Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby, Loki has been wreaking mischief in the Marvel Universe since 1962’s Journey Into Mystery #85. The adopted son of Odin, Loki is a fascinating character that’s been depicted in many different ways in Marvel’s comics. In honor of that and the second season of Loki dropping on Disney+, here’s our list of the five best Loki stories in Marvel Comics history.
Siege Changed Loki Forever
Written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Olivier Coipel, Siege was a major crossover that spanned numerous books between 2009 and 2010, and it’s fantastic. It does require you really to have read some of the main, large storylines such as Secret Invasion and Avengers: Disassembled to get the most out of it though, as it comes at a very specific time in Marvel Comics history. Essentially, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have disbanded, and Spider-Man villain Norman Osborn has filled the resultant power vacuum. In Siege, Loki pulls Osborn under his influence and turns him against Asgard. Naturally, that doesn’t sit well with Thor and the Avengers, and we end up getting one hell of a clash that eventually results in a change for Loki from villain to anti-hero.
Related: How Marvel’s Loki Season 1 Ended
Vote Loki Was a Take on Real-World Politics
This is funny and light story around Loki deciding to run as president of the United States. Vote Loki was written by Christopher Hastings and illustrated by Langdon Foss. This short but sweet 2016 storyline takes place right alongside the 2016 U.S. precedential election. This was the election between Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump, and the story is a clever take on people willing to vote in just about anyone with the charisma to deceive them. In the story Loki is using his magic and finely honed deception skills to make himself appear to be the perfect candidate. The Trickster god naturally needs to cause a little big of damage and chaos to make himself seem like best candidate. It’s a great little four-part standalone series. There is also a reference to this story in the Disney+ Loki series. See if you can spot it when you read it!
Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers Explored Their Relationship
There are two sides to every story. You’ve heard Thor’s plenty, so now it’s time for Loki’s! Odin’s least favorite son spins a tale of Asgardian lore from his own perspective. Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers features the stunning painted artwork of Esad Ribic and writing from Robert Rodi.. In this tale, the God of Mischief’s insatiable lust for power really features front and center. His conflicted sentiments toward Sif, his hostility toward Balder and his complicated mix of feelings of longing and jealousy toward big brother Thor and father Odin are well established in this series.
Ribic’s amazing artwork really brings an already great story to life. Plus this series contains the first appearance of the Trickster God, a classic Tale of Asgard that reveals Loki’s awesome origin. Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers features a collection of Loki (2004) #1-4, Thor (2007) #12 and material from Journey Into Mystery (1952) #85 and #112. The story of Thor and Loki as brothers has always been a prevalent one. It features heavily in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well. The plot is all about the younger years of Thor and Loki and how their sibling rivalry progressed. It’s a great tale around the favoritism Thor received and the jealously Loki felt of him. It does touch on the God of Mischief’s compassionate side as well, though.
Diversions and Misdirections is One of the Best Thor & Loki Stories
This storyline is part of the Thor (2007-2011) series. It’s written by J. Michael Straczynski and illustrated by Olivier Coipel. I’d recommend starting from Thor #1 (2007) to get the full story, but issue #14 is where Loki starts to feature. This series features the female version of the God of Mischief, who appears in a different form in the Disney+ series. We get a fascinating tale around female Loki and Hela teaming up to get revenge against Thor, with the two using time travel and their cunning and wits against the God of Thunder. This is a great story to get to know more about the female Loki variant before Season 2 of the Disney+ series kicks off!
Related: The MCU Hangover of 2013 Half-Explains Its Current Woes
Loki: Agent of Asgard Makes Him Asgardian James Bond
Loki: Agent of Asgard (2014 – 2015) is one of my absolute favorites. Written by Al Ewing and illustrated by Lee Garbett, this series features Loki becoming Asgardian James Bond and taking on spy style missions. By missions, I do mean full on, spy style escapades! The God of Mischief will lie, cheat, bluff and dazzle women across intense mission given to him by the All-Mother. Loki even goes on a heist of the Avengers Tower in this series! It’s a fun and packed full of action and even features alternate Loki variations which makes it a great lead up read to the second season on the Loki Disney series.
Those are my picks for the top five Loki stories in Marvel Comics history. If you’ve got a good tablet, then you can buy them on Amazon or read them through a Marvel Unlimited subscription, which is my preference.
If you’re looking for more on the God of Mischief, check out how many episodes Loki Season 2 will have and when they come out.
