary, where he met Thanos and the Other. Thanos struck a deal with Loki to invade Earth, along with Thanos' army of Chitauri, and retrieve the Tesseract for him; in return, Loki would rule Earth. He lent Loki a scepter armed with the Mind Stone, which would allow him to enact mind control on his victims. What Thanos didn't tell Loki however was that Thanos himself was also using the Mind Stone to fuel Loki's feelings of rage and resentment toward Thor and humanity. Meanwhile on Earth, S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury approached scientist Erik Selvig about studying the Tesseract, which had recently been recovered. Loki used the combined powers of the scepter and his own projective magical abilities to remotely influence Selvig into accepting Fury's proposal. Over time, Loki further influenced Selvig into opening a portal with the Tesseract to allow Loki's passage. Loki stormed the underground S.H.I.E.L.D. stronghold that contained the Tesseract, stealing it and gaining total mental control over Selvig and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye. They were confronted by Nick Fury, whom Hawkeye shot and apparently killed, but Fury was able to survive with a bulletproof vest.

Loki and his new henchmen successfully escaped with the Tesseract and established a base of operations at an undisclosed location, recruiting various soldiers and scientists with a score to settle with S.H.I.E.L.D. Loki's intent was to use the Tesseract to open a large portal and allow the waiting Chitauri legion to invade through it. Selvig informed him that focusing the Tesseract's power in such a way would require a supply of iridium and a major power source. Loki set his sights on scientist Heinrich Schäfer of Stuttgart, Germany, who possessed a sufficient amount of iridium protected by an optic sensor. Loki, dressed appropriately, attended a museum gala by night and publicly assaulted Schäfer, jamming a special scanner into his eye and killing him. He transmitted the image of Schäfer's eye to Hawkeye, who used it to access the iridium and successfully extracted it. Meanwhile, Loki stepped outside and—perhaps disadvantageously influenced by the Mind Stone—boldly declared his dominion over the gathering public. S.H.I.E.L.D. had been sweeping global surveillance for any sign of Loki since he made off with the Tesseract, and it didn't take long for a challenge to appear. Namely, the legendary hero Captain America arrived, having recently been revived after being frozen in ice since World War II. He was backed up by S.H.I.E.L.D. spy Black Widow piloting a Quinjet. After a brief fight, Loki overpowered Captain America, but more backup arrived in the form of Iron Man. Loki surrendered to the overwhelming odds, and he was taken captive on the Quinjet.

En route to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, the Quinjet was shockingly stormed by Thor, who quickly snatched his brother and flew away. Thor flew Loki to a nearby outcropping and implored him to cease his ploy for conquest with the Tesseract, but was interrupted by Iron Man. The two fought in a nearby forest, Thor demanding that Loki be returned to Asgard, while Iron Man insisted that Loki was needed to find the Tesseract. As they did battle, Loki casually watched from afar, allowing the heroes to dismantle each other. Captain America soon arrived as well, attempting to stop the fight, but only angered Thor further. Thor swung his hammer, striking Cap's nigh-unbreakable vibranium shield, and causing a gigantic shockwave that leveled much of the surrounding forestation. With the battle brought to a standstill, Thor agreed to cooperate, and Loki was returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. custody aboard the Helicarrier, inside a large, reinforced glass case designed to drop from the aircraft and plummet far to the ground in the event of emergency. As Loki sat in captivity, the team that would come to be known as the Avengers—Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, and Bruce Banner (also known as the Hulk)—splintered even as it formed. Loki naturally did everything he could to encourage the tensions between them.

Before long, Loki's reinforcements arrived in the form of a jet carrying Hawkeye and an army of recruits. The Helicarrier was thrown into chaos as Loki's underlings swarmed its innards. Loki was freed from his imprisonment, and used an illusion to trick Thor into getting trapped in it himself. S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson attempted to save him, but Loki stabbed and killed him with the scepter. Loki ejected his former prison, sending Thor falling to Earth. Elsewhere on the Helicarrier, Black Widow managed to jostle Hawkeye out of Loki's mind control. Loki commandeered a Quinjet and rendezvoused at Stark Tower with Erik Selvig, who was putting the finishing touches on a device to focus the Tesseract, using their supply of iridium and Stark Tower's massive amounts of energy. Loki was soon confronted by Stark himself (flying from the Helicarrier) in the tower's penthouse suite. Stark assured him that the Avengers, fully assembled, would defeat him and indeed avenge Phil Coulson. Stark equipped a fresh Iron Man suit and engaged Loki, but within moments Selvig opened a portal in the skies, allowing the Chitauri to flood into the atmosphere.

The event that would be known as the Battle of New York commenced: the remaining Avengers arrived in the city (including Hawkeye and Thor) and worked together to defeat the Chitauri and evacuate civilians. At various points they attempted to target Loki and Selvig's Tesseract device specifically, culminating with the monstrous Hulk easily smashing Loki to the ground repeatedly. Widow claimed the scepter, and a newly lucid Selvig informed her that the scepter was the only way to shut down the Tesseract and close the portal. Meanwhile, the World Security Council had decided that the situation was beyond saving, and had sent a nuclear weapon to destroy the city, its inhabitants, and the Chitauri forces. Iron Man caught up to the missile and flew it through the portal, destroying the Chitauri mothership and disabling their ground forces. He fell back through the portal as Widow closed it, landing safely in the Hulk's arms. As Loki came to, he was surrounded by the fully assembled Avengers and taken into custody, utterly defeated. Thor used the Tesseract to take himself and Loki back to Asgard for reprisal; S.H.I.E.L.D. took in the scepter for examination.

Malekith and the Aether

To answer for his crimes, Loki was brought before Odin, who sentenced him to a life of imprisonment in Asgard's dungeons. Frigga showed sympathy for Loki's plight, and tried to make him see the error of his ways, but Loki simply grew more resentful of Odin. Not long after being imprisoned, Loki witnessed a breakout at the hands of Dark Elf Algrim, who had become Kursed. Asgard was plunged into chaos as Algrim and other prisoners (without freeing Loki) fought through the realm's defenders. Loki casually observed, advising Algrim to "take the stairs to the left." This assault soon became a full-fledged Dark Elf invasion led by the ancient Malekith, who sought the Aether held within Jane Foster's body. The invasion was repelled, but Algrim killed Frigga. Loki was distraught at news of this, and in his cell mourned the death of perhaps the only person he truly loved.

Thor approached Loki the next day, offering him to join a scheme he was planning to take Jane and the Aether to the Dark Elf world of Svartalfheim and defeat Malekith there rather than letting him attack Asgard again and take an untold number of lives. Promised vengeance against Malekith for Frigga's death, Loki agreed to help Thor, albeit on a very short leash. With assistance from Sif and the Warriors Three, Thor secured Jane from her guarded room and took her and Loki aboard a crashed Dark Elf ship, pursued by Odin's guard. The ship served as a distraction to allow the three to jump (or in Loki's case, be pushed) onto a watercraft piloted by Fandral and slip off relatively unnoticed. Loki led them to a virtually invisible crack in a mountain in the distance, which led to a portal straight to Svartalfheim.

There, the three were soon confronted by Malekith, Algrim, and other Dark Elves: Malekith had indeed sensed the Aether's presence. They staged a betrayal on the part of Loki, who played at an alliance with Malekith in exchange for the destruction of Asgard. As Malekith began to absorb the Aether, Thor threw off his feigned weakness and blasted a mighty lightning burst at the Aether, causing a dramatic explosion. But the broken shards of the Aether (or rather, its progenitor the Reality Stone) simply coalesced back into one in moments before being absorbed by Malekith. Malekith calmly walked back to his ship to await the convergence, leaving Thor and Loki behind to fight Algrim and the others. Loki handily dealt with the lesser guards, and snuck up behind Algrim to stab him with his own sword. Algrim responded by pulling Loki close to him, thrusting the sword through his abdomen as well. Loki activated a black-hole grenade on Algrim's belt, which detonated moments later, sucking Algrim into nothingness. Thor held Loki and watched him die in his arms, having apparently sacrificed his life to save Thor. As Thor and Jane left for Earth through a nearby portal, Loki deactivated his illusion of death and returned to Asgard disguised as a guard. He indirectly informed Odin of his own supposed death, and over time disguised himself as Odin to usurp the throne. Loki cast a mesmerizing spell on his father and banished him to Earth, ruling Asgard in his stead once more.

See also

• Loki of Earth-616