Loki

: "I know what I want. I know what kind of god I need to be. For you, for all of us."
: ―Loki[src]
Loki Laufeyson is the biological son of Laufey, King of the Frost Giants, who was abandoned and left to die shortly after his birth. Found by Odin, Loki was taken to Asgard and raised by him and Frigga as an Asgardian prince, along with Thor, becoming the Asgardian God of Mischief. When Thor was to be crowned King, Loki had sabotaged the coronation by letting the Frost Giants attack Asgard, thus leading Thor to seek vengeance on Jotunheim, which resulted in Thor's banishment to Earth and Loki finding out the truth about his heritage. Frigga gave Loki the throne when Odin had fallen into the Odinsleep; however, when the Warriors Three and Sif attempted to return Thor home, Loki was forced to try to stop them. Regardless, Thor returned from his exile on Earth and ended Loki's reign, thwarting his attempt to declare war on the Nine Realms with Jotunheim's destruction. With Odin disapproving of his actions, Loki allowed himself to fall through the deep abyss of space, entering a wormhole created by the sudden termination of the Bifrost Bridge.
Transported by the wormhole to Sanctuary, Loki encountered The Other who offered to serve under Thanos' command and gave him the Scepter. Loki was given command over the Chitauri army in order to conquer Earth, under the provision that Loki acquires the Tesseract for Thanos. Once he came to Earth, Loki managed to take possession of the Tesseract and used its power to open a wormhole above New York City and caused the Chitauri Invasion, but all of Loki's schemes were ultimately defeated by the Avengers. Thor returned him to Asgard as his prisoner, where Odin condemned him to spend the rest of his life in the Asgardian Dungeons as punishment for his crimes.
However, when Frigga was killed during the Sacking of Asgard, Loki was freed by Thor in order to defeat the Dark Elves led by Malekith who desired to use the power of the Aether to transform the universe into eternal darkness. During the fight against the Dark Elves in Svartalfheim, Loki faked his death, and, unbeknownst to everyone in the Kingdom, returned to Asgard and successfully removed Odin from the throne, taking his place as King where he remained for several years. During his reign, Loki continued to rule Asgard by sending Sif on missions to Earth to investigate the attacks of Lorelei and Vin-Tak.
Eventually, the return of Thor forced Loki to reveal his deception as the pair journeyed together to find Odin, arriving just in time to witness Odin's death. The loss of Odin allowed Hela, Odin's firstborn, to return from banishment and wage war against the Nine Realms. Loki found himself stranded at Sakaar along with Thor where Loki allied himself with the Grandmaster while Thor was forced to battle against Hulk. Despite trying to manipulate his way to freedom, Loki chose to side with Thor and the Revengers in a final battle against Hela, in which Loki summoned Surtur, who defeated Hela by causing Ragnarök and destroying all of Asgard.
During his final moments on Asgard, Loki took the Tesseract from Odin's Vault and in the wake of the Destruction of Asgard, chose to stay by his brother's side and support his ascension onto the throne. Consequences of his deal with Thanos would soon come back to haunt Loki, however, as the Mad Titan and his Black Order intercepted the Asgardians as they were making their way towards Earth. In the chaos that followed, Loki attempted to kill Thanos but ultimately failed. When Loki taunted Thanos by telling him that he would never be a god, the Mad Titan snapped his neck, finally killing the God of Mischief.
Whose attempts to conquer Earth were thwarted by the Avengers. as he survived in the explosion ship after being snapped the neck by Thanos, the Avengers from another timeline altered history and caused Loki to escape using the Tesseract. He was then arrested by the Time Variance Authority and was recruited by Mobius M. Mobius to hunt down Sylvie Laufeydottir, another Variant of his. Having learned that the TVA had been built on lies, Loki helped Laufeydottir track down the Time-Keepers and the TVA's founder, He Who Remains. Loki and Laufeydottir were warned by He Who Remains that if he was killed, his Variants would conquer the Multiverse. Loki was against murdering him, although Laufeydottir pushed him into a Timedoor and murdered He Who Remains, causing the timeline to branch indefinitely. Loki found himself in a different TVA, a TVA of the past, and thus began Time Slipping between the past, the present and the future.
Returning to the present, Loki met TVA employee Ouroboros and learned that the Temporal Loom was on the verge of failing. His work to repair the Loom would have him reunite with Sylvie and encounter Victor Timely, a variant of He Who Remains. Despite their best efforts, the Loom collapsed and seemingly destroyed the TVA; however, everyone except Loki were in reality returned to their places on the Sacred Timeline. Learning to control his Time Slipping, Loki used his new power to go back to before the Loom was destroyed, trying everything he could to salvage it. Unable to do so, he Time Slipped back to his original confrontation with He Who Remains, who revealed that the Loom was a failsafe whose purpose was to protect the Sacred Timeline whilst eliminating the excess branches and preventing the Multiversal War. Defiant, Loki chose to destroy the Loom and weave the branches together by hand, sitting on his newly created throne at the End of Time, determined to protect the people of the Multiverse in his own way as God Loki.
== Biography ==
=== Early Life ===
==== Adopted by Odin ====
: "The Casket wasn't the only thing you took from Jotunheim that day, was it?""No. In the aftermath of the battle, I went into the temple and I found a baby. Small for a giant's offspring. Abandoned, suffering, left to die. Laufey's son."
: ―Loki and Odin[src]
Loki was born on Jotunheim as the son of the Frost Giant King, Laufey. Small and weak for a Frost Giant, Loki was abandoned by his father in a temple, being left to die. In 965 A.D., not long after the war between the Giants and the Asgardians, Loki was found by King Odin. Adopting Loki and using sorcery to alter his appearance to make him appear to be an Asgardian, Odin raised Loki and his biological son, Thor, with his wife Frigga. As they grew up, Loki always felt that he was always living in Thor's shadow, envious to the fact that Thor was meant to be king instead of him.
==== Odin's Lessons ====
: "We were raised together. We played together, we fought together. Do you remember none of that?""I remember a shadow, living in the shade of your greatness."
: ―Thor and Loki[src]
When speaking to his two sons within his Treasure Room regarding the future of the throne, Odin attempted to teach the two to value peace above war while dealing with all of their enemies. As both Thor and Loki insisted that they would both be ready to become King of Asgard, Odin noted that only one of them would be able to take the throne.
However, while Thor's eagerness to fight Frost Giants and any other beasts from across the Nine Realms grew, Loki's personal jealousy towards Thor and eagerness to win Odin's appreciation of his own merits slowly altered Loki's personality for the worse. Where he was once aloof and carefree, Loki had slowly become ambitious, going to great lengths to achieve greatness without any thought or care on the consequences for others as long as Loki himself had profited.
==== Talent For Mischief ====
: "One time my brother transformed himself into a snake because he knows how much I like snakes, and so I picked the snake up to admire it, but then he turned back and went 'Ah! It's me!' and then he stabbed me."
: ―Thor to Valkyrie[src]
As Odin often spent time with Thor, Loki grew closer to Frigga and would watch her cast magic, and was impressed when she made fireworks appear from her hands. Frigga then informed him that one day he could perform magic as well, assuring him that he could do anything he wanted to. Believing that Loki might feel inadequate due to Odin and Thor's accomplishments, Frigga decided to teach Loki everything she knew about sorcery, and he eventually became an expert in Asgardian magic, gaining the ability to conjure illusions of himself and create weapons.
Once, when Loki and Thor were still young, Loki took advantage of Thor's love of snakes and used his skill with illusions to become a snake. When Thor picked up the snake to admire it, Loki dispelled the illusion and stabbed Thor, who survived. In another instance, Loki turned Thor into a frog for a brief time. After transforming Thor, Loki sat on the throne of Asgard and pretended to take over the crown. Then Frog Thor appeared and Loki was pummeled by him.
Odin brought Thor and Loki on a visit to Earth, where the Asgardians taught the Norse people their language and culture and displayed their abilities. This caused the Norse people to believe the Asgardians to be deities, and bestowed upon Thor the moniker "God of Thunder" while Loki became the "God of Mischief" due to the various tricks and illusions Loki displayed, as they would then be depicted in the humans' stories and books for the centuries to come. One of Loki's antics involved him cutting off a lock of Sif's hair after sleeping with her one night, which caused her to punch him in the face and kick him in the groin out of anger. Loki then chose to deal with the incident by having a bath and a glass of wine.
==== Virtue Challenge ====
In 1521, Loki was walking around Asgard when he overheard the blacksmith, Haldier, mutter to himself about how he found the thought lost Cup of Glory. Loki decides a plan. Later, he insulted Haldier's brother, Brunok, and their family. This caused a chase between Loki, Brunok, and his friends. Thor stopped this and thought of a solution. Loki offered a battle for virtue and honor, which everyone accepted. Loki made a team of him, Thor, and Sif. During the challenge, Loki was led into the Treasureyard of the Wolves, where he was subdued by illusions and fell into a pit of lava, but hung on by a tree branch. He worried about what he has brought upon everyone. Thor was able to break him free from the trance and also got the Bone of the Wolves' Treasureyard, completing the first challenge. They then found Sif, and Loki helped her out of the trance by talking about courage.
They made their way to the second challenge, to get the Hawk's Egg. They arrived and found the Warriors Three already on the challenge. Thor, Sif, and Loki made there was to the branch, but the hawk came back. Loki created an illusion for a second hawk to distract it. Sif then slipped and fell, but was caught by both brothers. She then reached for the egg and grabbed it while the Warriors fought Asgardian Wolves below.
After the minor battle, they went to the mine where the Cup of Glory was. They got the Nugget of Gold and Loki got the Cup. However, Brunok. Siegrold, and Hilda arrived for the gold as well. They all saw the Cup and try to get it. This caused Thor to send lightning towards them, toppling the mine on top of them. Loki apologized and confessed, saying he only thought of the challenge to get the Cup and gain as much respect as Thor. His brother forgave him and found a way out of the mine.
Soon, they came in contact with Haldier, who was worried about his son. Haldier then saw the cup and became enthralled by it into attacking everyone. He threw Thor off a cliff and held Loki by his hammer, but Thor was able to recover and stopped Haldier.
==== D.B. Cooper Hijacking ====
: "Uh, Miss?""Yes, Mr. Cooper?""You might want to take a look at that note. I have a bomb."
: ―Loki and Florence Schaffner[src]
In November 1971, Loki lost a bet to Thor and as a result, he visited Earth in order to pull off a heist. Hijacking the Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 in the United States under the pseudonym of D. B. Cooper, he informed Florence Schaffner that he had a bomb and demanded two hundred thousand dollars in ransom. To comply with the mischievous hijacker's demands, the plane landed, exchanging the passengers on the plane for the ransom money and backup parachutes for his escape.
In the air again, Loki collected the ransom money that he had demanded, and then proceeded to jump off the airplane wearing the parachute, only to be transported back to Asgard by Heimdall through the Bifrost Bridge, leaving only a few twenty dollar bills in his wake. The authorities, unaware of Loki's involvement or existence, were unable to solve the case, causing the identity of D.B. Cooper and his whereabouts to become one of Earth's many unsolved mysteries.
=== Trickster's Schemes ===
==== Thor's Royal Coronation ====
: "I've looked forward to this day as long as you have. You're my brother and my friend. Sometimes I'm envious, but never doubt that I love you."
: ―Loki to Thor[src]
Loki was present when Thor was supposed to finally ascend to the throne of Asgard. Before the ceremony, Loki said that while he was sometimes envious of Thor's place as first-born, there was no doubt that he loved him dearly, while also teasing his brother over his helmet's feathered design. When Thor asked how he looked, Loki answered, like a king.
However, midway through, Thor's royal ceremony was unexpectedly interrupted by the arrival of several Frost Giant soldiers who Loki had summoned earlier, who then broke into Asgard and attempted to steal the Casket of Ancient Winters in order to bring it back to their homeworld and regain their strength. Stopping the ceremony, Odin called the Destroyer, which killed the invading Frost Giants but not before they killed of the Einherjar guards during the raid.
Loki, Thor and Odin made their way to Odin's Vault to investigate; when they arrived, they found the bodies of the Frost Giants and the Asgardian guards who had been killed. Enraged, Thor demanded Odin march into Jotunheim and attack the Frost Giants in retaliation, but Odin refused. Thor argued that as the king of Asgard he should be able to decide these matters, but Odin told him he was not yet king. Loki stayed silent, listening and working out his own plan.
==== Manipulating Thor ====
: "I think you're right. About the Frost Giants, about Laufey, about everything. If they found a way to penetrate Asgard's defenses once, who's to say they won't try again. Next time with an army."
: ―Loki to Thor[src]
Disgusted at the incident, Thor unleashed his rage by throwing over a dinner table and sitting in brooding silence. Loki had soon found his brother and sat calmly next to him, comforting him over his disappointment in Odin not crowning him as the king due to the actions of the Frost Giants. Loki calmly spoke with Thor and was able to manipulate him by claiming that he also agreed with his view that they should gain revenge for the Asgardian lives lost during the attack.
Having Loki agree with his belief that Jotunheim should pay for what they had done to Asgard and their Einherjar warriors increased Thor's confidence. As Loki watched on, Thor then decided, just as Loki had planned, to disobey their father's orders and attack Jotunheim on their own so they could confront King Laufey, although Loki claimed that such a plan was madness knowing that Thor would just ignore his words. When the Warriors Three arrived with Lady Sif, Loki sat back and allowed Thor to convince them to follow him into the battle to gain answers as to why the Frost Giants had attacked, with Loki briefly claiming to be against such aggressive action.
Loki followed the enraged Thor, along with Lady Sif and the Warriors Three, to the Bifrost Bridge in order to travel to Jotunheim to seek answers. However, just before they left, Loki informed a guard of their intention and ordered him to inform Odin to ensure their rescue and Thor's punishment. The group went to Heimdall, keeper of the Bifrost Bridge, Loki confidently attempted to confuse Heimdall to get past him, but the gatekeeper was already aware of their intentions.
Despite knowing that this was against the direct orders of their king, Heimdall still gave them safe passage to Jotunheim as he wished to know how the Frost Giants had entered Asgard without him knowing. While Volstagg and Fandral mocked Loki as they prepared to depart, he stood alongside the warriors while Heimdall warned that if their return threatened Asgard's own safety, then he would be left with no choice but to leave them all to perish on Jotunheim.
==== Attack on Jotunheim ====
: "Thor, stop and think! Look around you. We're outnumbered!""Know your place, brother."
: ―Loki and Thor[src]
When the group arrived onto Jotunheim, they looked over the barren wasteland planet which had been almost completely devastated by the previous Battle of Jotunheim. Upon seeing the landscape of the planet, Hogun claimed that they should not be there but they continued on their mission, with Sif questioning where the Frost Giants were hiding.
As they explored the planet, they eventually located Laufey, the King of the Frost Giants who immediately ordered them to leave. However, ignoring Laufey's warning, Thor demanded answers on how Laufey's soldiers had gotten into Asgard to try and steal the Casket of Ancient Winters from Odin's Vault. This quickly led to several threats being made between Thor and Laufey as Odin's name had been insulted. Loki, however, seeing they were vastly outnumbered by their enemy, tried to persuade his brother to retreat. Soon, Thor relented, but as they began to leave, a Frost Giant insulted Thor, causing the prince to attack his foe with Mjølnir leading to a full-on attack.
The Frost Giant's army launched an ambush of the Asgardians and they engaged in a fierce battle against their enemies, where Loki began to fight by using his knives to kill those who attacked him. While Sif and Volstagg used to their strength and great fighting skills to gain the advantage, Loki used his magic to attack and confuse the Frost Giants, tricking one into charging at an illusion which caused him to fall to his death while Loki continued fighting.
During the battle, Volstagg became wounded when a Frost Giant had grabbed his arm resulting in burns, with Volstagg warning the others of this. However, when Loki inadvertently also made physical contact with Raze, Loki had discovered that he was unharmed, unlike Volstagg, and his arm instead turned blue resembling that of a Frost Giant. Loki and Raze looked at each other for a moment before Loki killed him as his arm returned to its normal color. Loki continued to view his blue arm in horror before it returned to his normal shade of skin.
As they became more outnumbered and Fandral was injured when a Frost Giant impaled him, Loki killed the Frost Giant before he ordered the Warriors Three to retreat. Thor, however, refused to stop fighting as the others ran from a Frost Beast while was soon killed by Thor. When they were cornered by Laufey's armies, Odin arrived and attempted to regain the peace between both Asgard and Jotunheim; however, Laufey told him Thor had restarted their long war.
Odin accepted this unfortunate truth and then took the group back to Asgard through the Bifrost Bridge. Back on Asgard, Odin remained furious at Thor, ordering the Warriors to heal Fandral while Loki still stayed with his family. Loki watched as Odin began telling Thor he had just started a new great war between Asgard and Jotunheim that put innocent Asgardians at risk; however, Thor argued aggressively while Loki stayed quiet and watched from the side.
Odin eventually confessed that he was a fool to think Thor was ready to be king and, when Loki did try to intervene, Odin silenced him with a fierce growl. Calling his own son unworthy, Odin then furiously took away Thor's armor and powers and banished him to Earth. Loki then watched as the now powerless Thor was thrown out of Asgard and Odin sent Thor's hammer after him under the spell meaning that only one worthy of its power would actually be capable of lifting it.
==== Refusal to Help ====
: "I love Thor more dearly than any of you, but you know what he is. He's arrogant, he's reckless, he's dangerous! You saw how he was today. Is that what Asgard needs from its king?"
: ―Loki to Sif[src]
Back within one of the many great halls of Asgard, Loki had closely listened as Volstagg argued with the others about why they should have never allowed Thor to go on his revenge mission, although all the other members of the Warriors Three had noted that there would have been absolutely no chance of stopping Thor's mission once he had decided to attack the Frost Giants resulting in his banishment. While Fandral had also noted that at the very least Thor was merely banished and not dead, noting they would have never survived if the Einherjar guard had not informed the King of their true plans, with Volstagg also questioning exactly how the guard had known.
Despite considering his true heritage following his encounter with the Frost Giants, Loki then told the Warriors and Sif that he was the one who had informed the guard of their journey to Jotunheim while showing little remorse. Despite Sif pleading with him, Loki refused to speak to Odin to convince him to return Thor home as he argued that Thor had proven himself to be a reckless leader and not what Asgard needed in their king before storming out of the room.
==== Learning His True Heritage ====
: "You could have told me what I was from the beginning! Why didn't you?""You're my son. I wanted only to protect you from the truth.""Because I'm the monster parents tell their children about at night? You know, it all makes sense now, why you favored Thor all these years."
: ―Loki and Odin[src]
Still thinking on the shocking discovery he had made during his fight against the Frost Giants in which contact with the creatures had not done him any harm like they had done with Volstagg, but had instead changed the color of his skin to a cold blue, Loki made the decision to investigate further. Loki made his way to Odin's Vault and soon found the Casket of Ancient Winters, the ancient weapon of the Frost Giants which had been taken following the Battle of Jotunheim during which the Asgardians' armies had been victorious.
Upon touching the device, Loki's skin once again turned blue, causing him to resemble a Frost Giant and confirming his worst fears. He was interrupted as Odin arrived inside the room and ordered his son to stop. Upset and tearful, Loki refused, demanding to know what really happened and who he really was.
As Loki questioned if the Casket was not the only thing he had taken from Jotunheim following his victory, Odin finally relented, telling Loki of how he had discovered him as an unwanted infant and taken him in. Mortified, Loki questioned why Odin had done this following the slaughter of so many Frost Giants, with Odin claiming that Loki was just an innocent child he had saved.
Loki did not accept this answer and desperately demanded the truth, and was told Odin thought his presence within Asgard could bring about an alliance in the Nine Realms and foster a permanent peace, but then confessed there was little hope of this now following their start of the second war. Loki then asked coldly if he was a monster, or nothing more than another stolen relic which Odin would lock away within his vault until he had might finally have some use for him.
Expostulating upon how it all made sense now that Odin had always favoured Thor, Loki furiously berated Odin in denial, accusing him of using him as a tool for peace until Odin, overcome with stress, fell into the Odinsleep. In emotional turmoil, and suddenly worried and confused rather than angry, Loki desperately called out to the Einherjar for some aid.
==== Taking the Throne ====
: "Thor is banished. The line of succession falls to you. Until Odin awakens, Asgard is yours. Make your father proud... my king."
: ―Frigga to Loki[src]
With Odin having been temporarily rendered comatose due to falling into the Odinsleep, Loki sat by his bedside with Frigga, he asked her more questions about his heritage following his discovery of being part Frost Giant and the son of Laufey, wanting to know why the truth had been kept from him for so many years as Frigga insisting they had not wanted him to feel any different.
During their conversation, Frigga insisted that they must not lose hope that Odin would awake and Thor may at last return from his banishment to Earth, although Loki questioned what hope there still was for Thor, with Frigga insisting there was always reason behind Odin's actions. Despite Frigga's attempts to comfort him, Loki could not accept the truth as he walked away from his father's own bedside. Before he could leave, however, a guard then arrived and presented Loki with Odin's powerful staff Gungnir, and pronounced Loki as the new King of Asgard while Odin was unable to rule.
Loki took the throne in Odin's place, delighting in all the new power bestowed upon him as he sat in the Royal Palace of Valaskjalf considering how to ensure he maintained the power of ruling the Nine Realms for as long as possible. While on the throne, King Loki was then visited by the Warriors Three and Lady Sif, who was immediately shocked by the disappearance of Odin and Loki's new position, as Loki told them that whatever issue they had should be brought to him.
Reluctantly accepting their newest king, the warriors then requested that the end Thor's banishment, but Loki refused, claiming his first action as king could not be to undo his father's last, also insisting that the Asgardians needed some consistency before they headed into a war against Jotunheim. Before Volstagg could argue the matter any further, Loki ordered them to leave, and Fandral pulled Sif away before she could confront King Loki with any violence.
==== Keeping Thor in Exile ====
: "I know you loved him. I tried to tell him so, but he wouldn't listen. So cruel to put the hammer within your reach, knowing that you could never lift it. The burden of the throne has fallen to me now."
: ―Loki to Thor[src]
Seeking to ensure that there was no risk of Thor returning to Asgard and taking the throne away from him, Loki paid a visit to his brother on Earth where Thor had been captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. while trying to regain Mjølnir. Thor asked Loki what had happened on Asgard, questioning if something had happened with Jotunheim, but Loki lied to him and told Thor that Odin had died, in an attempt to keep him completely unmotivated and emotionally destroyed.
Loki continued his lie by claiming that Thor's banishment combined with the latest war against Laufey and the Frost Giants had simply been too much for Odin to bear, resulting in his untimely death. Loki then informed Thor that he had been forced to take on the burden of the throne and that the peace was dependent on Thor's banishment from Asgard. When Thor tried to argue that they could find a way for him to return home, Loki claimed that Frigga forbid his return.
Thor sadly agreed and said goodbye to his brother and thanked him for coming, accepting that the death of their father and the disasters that had befallen their family had all fallen to him as he accepted his fate to remain on Earth for the rest of his life. After leaving Thor in his holding cell to be questioned by Phil Coulson, Loki attempted to lift Thor's hammer but failed as this betrayal of his brother's trust proved him to be unworthy of wielding it, much to Loki's annoyance.
=== Starting a War ===
==== Dealing with Laufey ====
: "So you're the one who showed us the way into Asgard.""That was just a bit of fun, really. To ruin my brother's big day, and to protect the realm from his idiotic rule for a while longer."
: ―Laufey and Loki[src]
In an attempt to play the long game to ensure he remained in power, Loki then traveled to Jotunheim where he then visited Laufey. However, upon seeing him, Laufey ordered his Frost Giants to kill the prince, only for Loki to then introduce himself as the one who had given them safe passage into Asgard to attempt to steal the Casket of Ancient Winters, claiming he had only done it for a big of fun to ruin Thor's royal coronation, stopping his brother from ruling Asgard.
Loki then struck a deal to allow Laufey to go to kill Odin while he was still in the Odinsleep and take the Casket of Ancient Winters back to Jotunheim, which Odin had once taken from them, which would have allowed Laufey to finally restore Jotunheim to all its former glory. Loki told him Laufey could not be seen killing the Allfather himself as this would result in the people of Asgard never accepting him as the king if he did. Laufey accepted Loki's offer and allowed him to leave.
Returning to Asgard via the Bifrost Bridge, Loki had found himself being immediately confronted by Heimdall, who claimed that Loki was using his magic to block his gaze upon him while he was in Jotunheim, as Heimdall had come to believe that Loki was currently attempting to hide his true intentions from him. Loki, however, claimed that Heimdall's powers were becoming weaker from his many years of service to Asgard, which added to Heimdall's suspicions.
Loki began questioning if Odin had ever feared Heimdall despite his incredible power, to which Heimdall answered that he had not as he was loyal to his king. Hearing this, Loki reminded him that he was his king and therefore was forced to obey his orders without question and with complete loyalty. When Heimdall agreed, Loki ordered him not to allow anyone else to use the Bifrost until he had repaired all of the damage that was done by some of Thor's previous actions.
==== Sending the Destroyer ====
: "Ensure my brother does not return. Destroy everything."
: ―Loki to the Destroyer[src]
Despite his direct orders, Loki soon learned that the Warriors Three and Lady Sif had used Himinbjorg and traveled to Earth via the Bifrost Bridge. Knowing that his brother would soon learn of his treasonous lies, Loki decided that he had no choice but to silence all those who had betrayed the throne. Therefore, Loki had called on his most powerful weapon, the Destroyer and ordered it to travel to Earth and destroy everything it found and kill his enemies.
Furious at the betrayal, Loki made his way to the end of the Bifrost and confronted Heimdall over his treason. Heimdall, however, made it clear that he knew that Loki was responsible for bringing the Frost Giants into Asgard and had, therefore, betrayed his own family and the citizens of Asgard by his actions. In response to his act of treason against the throne, Loki proceeded to strip Heimdall of all titles and finally banished him from the Kingdom, never to return again.
However, Heimdall knew he was now free of his oaths to the new king and responded by drawing Hofund and furiously swinging the blade at Loki. However, Loki was prepared for such an attempt against his life and, when Heimdall had attempted to kill his king, Loki used his Magic to then summon the Casket of Ancient Winters, successfully freezing Heimdall alive before he could be struck down, before Loki then left Asgard's gatekeeper to die while trapped in the ice.
Seeking to tie up all other loose ends before his schemes could be exposed, Loki then sent the Destroyer down onto the Earth pursue and destroy Thor and all of the others who had betrayed him. Loki watched from the Royal Palace of Valaskjalf while the Destroyer arrived on Earth and charged through S.H.I.E.L.D. before it then caused a huge battle between the Lady Sif and Warriors Three as the Destroyer who laid waste to the small town which Thor had been staying in.
When he saw no other end to the battle, the still powerless Thor had stepped up to the Destroyer completely unarmed and pleaded with his brother to allow all the Humans to go free and take his own life in exchange. Accepting this offer, Loki had the Destroyer punch Thor, breaking all of his bones and killing him. This, however, had proved his worthiness and Thor got his former powers back, easily defeating the Destroyer with Mjølnir as Loki looked on in complete horror.
==== Betraying Laufey ====
: "You may know your death came at the hand of Laufey.""And your death came by the son of Odin."
: ―Laufey and Loki[src]
Knowing he had to move his plans forward, Loki then welcomed Laufey and his small army of Frost Giants to Asgard and showed him the way to Odin, walking past the frozen body of Heimdall on their way. Laufey came to Odin's bedroom, attacking and knocking down Frigga who attempted to defend her husband before finding his greatest enemy defenseless as he lay in his Odinsleep now completely unguarded.
Laufey stood over Odin's sleeping body and mocked the King of Asgard as he made an ice blade form in his hand. Just as Laufey was about to kill Odin with the blade, Loki returned and betrayed his true father, shooting him in the back with Gungnir. As Laufey stared in shock and horror, Loki told him his death came from the son of Odin. Loki then killed his cold-hearted father with a single powerful blast from Odin's spear.
As Frigga ran to her son, Thor returned to Asgard with all his powers restored, as Heimdall had survived and returned him through the Bifrost Bridge. Thor arrived in Asgard mere moments after Loki had killed Laufey. He told their mother all about Loki's attempt on his life with the Destroyer while Loki attempted to talk his way out of the situation. Loki fired his spear's energy at Thor and shot him through a wall before making his way to Himinbjorg.
==== Duel at the Rainbow Bridge ====
: "I never wanted the throne! I only ever wanted to be your equal!"
: ―Loki to Thor[src]
Loki traveled to the Bifrost Bridge and aimed its full power at Jotunheim where it began ripping through the center of the planet. To ensure that it could not be stopped, Loki then froze it with the Casket of Ancient Winters so the energy would continue to slowly destroy the planet and wipe out the Frost Giants for good so he could be recognized as the King who ended the war.
Thor arrived to see the destruction being caused and tried to convince his brother not to massacre an entire race, but Loki refused and continued to mock and threaten Thor. It was soon proven that Thor would be unable to use Mjølnir to stop the destruction and Loki argued that massacring the Frost Giants was the right thing to do. Eventually, he threatened to kill Jane Foster, causing the furious Thor to attack him to protect the lives Loki threatened.
The brothers fought a violent battle with Loki often using tricks to get the upper hand on his brother. Loki continued to use Gungnir to his advantage, both as a spear and using its energy to shoot at Thor while laughing maniacally every time he managed to outwit and hit his furious brother. They eventually charged at one another and threw each other through the wall and out onto the rainbow bridge, and Loki was thrown over the edge and was barely able to hold onto the side.
As he begged his brother to help him, Thor, seeing his brother in need, bent down to help, only to learn that Loki had indeed tricked him and created an illusion. Loki sneaked up behind him and stabbed him in the side with Gungnir; as Thor lay wounded on the ground, Loki created multiple versions of himself, all laughing maniacally at him. Enraged Thor slammed his hammer on the ground, causing a shock wave which caused Loki to be knocked backwards.
==== Losing All Hope ====
: "I could have done it, father! For you! For all of us!""No, Loki."
: ―Loki and Odin[src]
As Loki lay injured on his back, Thor calmly walked over to him and placed Mjølnir on his chest, pinning him to the surface of the Rainbow Bridge, unable to move. Thor then began to consider how he could possibly stop the destruction of Jotunheim, as there was no way to stop the beam of Bifrost energy, all while Loki mocked his brother for trying and failing. Thor knew there was only one way he could stop the deaths of millions of Frost Giants.
Thor retook his hammer and began to destroy the Rainbow Bridge as Loki looked on in sheer horror at what his brother was attempting to do. Attempting to stop him however he could, Loki reminded Thor that if he destroyed the bridge, then he would never see Jane Foster ever again, but Thor ignored him and continued to batter the bridge. Loki chose to leap at his brother to stab him in the back, but before he could, the bridge was destroyed and the brothers were thrown into the air.
With the Rainbow Bridge destroyed, the pair began to fall into the abyss, only for both of them to be saved at the last minute by Odin, who had awoken from his Odinsleep. They both hung before a black hole and Loki tried to convince Odin that he had done it all for them, with Odin rejecting Loki's pleas. Loki, devastated by Odin's rejection of his actions, let go of Thor and fell into an abyss, before entering into a wormhole created by the energy of the Bifrost Bridge.
=== New Alliance ===
==== Working for Thanos ====
: "I was a king! The rightful king of Asgard. Betrayed.""Your ambition is little, born of childish need. We look beyond the Earth to greater worlds the Tesseract will unveil.""You don't have the Tesseract yet. I don't threaten, but until I open the doors, until your force is mine to command, you are but words."
: ―Loki and The Other[src]
Traveling through the wormhole, Loki arrived in a part of the universe called Sanctuary and met the Mad Titan Thanos and The Other, the former offering a pact that would allow him to become ruler of the Earth while he would steal the Tesseract which was being studied by S.H.I.E.L.D.. Thanos provided Loki with a Scepter with a blue gem which acted as a powerful weapon, and also as a mind control device.
Unbeknownst to Loki, his use of the Scepter was also influencing him, fueling his hatred and desire to bring harm to humans and Thor. Thanos showed Loki how to temporarily control someone while still on the planet. Doctor Erik Selvig was taken to a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, where Nick Fury showed him the Tesseract asked him to study it. Loki influenced Selvig to ensure that he agreed. Later, Frigga learned that Loki had survived and tried to make contact with him, but Loki told her it was not the time to talk.
=== Chitauri Invasion ===
==== Arrival on Earth ====
: "This doesn't have to get any messier.""Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose."
: ―Nick Fury and Loki[src]
Accepting Thanos' deal without fear of failure, Loki turned his focus back to Erik Selvig, who had been summoned by S.H.I.E.L.D. with the task of unlocking the Tesseract's secrets. Selvig came to understand the cube's capabilities, and through Loki's influence, he developed equipment that would focus its power. When the time was right, Loki activated the Tesseract, forming a portal that pulled him through space to its location on Earth, the main facility of Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S..
Upon arriving at the facility, Loki was immediately confronted by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who ordered him to put down his weapon. When Loki attacked the agents with powerful blasts of energy, the agents fired on him only to learn that bullets bounced off his body. Once he had killed or subdued all his attackers within seconds, Loki managed to use the Scepter's power to subjugate and control Hawkeye and Selvig, as well as another agent by placing the tip of the scepter at their chest near their heart and allowing the power of the gem to overtake their free will.
As Loki gathered his slaves, Nick Fury attempted to keep him away from the Tesseract and escape unseen. Loki, however, spied the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director and tells him to leave the cube. Introducing himself and explaining he was Asgardian, Loki explained to Fury that he wanted the Tesseract as part of his glorious purpose which was to free the Earth and humanity from freedom, which he defined as life's great lie, vowing that he would become their one supreme king, although Fury questioned his goals for peace and argued that he wanted war.
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 but not before ordering Hawkeye to shoot and kill Fury. The group then made their way to the Jeeps where they avoided Maria Hill's attempt to stop them. As they made it outside, the energy the cube had unleashed consumed the area and the entire compound with it.
As they drove away from the wreckage of the facility, trapping Hill inside, Fury, who had survived the gunshot due to a Bulletproof Vest, flew over them in a helicopter. Unwilling to allow Loki to escape with such a dangerous weapon, Fury fired his gun at the Asgardian, so in response Loki fired a single blot of energy from his Scepter, shooting the helicopter out of the sky. Fury barely survived the crash and continued to fire at the jeep as Barton drove them to safety; despite being under fire, Loki appeared relaxed and pleased with his success.
==== Testing the Tesseract ====
: "I want to know everything you can tell me about this team of his. I would test their mettle. I am weary of scuttling in shadow. I mean to rule this world, not burrow in it."
: ―Loki to Hawkeye[src]
Before long, Loki and his small but ever-growing army had been successful in securing an area to determine the next course of action for the Tesseract while Erik Selvig continued his experiments to learn how to control and use its power. While watching his men work, 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 Other and his Chitauri army across deepest space in a metaphysical form.
While on the Sanctuary, Loki mocked the Chitauri and asked if they were truly as formidable as he had been promised. The Other furiously reminded Loki of how he had been given a second chance after being cast out and defeated by Asgard. The Other then warned Loki that if he failed at his pursuit of Earth or the Tesseract was kept from Thanos, that there would be no place for him to hide from the Mad Titan's wrath and, when he was found, before long he would beg for something as sweet as pain.
Now unsettled about potential failure and more determined than ever, Loki met with Selvig and Clint Barton to discuss their next course of action to complete their plans. While Selvig commented on the incredible power and knowledge that the Tesseract was providing him, he explained that what he would need was iridium, necessary to stabilize the portal. Loki also spoke to Hawkeye about the team of Avengers that Nick Fury was forming. To gain the Iridium, Loki went to Stuttgart, Germany with Hawkeye and other turned agents.
==== Skirmish in Germany ====
: "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[src]
In Germany, Loki causes a distraction by disrupting a gala at a large museum while Hawkeye, along with a few men, raids a secure installation for Iridium. Loki struck terror into the hearts of guests by securing the one thing needed for Hawkeye to breach the security measures: Heinrich Schafer's eyeball. Loki, disguised in a suit, attacked Schafer, grabbed the man and flipped him onto a bench, then used a special device to saw into Schafer's eyeball, allowing Barton access to steal the Iridium.
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. As he looked upon the humans cowering in fear at his power, Loki could only laugh at those he deemed lesser than himself. Loki bragged that this was man's purpose to be ruled and that in the end, they would always kneel before him, but a single man stood up and challenged him and his intentions. The man said he would not kneel before a man like him, Loki arrogantly argued that there were and never had been men like him as he deemed himself vastly superior to all humans though the old man corrected Loki that he was no different from any other would-be conqueror by declaring that there are always men like him.
When Loki prepared to kill the old man, Captain America appeared and challenged him, deflecting the bolt of energy back at Loki with his shield. Seconds later, an armed Quinjet carrying Black Widow also challenged him from the sky. Loki fired a bolt of energy at the Quinjet, missing, and Captain America threw his shield at him. Loki engaged in a brief but brutal battle with the super-soldier, during which Loki gained the upper hand and stood above the Captain, demanding he kneel; Cap refused and continued fighting Loki.
Just as Loki once again gained the upper hand and began beating Captain America into submission, they were interrupted by the arrival of Iron Man, who shot Loki in the chest and threatened to fire all his weapons upon Loki, daring him to make a move. Realizing that the Avengers had been assembled and he was now outmatched, Loki allowed himself to be captured, using his magic to remove his armor. As the Avengers took Loki into custody, he secretly began plotting how to use this situation to his advantage in the end.
==== Captured ====
: "I've seen worlds you've never known about! I have grown, Odinson, in my exile! I have seen the true power of the Tesseract, and when I wield it–""Who showed you this power? Who controls the would-be king?"
: ―Loki and Thor[src]
As they journeyed to the Helicarrier on board the Quinjet, Loki sat in silence while Captain America and Iron Man discussed what his plans could be and why he had allowed himself to be captured so easily. The conversation stopped, however, when lightning began shooting from the sky, signaling the arrival of Loki's brother. As predicted, Thor arrived and extracted Loki from the jet and the Avengers' custody.
Taking his brother to a nearby mountain where they were observed by Hugin and Munin, Thor attempted to reason with Loki, imploring him to remember that they were once brothers as they had been raised together and spent years playing and fighting together. Thor asked him to return home to Asgard and surrender the Tesseract. Loki, however, still resented his brother and refused to cooperate, claiming that Odin was not his real father. When Loki mentioned his knowledge of the Tesseract, Thor demanded to know how he knew so much but Loki refused to say Thanos' name.
Thor regained Mjølnir and threatened his brother, but before he could get the information he needed from Loki about the Tesseract's location, Thor was tackled by Iron Man and knocked off the side of the mountain. Loki remained on his perch and watched, pleased, as his enemies began to battle each other over who should take Loki into custody. As the argument escalated, Thor and Iron engaged in a fierce fight which ended when Captain America intervened and convinced them that they should ally themselves.
==== Questioned by S.H.I.E.L.D. ====
: "You talk about peace and you kill cause it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did.""Ooh. It burns you to come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share, and then to be reminded what real power is."
: ―Nick Fury and Loki[src]
With the Avengers and Thor now considering themselves to be allies in the war, they took Loki together into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody aboard the Helicarrier. As armed guards marched Loki down the hallways and past Bruce Banner's laboratory, Loki smiled at the scientist, making Banner uneasy and raising suspicion all round. Loki was placed in a confinement capsule which had been designed, without Banner's knowledge, to hold a rogue Hulk. If Loki tried to escape or break through the cell, it would drop him 30,000 feet straight downward, which would hopefully be fatal to him.
Loki taunted Nick Fury about his failed attempts to understand and control the Tesseract and his gathering of misfits to defend Earth. However, Fury remained confident and told the God of Mischief that he had made him very desperate and he might live to regret this. Loki went on to tell Fury that he had finally seen what real power was and Fury took this as a cue to leave. Loki's mere presence and self-confidence was enough to provide a disruptive element that would fragment the only group of heroes that had any hope of stopping him.
==== Tricked by Black Widow ====
: "I won't touch Barton! Not until I make him kill you. Slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear. And then he'll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams I'll split his skull. This is my bargain, you mewling quim!"
: ―Loki and Black Widow[src]
As Loki paced in his cell, he was greeted by Black Widow who came to apparently offer a deal in exchange for Clint Barton's freedom. Loki subjected her to a play of wits where he asked her questions about her past and her relationship with Barton. Eventually, Loki ferreted out her deeper misgivings and explained that Barton had told him all about her murders and terrible crimes she had committed while a part of the Red Room before she joined S.H.I.E.L.D., making a reference to Antonia Dreykov, the daughter of General Dreykov who Black Widow and Barton had supposedly killed in an attempt to assassinate the General.
Loki vowed that he would force Barton to torture and kill Romanoff in order to break his heart before he broke his skull, taking considerable pleasure at the horror this put in Romanoff. However, she tricked the trickster 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 Loki planned to use Hulk to destroy the Helicarrier and the heroes as well. Once she left to warn them, Loki's smile indicated that was part of his plan: to turn Hulk against the Avengers by first turning the Avengers against Hulk.
==== Attack on the Helicarrier ====
: "Your heroes are scattered, your floating fortress falls from the sky. Where is my disadvantage?""You lack conviction."
: ―Loki and Phil Coulson[src]
However, Loki's plan to use Hulk was only one aspect of his real intentions. More of his full scheme became clear as another jet carrying Hawkeye and the rogue agents came to his aid, following a signal from the Scepter. Hawkeye caused a massive explosion which separated the Avengers. The wounded Banner transformed into Hulk and went on a rampage, destroying much of the Helicarrier while Loki remained in his cell and smiled to himself at the destruction.
Before long one of Loki's controlled agents freed him from the cell. Loki then used illusions of himself to trick Thor into entering the cell, trapped him in there, and mocked his brother for falling for the same trick yet again. Before Loki could drop the cell from the Helicarrier in order to kill his brother, Phil Coulson confronted him with the Destroyer Armor Prototype Gun and politely ordered him to move away from the controls and surrender, noting that he was not sure exactly how powerful the gun really was.
Loki used his illusions to get behind the brave S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and stabbed him straight through the heart with his Scepter. Thor watched in horror as Coulson fell to the ground dying. Loki looked his brother straight in the eye as he returned to the control pad, and ejected Thor - in the cell Fury made for disposing of a dangerous Hulk - to fall thousands of feet from the Helicarrier to his eventual death.
As Coulson lay on the ground bleeding to death, he summoned the strength to tell Loki that he stood no chance of winning this war. Loki claimed he had no disadvantage as the Avengers had been destroyed, only for Coulson to fire the Destroyer Gun at him, sending him flying through a wall. Though he retrieved his Scepter, Black Widow released Hawkeye from the mind control, and Loki got on board a Quinjet and headed to New York City, where Erik Selvig waited with the Tesseract at Stark Tower where they intended to complete their experiments.
=== Battle of New York ===
==== Tony Stark's Challenge ====
: "When they come, and they will, they'll come for you.""I have an army.""We have a Hulk."
: ―Tony Stark and Loki[src]
While Erik Selvig continued his work on the roof of the skyscraper, Loki prepared to welcome his army of Chitauri and begin his glorious, but brief, war on the Earth. Iron Man, having survived the Attack on the Helicarrier and having figured out his plans, caught up with him at Stark Tower. Loki watched confidently as Stark landed on the Tower's landing pad and abandoned his wrecked Iron Man suit, stepping inside the building in order to confront and threaten the God of Mischief personally.
Stark offered Loki a drink while he claimed that once the Chitauri arrived nothing could stop him. He asked Stark what he had to fear: Stark told him that he should fear the Avengers as together the team would be a strong force against him. Loki mocked the claim, noting that in their first bout he had already driven them apart, but Stark insisted he had just pissed them off and that if they couldn't protect the Earth, they would Avenge its destruction at Loki's hand. He also promised that Hulk was stronger than Loki and his entire army combined, much to Loki's great annoyance.
When Loki grew weary of the threats noted that the Avengers would soon be too busy fighting Stark to challenge him as he attempted to subjugate Stark with the Scepter, only to be physically blocked by the Arc Reactor in Stark's chest, leading to Stark mock him even further for the awkward failure. Annoyed at the insults, Loki threw the inventor out of a window and was surprised when a freshly built Iron Man armor rocketed after him. Loki found himself under attack when the fully suited Iron Man rocketed back up to retaliate and, avenging Phil Coulson, knocked him back with an energy blast.
Before they could continue the fight, the Tesseract opened the portal in the sky, finally allowing Loki's entire Chitauri army to come pouring through beginning the Chitauri Invasion of Earth. As Iron Man left Loki to begin battling the oncoming army as he shot them out of the sky singlehandedly, Loki recovered himself and took a moment to enjoy the moment. With his triumph near at hand, Loki stepped out onto the observation tower on Stark Tower, regained his full armor and watched as New York City burned around him, lifting his arms up and smiling at all of the devastation he had now caused.
==== Showdown with Thor ====
: "Loki, turn off the Tesseract or I'll destroy it!""You can't. There is no stopping it. There is only the war!""So be it."
: ―Thor and Loki[src]
Loki was confronted by Thor who had survived his fall from the Helicarrier and demanded that he deactivate the Tesseract or the God of Thunder would destroy it. Loki refused, claiming that nothing could stop his war. The brothers fought for 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 some of the giant letters and debris off the side.
The two continued to battle as Loki shot down a Quinjet carrying the other Avengers. When the confrontation came to stalemate with them grappling each other's necks, Thor urged Loki to look around him at the destruction he had caused and asked if he truly believed it would all end with his rule. Loki was unsure of himself; he claimed it was too late to stop the madness, but briefly considered Thor's appeal to working together to end it all and redeem himself.
The will of the Tesseract over his mind was stronger than his guilt, however, and Loki instead stabbed Thor in the stomach with a throwing knife, preparing to strike him down with the Scepter as he knelt before him and laughing in amusement at Thor's sentiment. This did little more than enrage Thor, who disarmed Loki of his staff before hitting him repeatedly in the face, soon beating Loki into submission before picking him up over his head and slamming him down hard onto the ruined balcony.
Not allowing himself to be defeated and captured so early into the Chitauri Invasion, Loki threw himself off the building and landed on one of the Chitauri Chariots. From there, Loki took command of the attack on the New York City, shooting down at the humans, destroying many cars and killing dozens of innocent people in massive explosions. The Avengers meanwhile put all their might into attempting to stop him and protect the lives of the people trapped in the city.
==== Humiliating Defeat ====
: "Enough! You are all of you beneath me! I am a god, you dull creature, and I will not be bullied by–""Puny god."
: ―Loki and Hulk[src]
When Hulk destroyed the first of the Chitauri's massive Leviathans, Loki commanded the Chitauri on the other side of the still-open portal to send the rest of their massive armada, releasing dozens of Leviathans and hundreds more Chitauri soldiers, overwhelming New York City's defenses. An aerial chase in which Loki chased down Black Widow left his craft destroyed when Loki confidently caught one of Hawkeye's arrows, which then exploded, causing him to crash land back on Stark Tower.
Just as Loki got to his feet ready to return to the fight, Hulk confronted him and punched him through a wall into the main room. Loki leaped to his feet and demanded that he stop, claiming that as an Asgardian God, he was vastly superior and would not be bullied by him. Loki's frustrated rant only goaded Hulk into simply picking him up and repeatedly slamming him into the ground, catching him entirely off-balance. Loki, too stunned to fight or threaten any longer, just lay on the ground, more wounded physically than he had ever been before.
==== Aftermath ====
: "If it's all the same to you, I'll have that drink now."
: ―Loki to the Avengers[src]
Barely able to move from the beating he had received from Hulk, Loki eventually summoned the strength to crawl only to find himself face to face with the Avengers, who had defeated the Chitauri army and closed the Tesseract's portal. As Black Widow held the Scepter and Hawkeye aimed an arrow directly at his face, Loki accepted his defeat and quietly requested the drink that Tony Stark had offered before. The Avengers ignored his request and took him into custody.
While he was being bound in handcuffs, Loki mockingly transformed into Captain America, only to be silenced by Thor who placed a metal muzzle on his mouth, as Loki's Scepter was taken into STRIKE's possession. When Hulk wasn't allowed to board the elevator due to its weight capacity and was told to use the stairs, Loki smugly waved farewell at the enraged Hulk.
As the Avengers were escorting Loki out of the Stark Tower, they were stopped by Alexander Pierce and a group of HYDRA operatives that were disguised as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Pierce had attempted to negotiate the custody of Loki for his crimes against humanity, and the Tesseract. Pierce's interference led to a heated discussion with Thor and Stark, while Loki merely watched the events unfold in front of him.
However, Nick Fury ultimately allowed Thor to take Loki and the Tesseract back to Asgard, knowing that both would be better there than on Earth. Thus, Loki was led to an open area in Central Park with his brother. From there, Thor said goodbye to the Avengers and used the power of the Tesseract to transport both of them back home to Asgard, where he would face Asgardian justice at the hands of Odin.
==== Imprisoned ====
: "Do you not truly feel the gravity of your crimes? Wherever you go there is war, ruin and death.""I went down to Midgard to rule the people of Earth as a benevolent god. Just like you."
: ―Odin and Loki[src]
Following the failure of the Chitauri, Loki was now in the custody of Thor who proceeded to bring him back to Asgard where Loki was forced in chains to face Odin's justice for his many crimes. Upon arriving for his trial, Loki then greeted Frigga and asked if he had finally made her proud, as Frigga begged Loki not to make the situation any worse, although Loki joked that it could not get worse.
Odin, however, demanded they stop speaking and had ordered Loki to step forward, as Loki still continued making light of the situation, banging his chains together and claiming that he did not see what all the fuss was about. Loki then tried to justify his actions on Earth by claiming it wanted to rule over the Humans as a god, comparing this to what Odin and all the other Asgardians had done for thousands of years, Odin shut this down by noting that they were not gods.
Loki's intentions were mocked by Odin, who noted that Loki's only birthright was to die on Jotunheim when he had been abandoned by Laufey, as Odin claimed that if they had not taken him in, he would not be alive to hate them. Odin told him that he will spare his life only because of Frigga's love for him. Odin condemned Loki to an eternal imprisonment, and called him by the name, Loki Laufeyson. Loki was put in the Asgardian Dungeons deep beneath the Palace.
=== Return of the Dark Elves ===
==== Solitude in Prison ====
: "I was merely giving truth to the lie that I've been fed my entire life. That I was born to be a king.""A true king admits his faults. What of the lives you took on Earth?""A mere handful compared to the numbers Odin has taken himself."
: ―Loki and Frigga[src]
Having been condemned to eternal imprisonment, Loki was locked in a cell within the Asgardian Dungeons deep beneath the Royal Palace of Valaskjalf. With centuries to be spent alone by himself, Loki's only source of amusement was to watch as new prisoners arrived in the Dungeons and to read the many books that Frigga would send him. However, the longer he spent in his cell, the more bitter and resentful Loki became towards Odin for his lies and what Loki considered a cruel prison sentence.
A year after the Battle of New York, Loki still remained in his cell. Unknown to him, a war raged across the Nine Realms as a result of the Duel at the Rainbow Bridge having destroyed many of the ways across the Realms. A group of space pirates called the Marauders used this to their advantage and attacked Vanaheim. After their defeat at the hands of Thor, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three, they were locked in cells next to Loki's.
Despite his solitude, Frigga alone continued to communicate with Loki despite the commands of Odin, and did so via a projection of herself to his cell. She also continued to supply him with books to help pass the time. During one visit, Frigga attempted to make Loki consider his actions during the Chitauri Invasion and accept his crimes, but Loki only argued that she and Odin were not his true family and therefore had no right to judge his actions.
==== Sacking of Asgard ====
: "You might want to take the stairs to the left."
: ―Loki to Kurse[src]
While he sat alone inside of his cell in the Asgardian Dungeons, Loki had amused himself by throwing and catching ornaments to pass the time. As he attempted to relax, however, Loki suddenly overheard the sounds of horrific screams from another part of the Dungeons as the members of the Einherjar were alerted and had gone to investigate. As Loki looked out, he saw a Marauder had magically transformed himself into a monstrous Kurse with a Kurse Stone and broken out of his own cell.
As the monstrous Kurse had revealed himself as a Dark Elf who was looking to destroy Asgard and its leadership, Loki watched with great amusement as Kurse slaughtered the Asgardians who had attempted to stop him while also breaking over Marauders free from their cells. Although Kurse looked at Loki, he did not see Loki as a warrior and did not set him free; however, Loki, grasping another opportunity to harass Odin, advised the Dark Elf where to find the exit.
Loki remained in his cell as a battle broke out between the guards and the escaped prisoners. Ignoring all the chaos, Loki had calmly continued to read one of his books even when Thor and the Warriors Three joined the battle, violently throwing prisoners into his cell wall. Loki eventually stopped to observe the ongoing battle as the room shook as a Dark Elf Harrow crash-landed into the Royal Palace of Valaskjalf and the entire army of Dark Elves had then attacked the Palace.
Eventually, the battle subsided and appeared to have been won by the forces of Asgard, as Malekith had failed with his goal to reclaim the greatest weapon of the Dark Elves, the Aether. Not long after all the sounds of battle had died away and peace had seemingly been restored to Asgard, a guard had come to visit Loki and informed him that Frigga had been killed by the Dark Elves, who attacked Asgard at the same time as the prison riot also broken out.
Loki thanked the guard for informing him of this and then stood in silence, processing the news. Although he had appeared calm, this knowledge that the one person who had ever believed and cared for him was gone had sent Loki into a fit of rage and he unleashed a seismic blast of his mystical aura, trashing his cell. Loki completely destroyed every piece of comfort which Frigga had ever given him, clawed at the walls and cut his feet in his painful grief.
==== Liberation ====
: "You must be truly desperate to come to me for help. What makes you think you can trust me?""I don't. Mother did."
: ―Loki and Thor[src]
With his cell in ruins and his only comfort gone, Loki briefly used an illusion to hide his disheveled appearance when he is visited by Thor, who saw through Loki's illusion. Thor told Loki that he planned to confront Malekith on Svartalfheim and he needed Loki's knowledge of the pathways between worlds. Promising Loki that they would have their revenge for Frigga's death and his freedom as a reward for his help, Thor also vowed that if Loki betrayed him he would kill him without hesitation; nonetheless, Loki agreed to Thor's proposal.
Free from his cell and excited by the prospect of an adventure while also impressed by Thor's clandestine tactics, Loki began to make fun with Thor, claiming that he was surprised that Thor did not wish to use his strength to escape instead. Using his magic, Loki gave his brother the appearance of Lady Sif while transforming himself first into an Asgardian Warrior and then into Captain America, noting that Thor seemed to prefer the company of the Avengers.
As Loki continued to talk and mock Captain America's Uniform for its tight fit and amusing connotations, Thor grabbed him and pushed him against a wall, covering his mouth. Seeing two Einherjar guards keeping watch, Loki advised that he be given some form of weapon, such as his knife. Thor seemingly relented but instead of providing him with his blade, Thor simply shackled him. While Loki appeared unimpressed, Thor reminded him that he usually enjoyed tricks.
On the way out, the two were approached by three Einherjar soldiers. Thor reminded Loki that there is no killing before he fought them. Loki tried to use this opportunity to break free of his shackle, but couldn't. One soldier got up and ran away to which Loki picked up a dagger and tried to throw at him. However, Thor stopped Loki reminding him that they aren't killing. As they were approached the abandoned shuttle of the Dark Elves, both Lady Sif and Volstagg threatened to kill the amused Loki if he even thought about betraying Thor. When they reached Jane Foster, she punched Loki in the face, telling him the punch was for what he did to New York City. Still amused, Loki commented to Thor that he liked Foster for her feisty nature before they continued their journey to the ship.
Boarding the crashed Dark Elf Harrow while Volstagg kept the guards at bay, Thor, Foster, and Loki flew it out of the palace. Loki and Thor continued with their brotherly bickering, with Loki commenting on Thor's poor flying skills, especially when he accidentally beheaded a statue of Bor. Loki suggested that the pilot the ship; Thor reminded him that he was the only one who could fly, despite Loki's proven ability to use unfamiliar technology. When Foster fainted due to the Aether in her veins, Loki casually asked if she was dead and berated Thor about his poor plan.
As he continued he spill out insults to his brother, Loki was then pushed onto a Asgardian Skiff flown by Fandral. Once Thor landed on the Skiff as well, Loki commented on how impressed he was that he had successfully tricked him. As Fandral helped the trio make their way out by attacking the Einherjar, Loki was able to fly the Skiff to a secret location where he was able to transport them out of Asgard and onto the Dark Elves' homeworld of Svartalfheim.
==== A Tense Truce ====
: "You'll never be ready. The only woman whose love you prized will be snatched from you.""And will that satisfy you?""Satisfaction is not in my nature."
: ―Loki and Thor[src]
When the three arrived in Svartalfheim, Loki continued to drive the Asgardian Skiff while Thor cared for Jane Foster as she recovered from the Aether's power overloading her body. Loki began to mock Thor's love for a human woman and antagonized his brother, claiming that within a heartbeat she would be dead and he would live on due to the Asgardian lifespan being so much longer.
As Loki claimed that the Dark Elves' attack was Thor's doing for locking him in the Asgardian Dungeons, he managed to annoy his brother so much that Thor pushed him back and considered punching him in the face; however, Thor stopped himself as he believed Frigga would not want them to fight. Loki argued that while he was right, she would not be surprised. When Thor told Loki he wished he could trust him, Loki told him to trust his rage.
==== Battle of Svartalfheim ====
: "You really think I cared about Frigga, about anybody? All I ever wanted was you and Odin dead at my feet! Malekith, I am Loki of Jotunheim and I bring you a gift! I ask only one thing in return, a good seat from which to watch Asgard burn."
: ―Loki[src]
Arriving in Svartalfheim, Loki and Thor looked over the wasteland of the planet as they saw Malekith and his small army of Dark Elves exiting their Ark to confront their attacks. While Loki commented that their plan would undoubtedly get them all killed, Thor uncuffed his brother and prepared to attack their enemies, with Loki questioning if Thor trusted him or not.
When Thor asked if Loki would even trust himself, Loki told him that he would not. As part of their plan, Loki then pretended to betray Thor, stabbing him in the side and kicking him off the edge of the cliff. While the Dark Elves watched, Loki mocked and insulted his brother before making an illusion of him cutting off Thor's right hand. Loki then threw Jane Foster before the Dark Elves, claiming his allegiance with them and his desire to watch Asgard burn.
As Malekith started absorbing the Aether from Foster's body, Thor and Loki revealed their ruse. Loki quickly removed the illusion he had cast and jumped on top of Foster in order to shield her while Thor used Mjølnir to shoot lightning at the Aether, dispersing it in an explosion. However, Malekith was still able to absorb the fragments. As the Dark Elves retreated to their giant ship, Malekith's lieutenant Kurse stayed behind to keep Thor and Loki busy.
With Malekith having regained the Aether from the Asgardians as he had planned, he no longer had any need to keep them alive and ordered their demise. When Kurse threw his Black Hole Grenades into the air towards them, Loki pushed Jane Foster away from it without hesitation. Though he himself was nearly sucked in it, he was saved at the last moment by Thor as they prepared to retaliate against the Dark Elves and stop Malekith.
While Thor fought the almighty Kurse as Malekith made his escape on his Ark, Loki was attacked by another group of Dark Elves. Armed only with his dagger, Loki found himself surrounded but remained confident in his abilities and instantly began planning how to beat them. As the Elves attacked, Loki easily defeated them all by using his speed and trickery to gain the upper hand and kill them before seeing that Thor was struggling to battle Kurse.
==== Faking Death ====
: "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry...""I will tell father what you did today.""I didn't do it for him."
: ―Loki and Thor[src]
Seeing Thor being beaten into submission by Kurse, Loki ran to his brother's aid. He stabbed Kurse from behind, pushing the blade through his chest. The Kursed warrior then grabbed Loki and pulled him onto the blade, stabbing him as well. As one final ruse before he began losing strength, Loki activated one of Kurse's Black Hole Grenades, which then sucked the Dark Elf into a black hole, crushing his entire body and destroying him in just mere seconds. Thus, Frigga's death was avenged.
With Kurse destroyed and Loki seemingly mortally wounded from his injury, Thor ran to his aid and told a dying Loki that he would tell Odin about his noble deed. Loki looked into his brother's eyes and replied that he did not do it for Odin, but for Frigga, before his skin turned grey and he seemingly died in Thor's arms as his brother cried out in grief. As it appeared Loki was dead, Thor and Jane Foster left him behind on Svartalfheim as they continued their mission to stop Malekith.
However, Loki's death was just another of his illusions. Seemly weak but still alive, Loki then waited for Thor and Foster to depart from the planet to find Malekith on Earth. Then, when an Einherjar Guard had come to check the battlefield, Loki apparently killed the guard and took his place, returning to Asgard without anyone seeing. Disguised as the Einherjar Guard, Loki informed Odin that a body was found on the battlefield. Odin responded, believing Loki to be dead.
=== King of Asgard ===
==== Stealing the Throne ====
: "If I were proud of the man my son has become, even that I could not say. It would speak only from my heart. Go, my son.""Thank you, father.""No. Thank you."
: ―Loki and Thor[src]
Loki managed to take Odin's place and usurped the throne of Asgard. When Thor defeated Malekith, he returned to Asgard to give his report to Odin. Disguised as Odin, Loki offered him the throne, but Thor declined while honoring Loki's sacrifice. Thor then offered him Mjølnir, but Loki told him it belongs to him if he is worthy of it, knowing full well that he could not take it from him. Thor thanked him and left the room.
Loki reverted to his true form and smiled in triumph at reclaiming the throne of Asgard at long last. Some time into Loki's reign, Lorelei had escaped to Earth using one of the secret passageways between worlds. Loki, still disguised as Odin, ordered Sif to go capture Lorelei and bring her back to Asgard. During his observation of Earth, Heimdall saw the Kree land on the planet. Due to the enmity between Kree and Asgardians, Loki sent Sif to investigate.
Afraid he would be exposed, Loki eventually banished Sif from Asgard. In order to prevent Thor from picking up on any subtle differences in their personalities and eventually figuring out Odin was really Loki in disguise, Loki granted Thor the freedom to act as he pleased in order to keep the peace of the Nine Realms, which would mean that Thor would be away from Asgard more often while Loki could rule Asgard in peace and enjoy all of the riches this power brought him.
Loki also banished Heimdall from his long-standing position as the guard of the Bifrost Bridge and appointed Skurge as his replacement. Skurge's true purpose was to report to Loki when Thor had returned to Asgard, allowing Loki time to switch to Odin's stricter personality. While taking pleasure in his role, Loki convinced the Asgardians that he was a tragic figure, commissioning a large statue of himself while also commissioning a Stage Production of his own death a script for which he wrote himself.
==== Search for Odin ====
: "You just couldn't stay away, could you? Everything was fine without you. Asgard was prospering. You've ruined everything, ask them.""Where's father? Did you kill him?"
: ―Loki and Thor[src]
Having been ruling over Asgard for four years while enjoying himself immensely, Loki, still in his Odin disguise, took time out of his day to sit with the Asgardians, eating grapes and watching the play, The Tragedy of Loki of Asgard, which depicted his "death" on Svartalfheim. As the performers acted out the production, Loki smiled and commented on the piece, quoting the lines with them and then clapping enthusiastically once they were finished with the play.
However, to Loki's surprise, Thor unexpectedly arrived and greeted him, having also brought with him the Crown of Black Fire following his recent Escape from Muspelheim, with a suspicious Thor questioning if Loki even knew what it was before sending it into Odin's Vault. Loki questioned if Thor would be heading back onto Midgard soon in the hope that his cover would not be blown: However, Thor confirmed he was not, which had made Loki considerably more nervous.
Thor then explained that he had been having some recurring dreams recently depicting Ragnarök, so he had begun investigating this and found the Nine Realms in utter chaos and Marauders who had been marching unchallenged as the King did nothing. Loki tried to defend his actions, but Thor was not buying his excuses and proceeded to threaten Loki by putting him into the path of Mjølnir, with Loki finally breaking his disguise in front of all of the horrified Asgardians.
The moment Loki's true identity was revealed, Skurge finally arrived, having run from Himinbjorg, to announce Thor's arrival, much to Loki's great annoyance as he reminded Skurge that warning him of Thor's arrival was his only job. Exposed, Loki tried to defend his deception, insisting that Asgard had prospering while Thor had the independence he always wanted, claiming that by revealing his identity Thor had ruined everything he had just achieved.
Ignoring all that Loki was saying, Thor then furiously demanded to know where Odin was, questioning if Loki had murdered him or not. When Loki refused to answer him, Thor responded by pinning Loki with Mjølnir for the first time in years, at which Loki easily gave up their father's location at Shady Acres Care Home where Loki had left him. Thor had then put Volstagg and Fandral in temporary charge of the Bifrost Bridge as he and Loki went to investigate further.
==== Encountering Doctor Strange ====
: "I have been falling for thirty minutes!""You can handle him from here.""Handle me? Who are you? You think you're some kind of sorcerer? Don't think for one minute, you second-rate–""All right, bye-bye."
: ―Loki and Doctor Strange[src]
When they reached Earth, they discovered that the retirement home within New York City where Loki had left Odin had been bulldozed, which left Loki with no idea where Odin was now. When Loki insisted that he could not have predicted this had happened, Thor teased him by questioning why he now dressed as a witch. Thor then questioned how Loki was still alive following witnessing his death at the hands of Kurse back on Svartalfheim, insisting that he had mourned for his loss which Loki claimed he was honored to hear.
While Thor then posed for a photograph with two Humans, Loki then overheard that Thor had been dumped by Jane Foster only to be distracted by something happening underneath him. Looking down, Loki saw a small portal was being created underneath him which he insisted he had nothing to do with. Before he could react, Loki then fell through the portal that had just opened beneath his feet, conjured by Doctor Strange to keep Loki from harming anyone on Earth.
While Loki was falling through an unknown space, Thor then visited Doctor Strange who offered to locate Odin on the condition that Loki, Odin, and Thor promptly returned to Asgard thereafter to avoid anything like the Battle of New York happening again. After thirty minutes of falling, Strange remembered about Loki and then used his own Sling Ring to warp him inside the New York Sanctum, where the furious Loki confronted Strange for letting him fall for so long.
Upon hearing Strange note that he thought Thor could now handle his brother from his point on as they said their goodbyes, Loki, out of annoyance and anger, attempted to attack Doctor Strange, furiously calling the Master of Mystic Arts a second-rate magician as he then drew a pair of knives to get his revenge. Doctor Strange, however, had refused to even bother engaging with Loki and simply sent him and Thor through the portal to Norway, where Odin was waiting.
==== Father's Farewell ====
: "Took me quite a while to break free from your spell. Frigga would have been proud."
: ―Odin to Loki[src]
Along with Thor, the two brothers fell through Doctor Strange's portal where they found and joined Odin, who was standing alone on the edge of a cliff within Norway, watching over the entire landscape. As they approached him, Odin appeared distracted, commenting on how he could hear Frigga calling out to him, which Thor mistook as more of Loki's Magic still having an effect on their father, although Loki denied this.
Odin revealed that he had broken from Loki's spell but told Loki that his mother would be proud of him for casting an effective spell onto him, which had shocked Loki who had not ever had such praise from Odin. Sitting down while still overlooking the landscape, Odin told his sons to admire all the beauty of the landscape and the sea in front of him, reminiscing of Asgard. While Odin explained that Ragnarök was upon them, Thor told his father he had put an end to Ragnarök.
Odin, however, had explained that Ragnarök would not be started by Surtur but the arrival of Hela, noting that his own life was the only thing holding Hela back. Odin explained that Hela was, in fact, Thor's first-born sister who had been imprisoned within Hel for thousands of years due to her violent needs. While Odin considered this shocking news, Odin told Loki and Thor that he loved them both as his body dissipated into energy and was taken away by the wind.
Having witnessed the death of his father and having learned Odin's secrets regarding Hela, Thor's grief and anger caused storm clouds to gather above, as he furiously claimed that this was Loki's fault, as it had been Loki's actions with banishing Odin to Earth without any of his Asgardian powers which had led to Odin's body dying of his long life. While lightning came out of Thor's fingertips as his anger grew, Loki fearfully had then attempted to calm him back down.
=== Hela's Return ===
==== Thrown from the Bifrost ====
: "Perhaps we can come to an arrangement.""You sound like him. Kneel.""Beg your pardon?""Kneel, before your queen."
: ―Loki and Hela[src]
With Odin now dead and passed into the afterlife, Loki and Thor were then forced to put aside their differences as Hela, having now been released from her prison in Hel due to Odin's death, materialized before them. Loki and Thor then returned to their Asgardian uniforms to then greet Hela once she returned, who commented on how she wished she had been there to witness her own father's demise.
Loki looked on as Thor introduced himself as the son of Odin, while Hela commented that he did not look like Odin. Loki then attempted to make an arrangement with Hela, to which she had commented that Loki sounded more like Odin than Thor did. Hela then ordered the two brothers to kneel before her as she drew her Necroswords, while Loki attempted to talk things peacefully. Loki then watched as Hela destroyed Mjølnir, proving Hela to be incredibly powerful.
Seeing that they were vastly outmatched by their newest enemy, Loki quickly called for Volstagg and Fandral to bring them back into Asgard. However, Thor horrifically told Loki not to use the Bifrost Bridge, as it will cause Hela to follow them while going back to Asgard, but it was too late, while Hela still followed closely behind and eventually launched both Thor and Loki out of the Bifrost during mid-transport, with Loki now believing that this had caused Thor's demise.
==== Living on Sakaar ====
: "I've made friends with this man. He's called the Grandmaster.""He's crazy!""I've gained his favor. The Bifrost brought me out here weeks ago."
: ―Loki to Thor[src]
Upon being launched out of the Bifrost Bridge by Hela, Loki had then arrived on Sakaar. Despite being in such a strange environment, Loki had soon managed to come in the favor of the Grandmaster who had viewed Loki as his friend and had often invited Loki to rejoin him to enjoy the Contest of Champions which the Grandmaster had enjoyed putting on. Loki then enjoyed a prolonged period of several weeks drinking with the Sakaarans and telling stories of the Duel at the Rainbow Bridge, enjoying all of the reactions he got from telling these such stories of his own life before he had arrived within Sakaar.
While telling some of his stories to the amused Sakaarans, Loki was then completely and utterly shocked to discover that Thor was still alive following their encounter with Hela some weeks earlier, although he had been captured by the Grandmaster and was being prepped to face his champion. Loki and Thor had reunited as Thor questioned what was happening while Loki noted that he had not had the same experience as Thor had gone through when he had arrived.
While they were awkwardly being watched by the Grandmaster, Loki had then explained that he could not do anything more to ensure his brother's release from the Grandmaster's custody. The Grandmaster asked if Loki knew Thor, which the former denied knowing before Thor added that they were brothers. However, Loki clarified that he was adopted. The Grandmaster then noted that the only way that Thor would be able to finally win his own freedom would be to defeat his Champion, before sending him away to meet the Gladiators who included Korg and Miek, while Loki still remained by the Grandmaster and had enjoyed all the many joys which were presented to him.
==== Suggestion to Thor ====
: "You're not seriously thinking of going back, are you? Our sister destroyed your hammer like a piece of glass. She's stronger than both of us, she's stronger than you; you don't stand a chance! Do you understand what I'm saying to you?"
: ―Loki to Thor[src]
Seeking to make his own way off from Sakaar, Loki had then quietly communicated to Thor via a holographic projection in his cell for the Contest of Champions, where he attempted to convince Thor to abandon Asgard, and instead, join him by the Grandmaster's side so they could both live in luxury. However, Thor refused to talk to his adopted brother, merely throwing stones through his projection.
Loki suggested to Thor that they betray the Grandmaster and allow him to die so they could control Sakaar together. However, as Thor continued to throw stones at him in frustration, Loki had seemingly begun to show genuine worry of what would happen if Thor goes up against Hela again, noting how during their first encounter Hela had destroyed Mjølnir like it was nothing more than a piece of glass and was therefore clearly more powerful than either the pair of them.
Loki prepared to leave, Thor blamed him for everything happening to him, scolding him for causing Odin's death and, in turn, his part with releasing Hela from Hel and then causing the deaths of the Warriors Three. Remaining calm and focused on himself, Loki warned Thor that the Grandmaster's champion is "astonishingly savage" and had noted that he had made his large wager against Thor, before Loki's illusion left as Korg appeared to tell Loki's illusion to leave.
==== Reunion with Hulk ====
: "I have to get off this planet.""Hey, hey, hey. Where are you going?"
: ―Loki and Grandmaster[src]
Still enjoying his time in Sakaar, Loki came to watch Thor as he had prepared to fight in the Contest of Champions. Taking a drink as he entered, Loki watched while Thor put on his helmet and prepared for the battle, armed with Doug's Mace and Shield and a pair of swords, with Loki still remaining confident that he would make a grand profit out of watching Thor lose in the upcoming battle.
As Loki watched from above, he happily awaited the arrival of the Champion who Thor would be fighting against. However, it had turned out that the champion was Hulk, to Loki's shock and horror as he recalled how Hulk had beaten him senseless during the Battle of New York. Unwilling to be near Hulk again, Loki had attempted to leave Sakaar only for the Grandmaster to stop him as he insisted that Loki stay and watch the fight with him.
Not revealing to the Grandmaster that he had previously encountered Hulk, Loki sat in awkward silence while Thor delighted at being reunited with his fellow Avenger, as Thor pointed to Loki who was sat watching in horror. Thor then attempted to catch up with his friend, explaining how Hela had returned and destroyed Mjølnir, however, Hulk became annoyed as Thor had still continued referring to him as Bruce Banner, resulting in Hulk furiously attacking Thor.
Loki watched as Thor and Hulk furiously battled each other, while Hulk had soon managed to gain the upper hand, armed with his own Sakaaran Battle Axe and War Hammer. However, when Thor had managed to land a heavy blow against Hulk, he attempted to use the Black Widow's technique to calm him down, only for Hulk to smash Thor into the ground as he had done to Loki back in New York, much to Loki's delight as he yelled that Thor now knew how he felt.
Loki and the Grandmaster kept watching as Thor and Hulk continued fighting, until Thor unexpectedly gained a sudden surge of his power, allowing his entire body to be engulfed with lightning as he struck Hulk and damaged his Sakaaran Battle Armor. Unwilling to watch his beloved Champion defeated, however, Grandmaster activated Thor's own Obedience Disk, which then caused him to fall down to the floor, allowing Hulk to finally win the duel, much to Loki's dismay.
==== Challenging Valkyrie ====
: "I thought the Valkyrie had all died gruesome deaths.""Chose your next words wisely.""I'm terribly sorry. Must be a very painful memory."
: ―Loki and Valkyrie[src]
While Loki continued enjoying the luxury of his lifestyle while he was still staying in Sakaar, meanwhile Thor and Hulk had disappeared from their cells, resulting in the Grandmaster becoming furious about their escape and demanded that they be found. Loki and the Grandmaster's chief bounty hunter Scrapper 142 were contacted by the Grandmaster, who offered a great bounty for their capture as he refused to allow his beloved champion to escape from Sakaar.
In his attempt to maintain the favor of the Grandmaster, Loki vowed to bring both Thor and Hulk back to him within hours, although Scrapper 142 made the same promise. When Loki interrupted the Grandmaster, Topaz had responded by offering him the Melt Stick to punish Loki by destroying him, although Grandmaster insisted that interruption was not a crime punishable by death. The Grandmaster then sent Loki and Scrapper 142 to complete their task for him.
As they made their way out of the meeting with Grandmaster, Loki and Scrapper 142 had a brief argument instead of beginning their search for Thor and Hulk, as this had quickly turned into a duel, with both drawing their knives and slashing at the other. During their fight, however, Loki then noticed a tattoo on Scrapper 142's arm and realized she was, in fact, the last living Valkyrie; however, Valkyrie was clearly unwilling to allow this secret to be revealed as she kicked Loki away and furiously threatened him by pinning him against the wall and telling him to chose his next words carefully, although Loki had still remained unintimidated by Valkyrie's threat against his life.
Noting what a painful memory it must be for her, Loki used his Magic to then make Valkyrie relive the Massacre of the Valkyrie at the hands of Hela when she had attempted to escape from Hel, which had also eventually had led to Valkyrie living her life on Sakaar and drinking herself towards death. Furious at Loki's actions at making her relive her own trauma, Valkyrie responded by knocking him out with a hard punch to the face before chaining him up inside her room.
==== Betraying the Grandmaster ====
: "The Grandmaster has a great many ships. I may even have stolen the access codes to his security system.""Suddenly, you're overcome with an urge to do the right thing?""Heavens, no. I've run out of favor with the Grandmaster."
: ―Loki and Valkyrie[src]
Having been captured by Valkyrie, Loki was left chained up inside of her room, waiting for her to return. He was later presented as a peace offer to Thor and Bruce Banner, who had returned to Human Form. Thor first ensured this really was Loki by throwing a bottle at his head, before Banner noted how they had last seen each other during the Battle of New York, as Loki calmly threatened Banner.
While he remained chained up, Loki had listened as Thor, Banner and Valkyrie discussed how to leave Sakaar and return to Asgard by going through the Devil's Anus. As the team were discussing how they would require a strong ship to get through the Anus, Loki spoke up and noted that the Grandmaster had several ships which could do the job, and then offered to give their team access to these ships in exchange for safe passage away from Sakaar for himself.
Although Loki offered his help, Banner was nervous about trusting him, noting how Loki had just threatened his life. Loki then listened and smiled to himself as Thor told the others a story of how Loki had tricked Thor by using magic to turn into a snake before stabbing his brother. They finally agreed to Loki's plan, noting they would need a distraction as Loki suggested unleashing Hulk, but Thor dismissed this as they agreed to start a Rebellion as a distraction.
==== Sakaaran Rebellion ====
: "I've betrayed you many times before, but this time it's truly nothing personal. The reward for your capture will set me up nicely.""Never one for sentiment, were you?""Easier to let it burn."
: ―Loki and Thor[src]
While Valkyrie had successfully initiated the revolution on Sakaar by giving Korg and the other Contest of Champions gladiators weapons, Loki and Thor had teamed up to steal one of the Grandmaster's shield generator-powered ships. Now armed with the Sakaaran Laser Rifles, Loki and Thor had together charged straight through all the Sakaaran Guards who had been ordered to stand in their way.
While taking cover, Loki noted that Odin had brought them together when he had taken Loki from Jotunheim, claiming that it was almost poetic that his death them break them apart for good. Thor continued firing while Loki unlocked the doorways, while still claiming that they might as well become strangers, before being threatened by another Sakaaran Guard who Thor dispatched by forcing him to fire into the ground which shot him into the air as they entered the elevator.
Once they got inside of the elevator, Loki suggested that he should actually stay in Sakaar, which Thor immediately agreed with as he claimed it fit his lawless and chaotic personality perfectly, much to Loki's surprise. Thor went on to admit that he had always thought the world of his own brother and had hoped they would fight side by side forever, but had come to the conclusion that this would never happen the way they wanted, which clearly had conflicted Loki internally.
Knowing that they would soon encounter more of the Grandmaster's guards, Thor suggested that they utilize their "Get Help" strategy, much to Loki's horror. Although he tried to object, Thor still managed to convince Loki as they ran out with Thor pretending Loki needed some medical assistance before throwing his brother at the Sakaaran Guards, knocking him out. Thor delighted in the successful strategy while Loki continued moaning about how humiliating it was.
While they went to steal the Commodore from the Grandmaster, Loki, inevitably, betrayed them as they are escaping, using his magic to create an illusion of himself which kept speaking with Thor while his actual self had then attempted to alert the Grandmaster of what was happening. Upon revealing his betrayal, Loki assured Thor that while he had betrayed him many times before, this was truly not personal as the Grandmaster's reward would then set him up financially.
However, it turned out that Thor had predicted his brother's betrayal and had quietly placed the Obedience Disk on his back which he had then activated, which had left Loki being shocked on the floor and completely unable to move. Thor told his brother that he knew Loki will always be the God of Mischief, but had hoped that he would have shown some capacity for growth before leaving, with Loki still being shocked and the remote put just out of Loki's reach.
While Loki had remained stuck on the ground while being constantly shocked, the Sakaaran Rebellion was successful, just as Thor had managed to enter Asgard with both Valkyrie and Bruce Banner. Loki was eventually found lying on the ground and was rescued by all the rebels, as Korg turned off the Obedience Disk and invited Loki to join them with stealing the Statesman, which Loki agreed to, noting that Korg and his people looked like they needed his leadership.
==== Rescuing Asgardians ====
: "Your savior is here! Did you miss me? Everyone, on that ship now.""Welcome home. I saw you coming.""Of course you did."
: ―Loki and Heimdall[src]
Loki and the other members of the Sakaaran Rebellion proceeded to take the Statesman and had then made their escape from Sakaar. Loki then took control of the ship and decided to do some good for a change, as they arrived in time to help the Revengers evacuating the surviving Asgardians from Asgard, while they were attempting to escape from Hela. While he appeared from the shadows, Loki delighted with his heroic moment, announcing to the Asgardians that their savior had arrived.
While Loki walked through the crowds of Asgardians and questioned if they had missed him, he then reunited with Heimdall who noted that he had seen Loki coming. Standing alongside the remaining Asgardian warriors, as well as Korg and Miek who were leading the Sakaaran rebels, Loki had furiously fought against Hela's incoming armies of Berserkers who were still furiously attempting to stop the Asgardians from boarding the Statesmen to escape from Asgard.
As the battle continued, Loki and the other warriors had then looked up to the Royal Palace of Valaskjalf where a huge blast of lightning had just destroyed much of the front of the Palace and had injured Hela who was in the center of the blast. Loki had then smirked to himself as he watched Thor charge down to the Bifrost Bridge with his incredible new power as lightning engulfed his body, which he used to destroy several of the Berserkers with some considerable ease.
Loki continued fighting against the army of Berserkers with his allies while Thor made his way towards him, as they were also joined by Valkyrie who had arrived on the Commodore and had joined in the battle armed with her Dragonfang. Taking whatever advantage he had in the fight, Loki had resorted to using his helmet to knock the Berserkers off their feet and killing them, until eventually, they had pushed the Berserkers back, allowing the Asgardians to escape.
Taking a break from the fight, Thor claimed that Loki was late, while Loki noted that Thor was now missing an eye. Seeing Hela was still coming for them, Loki suggested that Thor struck her with a lightning blast, but Thor insisted that this would do nothing to stop her. As Hela was too powerful and cannot be killed, Thor told Loki to revive Surtur to finally kill Hela, but at a cost to have no choice to put Asgard through Ragnarök, as Loki called it a bold move even for him.
Leaving Thor and Valkyrie to him some time to distract Hela by furiously fighting her on the Rainbow Bridge, Loki took control of the Commodore and flew back to the Royal Palace of Valaskjalf, commenting to himself along the way about how completely insane this plan was. With Hela and the Berserkers distracted by their battle against the Revengers, Loki was then able to successfully get into the Palace and charge into Odin's Vault without being seen or challenged.
Loki immediately grabbed the Crown of Black Fire and had prepared to complete his plan; however, just before successfully reviving Surtur with Eternal Flame inside Odin's Vault, Loki had then also managed to quietly get the Tesseract safely away. As the Ragnarök began, the Revengers, along with all surviving Asgardian refugees and Sakaaran Rebels escaped Asgard quickly, while watching Asgard's destruction and the end of Hela's reign of terror once and for all.
=== Asgard's Final Days ===
==== Making Amends ====
: "If you were here, I might even give you a hug.""I'm here."
: ―Thor and Loki[src]
As Thor put his new eyepatch on, Loki remarked his new look as reminiscent to their father's. Thor, believing his brother had already left the ship, jokingly remarked if he was here, he'd give him a hug. Thor threw an object towards him, but Loki caught it quickly and reassured him that he was really here.
Loki came across Heimdall on the Statesman, and upon seeing him, immediately threw himself against a wall and offered an explanation. Loki commented that Heimdall appeared angry, but then doubted himself. Heimdall greeted Loki, and Loki became convinced through his tone of voice that Heimdall was angry that Loki banished him while pretending to be Odin. Heimdall assured Loki that he was, but Loki did not believe him, explaining that he would be furious. Heimdall stated that he was not, so Loki hesitantly smiled and offered a handshake, but Heimdall told Loki not to push his luck and walked away. Thor and Loki then made their way towards the deck, where Loki witnessed Thor officially becoming the new King of Asgard as he sits on his throne, with Loki finally accepting his brother as the king. Thor then decided to remake Asgard on Earth.
==== Final Stand on the Statesman ====
: "I assure you, brother... the sun will shine on us again.""Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian.""Well, for one thing, I'm not Asgardian. And for another... we have a Hulk."
: ―Loki and Thanos[src]
Traveling for a few months in space en route to Earth, Loki approached Thor to discuss their destination, with the latter uncertain to return there after everything he had done. Out of nowhere, an enormous ship appeared in front of the Statesman.
The ship belonged to Thanos and his Black Order, who boarded the Statesman, massacring half of the ship, with the other half managing to escape. Loki was among those who remained. The Mad Titan demanded that Loki hand over the Space Stone, but attempted to hide the fact that it was in his possession. Now being held at knifepoint by Proxima Midnight, and surrounded by the rest of the Black Order, Thanos began to torture Thor with the Power Stone being pressed against his head.
Threatened with Thor's death, Loki revealed the Tesseract to Thanos, before unleashing Hulk on him, quoting Iron Man from their confrontation in Stark Tower years before. As Hulk charged forward, Loki dropped the Tesseract and lunged to push Thor out of harm's way. However, Hulk was easily overpowered by Thanos and was beaten badly. Once he had been disposed of, Ebony Maw picked up the Tesseract and presented it to Thanos, who crushed it and added the encased Infinity Stone to his Infinity Gauntlet. Thanos then triumphantly ordered the Black Order to go to Earth to obtain the remaining Infinity Stones there.
Under the pretense of offering himself as a guide to Earth, Loki feigned continuing servitude to Thanos while secretly readying a dagger. Hoping that he had fooled Thanos, Loki attempted to stab his throat, but the Titan easily predicted the move. Thanos stopped the knife with his Infinity Gauntlet and sarcastically mocked Loki for choosing the word "undying" while referring to his false allegiance, rebuking him for not choosing his words wisely.
Despite this, Loki remained defiant even though he was now at the mercy of Thanos, and threatened him that he would never succeed in his plans, and would not become a god like he sought to be. This did not faze or anger Thanos at all, and while Thor watched, he calmly crushed Loki's neck. Dropping his broken corpse at Thor's knees, Thanos mocked him by saying that this time, Loki would not be resurrected.
==== Escape from S.H.I.E.L.D. ====
: "On my way down to coordinate search and rescue.""'On my way down to coordinate search and rescue.' I mean, honestly, how do you keep your food down?"
: ―Captain America and Loki[src]
Loki eventually managed to use the Tesseract to bring the Chitauri army to Earth. Loki attempted to use the Mind Stone on Tony Stark, but it did not work. Out of retaliation, Loki threw Stark out of a window. Loki was defeated by the Avengers in the Battle of New York. Loki was apprehended by the Avengers and mocked Captain America, before Thor gagged him with an Asgardian Collar. Loki was escorted by Thor and Stark to the first floor of Stark Tower; however, they came across of Alexander Pierce and a group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Loki then sensed that another Tony Stark was present because of his cologne.
Thor and Stark argued with Pierce, as Thor noted that Loki must be judged by Asgardians, an argument that did not convince Pierce, who wanted to take both Loki and the Tesseract under S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. Suddenly, Stark fell into cardiac arrest, causing Pierce and Thor to tend to him. In the ensuing chaos, the confused Loki noticed Ant-Man kicking the briefcase with the Tesseract to the alternate Stark, who was disguised as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Stark retrieved the Tesseract, but when he began to exit, he was knocked over by Hulk while he was opening the door from the stairway.
Hulk's interference caused the Tesseract to slide to Loki's feet. Taking advantage of the commotion caused by the Hulk, Loki took the Tesseract and used it to open a portal and escape his confinement. After Thor managed to reboot Stark's Arc Reactor, he turned his back to see that Loki was already gone. Teleporting away with the Space Stone, Loki created a branched reality in the alternate timeline.
=== TVA Prisoner ===
==== Captured by the Minutemen ====
: "It's been a very long day, and I think I've had my fill of idiots in armored suits telling me what to do, so, if you don't mind, this is actually your last chance. Now get out of my way."
: ―Loki to Hunter B-15[src]
Loki landed in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia after being spat out from the portal he previously created using the Tesseract. After he removed his heavily damaged collar and handcuffs, Loki attempted to appear superior to the group of Mongolian locals who found him and ran to stand above them on a rock, to establish superiority. He introduced himself as Loki of Asgard to them, though they could not understand a word he said and questioned his sudden arrival.
Just then, the Time Variance Authority arrived at Mongolia through a portal with several Minutemen investigating the area. Confused, Loki approached the Minutemen, telling them not to touch the Tesseract. Hunter B-15 arrived and announced that Loki created a standard sequence violation to the timeline and stating he is a Variant, confusing Loki more. Hunter B-15 declared that he was under arrest for crimes against the Sacred Timeline and told him to surrender. Loki asked who they were again, but Hunter B-15 activated her Time Stick instead of answering.
Loki then noted that it had been a very long day for him after the Battle of New York and announces that he is done having idiots in armored suits ordering him around, and warned them that this was their last chance and that they get out of his way. However, Hunter B-15 swatted Loki with her Time Stick, causing him to move at 1/16th speed, and collared him. The Minutemen then took Loki and the Tesseract away and left Mongolia, pruning the alternate timeline in the process.
==== Arrival at the TVA ====
: "This is a mistake! I shouldn't be here!""Hey there! You're probably saying, 'This is a mistake. I shouldn't even be here'. Welcome to the Time Variance Authority. I'm Miss Minutes, and it's my job to catch you up before you stand trial for your crimes!"
: ―Loki and Miss Minutes[src]
Loki was then brought to the Time Variance Authority Office being escorted by Hunter B-15 while trying to get a look on his surroundings. Hunter B-15 stopped him at a reception desk being run by Casey and witnessed Martin being pushed by a Minuteman. Seizing the opportunity in front of him, Loki tried to escape, running away from incarceration, but Hunter B-15 activated her Time Twister, making him appear back next to her.
Loki, shocked by the ability, tried a few more attempts before Hunter B-15 force Loki to move. She approached Casey and gave him the Tesseract, telling him to log it as evidence before moving onward, but Casey questioned what it was, which Loki answered what it was and to be very careful handling it. Approaching a prosecution process chamber, Loki threatened Hunter B-15, telling her that there will be consequences for arresting him, but Hunter B-15 was not fazed and shoved Loki into the chamber and closing it behind him.
Now locked in the chamber, the Processing Droid activated and attempted to remove Loki's regal armor, agitating him. The droid continued trying to remove his Asgardian Armor, however, making Loki resist, and noted that it was Asgardian leather, and he would not allow it. The droid, however, told Loki to be very still, and vaporized all of his armor and clothing, leaving him without anything on. The floor then dropped beneath him, dropping into a Time Variance Authority Variant inmate jumpsuit, and another room.
In the room, Loki was met by a TVA paperwork clerk's office, where he served Loki a pile of papers, asking for his signature on the listing for verification on everything he had ever said in his life. Loki, confused as to what that means, voiced his confusion, calling it absurd. However, the printer next to the employee published Loki's confusion, and gave the paper to him, telling him to sign that paper as well. Loki, not wanting to have to sign more papers, silently obliged, dropping him into another location when he finished.
Loki found himself in the next processing room, where a clerk told him to confirm that he was indeed not a robot and was an organic-born being to his knowledge. Loki questioned if people did not know if they were robots, but the scanner clerk simply thanked Loki for his cooperation and instructed him to pass through the Robot Detector machine. Loki hesitated, however, and asked what if he was a robot and did not know it, but the clerk irritable told him that it would melt him. After hesitating enough, Loki successfully passed through, much to his relief. The clerk urged Loki through the next door after showing him his temporal aura, walked into the waiting room.
There, Loki met up with Martin again, who dismissed a Minuteman guard telling him to take a ticket. Loki approached the ticket vender as the guard ordered him to take a ticket, but Loki noted that it there were only two Variants here. However, the guard insisted, and Loki took a ticket before passing through the empty waiting line. Taking his time navigating through, Loki screamed aloud that he should not be here, but no one acknowledged his outburst.
Right on que, however, Miss Minutes repeated Loki's statement on a PA system, showing herself on screen of a TV in the room and introduced the viewer to the TVA. Loki curiously watched as Miss Minutes told the story of how the Time-Keepers restored order to the Multiverse by creating a "Sacred Timeline", and about how Variants veer off the Sacred Timeline, unintentionally creating a nexus event, which were being monitored by the TVA. Miss Minutes finished by telling the viewer that they must be ready to stand trial for their crimes before the message ended.
Loki, left in utter awe having watched and heard everything Miss Minutes had said, scoffed and questioned the legitimacy of the Time Keepers and the Sacred Timeline, and voices his question aloud about who actually believes in the story Miss Minutes told. Turning his attention elsewhere, Loki watched as Martin argued with a Minuteman about his ticket, with Martin lying about having asked for a ticket. When Martin continued lying about not having a ticket, the Minuteman used his baton and seemingly erased Martin from existence. Terrified, Loki frantically pulled out his ticket, ready for his check-in.
==== Judged in the TVA ====
: "Not supposed to happen? According to whom?""The Time-Keepers.""Oh, the Time-Keepers. Right. Well, perhaps I should speak to these Time-Keepers, gods to gods."
: ―Loki and Ravonna Renslayer[src]
Soon after, Loki's placed in front of Ravonna Renslayer, a judge in the Time Variance Authority, who sets out his charges as a sequence violation. She proceeded to ask Loki how he pleaded to the charges, to which he responded saying that a God would not plead and asked if he could return home. Instead, Renslayer repeated the question, asking him if he was guilty or not guilty. Loki told Renslayer he was guilty of being the God of Mischief and for finding all of this unnecessary, but not for a crime against the Sacred Timeline. Renslayer then asked who they should hold accountable instead, and Loki replied saying that she should suspect the Avengers, as they went on their Time Heist allowing him to end up in this situation.
Loki had then offered to personally kill them with a taskforce, if they could provide him with one along with resources, and that he knew because that he could smell two Tony Starks. Renslayer explained that the Avengers were meant to do their Time Heist, but Loki escaping was not supposed to happen. Renslayer asked one more time if Loki was innocent or not, to which Loki replied that he was guilty, before attempting to blast all the agents in the room with his Magic. Unfortunately nothing came of it when Loki questioned why his power to not work Hunter B-15 and Renslayer explain that his powers do not work in the TVA. As Renslayer planned on punishing Loki by having him erased, Loki was enraged and said that they would not dictate how his story ended, to which Renslayer said that it never was his story. Loki stated they have no clue what he was capable of, but Mobius M. Mobius intervened and suggested he would take Loki in, which Renslayer reluctantly agreed to.
==== Interrogated by Mobius M. Mobius ====
: "If you hadn't picked up the Tesseract, you would have been taken to a cell on Asgard.""What is this? This is nonsense, more tricks. This never even happened.""Not to you. Not yet."
: ―Mobius M. Mobius and Loki[src]
While escorting Loki to an interrogation room, Loki threatened to burn the Time Variance Authority down, and Mobius M. Mobius offered his desk as a starting point, as it had a lot of paperwork that would work as tinder. When Loki was sidetracked by his first glimpse of the Time Variance Authority Office outside, he wondered if it was magic, to which Mobius said it was not. Loki then believed he was in a nightmare, but Mobius said it was a different department and that he would help Loki if he wished to burn down that department.
In an elevator, Mobius introduced himself to Loki, who brushed him off and asked if he was being taken to be executed. Mobius told him that he was taking him to talk instead, and Loki said that he did not like to talk. Mobius then called him out on his lie, and also commented that he loves to lie as well. When asked how long he had worked there, Mobius said it was hard to say as time passes differently in the TVA. When Loki was confused, Mobius simply said that he would catch up. As he continued escorting Loki to the interrogation room, Loki asked if he was part of the TVA workforce and if he was created by the Time-Keepers to protect the Sacred Timeline, to which Mobius said yes. When Loki laughed at the ridiculousness of it, Mobius questioned if he liked to talk.
Mobius waved Loki into the interrogation room and sat down at a table that held the TVA Holoprojector that could play the memories of someone's life. When Loki said he still believed he was going to be killed, Mobius commented on his lack of trust in anyone but himself and that he should slap that motto on a t-shirt while turning on the device. When Loki questioned why he had never heard of the TVA, Mobius told him that he had not needed to because Loki had always lived within his path. Loki tried to ascertain his free will, but Mobius did not rise to the bait. He asked Loki to sit, and Loki tried to attack him, so Mobius used his Time Twister to transport Loki back to where he was standing before.
Prompting Loki to sit, Mobius began the interrogation by asking for Loki's cooperation and revealing that he knew Loki would try to woo and then betray him. Loki disagreed and said that Mobius knew nothing about him, but Mobius said he'd like to learn. He told Loki of his specialization of pursuing extremely dangerous Variants, and then insulted Loki when Loki assumed that he was a dangerous Variant. He then asked Loki to answer his set of questions honestly in exchange for something Loki wanted. His first question was what Loki would do if he returned. Loki said that he would rule Midgard, and Mobius asked what would happen after that. Loki said he wanted to rule the Nine Realms and eventually the universe. Mobius mocked him slightly, but when Loki was offended Mobius told him he was a fan and wondered why someone with so much range simply wanted to rule. Loki told him about the "illusion" of freedom and how living things make mistakes with freedom, and Mobius wondered if he was an exception to this rule. Loki commented on how Mobius was simply a clown for the Time-Keeper's circus.
Mobius started the playback on the device, projecting the image of New York City onto the wall. Loki asked what it was, and Mobius explained that it would play Loki's greatest hits. The first scene they watched was when Loki was tracked down by the Avengers at Stark Tower and asked them for a drink. Mobius cracked open a Josta and tried to hand it to Loki but Loki said no and commented on how he knew about this memory already. Mobius commented on how for someone born to rule, Loki's nature is to lose.
When Loki threatened him, Mobius turned the device to play the memory of Phil Coulson's death, and pointed out how Loki created his own enemy by giving the Avengers someone to avenge. Mobius then asked if Loki enjoyed hurting people while playing images of destruction from the Battle of New York. Loki said that his games would not work, and that he was not a murderer but a liberator, to which Mobius played the memory of Loki removing an eyeball and commented on his smile and how he enjoyed it. Loki said he was a god, but Mobius said that none of his actions seemed mischievous.
Trying a new approach, Mobius talked about how Loki was good at escaping, and played a memory of Loki being the famous plane hijacker D. B. Cooper. After the memory was done, Mobius exclaimed his disbelief at how Loki was the famous hijacker. When Loki asked where the TVA was before when Loki was meddling, Mobius responded that they were right there alongside him and that his mischievous tricks were all along his set path. When Loki asked why that had the Time-Keeper's approval, Mobius explained that the Time-Keepers did not dictate the timeline according to approval and disapproval.
Mobius asked what Loki was running from, and when Loki tried to stand up to make a point, Mobius used his Time Twister to sit him in his chair. Loki explained why he tried to stand up, and Mobius let him stand up for emphasis. When Loki asked him what he wanted, Mobius said he wanted Loki to be honest about his motivations and a deeper understanding of what makes Loki tick. When Loki proposed that the TVA was an illusion and a desperate attempt at control and affirmed his free will. Going off of that, Mobius played Loki's speech at Stuttgart, and Loki said that he was on the verge of earning what he was owed, not because the TVA allowed him to. Mobius told him to start taking this seriously and played a memory that had not happened yet, of Loki's trial on Asgard and him speaking to his mother.
Mobius told Loki of how, when the Dark Elves attack, Loki attempts to send them to Thor, but indirectly causes them to kill Frigga instead, showing Loki her death. When Loki started to demand where Frigga was and started to accuse that it was fake, Mobius told him that he was always fated to kill his mother and that he always was and will be and continued to press Loki on whether he enjoyed killing people, and an enraged Loki attempted to attack him. Mobius used his Time Twister to transport Loki to the floor. Mobius told Loki of his predetermined fate to cause suffering and death, before explaining that his role was to help others achieve their best selves while playing a recording of the Avengers. Mobius then helped Loki up from the floor.
==== Learning About the TVA ====
: "Is this the greatest power in the universe?"
: ―Loki[src]
Before Mobius M. Mobius could continue, he was interrupted by Hunter B-15 and told there was a situation. Mobius slightly lamented that he had to leave as the interrogation was just getting somewhere, and told Loki not to go anywhere before leaving with Hunter B-15 and having his Time Twister taken by Loki.
Loki used the opportunity to escape with the Time Twister. After spotting Casey, Loki followed him to his office and threatened to gut him like a fish if he did not give him the Tesseract. Casey asked what a fish was, much to Loki's confusion, since Casey had apparently lived his life behind a desk. After clarifying to Casey that he was threatening him with death, Casey complied and handed the Tesseract over to him; however, Loki noticed multiple Infinity Stones in a drawer and questioned why the Time Variance Authority had them. After Casey told him that they had acquired the Stones from alternate timelines, using them as paperweights, Loki was completely starstruck questioned if the TVA was the greatest power in the universe.
Before he could get answered, B-15 and Minutemen arrived through an elevator to prune him. As B-15 attempted to hit Loki with her Time Stick, Loki escaped with the Time Twister. He teleported to the room where he got interrogated by Mobius and placed the Time Twister on the table. He then used the TVA Holoprojector to scroll through his alternate self's life. Loki teared up as he witnessed Odin confessing his love to his sons before passing away, his strengthened bond with Thor, and his membership in the Revengers. Upon seeing his own death to Thanos, however, Loki laughed ruefully as he had discovered his "glorious purpose".
Hunter B-15 then came into the room and asked what was funny to which Loki straightened himself out before answering. B-15 soon attacked the Asgardian, but he transferred his collar to the TVA soldier, teleporting her out of the room using the Time Twister. Loki played around with it by having B-15 repeatedly appear and disappear in front of him, until he sent her elsewhere.
When Mobius had returned to the interrogation room, he found Loki in some distress as he held the Tesseract. Loki told him that he didn't enjoy hurting people, and he did it because he had to. Mobius asked for more, and Loki told him that it was illusion, a desperate play for control, and that he was a villain. Mobius told him he did not see it that way, and looked amused when Loki admitted he tried to use the Tesseract. Mobius said he couldn't offer Loki salvation, but instead something better: a chance to work with them to stop an extremely dangerous Variant who was actually another Loki.
=== TVA Recruit ===
==== Investigating an Ambush ====
: "The Time Variance Authority and the gods of Asgard, one and the same. Drunk with power, blinded to the truth. Those you underestimate will devour you. You underestimate me, just as you underestimate this lesser Loki."
: ―Loki to Time Variance Authority[src]
Agreeing to help Mobius M. Mobius to hunt the Variant, Loki was assigned as an unofficial employee of the Time Variance Authority and Mobius' assistant on the case. Sometime later, Loki looked through Mobius' jet ski magazine while answering a series of questions from Miss Minutes of the nature of the timeline and the TVA. He asked if she was alive or a recording, and she said that she was a bit of both. Loki then used the magazine to try and squash her like a bug, forcing her to retreat into a computer. Mobius then arrived, handing him a jacket, told him to gear up, as another group of Minutemen led by Hunter C-20 had been attacked.
Loki put on the jacket and followed Mobius to a briefing with Hunter B-15 and her Minutemen, where B-15 explained that C-20 and her men went dark shortly after entering 1985, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and that it was certainly a Loki Variant, although they were not sure what kind of Loki they were. Loki made sure to tell them that it must have been a lesser kind of Loki than himself. B-15 then asked him to show off his jacket, which said "Variant", as a way to humble him before calling him a cosmic mistake. Loki then watched as Mobius played a series of images depicting different Loki Variants. When Mobius began to list Loki's various powers, Loki made sure to tell them the difference between illusion projection and duplication casting as a way of proving that he was an expert on himself. Mobius then said they would be splitting up into teams, and that Loki would travel with him.
Loki then asked for a weapon, and wondered out loud why Mobius was not concerned about him betraying him, especially since he would have his Magic back. Mobius said no, and made it clear that there was a chance Loki could receive an audience with the Time-Keepers if he did well enough.
==== Discovering the Variant's Attack ====
They then traveled into 1985 Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Loki then asked Mobius why they could not travel to before the attack and prevent it, but Mobius explained that the destabilization of the timeline led to time acting differently near Nexus Events. Mobius then asked if he watched any training videos, and Loki proved that he did watch some by restating the definition of reset charges verbatim, and noting that it sounded like just disintegrating everything.
Inside a tent, Loki entered the crime scene where some Minutemen were killed, and Hunter C-20 was taken. Loki told B-15 not to underestimate the Variant, and when B-15 told her men to fan out and search for the Variant, he told them to stop, as there was most likely an ambush outside for them. Loki then went on to fabricate a theory of how the Variant needed him to complete his master plan of ruling the TVA and used many time-wasting tricks to try to get the timeline near the red line as well as convince Mobius that he needed an urgent meeting with the Time-Keepers. Mobius did not fall for this and told everyone that Loki was lying, and the timeline was reset, returning to the TVA.
==== Confronting Mobius M. Mobius ====
: "I could go down to Asgard before Ragnarök causes its complete destruction and I could do anything I wanted. I could, let's say, push the Hulk off the Rainbow Bridge."
: ―Loki to Mobius M. Mobius[src]
Upon returning to the Time Variance Authority Office, Loki was sent to the library to look over files of where the Variant could be. Later, Loki went to the librarian and asked if there were any files relating to the TVA's origins and the Time-Keepers, but she directed him to files only on his history. There he stumbled upon Ragnarök, in which there were many casualties of Asgardians.
After proposing a theory, Loki left the library and found Mobius M. Mobius in the TVA dining area and approached him. Ignoring Mobius' comments about him interrupting his lunch, Loki sat down at the table across from him and told him about his findings. Loki then asked to borrow Mobius' salad for a demonstration and then got up and took Casey's drink to add to the demonstration. Loki made his proposition with Mobius reluctantly agreeing to help him, and the two left to test the theory.
==== Pompeii Incident ====
: "Be free my horned friends, be free!"
: ―Loki[src]
To test out Loki's theory, Loki and Mobius M. Mobius went back in time to Pompeii, Italy in 79 AD. Loki, clearly giddy about the upcoming disaster, was attempted to be calmed down by Mobius. Loki defended himself by saying that the upcoming disaster was "cool", which Mobius countered by reminding Loki they need to keep it calm in order to successfully try Loki's theory. Loki then ran out into the Public Square of Pompeii and let loose a bunch of goats, shouting for them to be freed and then to the rest of the citizens in Latin that he was called Loki. He then warned them that they were soon going to be killed by the eruption of the volcano, and that he knew because he was from the future, before questioning Mobius if the Time Variance Authority was from the future in English since he was not sure when the TVA is. As the volcano erupted, Mobius realized that Loki was right and that there were no Nexus points emerging, thus proving Loki's theory as correct.
==== Debating Free Will ====
Loki and Mobius M. Mobius returned via Timedoor to the Time Variance Authority Office and sat down at a table. The two then discussed free will, with Loki asking Mobius how he had gotten to the TVA, and was shocked when Mobius said he was created by the Time-Keepers. Loki pressed on asking how long Mobius wanted to continue working with the TVA, with Mobius telling him that he was until the job was done. Loki was confused by Mobius' answers and how unwilling he was to explore more about the TVA and their origins. After Mobius put the analogy of the boy he met in France together with Loki as a young child, he ran off to the library and asked Loki if Asgard had any Kablooie gum. They then discovered through the files about the hurricane that would devastate a whole town in Alabama and deduced that this was the Variant was.
=== Chasing the Variant ===
==== Infiltration into Roxxcart Store ====
: "Just what do you want from me?""This isn't about you."
: ―Loki and Sylvie Laufeydottir[src]
Loki had joined Mobius M. Mobius, Hunter B-15, and the other Minutemen transported themselves via Timedoors to the year 2050 in Haven Hills, Alabama at the Roxxcart Mall. They arrived during a hurricane and once inside the building, Loki used his magic to make himself dry. B-15 and Loki split off from the others and explored the store looking for the Variant. They soon came across a man shopping for azaleas, and Loki questioned why he was casually roaming the mall amid the hurricane.
B-15 asked Loki whether the shopper could be the Variant in disguise, and Loki suggested that it was possible. As B-15 moved forward, the enthralled shopper grabbed her arm, transferring energy into her body and enthralling her. After Randy, a store employee, was also enthralled, Loki realized that he had found the Variant. He then pressed to find out what the Variant wanted, before getting attacked by an enthralled Alabamian man who knocked Loki around the store.
Loki then held his ground and demanded to see the Variant herself, and soon found himself facing her. She then detonated a mass of Reset Charges, throwing the Sacred Timeline into disarray by creating hundreds of branched alternate realities, before departing through a Timedoor. Loki then watched as Mobius and the Minutemen ran towards him, but decided to leave them and jumped into the Timedoor to chase the Variant.
==== Confrontation with the Variant ====
Loki came out the other side of the Timedoor and found himself back in the Time Variance Authority Office. He then took possession of the daggers that were previously put away in a locker. He then chased after the Variant and cornered her in a hall outside a golden elevator. After a brief struggle, Ravonna Renslayer and two Minutemen walked up to attack them. The Variant held her sword to Loki's neck, threatening to kill him, but when Renslayer did not seem to care, Loki stole a TemPad from the Variant and dropped both Variants through a Timedoor to Lamentis-1 in 2077, in the midst of a devastating apocalypse.
=== Escape from Lamentis-1 ===
==== Arrival on Lamentis-1 ====
Loki and the Variant landed in a shed, and with the TemPad out in the open. The Variant tried to recover it; however, Loki stopped her multiple times before recovering it himself, and the Variant slammed him into an ashtray. She then took the TemPad off him before trying to leave, but the TemPad had run out of charge, and she could go nowhere. The Variant then tried to stab Loki, but he used illusions to disappear, then reappear behind her and push her into a nearby rack. When Loki took the TemPad back, she told him to give it to her as he didn't know how to recharge it. Loki said he did, as she was not the only tech savvy Loki, but she took offense to being called a Loki and told him to never call her that. As she lunged for the TemPad, Loki made it disappear from his grasp.
As Loki pulled out his daggers to fight, the Variant indignantly taunted him about being a magician, to which he threatened to make her "disappear". However, before another fight could break out, a purple meteor smashed through the roof and took them off guard. The Variant asked where Loki sent them, and they left the shed to find they were on the planet Lamentis-1 in the year 2077, where an apocalypse was taking place in the form of a moon crashing into the surface. The variant called him an idiot for bringing them here, but Loki didn't know what she meant. Another meteor crashed down in front of them and the two ran for cover as the Variant explained that this was the worst apocalypse saved in the TemPad and that no one survives. She almost was hit by a meteor, but Loki pushed her out of the way.
The two managed to take cover under a large truck, and Loki asked why she wasn't killing him, and she said that because he had hidden the TemPad, if he dies it is lost. She then pointed to a mining shack to take shelter in and the two took off, but when Loki asked if they were a team, she said no. The two were bombarded by meteors on the way over, but the two safely made it inside.
While Loki was catching his breath, the Variant approached him and touched his neck before trying to use her powers to subdue his mind, similar to how she used her powers on Hunter C-20, which failed due to Loki's stronger mind. The two then drew their blades again, but Loki, growing weary of their conflict, proposed a truce which she scoffed at. She asked where the TemPad was hidden, but Loki jokingly said it was in his heart, so she threatened to cut it out. Loki told her to stop trying to kill him every 30 seconds, but the variant said that he was full of it as he needed her to figure out how to recharge it and that's why Loki saved her. The Variant told him that her plan was years in the making, and that when she would get the TemPad back, she would go finish her plan, and then kill him.
==== Partnering with Sylvie Laufeydottir ====
: "Love is a dagger. It's a weapon to be wielded far away or up close. You can see yourself in it. It's beautiful. Until it makes you bleed. But ultimately, when you reach for it…""It isn't real."
: ―Loki and Sylvie Laufeydottir[src]
Loki accompanied the Variant after she left left to find a power source to charge the TemPad. The two trekked to a nearby town, and the two argued on the way, especially how she was a Variant but did not like to be called one, and also did not like to be called Loki. She then told him her name was Laufeydottir, and Loki told her that having an alias when not Loki-like. Laufeydottir then dragged Loki for working for the Time Variance Authority, and said that he did not know what he wanted. He asked what he wanted, as he was confused why Laufeydottir would create a power vacuum so large in the TVA without planning to fill it herself, and that he never would do that. Laufeydottir said that she was not him.
When they arrived at an abandoned town, Laufeydottir noted that their fleeing was in vain as everyone died anyways. She then said they had about twelve hours before they would die along with them, and that it would get worse as the landscape changed and society collapsed. They then found a neon sign that was powered on, and Laufeydottir pretended to check the electrics before asking for the TemPad, but planned to leave and abandon Loki as soon as she took it. Loki saw through it and told her to try harder. Laufeydottir then told him to stop pretending to be tech savvy, as the TemPad required a large energy source to recharge, not just enough power to light up a sign.
They then continued past the town and came upon a house with inhabitants. Laufeydottir grabbed her sword, but Loki stopped her, telling her that his diplomacy and guile would work better than her violence. She then kicked the door down, before being blown backwards by a woman with a concussive blaster cannon pointed at her door. She got up and Loki taunted her slightly before trying his tactics, which also failed, and he, too, got blown back. The woman derided them, calling them "devils", and then asked what they wanted with her, before Laufeydottir asked where everyone had gone. She said they went to an evacuation vessel called the Ark, and Laufeydottir realized that the Ark could power the TemPad. Laufeydottir then learned that they could get there via train, but that there were no tickets left. She and Loki then left for the train at the edge of town, discussing how they would get on it.
The two found the train station, which had many people waiting outside to be let on. Loki then told her that they couldn't fight their way on, and Laufeydottir said her plan didn't involve fighting. Her plan was to enchant a guard to lead them through the crowd, and use him to kill anyone who stood in their way, probably killing all the guards and hijacking the train, and that it wasn't violent as whether there was a fight was up to the guards. Loki told her that they'd be doing this his way, before he manifested a guard's outfit onto himself. While they passed by, the crowd yelled about how unfair it was that only the rich received tickets to salvation. When asked to see their tickets to Shuroo, Laufeydottir enchanted the guard to believe that headquarters had radioed a request for Sylvie to go to Shuroo that morning. The two then boarded the train.
Loki and Laufeydottir sat down at a table on the train and Loki asked Laufeydottir about her early life, before telling her about his mother and how she'd taught him magic tricks. He then demonstrated by showing SLaufeydottir a burst of fireworks in his palm. Laufeydottir then asked Loki what he thought love was and Loki did not deny when asked about whether or not he was romantically interested in just women or men also.
Once Laufeydottir fell asleep, Loki took off his guard uniform and began to be friendly with the passengers, singing Asgardian songs with them, while drinking. Having drunk too many drinks, Loki became drunk and not worried about his cover getting blown.
Loki was interrupted from his singing, when Laufeydottir who had woken up immediately went to him and told him that a man was staring suspiciously at him; however, Loki was not worried. He then told Laufeydottir that love was a dagger and not real, which Laufeydottir dismissed. When a few guards walked in, Loki and Laufeydottir fought them off. Loki used his magic to blast one of the guards off his feet and proceeded to kick another through a window, before getting tossed outside by guards himself.
Loki landed roughly on the ground and Laufeydottir followed close behind. When she asked him about the status of the TemPad, Loki revealed it had been rendered invisible and stored in his pocket, but found it to be destroyed during his fall from the train. This further angered Laufeydottir who called him a joke for not protecting it better. After Loki retorted that she wouldn't be able to beat the TVA, she stormed off and released a small blast of energy while screaming in rage.
Laufeydottir sat down in defeat, while Loki followed suit and consoled her over his failure to protect the TemPad. Loki then suggested that they still aim to escape, which would ensure their survival. Convinced that their presence might alter the programmed timeline, SLaufeydottir and Loki made their way to Shuroo.
As they were walking towards the city, Laufeydottir told Loki that the Minutemen at the Time Variance Authority were Variants too and that she had to go back a hundred years to one of Hunter C-20's memories of when she was on Earth to get information. This revelation about the TVA surprised Loki.
==== Infiltration into the Ark ====
However, upon entering Shuroo, Loki and Laufeydottir found it crowded and struggled to get to the front. Loki asked if all the people down below were going to be left to die, startled by that fact. The two then went around the crowds through the backway before getting attacked by some more guards.
They then had to take cover after asteroids began falling down over the city. As they were running, a large section of a structure almost fell on them, but Loki used his telekinetic powers to keep it away from them.
When they reached some distance from the impact site, they observed a gigantic asteroid crashing into the Ark. Loki and Laufeydottir fearfully gazed at the Ark, as their only hope of survival was smashed to pieces. Upon seeing this, Laufeydottir walked away from Loki, having fully given up on their chances of survival, while Loki stood still in shock.
==== Escape and Capture ====
: "Do you think what makes a Loki a Loki is the fact that we're destined to lose?""No. We may lose, sometimes painfully, but we don't die. We survive."
: ―Sylvie Laufeydottir and Loki[src]
Seeing the destruction of the Ark, Loki and Sylvie Laufeydottir left Shuroo and waited on the outskirts for their impending doom. Sitting down next to each other, Loki was told by Laufeydottir about her past on Asgard and how she had been taken as young girl by the Time Variance Authority. Loki was then told that she escaped the TVA and ran from them her whole life, which impressed him. As meteors crashed closer to them, Loki grabbed Laufeydottir's hand and waited for their death, when two Timedoors appeared before them. As Lamentis-1 was destroyed, Loki and Laufeydottir turned around to see Timedoors opening.
Thinking on his feet, Loki grabbed Laufeydottir and held her in a chokehold as she struggled. He told the TVA that he had got what they wanted, the Loki Variant. However, Ravonna Renslayer, Hunter B-15, the Minutemen and especially Mobius M. Mobius did not believe him. Despite Loki trying to convince, they did not care. Laufeydottir then bit Loki's arm in an attempt to get free. She broke away from Loki and charged B-15 who punched her to the ground. The two Lokis were then taken in.
=== Second TVA Imprisonment ===
==== Second Interrogation ====
: "So I'm just supposed to take the word of two Lokis?""How about the word of a friend?"
: ―Mobius M. Mobius and Loki[src]
Loki and Laufeydottir were transported to the Time Variance Authority Office, where they were separated from each other. Loki was then reunited with Mobius M. Mobius. Mobius and two Minutemen took Loki to the interrogation room, where Loki told Mobius that the TVA were lying to him. However, Mobius shrugged his warning off.
Mobius then opened up a Time Cell and the Minutemen pushed Loki inside. Loki appeared in a past memory of him in Asgard and found himself being confronted by Lady Sif, who slapped and hit him for cutting a piece of her hair off. After Loki was knocked to the ground, he was confronted by Sif again, realizing that he had been put in a time loop. Loki then confessed to Sif that he was a narcissist and feared being alone, which caused him to do things to get attention. Following this, Mobius appeared and brought Loki out of the Cell.
Loki sat down at the interrogation table with Mobius and was questioned about his relationship with Laufeydottir. When Mobius told Loki that Laufeydottir had been pruned, Loki was visibly distressed at the news. Loki was then told that Mobius was lying and had been wanting to know the seriousness of his feelings for her, and that the romantic relationship he and Laufeydottir formed at Lamentis-1 could break the current reality. Frustrated at Mobius' questions, Loki exclaimed that everyone in the TVA were Variants and had a life before the TVA. To Loki's exasperation, Mobius believed he was lying and ordered him sent back into the Time Cell.
Loki met Sif again in the Cell, but was able to stop her from punching him again, breaking the TVA's time loop. Shortly after, Mobius arrived in the Cell and told Loki that he had been right about the TVA. Loki was then led out of the Cell by Mobius only for them to be confronted by Ravonna Renslayer and a group of Minutemen. Loki witnessed Mobius returning Renslayer's TemPad to one of the Minutemen and proclaiming that he wanted to live his life before the TVA. Then to Loki's horror, Renslayer ordered Mobius to be pruned and a Minutemen zapped Mobius, causing him to disappear.
==== Meeting the Time-Keepers ====
Loki was then taken by the Minutemen under Ravonna Renslayer's orders to meet up with Sylvie Laufeydottir who was also in custody of some Minutemen. Upon seeing each other, Laufeydottir asked Loki how he was doing. Renslayer then dismissed the Minutemen telling them that she could take care of Loki and Laufeydottir and then led them into a golden elevator. When the elevator stopped, Loki and Laufeydottir found themselves in the Time-Keepers chamber.
They walked up to confront the Time-Keepers, and after getting threatened by them, Loki stated that he had been killed many times so it would not matter if he was again. Loki then watched as Laufeydottir tried to run at them, only to be caught in Renslayer's Time Twister.
However, the elevator opened up behind them and Hunter B-15 walked in, unlocking Loki and Laufeydottir's neck collars. B-15 then provided Laufeydottir with a Time Stick and the two began to fight off the Minutemen Royal Guards. Loki used Laufeydottir's weapon to kill the last of the Guards while Laufeydottir knocked Renslayer out. Loki and Laufeydottir then confronted the Time-Keepers, but Laufeydottir threw her weapon at one of them, decapitating it and causing its head to roll to the ground. Loki and Laufeydottir then realized that the Time-Keepers were actually androids, causing Loki to wonder aloud who created the TVA.
Realizing that it was just the two of them now, Loki attempted to confess his feelings for Laufeydottir, telling her that he had never felt that way before. However, as he was about to profess his love for her, he was pruned by Renslayer's baton, vanishing in front of Laufeydottir's eyes.
=== Trapped in the Void ===
==== Meeting Alternate Selves ====
: "Is this... Hel? Am I dead?""Not yet. But you will be unless you come with us."
: ―Loki and Classic Loki[src]
Loki woke up in the Void and realized he had been transported to an alternate dimension. He then asked aloud if he was in Hel. To his surprise, four other alternate versions of him were looking at him and the eldest one invited him to join them in order to stay alive.
Loki tried to get his bearings, but the four versions of him told him to come with them as they needed to find shelter from a creature called Alioth. Once they got away from the place Loki had been sent from, he was introduced to Classic Loki, Kid Loki, Boastful Loki, and Alligator Loki. Loki was surprised upon finding out that Alligator Loki was also, in fact, a Loki Variant.
Loki went back with them to their hideout underground and sat down while they explained who they were to him. Classic Loki told him about his life, tricking Thanos on the Statesman, and living his life by himself secluded, until he tried to reunite with his brother and was arrested by the TVA. Kid Loki told Loki that he killed Thor when he was younger, which caused him to be arrested, while Boastful Loki said he killed two Avengers and collected all Infinity Stones, but Alligator Loki snapped at him, knowing that he might have been lying.
Shortly, Loki got up and told them that he was going to go back out and get past Alioth so he could find a way out of the Void. He then asked them to join him as he needed all the help he could get, but they all laughed at him and stayed seated. Frustrated, Loki walked off to the ladder.
When Loki opened the hatch to get out of the hideout, he was met by President Loki and an army made up of several other Loki Variants, who looked down at him and asked which Loki was he. Exasperated at how many different Lokis he had met, Loki didn't even try to fight them off and let them come down to the hideout.
==== Ambush at the Loki Palace ====
: "Hello. Which one of us are you?""This is a nightmare."
: ―President Loki and Loki[src]
Loki stayed off on the sidelines while Boastful Loki told Classic Loki, Kid Loki, and Alligator Loki that he had double crossed them by leading President Loki and his army there. When President Loki found out he was too double crossed, Loki put his hand on his face in irritation. Loki then watched as Alligator Loki bit President Loki's hand off, and a fight ensued. Classic Loki created a portal for them to escape, and Loki followed behind as he, Alligator Loki, Kid Loki, and Classic Loki left the hideout.
Loki, Classic Loki, Kid Loki, and Alligator Loki wandered throughout the Void until they saw a beam shine down from the sky and a huge warship, called the USS Eldridge, crashed down onto the ground. They then watched as Alioth arrived and kills everyone on the ship.
==== Reuniting with His Friends ====
: "I betrayed everyone who ever loved me. I betrayed my father, my brother... my home. I know what I did. And I know why I did it. And that's not who I am anymore."
: ―Loki to Sylvie Laufeydottir[src]
Loki watched as a car drove up to them and saw Sylvie Laufeydottir step out of the car, much to his excitement. He ran over to meet her and was also pleased to see Mobius M. Mobius. Sylvie told Loki that she was there because she thought he needed backup. Loki then introduced them to Classic Loki, Kid Loki, and Alligator Loki.
Loki sat down with Laufeydottir on the grassy field, while Mobius talked to the other Loki's. As they were sitting, Loki used his powers to have a blanket materialize around him, and later, around Laufeydottir. Laufeydottir asked Loki if she could trust him, and Loki assured her that she could, as he had changed for the better.
Laufeydottir handed Loki a TemPad, but he told her that he would stay with her as she attempted to enchant Alioth. He gave the TemPad to Mobius instead, who asked Kid and Classic Loki if they wanted to go with him, but they declined, opting to stay in the Void. As Mobius opened up a Timedoor to leave, Loki hugged him and thanked him for being his friend.
==== Battle in the Void ====
Loki and Sylvie Laufeydottir waited around for some time before Alioth returned. When he did, Loki told Laufeydottir he would make a distraction and ran off away from her, hoping that Alioth would follow him. However, the distraction did not work and Alioth headed towards Laufeydottir instead. However, she was saved by Classic Loki, who cast an illusion of Asgard, and drew Alioth's attention to him, ultimately sacrificing his life so they could enchant him.
Loki caught back up with Laufeydottir and watched as she tried to enchant Alioth. She told him to join her, and that he could do it, even though he thought he couldn't. Loki joined her and was able to use his powers to enchant Alioth, leading the two of them to be able to get past Alioth.
After Alioth went away, Loki and Laufeydottir watched as a portal opened up and in the distance, they could see a castle. Together, the two held each other's hands and walked towards the portal.
=== Attack on the Citadel at the End of Time ===
==== Confronting He Who Remains ====
: "You're a flea on the back of a dragon. In for one hell of a ride. But you did manage to hang on. I guess that counts for something.""I'm not sure you quite understand the situation. You've lost. We found you."
: ―He Who Remains and Loki[src]
Loki and Sylvie Laufeydottir walked up to the Citadel at the End of Time and debated outside whether or not they would knock on the doors or not. Laufeydottir told Loki she wanted to have a moment to process everything, since it was personal for her to be there. However, the doors opened up on their own and Loki and Laufeydottir, with weapons drawn, walked inside cautiously.
The doors closed behind them and when they turned back around, Miss Minutes popped up in front of them, startling them. Miss Minutes told them that they had finished their long journey and that He Who Remains had proposed a deal for them to stay together on the Sacred Timeline. Miss Minutes then told them that they could have what they wanted, and Loki asked what they wanted. Miss Minutes told him that he could be winning the Battle of New York, kill Thanos, take the Infinity Gauntlet, and become king of Asgard, additionally telling Sylvie she could have happy memories. However, Loki and Laufeydottir believed it to be fictional and Loki said that they write their own destinies, before walking away.
After walking into another room, Loki saw several statues resembling the Time-Keepers, some were dusty, and others fallen on the floor. An elevator door rung, causing Loki and Laufeydottir to draw their weapons in defense. The elevator then opened up revealing He Who Remains, who invited them to come up to talk with him in his office. In the elevator, Laufeydottir tried to kill He Who Remains, but he evaded her effortlessly.
In He Who Remains' chamber, Loki was offered a seat and a drink. Eventually, Loki and Laufeydottir sat down and listened as He Who Remains told them that he had been behind their every move from Lamentis-1 to the Void. He Who Remains then told them about the Multiversal War, his Variants, Alioth, and creating the Time Variance Authority to protect the Sacred Timeline. He Who Remains then offered them a deal telling them that they could take his place, as he was old and tired, or kill him and unleash his Variants and another Multiversal War.
==== Fighting Sylvie Laufeydottir ====
: "I've been where you are. I've felt what you feel. Don't ask me how I know. All I know... is I don't wanna hurt you. I don't want a throne. I just... I just want you to be okay."
: ―Loki to Sylvie Laufeydottir[src]
Laufeydottir then tried to kill He Who Remains again, until Loki stopped her, leading her to believe that he could not be trusted and that he had lied to her. Loki tried to reason with her about the necessity to just talk about it, but Laufeydottir, who was full of revenge, didn't want to listen and accused Loki of wanting the throne of Asgard. Loki declined this and dueled Laufeydottir as she tried to get at He Who Remains.
After another almost kill, Loki intervened and told Laufeydottir that he had been in her place before and knew how she felt. He told her that all he wanted was for her to be okay, leading Laufeydottir to drop her sword.
Laufeydottir then kissed Loki, expressing their feelings towards each other. At the end, however, she stepped back and told him that she was different than him. Loki watched in horror as she grabbed He Who Remains' TemPad, opened a Timedoor, and pushed him into it.
==== Sent to a Past TVA ====
: "What are you talking about?""Who are you? What's your name?"
: ―Loki and Mobius M. Mobius[src]
Loki was sent back to the Time Variance Authority, leaving him shocked and saddened by Sylvie Laufeydottir's actions. He sat down on a couch and thought about it, before composing himself and walking off.
Loki ran off to find Mobius M. Mobius, and found him and Hunter B-15 in the library. He rushed over to them and told them about the Citadel at the End of Time and the different Variants of He Who Remains. He told them that they had unleashed them, and they were coming, however, Mobius didn't recognize Loki and asked who he was and what division he was in, leading Loki to become panicked.
Loki then looked over to where the Time-Keepers' statues were, only to find a statue of "Kang." Loki looked in horror as he believed that "Kang" had already come into power and that he was in Kang's TVA, unaware that he time-slipped, and was actually in a TVA of the past.
Soon, however, Loki became pursued as everyone, including Mobius, realized he was a Variant. Loki tried to plead with his friend Mobius, unaware that he was in the past. Mobius reiterated that he did not know who Loki was. As more Minutemen surrounded Loki, he jumped off the ledge and into the city below, crashing into a Time Variance Authority Mail Cart. His presence startled the driver, causing her to clip the cheek of "Kang's" statue and crash into the window of a section, where Casey was buffing the floor. The mail cart caused a monitor to fall, cracking the floor.
Loki then exited the vehicle and collected himself as he assured the personnel that he was fine and greeted them, before the mail cart slipped down, alarming the security force. Loki collected himself and saw Casey, who asked him if they met before. Loki asked for help and if Casey remembered him. Casey stepped backward and deemed him an intruder, but Loki was suddenly pulled away.
=== Time Slipping ===
==== Searching for Mobius M. Mobius ====
: "Casey, something terrible is happening. I'm being pulled from... Wait, no. Has that always been there?""The crack? It's been there as long as I can remember."
: ―Loki and Casey[src]
Loki suddenly found himself in the same room, which was now empty except for himself and Casey. Loki approached Casey, relieved that Casey recognized him. He started to tell Casey what was happening, but stopped as he recognized the crack in the floor. Loki asked how long the crack had been there and Casey said it was there as long as he could remember, causing Loki to realize that he was in the past.
He asked for Mobius M. Mobius and Hunter B-15, so Casey started to take him to them. However, Loki was pulled away again. He eventually returned to be in front Casey, frightening him. Loki asked where Mobius was, so Casey pointed him to the War Room. He reached Mobius but was pulled away before Mobius saw him.
==== Showing the Judges' Council ====
: "That's who built this place. That's who stole your lives! That's who's coming back!"
: ―Loki[src]
Loki made his way into the War Room, finding it empty. He looked in the room and saw a wall decoration featuring several images of He Who Remains' head. Loki discovered a recording of He Who Remains talking to Ravonna Renslayer, complimenting her efforts in the Multiversal War and expressing excitement to lead with her. He was pulled back into the present, where he saw Mobius M. Mobius and rushed to him, happy that Mobius recognized him. He explained that a moment ago, Mobius had not recognized him, and Dox loudly demanded that everyone be quiet.
Loki told Mobius that he and Sylvie Laufeydottir had found He Who Remains. Loki attempted to motion to the wall decoration to explain who he was talking about, but found that it had been covered by a mural of the Time-Keepers. He rushed over to Hunter X-05 and stole his Time Stick, using it to prune the mural and reveal the He Who Remains wall out behind it. Loki decleared that He was the one who had built the TVA and would be returning. Mobius tried to get Loki to calm down, but Loki told Mobius that Sylvie intended to kill He Who Remains. Dox demanded to know Sylvie's location, but Loki said that he did not know as Mobius guided him out of the room.
==== Catching Mobius Up ====
: "We thought it was about freeing the timeline, but that brings only more malevolence, more violence, more war. More of him. They're coming."
: ―Loki[src]
Loki asked Mobius M. Mobius who Dox was and what she wanted with Sylvie Laufeydottir, but Mobius simply told him not to worry about it and asked what happened with Alioth. Loki explained that Alioth was a distraction and they found a Citadel at the End of Time contiaining He Who Remains. Mobius asked where Sylvie was, but Loki explained that she was still at the Citadel. Loki panicked, talking about how he simply wanted time to consider the choice which He Who Remains had given them.
Mobius asked Loki to slow down, and Loki explained that freeing the timeline would only bring more versions of He Who Remains and more war. Loki told Mobius that Sylvie sent Loki through a Timedoor, though insisted that their fight was a draw since he was not trying to fight her. Loki motioned to a mural of the Multiversal War and insisted that it was coming, suggesting that He Who Remains may have been right. Mobius asked how it was possible for him not to remember, so Loki added that Mobius' memories were erased multiple times.
Loki attempted to return to the Judges' Council and make them listen, but Mobius stopped him and asked how Loki was able to simply appear. Loki explained that he was in the past, but Mobius did not believe him since time worked differently in the Time Variance Authority's office. Loki was suddenly pulled away and returned to that moment. He asked Mobius how it looked, insisting that it did not feel bad. Mobius tried to call Miss Minutes for help, but Loki stopped him, explaining that she was with He Who Remains. Despite Loki's protests, Mobius brought him to another department to figure out what was happening.
==== Meeting Ouroboros Twice ====
: "That's not impossible because I was just with you in the future.""Mmm, I think I would remember that.""Yes, but it hasn't happened to you yet."
: ―Loki and Ouroboros[src]
As they walked, Loki explained that his disappearing started once Sylvie Laufeydottir sent him away from the Citadel at the End of Time using He Who Remains' TemPad, suggesting that the TemPad was the reason it was possible for Loki to be appearing. They found the room, and the man inside recognized Mobius, although Mobius did not recognize him. The man introduced himself as Ouroboros, noting that Mobius had a nickname for him and that they had not seen each other for four hundred years. Loki watched as Mobius struggled to pretend to remember Mobius, getting details of their past wrong. Ouroboros quickly handled a work order and returned, asking what was happening. However, before Mobius could explain, Loki was pulled into the past again.
Loki found himself still in Ouroboros' workspace and greeted him, asking to call him by Mobius' nickname, which Ouroboros liked. Loki explained that he was being pulled through time, which Ouroboros recognized as Time Slipping and said it was impossible to do in the Time Variance Authority. Loki reminded Ouroboros that he had just seen it, which Ouroboros struggled to reconcile.
Ouroboros insisted that it was impossible, but Loki explained that he was just talking to Ouroboros in the future. Ouroboros claimed not to remember it, but Loki explained that it had not happened to him yet. Ouroboros told Loki that it would be better to have the conversation in the future, frustrating Loki. Ouroboros explained that someone in the appropriate time period would need to use a Temporal Aura Extractor, which Ouroboros built. Loki asked Ouroboros to hold onto until Mobius met him again in the future.
Ouroboros told Loki that he had to prune himself for their plan to work, upsetting Loki. Loki asked what would happen if it did not work, so Ouroboros warned that he would undergo spaghettification. Loki suddenly time slipped back to the present, where he and Mobius argued about who had the least pleasant part of saving Loki. Loki asked if there was another way, but Ouroboros simply offered Mobius a Time Stick. Ouroboros' lamp flickered, and Mobius explained that the entire Time Variance Authority Office was experiencing power surges, worrying Ouroboros.
==== Preparing to Prune Himself ====
: "Then I'll need to close the blast doors to protect the TVA, while I figure out how to retrofit it to handle all those branches.""What about the Time Slipping?""Once those doors close, we won't be able to re-sync you, so, it's now or never."
: ―Ouroboros and Loki[src]
As Loki walked to the Temporal Loom, he and Mobius M. Mobius explained to Ouroboros that the timeline was being allowed to branch. Hunter B-15 joined them as Ouroboros realized that the branching was overloading the Temporal Loom, leading to the power surges which were occurring in the Time Variance Authority Office. Loki did not know what the Temporal Loom was, so Ouroboros gave him a copy of the Time Variance Authority Official Handbook. A light blew up behind them, and the group went into the room where the Temporal Loom was managed. Ouroboros checked on the Temporal Loom as he explained that it refined raw time into physical timeline.
Loki noted that the Loom looked like a disaster, and Ouroboros agreed. Loki asked how to stop the meltdown, and B-15 added that they could not prune branches. Ouroboros said that he could close the blast doors, but Loki asked about his Time Slipping. Ouroboros explained that they would need to do it before the doors closed. Loki prepared to prune himself, but Ouroboros told him to wait for Mobius to be ready. He gave Loki a timer synchronized to the blaster, so that in the event that Loki time slipped, he would know when to prune himself.
Hunter D-90 arrived and revealed that Dox was raiding the armory. Loki realized that Dox was targeting Sylvie Laufeydottir and rushed to protect her, but Mobius stopped him, noting that they only had one chance to get it right. Loki started to give a message to Mobius in case he did not make it back, but he was suddenly pulled away.
==== Glimpsing the Future ====
: "There you are."
: ―Sylvie Laufeydottir to Loki[src]
Loki landed in the room with the Temporal Loom, finding the blast doors to be closed and Mobius M. Mobius's dust-written note from before he time-slipped still on the computer, causing him to realize that he was in the future. He checked the clock which Ouroboros gave him and saw that it was still in the red, then realized that he did not take the Time Stick he had to the future and rushed to find one.
He ran through the Time Variance Authority Office as it was evacuated, noting that the Loom had overloaded despite the blast doors being closed. Loki noticed the power surges getting worse and mass areas of the Time Variance Authority losing electricity as he continued his search. The timer went into the green, and Loki got upset at being too late to prune himself.
Loki heard a phone ringing and walked toward it. He noticed the elevator opening and watched it as the person opening it revealed herself to be Sylvie Laufeydottir, who was happy to see him. Loki was suddenly pruned, sending him into the Temporal Loom, where he was grabbed by the Temporal Aura Extractor and pulled out. Loki crashed into Mobius, pushing both back inside the Time Variance Authority's office before the blast doors could close. As the two took a moment to breathe, Loki insisted that they needed to find Sylvie.
=== Searching for Sylvie Laufeydottir ===
==== Chase of Hunter X-05 ====
: "Come on, X-05, did you really think you could outrun me?""Yeah."
: ―Loki and Brad Wolfe[src]
Loki and Mobius M. Mobius went to 1977 on the Sacred Timeline, to find Sylvie Laufeydottir. Loki got nervous and realized that they were not in the right place since it was too safe for her, rather than being a war zone or apocalypse. Mobius said that Sylvie might have changed, and noted that they needed to follow up on information they had received from Hunter X-05's TemPad in the area. Loki realized that the TemPad going dark could mean Sylvie had incapacitated X-05, but Mobius insisted that it was their only lead.
They went to a movie premiere for The Zaniac! and saw X-05 get out of the car, being referred to as "Brad Wolfe." Loki and Mobius discussed the revelation, but Mobius suggested it was a cover. Mobius intercepted Wolfe, who tried to back out, but Loki cut him off. Wolfe insisted that he was happy to see the pair and left, claiming to be getting drinks for them so they could catch up. As Mobius tried to convince Loki that it would be alright to drink, Wolfe ran away. Loki found Wolfe yelling at Mobius, so he used his magic to send Wolfe flying down the stairs.
Wolfe ran again, and Loki chased after him. They reached a dead end, but Wolfe used a Time Twister to escape. Loki created an illusion of a crowd where Wolfe appeared and had the crowd taunt Wolfe. Wolfe attacked the crowd, causing Loki to make the illusions freeze and call Wolfe unsophisticated. Loki magically tossed the Time Twister to the side, prompting Wolfe to demand that he fight fair. Wolfe tried to run away, but a Loki appeared in front of him and said that the fight was not fair. He ran into another alley, so Loki and two illusions of himself surrounded him. Loki then animated the shadows cast by himself and the illusions to hold Wolfe back. Mobius arrived, and Wolfe shouted that he did not do anything wrong. Mobius commented that the shadows were over the top, so Loki dropped the illusion and said that he felt it appropriate.
==== Examining the TemPad ====
Loki and Mobius M. Mobius waited outside the room where Brad Wolfe was to be brought, and watched him get escorted by Hunter B-15 and Hunter D-90. Loki taunted Wolfe about the collar, which was put on him, so Wolfe sarcastically commented that he would get a looser collar for Loki next time. Wolfe refused to tell B-15 how he had altered his TemPad, so he was locked in a holding room. B-15 gave Wolfe's TemPad to Mobius so that he and Loki could ask Ouroboros to see how Wolfe had altered it.
Loki and Mobius went to repairs and found Ouroboros worked frantically on a device to help the Temporal Loom handle new branches. Mobius asked if Ouroboros could look at Wolfe's TemPad, and Ouroboros agreed to. However, he then asked if it was more or less important than a potential temporal meltdown, so Loki and Mobius both agreed that the meltdown was more important. Ouroboros gave Loki and Mobius a copy of the Time Variance Authority Official Handbook, saying it had everything they needed to know about TemPads.
The pair went to Mobius' desk and struggled to understand the handbook's instructions. B-15 brought Casey over, and he revealed that Miss Minutes was helping Ravonna Renslayer. Loki remembered the conversation between Renslayer and He Who Remains which he had heard while Time Slipping in which they appeared to be partners. Mobius asked where Renslayer and Miss Minutes were, and Loki resumed working on the TemPad while Casey explained that he did not yet know. B-15 asked how they were doing with the TemPad, and Mobius admitted they were struggling despite Loki's attempts to assure them they would be alright. They told Casey Wolfe's claim that the alterations blocked Time Variance Authority tracking, but Casey realized that he was lying. B-15 suggested it was a good starting point for Wolfe, so Loki declared they should go interrogate him.
==== Questioning Brad Wolfe ====
: "A loser. Always have been. Always will be. And perhaps I've been... holding something back.""Loki.""Perhaps I've just been biding my time. Perhaps I've just been waiting for a moment like this, so I can do terrible, awful things to you."
: ―Loki and Mobius M. Mobius[src]
Outside Brad Wolfe's holding room, Mobius M. Mobius reminded Loki and Hunter B-15 to focus on three questions: Dox's location, Sylvie Laufeydottir's location, and Wolfe's alterations to his TemPad. He also reminded Loki that Wolfe could get under people's skin and not to let him. The three entered, and Wolfe greeted them by reminding them that he outranked them. Loki stated that he did not work for the Time Variance Authority, so Wolfe told him to stop talking. Mobius asked why he was on the Sacred Timeline, and Wolfe claimed to simply be making movies. Loki asked what he had done to his TemPad, so Wolfe reiterated his lie that it blocked trackers. B-15 asked again what he had done, but Wolfe continued to refuse to answer, deflecting by claiming none of them were ranked highly enough to make that call.
Wolfe asked why they were upset with him for getting a life on the Sacred Timeline, so Loki told him that there were lives at stake. Wolfe told Loki that they all knew he was trying to make up for his mistakes, calling him pathetic. Mobius attempted to cut Wolfe off, but Loki told Wolfe to continue. Wolfe told Loki that everything he and Sylvie tried to do only made things worse and that Loki was the source of the problems in his life. He went on to say he was making things worse for his friends and his mother, calling him a loser. He told Loki to stop trying to be a hero, and Loki thanked him. He said that Wolfe was right and approached him, suggesting that he would hurt Wolfe if he did not give the information they wanted. He demanded to know where Sylvie was, but Wolfe simply suggested that Loki needed therapy.
Mobius separated Wolfe and Loki, commenting on how tense the situation got. He tried to offer Wolfe a deal, but Wolfe started taunting Mobius about not knowing he was meant to be on the timeline. He insisted that Mobius should care and continued to taunt Mobius until he slapped him. Loki pulled Mobius outside as Mobius yelled at Wolfe.
==== Discussing Mobius' Stolen Life ====
: "Don't you want to see the life you were supposed to live before they kidnapped you and brought you into the TVA?""Not really.""Why?""Because it's not my life."
: ―Loki and Mobius M. Mobius[src]
Loki and Mobius M. Mobius went for a walk, and Loki tried to get Mobius to tell him what happened. Loki said that Mobius was not acting like himself, but Mobius insisted that he was alright as the pair found themselves in the automat. They enjoyed key lime pie together, and Mobius confessed to having gotten angry at Brad Wolfe. Loki assured Mobius that it was alright, mentioning his release of frustration in the Battle of New York.
Loki asked whether Mobius wanted to visit his place on the timeline, but Mobius expressed disinterest since it was not his life. Loki was confused about why, but Mobius insisted that he liked his life in the TVA. Loki expressed understanding at Mobius' hesitation in case it were a bad life, but Mobius corrected him, saying his true fear was that he was missing out a good life, and Loki understood. Loki claimed they would not be able to make Wolfe talk, but Mobius insisted they would, noting that it did not making sense for Wolfe to not have been able to find Sylvie Laufeydottir. Loki suggested that the theory only made sense if Sylvie did not know that Wolfe had found her. Mobius said that they simply needed to get Wolfe to admit it, so they made a plan.
==== Torturing Brad Wolfe ====
: "I'm not trying to be a hero, Brad. I'm a villain. Remember?"
: ―Loki to Brad Wolfe[src]
Loki visited Brad Wolfe's holding room, where Wolfe sarcastically asked if Loki was ready to go again. Loki said he needed another session, and Mobius M. Mobius wheeled in a torture device. Wolfe expressed doubt that they would torture him, but Loki and Mobius noted that they were getting desperate. Loki told Mobius that he had forgotten the controller for the device, so Mobius left the room. Loki locked Mobius out of the room, declaring his intention to torture Wolfe while Mobius yelled for him to stop and open the door.
Loki revealed that he had merely hidden the controller from Mobius and asked where Sylvie Laufeydottir was. Wolfe claimed that Loki did not know how to work the controller, but Loki simply reiterated Wolfe's assertion that Loki was a villain and started the device. Wolfe attempted to apologize for insulting Loki and called for Mobius while Loki simply laughed. Wolfe told Loki to put the controller down, but Loki smiled and experimented with the controller. He surrounded Wolfe's stool with a cage and crushed it. Loki trapped Wolfe in a similar cage and started to make the cage shrink.
Wolfe admitted to not knowing where Dox and her loyalists were, but Loki simply restated that he had done terrible things and shrunk the cage. Wolfe tried to claim that he was never told Dox's plan, but Loki did not believe him. Wolfe confessed to lying, but then claimed that he bailed on his assignment to search for Sylvie. Loki did not believe him, so he again shrunk the cage, making it levitate and continuously shrink. Wolfe finally agreed to reveal Sylvie's location, so Loki turned off the machine. Mobius then let himself into the room as Wolfe explained that she was on a branched timeline, and they made Wolfe take them to Sylvie.
==== Reunion with Sylvie Laufeydottir ====
: "You like it here? You like this place? You've made a home? If what He Who Remains said is true, the TVA is the only defense. And if what I saw of you is true, then there's that stands between this world and utter destruction."
: ―Loki to Sylvie Laufeydottir[src]
Brad Wolfe brought Loki and Mobius M. Mobius to a McDonald's on a branched timeline and tried to leave, but Mobius stopped him. Loki said that he needed to find out what Sylvie knew and entered, telling Mobius to be ready. He saw Sylvie and slowly approached her. The pair greeted each other, and Loki asked to talk, so she agreed to once her break started.
Sylvie and Loki met in the parking lot, where Sylvie sat on her car and ate. Loki acknowledged that Sylvie did not want to see him, assuring her that he was not there for trouble. Sylvie asked why he was there, so Loki stumbled through an explanation of his Time Slipping. He explained that he saw Sylvie in the Time Variance Authority Office in the future and needed to know why. Sylvie insisted that she would not be returning to the TVA, so Loki asked for an explanation of what he saw. Loki claimed that since it was the future, it was bound to happen. This upset Sylvie, saying that it sounded like Time Variance Authority propaganda. Loki asked Sylvie to enchant him, but Sylvie refused. Loki tried to claim that her new timeline might disappear, but Sylvie insulted him for sounding like the TVA. Loki explained that his mission was bigger than the TVA, which he saw as the only way to prevent a Multiversal War.
Loki and Sylvie continued talking, but Sylvie eventually had to return to work. Loki asked what Sylvie would do if variants of He Who Remains appeared, but Sylvie simply said she would kill them. Mobius and Wolfe joined them, and Wolfe started ranting that everyone there would die. Sylvie enchanted Wolfe and learned that Dox was planning to destroy all of the branched timelines.
==== Attack on the Branching Timelines ====
: "Is this the best you lot can do?""There was nothing we could do.""Some defense."
: ―Sylvie Laufeydottir and Loki[src]
Sylvie Laufeydottir brought Loki and Mobius M. Mobius to where Dox and her loyalists were deploying the Reset Charges, and they took in their surroundings. Loki started fighting the loyalists to distract them while Sylvie and Mobius went for the controls. Loki fought through several loyalists and defeated them. He grabbed Hunter M-34 and threw him into another loyalist. Loki eventually met with Sylvie, and the two created a blast of magic together which defeated the rest of the loyalists.
Loki stayed with Sylvie while the loyalists were arrested, but Mobius came and told him they had to go. Loki turned to Sylvie as he went, but she stayed in place. He entered the Time Variance Authority Office and looked at the screen, then turned as he noticed that Sylvie had decided to follow him. He joined Mobius and Hunter B-15 as they stared in horror at the screen reporting how many timelines had been destroyed. Casey was suddenly able to track Ravonna Renslayer's TemPad, and Loki looked as his computer displayed the results.
Loki turned his attention to Sylvie, who folded her arms in anger and asked if it was the best they could do. Loki tried to claim that there was nothing they could do, but Sylvie rejected the defense. She used He Who Remains' TemPad to return to the timeline she had taken residence in, angry. Loki pleaded with her not to, but Sylvie was already gone. He returned his friends and comforted Mobius.
=== Work on the Temporal Loom ===
==== Rising Threat ====
: "How are we going to find a little rogue cartoon clock that doesn't wanna be found?""I'd say the sooner we find her, the better."
: ―Mobius M. Mobius and Loki[src]
As the branches which were bombed started to grow back, the Temporal Loom started to get overwhelmed again. Loki watched with Casey and Ouroboros as the threat elevated and asked how they could get in through the blast doors to fix it. Ouroboros explained that he did not know how without He Who Remains' temporal aura and started explaining the technicalities of their task. Loki asked for a simpler explanation, so Ouroboros explained that if they did not scale the Loom's ability to handle new branches, it would fail. Loki insisted that they find another way, so Mobius had the idea to hack the system. Ouroboros mistook Mobius' thought as a possible suggestion, so Loki and Mobius clarified his intention.
Ouroboros said that it was not possible, so Casey suggested they find Miss Minutes. Ouroboros explained that it was possible she could help, but Mobius asked how they would find her since she was missing. The Temporal Loom creaked, so Loki simply ntoed that they needed to find her soon. B-15 noted that they could use the results of Casey's trace on Ravonna Renslayer's TemPad, and Loki agreed that they would be together. Mobius noted that it would be an awkward reunion given Renslayer's attempts to kill him and Loki, so Loki suggested they focus on Miss Minutes as the two left together.
==== Chicago World's Fair ====
: "It's completely inaccurate, first of all.""What, you don't think that looks like Odin?""It's embarassing. It's a crass generalization. I mean, you can't reduce an entire culture down to a simple diorama."
: ―Loki and Mobius M. Mobius[src]
Loki and Mobius M. Mobius went to 1868, which Mobius explained was one of the two places where Ravonna Renslayer had been found before going to the same spot in 1893. Loki wondered why they would go to the same place twice, and Mobius shared in the confusion, noting that the place and time period were not of historical significance. They decided to go to 1893, where they came across a large fair. Loki expressed confusion, but Mobius realized that they were at the World's Columbian Exposition. Loki suggested that Renslayer and Miss Minutes went to 1868 by mistake, but Mobius insisted that it was not a mistake and they needed to learn their purpose. They started talking about how to find Renslayer and Miss Minutes when they heard a newspaper boy announcing a story about a "ghost clock" haunting the midway. They got a newspaper and realized that Miss Minutes was there, so they started searching.
Loki and Mobius searched the Bulgarian Curiosities exhibit and the Chinese pavilions. They stopped to get Cracker Jacks, which Loki was not pleased about. However, Mobius convinced Loki to try his, so he complained about the taste and accused Mobius of sightseeing. Mobius defended himself, and they came across a depiction of Thor, Odin and Balder the Brave. Loki was upset by the depiction, claiming it was inaccurate to their looks. He claimed that they were reducing his culture, so Mobius suggested that Loki was upset not to be included. Loki continued to complain about Balder's inclusion since he was lesser-known, but Mobius said that humans knew who he was. Mobius said that it amazed him that Loki was Asgardian and walked away. Loki commented on the depiction's inaccurate portrayal of Thor's height before joining Mobius.
Mobius looked through the newspaper for more places to look for Renslayer and Miss Minutes, but Loki stopped him as he saw a sign advertizing a show which included a man named Victor Timely. He and Mobius noted that the show's title made reference to "Temporal" marvels and decided to investigate.
==== Spotting Victor Timely ====
: "It's him.""What? You made him sound like this terrifying figure.""He is."
: ―Loki and Mobius M. Mobius[src]
Loki and Mobius M. Mobius went to Victor Timely's show and searched the crowd. Mobius found Ravonna Renslayer and started to approach her, but Loki stopped him and told him not to let her see him. As the show started, the two recognized the Temporal Loom, and Loki recognized Timely as a variant of He Who Remains. They both watch Timely, and Loki told Mobius who he was. Mobius was confused, as Loki described He Who Remains as a terrifying figure, but Loki assured him that he is. Loki insisted that they needed to do something, but Mobius said that Timely was unlikely to be a threat due to his demeanor.
Timely demonstrated the Loom's ability to turn time energy into electricity, and Mobius told Loki that they needed to get him to the Time Variance Authority. Loki said that he could not be trusted, but Mobius insisted that Timely's aura was needed to get them access to the Loom. Mobius started to talk about how Renslayer and Miss Minutes would not have helped, when he suddenly realized he could not find Renslayer. Mobius found her talking to Timely, so he and Loki started to approach. Loki bumped into a man, so he apologized and smiled at him. The man threatened Loki, so he used his magic to teleport him into a pigpen and pursued Timely.
Loki and Mobius found Timely talking to Renslayer and tried to pull him away, leading to an argument. A Councilman approached Timely about an invention he sold not working, and Loki watched as Timely convinced the Councilman that he simply needed to adjust the settings. As the Councilman walked away, Loki realized that he was a con man, but Timely claimed his inventions were simply ahead of their time. A Robber Baron which Timely had scammed then started chasing Timely, who ran away.
==== Protecting Victor Timely ====
: "Sylvie, I have never met this man in my life. I didn't give him this book. I never heard the name Victor Timely until today. I was shocked when I saw his face too. Maybe you're right. Maybe we should throw him off this Ferris wheel. But we need him. The TVA needs him."
: ―Loki to Sylvie Laufeydottir[src]
Loki found Victor Timely at the Ferris wheel and complimented his ability to escape, when Sylvie Laufeydottir suddenly appeared and aimed her sword at Timely. Loki put himself in front of the sword, but she told him to stay out of it and pushed both of them into a capsule of the Ferris wheel. As the Ferris wheel started to move, the two argued and Sylvie tried to stab Timely. Loki pushed her back magically, and Sylvie reminded him of her insistence that she would kill variants of He Who Remains who appeared. Loki tried to explain that the Time Variance Authority would be destroyed without Timely, but Sylvie questioned whether Loki cared about things other than the TVA. Sylvie lurched toward them, but Loki explained that the Temporal Loom failing would mean there would not be a life for her to go back to.
Sylvie telekinetically pinned Timely to the wall and told Loki that working with him would not fix the TVA or stop it from being destroyed. Loki noted that killing had not solved any problems either. Sylvie noted that she did not want to kill Timely, so Loki simply told her not to. Sylvie took Timely's copy of the Time Variance Authority Official Handbook and threw it at Loki, asking where Timely got it. She explained that Timely would not have been dangerous without Ravonna Renslayer's interference and scolded Loki for wanting to bring Timely into the TVA. Loki insisted that the TVA needed him and freed Timely. Sylvie charged at Timely, but Loki magically separated the two. As the capsule stopped, Sylvie and Loki blasted at each other, sending Loki and Timely flying out one end and Sylvie crashing into the other.
Mobius rushed to check on Loki while Renslayer and Miss Minutes caused a distraction, allowing Renslayer to escape with Loki. Sylvie found Loki on the ground and declared that Timely's escape was his fault. Mobius then appeared with a tandem bicycle, which Loki at first appeared to use. However, Mobius convinced Loki and they went to search for Timely. They found Timely with Renslayer and Miss Minutes and chased them, but were interrupted by the Robber Baron, who insulted them. Loki displayed his magic powers, sending the Robber Baron running. Loki and Mobius failed to find Timely, so they kept looking.
==== Retrieving Victor Timely ====
: "What do you want with me?""Come with us and we'll show you.""That didn't sound nearly as reassuring as you hoped it would."
: ―Victor Timely and Loki[src]
Loki and Mobius M. Mobius reached Victor Timely's lab and found Ravonna Renslayer threatening Timely with a Time Stick. They asked Renslayer to them take him since they needed him, and Loki stood ready to attack as Mobius tried to reason with her. Mobius and Renslayer argued, when everyone was suddenly knocked over by a magical blast from Sylvie Laufeydottir. Loki watched as Sylvie pointed her sword at Timely, who insisted that he could be better than He Who Remains. Sylvie was convinced, so she told Loki and Mobius to leave with Timely. Mobius opened a Timedoor which Timely went through, and Loki and Mobius went to follow. Before the entered, Sylvie told them not to make her regret it and to leave Renslayer behind. Loki then walked through the Timedoor, followed by Mobius.
Loki and Mobius found Timely in a hallway and approached Timely, who demanded to know what they wanted. Loki told him that they show him if he came, but Timely simply said that Loki was not being reassuring. Sylvie then arrived, and Timely noted that everyone there wanted him and demanded a say. Another power surge then occurred, and Timely asked if the Temporal Loom was responsible. Loki explained that it was, and that Timely was the only one who could help fix it.
==== Making a Plan ====
: "Loki's really gonna have to hoof it then, right?""Hang on a second, why is it suddenly me having to hoof it?"
: ―Mobius M. Mobius and Loki[src]
Loki, Mobius M. Mobius, and Sylvie Laufeydottir guided Victor Timely through the Time Variance Authority Office, though he kept getting distracted by the technological innovations of He Who Remains. Loki introduced Victor to Ouroboros and Casey, leading Timely and Ouroboros to realize that they had inspired each other's work on the TVA Guidebook. Loki pointed out that it was a loop, and Ouroboros and Timely went to autograph each other's books. Sylvie interrupted their compliments to each other by asking them to focus, so Loki asked about their plan.
Ouroboros explained that someone would need to take their Throughput Multiplier and launch it at the Loom from outside, so Loki asked what the connection was between the Multiplier and the Loom. Casey explained that the Multiplier would enlarge the rings of the Loom. Ouroboros noted that there was more radiation than when Mobius went to stop Loki's Time Slipping, so Mobius suggested that Loki would have to move quickly while out there. Loki and Mobius argued about which of them would go out, but Ouroboros cut them off and explained whoever it was would need to be fast. Ouroboros and Casey explained that their Multiplier was not yet working, but Timely presented a solution, so Loki left with Sylvie and Mobius to give Ouroboros, Casey, and Timely time to work.
==== Debating the Plan ====
: "You can't give people free will and then just walk away, Sylvie. That's not how it works. Now, for better or for worse, the timelines are free. It's up to us to protect them. It's up to us to do better than He Who Remains.""Sounds like whatever we do, we're playing God.""We are gods."
: ―Loki and Sylvie Laufeydottir[src]
Mobius M. Mobius suggested they get pie while they wait for the others, angering Sylvie Laufeydottir. Sylvie scolded Mobius for not taking their situation seriously, and Loki tried to calm her down. Sylvie continue to get angry and talked about the branches dying, suggesting that Mobius did not care. Sylvie stormed off, and Loki went after her.
Loki found Sylvie in the automat and explained that Mobius was simply trying to figure out what to do in their new situation like everyone else. Loki reminded Sylvie that she walked away after Loki asked for help, but Sylvie claimed that she did not, using her presence in the Time Variance Authority Office as proof. Loki claimed that she was only there because she could not kill Victor Timely, which Sylvie hesitantly agreed with. Loki shared his experience mocking Thor for going soft while banished to Earth, and compared Thor's actions to Sylvie's, saying that her sparing Timely saved the Time Variance Authority and the branched timelines.
Sylvie noted the amount of faith which Loki was putting in Timely, Ouroboros, and Casey. She reminded Loki that Dox was part of the TVA as well and that the people who she had killed were due to the TVA. Loki asked about the branches that remained alive, saying that it was because of the good elements of the TVA. Sylvie asked what would happen if Loki were wrong to believe the TVA could change, suggesting that it would be easier to burn it down. Loki agreed it would be easier, but that fixing what was broken and hope were hard. Sylvie said that it was too much to hope for, but Loki insisted it was their best option. He went on to suggest sending Timely home after he helped could be a good thing since they could protect him. Sylvie pointed out that his words sounded like TVA propaganda, but Loki noted that they needed to protect the timelines which Sylvie had freed. Sylvie noted that they appeared to be playing God regardless of what they did, but Loki simply stated that they were gods before walking away.
==== Temporal Meltdown ====
: "What happened?""I don't know."
: ―Mobius M. Mobius and Loki[src]
Loki and Sylvie Laufeydottir found that Victor Timely had been taken and Miss Minutes had returned. Hunter B-15 then joined and revealed that Dox and her team were killed, shocking Loki. Sylvie realized that Ravonna Renslayer was responsible, and Mobius suggested they search for them on the timeline. However, Loki picked up a Time Stick and realized that Renslayer wanted control of the Time Variance Authority, so she would still be in the TVA's office.
Loki and Sylvie rushed to find Timely, and found the elevator doors to open too slowly. Loki saw a security camera turn to face him and got shut out of the elevator, so he took the stairs while Sylvie took the elevator. As Loki navigated the office with the Time Stick, he saw his past self watching an elevator door open, and realized that they were in the future which he had seen while Time Slipping. He used the Time Stick to prune himself and assured Sylvie that it would make sense. The phone next to elevator rang and Loki answered it to find Ouroboros ask what was taking so long. Loki told him about Miss Minutes' sabotage, so Ourorboros suggested he reboot the system to shut her down. However, he was hesitant since it would mean losing the security protocols, including the one which dampens magic. Sylvie and Loki heard this and quickly told Ouroboros to shut it down, so he did.
Loki found Hunter X-05 approaching him and offered a rematch, but Sylvie then appeared and enchanted him, learning the Timely was being kept in the War Room. Sylvie used X-05's enchanted body as a distraction while she and Loki entered the War Room and pulled Timely out.
They rushed to the Temporal Loom, where Ouroboros asked him to put his head in the Temporal Aura scanner. Timely was worried about it being safe, but Loki assured him it would be alright. Timely opened the blast doors, and Ouroboros realized that the Loom was in worse shape than they thought. Loki volunteered to be the one to go out, but Timely interrupted and insisted it should be him. Ouroboros gave him instructions, and Loki put his hand on Timely's shoulder as Timely said it was time to be brave. Ouroboros said that he would not have much time, but Loki assured everyone that he would make it, although Mobius doubted the radiation levels. Once Timely was ready, Ouroboros opened the doors, and Timely was immediately killed by the radiation, saddening Loki. B-15 and Casey tried to figure out what they did wrong, Loki simply stated that he did not know as he watched the Loom explode. He braced himself as the explosion got closer and closer to the TVA office.
=== Rewriting the Story ===
==== Time Slipping Once More ====
: "Because if I can't save the TVA from being destroyed, there will be nothing to protect against what's coming.""Well, if that's the real why that's guiding you, you should be able to control it."
: ―Loki and A.D. Doug[src]
Loki suddenly found himself in the Temporal Loom room and found it empty, with the Loom still in tact. He navigated the Time Variance Authority Office, finding it mostly empty. He heard the evacuation order for the meltdown get announced again and his body shook, causing him to realize he was Time Slipping again. He tried to prevent it from happening, but was pulled into a chrono bay in his future, where he saw himself reading the Time Variance Authority Official Handbook. He greeted himself, but was suddenly pulled back to where he had left. He walked to the same chrono bay where he had just been and found the Handbook. He picked it up and started reading it, when he was greeted by his past self, who disappeared. He turned to face himself and returned the greeting, but then realized that the TVA Office was being pulled apart.
He was suddenly pulled to an island in 1962, where he saw a man he recognized as Casey. He rushed over to "Casey," relieved to see him. He asked if the others were there, but "Casey" did not recognize him, frustrating Loki. "Casey" asked if Loki was connected to their boat, but Loki did not know what he was talking about. Casey asked how Loki got to Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, shocking Loki as he realized where he was. "Casey's" partners asked why Loki was calling him "Casey" when his name was Frank Morris. Morris insisted that he did not notice and the three pulled a boat toward the shore of the island, when Loki was suddenly pulled away.
He found himself in front of McDonald's, but was suddenly pulled again to a parking lot, where he saw a large tube man. He was then pulled back into the Time Variance Authority in a time theater. He was again pulled to New York City in 2012, where he saw Dr. Verity Willis before getting pulled away again, this time to Piranha Powersports. Loki entered the store and recognized Don as Mobius M. Mobius. Loki explained that the TVA had been destroyed, but the Don believed him to be referring to ATVs. Loki realized that Don also did not remember him, and Don received a call from his son, when Loki was suddenly pulled away again.
He appeared in A.D. Doug's workshop and saw Doug fall over, scared from Loki's sudden appearance. He warned Doug that what he was about to say would be difficult to believe and explained his situation, but Doug believed him without issue, finding it similar to a book he had written. This led Loki to realize that Doug was a science fiction author rather than the scientist he knew Ouroboros to be and lose hope. However, Doug revealed that he taught theoretical physics, and that he was also a scientist until he would be able to write full time. Loki explained that he needed to go to before the Temporal Loom melted down, so Doug said that while it was impossible, Loki had been able to Time Slip into the TVA before, so they could find a way to control the time slipping and return Loki to the TVA.
Loki and Doug sat down, and Loki explained that he could not control his time slipping. However, Doug explained that it was not random since he kept returning to the people he was looking for. He also noted that his ability was evolving, since Loki had started slipping in space as well as time., comparing him to a TemPad. Doug guessed that Loki needed to figure out why he needed to return to the TVA, so Loki explained that if the TVA were destroyed, there would be nothing to prevent a Multiversal War. Doug told him to focus on the why and try to control his time slipping, but Loki was unable to do so.
Loki asked to focus on the science of the situation, so Doug attempted unsuccessfully to shock and startle Loki into time slipping. Loki tried to focus on using science to return to a place that did not exist, but Doug suggested that it did exist since Loki was able to time slip into a time theater. Doug then had the idea to get everyone who was present at the moment the Temporal Loom was destroyed back together to read their collective Temporal Auras and find the time-space coordinates for the destruction. Loki realized they could use the coordinates to return to the destruction, but Doug noted that it would still not be possible without a TemPad. Loki then gave Doug a copy of the TVA Guidebook so that Doug could build it. He was then suddenly pulled away before they could start working.
==== Getting the Band Back Together ====
: "I want the TVA back.""And?""What do you want?""I want my friends back."
: ―Loki, Sylvie Laufeydottir and Eric[src]
Loki appeared in front of Don's house and watched as Don started to throw out his sons' toys if they were not put away. Once Don's sons left, Loki approached Don, who recognized him from the store. Don asked if Loki followed him home, so Loki apologized for having to leave abruptly. Don showed Loki two jet skis which he kept in his garage, and Loki remembered Mobius M. Mobius' admiration of the watercraft. Don offered Loki a drink, but Loki told Don that his name was Mobius and that he belonged in the Time Variance Authority. Don got nervous and prepared to attack Loki, when A.D. Doug suddenly appeared through a Timedoor, startling the two. Loki commented on the speed with which Doug worked, but Doug explained that for him it had been nineteen months since Loki left.
Loki promised Don that it would make sense and used the TemPad to take himself, Doug, and Don to moments prior, so Don could watch the conversation between himself and Loki which had just occurred, explaining that he could return at any time, but that Loki needed his help. Loki explaiend that all of existence, including Don's sons, were in danger, so Don agreed to help. Loki then used Doug's TemPad to go to the alternate timeline in which he had seen Verity Willis and warned that what he said would sound strange. He then convince her to join them. Loki then found Frank Morris, having successfully escaped Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary on the beach and recruited him. Loki brought all the Variants of his friends to Doug's workshop and looked around and sat a bench. Willis asked if they had everyone, but Loki explained he needed one more person.
Loki went to Sylvie Laufeydottir's McDonald's location and started to speak as though she did not know him, but Sylvie interrupted and revealed that she did, surprising Loki. Loki explained that he was expecting things to play out differently and nearly time slipped again, but stopped himself. Sylvie was shocked by the display and offered Loki a drink, so they went to a bar together. Loki explained that his friends had had their lives taken from them, but Sylvie claimed it was a good thing since they were able to return to their lives and asked the bartender, Eric, for a drink. Loki asked how many would have chosen to return given the choice, noting that Mobius liked his life in the TVA. Sylvie noted that He Who Remains took Mobius' choice away, but Loki suggested that he should be given the choice. Sylvie suggested it would not be a fair choice, but Loki just restated that they did not get a choice and he needed her to help give them a choice.
Sylvie remained lackadaisical, prompting Loki to call her selfish. Sylvie agreed that she was selfish and that she wanted to live a life and asked what Loki wanted. Loki insisted that he wanted to stop He Who Remains and save the TVA, but Sylvie eventually got him to confess that he wanted his friends back. Sylvie noted that they were both selfish as Eric brought them bourbons. Sylvie expressed sympathy but claimed that his friends were where they belonged. Loki asked where he belonged without them, so Sylvie said that they were writing their own stories. She told him to write his own story and left the bar. Loki went to take a drink but found that it had disappeared.
==== Finding the Who ====
: "It's not about where, when, or why. It's about who. I can rewrite the story."
: ―Loki[src]
Loki sadly returned to A.D. Doug's workshop and told them to return home. Loki sat as Don asked for clarification, but Loki simply apologized and said that it was more about what he wanted. He told Don to return to his sons, but Don reminded Loki of his claim that they were in danger. Loki did not acknowledge Don's point and simply told the group to return to their lives. Doug asked about the TVA, but Loki said they were fine without it. However, Sylvie Laufeydottir then arrived and explained that they were not and that everything was falling apart. Loki suggested they go back and stop the Temporal Loom from melting down and told Doug that everyone they needed was there.
Doug went to read the collective Temporal Aura of everyone in the room, but found that his TemPad was missing. Loki and Doug confronted Frank Morris about having stolen the TemPad, but Morris denied having it. He suddenly disintegrated and fell apart as the universe around them started to get destroyed. Loki asked Doug what to do, but Doug disappeared as well. Don tried to rush home to his sons, only for him to disappear as well. Loki watched Verity Willis disappear and turned to Sylvie, who said there was nowhere left to go as she disappeared as well.
Loki reached out as the universe around him and all his friends disintegrated. Loki screamed and time slipped back to Verity Willis' death, watching Sylvie Laufeydottir again claimed there was nowhere left to go. He managed his time slipping and successfully went back to Sylvie's arrival at the workshop. Loki realized that he had successfully controlled his time slipping and explained to everyone that his friends had grounded his abilities and declared that he could rewrite the story. He then successfully time slipped back to the Time Variance Authority Office as Victor Timely prepared to leave.
==== Continuous Attempts ====
: "What could we have done differently?""Good question. We took too long."
: ―Loki and Ouroboros[src]
Loki was slightly shaken up causing Mobius M. Mobius to ask if he was okay. Loki confirmed this then told them they needed to get Victor Timely out of the Temporal Core Suit. However, it was too late. Loki had to watch as Timely died once again. Now making his first move, Loki approached Ouroboros, asking him what they could have done differently. Ouroboros told him they needed to be quicker.
Time Slipping back to his previous place, Loki took the words out of Ouroboros' mouth and very quickly explained to Timely what he needed to do: put on the suit, go out the gangway, put the Throughput Multiplier into the Maintenance Probe, then get back. However, this was another failed attempt. Trying again, explaining even quicker than before did not work either causing Loki to slam his hand down in frustration. He then realized it needed to be earlier, not faster.
He then slipped to when Timely was being held hostage by Ravonna Renslayer, Miss Minutes and Hunter X-05. He barged in and immediately tried to reason with Miss Minutes, telling her that he knew she was in mental pain, but he needed Timely to help with the Throughput Multiplier. This was successful as Loki and Casey practically dragged Timely into the Core Room. As Timely went out into the storm, Loki eagerly tapped his hand on the railing, but grew defeated as he died again.
Looping back around multiple times, it was Sylvie Laufeydottir this time who helped Loki bring Timely to the room. However, as Timely made his way out, he set the multiplier down, causing it to roll off the gangway, angering Loki who slammed his hand on the door. This ill reaction happened another time as the Temporal Loom exploded in front of him. through multiple attempts, Loki kept saying "again" only for each time to have the same fate as the last. However, he finally made progress as Timely was able to get a few steps in, but eventually succumbed to the spaghettification.
Knowing his plan was not working, Loki slipped to when Timely entered the Time Variance Authority Office. He brought Timely to Ouroboros and had them meet, spoiling a surprise by remarking that Ouroboros learned his knowledge from Timely as Timely learned vice-versa. He then unraveled the drape hiding the Temporal Loom model as he began to explain what needed to happen. However, people like Laufeydottir and Mobius began to grow suspicious. Loki quickly explained using the model, saying how even though the model looked like Mobius, Timely had to go into the storm.
He also explained how the multiplier would dock with the loom. However, Ouroboros stated his worry that the multiplier was not ready, but Loki made a rebuttal, taking out Timely's prototype and stating that it would help the multiplier. Ouroboros was slightly relieved, but said that even if that worked, they could not possibly create it in time. Annoyed, Loki asked how long it would take himself to create the multiplier. Ouroboros asked how much he knew: very little. He then concluded it would take Loki decades with Timely confirming it would actually be centuries. Loki stared dumbfoundedly at Ouroboros before slipping.
Loki spent centuries learning everything he needed to know in order to know how to build the throughput multiplier. He then returned to the TVA possessing incredible amounts of knowledge. This helped him create the multiplier in record time and guide everyone through the protocol. Although it did not work a few times, Loki started getting the hang of it, understanding what everyone would say to his mannerisms and stopping them in their tracks. Even Mobius was concerned and confronted Loki, who told him it was okay.
Loki showed Timely the Temporal Aura machine and showed him it was safe so no time was wasted. He then sent Timely out, which worked. Loki stood at the window with a microphone directing Timely. He told him about many things like to not put the multiplier on the gangway or it would roll off. Timely finally made it to the Maintenance Probe, much to Loki's delight, but he could not prematurely celebrate. Timely tried to catch his bearings and almost put the multiplier down, but Loki stopped him. Timely then loaded the machine and pressed the button, only for it to be jammed.
Loki remained calm and told Timely that the button could be a bit sticky. Timely pushed it hard, sending the probe at the loom and seemingly fixing it. Timely made his way back and the two embraced each other with Loki showing Timely what he had done. When all seemed well, Ouroboros explained that it was not working. Loki went to the monitor and was confused as all calculations were correct. Timely then chimed in, realizing that they were fools. They could not make the loom big enough because the Multiverse was growing infinitely.
He continued, saying how no matter how big they would make it, the branches would always outgrow the size. It was like dividing by zero. As everyone's lives came to an end, Laufeydottir remarked at how this would have never happened if she did not kill He Who Remains. Timely then spoke to Loki, apologizing for his failure. However, Loki was not done. He got an idea from Laufeydottir.
==== An Ultimatum ====
: "We'll find another way.""Okay. And around and around and around we go."
: ―Loki and He Who Remains[src]
Loki time slipped to the Citadel at the End of Time, specifically to when Sylvie Laufeydottir and him were there. Loki slipped into his body just as Laufeydottir was delivering a fatal strike to He Who Remains. With Sylvie Laufeydottir's Sword on Loki's neck, he tried to talk her down.
He told Laufeydottir that she could not believe him, but she had to trust that she could not kill He Who Remains. He had seen what happens and he knew she could not do it or everything end. Laufeydottir did not listen, telling Loki to get out of her way. As she walked towards Loki, he put his hand on her chest to stop her, saying that he would not. Angry, Laufeydottir claimed that he was being seduced by a throne. With his voice breaking, Loki said that the last thing he wanted was a throne. Laufeydottir then said that if he wanted her to stop, he would have to kill her.
Lauefydottir broke free and lunged towards He Who Remains, but Loki grabbed her, leaving her sword inches from his face. An unfazed He Who Remains jokingly said it was close. She then pushed Loki away with a magic blast before killing He Who Remains. Loki slipped back with hopes of convincing Laufeydottir to stop. However, time and time again, she refused to listen, killing He Who Remains.
Loki then resorted to slipping to when they met He Who Remains on the elevator. Laufeydottir tried a surprise attack, but failed as Loki caught the blow, leading He Who Remains to laugh in excitement. However, this did not work, so Loki went back to his original plan, failing over and over again. At one point, Laufeydottir resorted to throwing her sword, leading Loki to stop it with his telekinesis, then bring it back and slam it to the ground. He then found himself holding Laufeydottir with Laevateinn on her neck. She said the same thing about killing her. Loki hesitated, but just gave up, letting her kill He Who Remains again.
Through his many fails, Loki was able to talk with He Who Remains and learned how to stop time, but slipped back before doing anything with it. This time, Loki pushed Laufeydottir away and walked towards He Who Remains, asking why he would not do something. He paused before deciding to pause Laufeydottir in time with his TemPad. He Who Remains then spoke up, asking how many times Loki had been at it. Loki toyed with He Who Remains, shockingly asking him what he did. He Who Remains was shocked to see that Loki had not figured out how to pause time. However, Loki was playing him.
This did nothing though as He Who Remains was one step ahead, knowing it was likely not the first time they were having this conversation. He Who Remains then helped Loki realize that this time slipping and everything else was a part of He Who Remains' plan, as everything was. He Who Remains was frankly insulted that Loki thought his death would just be the end of He Who Remains, that he did not have another plan.
Loki sat down now, and remarked how they die with the dying, but are born with the dead. He Who Remains realized Loki needed time to sort everything out and offered that he could loop a thousand more times until he was ready to talk. He then let Laufeydottir free to fight. However, much to his surprise, Loki made his true plan known. He stuck up his finger, freezing Laufeydottir then asked He Who Remains if he really thought it was the first time they had this conversation. He Who Remains grew tense before keeping his composure. He then made a sizzling sound, indicating that he was impressed and got beat. He then said Loki was his favorite before becoming serious.
Loki explained that the Temporal Loom had a scaling problem to which He Who Remains surprised Loki by saying that Victor Timely's conclusion was very false. He Who Remains then explained how he built the loom as a failsafe. He knew that the loom would not handle the branches, so that is how the Sacred Timeline would exist throughout everything. It was the Sacred Timeline or nothing. He Who Remains would win every time.
Loki grew angry and distressed that he wasted centuries just for this answer. Before Loki got ideas, He Who Remains told him that his Variants were all out there and a Multiversal War was inevitable. Loki vowed to stop them, but they both knew it was not possible as the outcome of the equation remained the same, he loses. Loki stood up and looked around the room, focusing his eyes on a chalk board with an equation on it. Turning around now, Loki said he would just change the equation and break the loom. A confused He Who Remains just repeated what he had, that it causes a war.
He Who Remains then stood up, trying to explain it better. Every single moment of peace that Loki had in his life, happened because He Who Remains was at the End of Time, watching. If he were gone, all of Loki's friends would be, too. He Who Remains' tough choices were why he had the chair. Loki was stubborn though, and still claimed he would find a way. He Who Remains gave up, freeing Laufeydottir and telling Loki that around and around and around they went. He told Loki to make the hard choice, either break the loom and kill everything, or kill Laufeydottir and protect what they could. Loki approached Laufeydottir before slipping away to get guidance.
==== The Hard Decision ====
: "Who are you to say we can’t die trying. Who are you to say we can’t die fighting. You’re replacing one nightmare with another. I grew up in apocalypses Loki. I’ve lived through enough of them to know that sometimes it’s okay to destroy something.””If… if there’s a hope you can replace that thing with something better."
: ―Sylvie Laufeydottir and Loki[src]
Loki arrived at the Time Variance Authority Office when he was first brought in. Sitting in front of Mobius M. Mobius with a Time Collar around his neck and the TVA Holoprojector between them, Loki brought up how he knew Mobius wanted to understand what made a Loki tick and then he was going to play Loki's life and show his life was a waste of time. A confused Mobius asked how he was doing that. However, Loki just said he needed Mobius' help, which Mobius agreed to do.
Loki asked how he chose who lived and who died. Mobius said they pruned by the order of the Time-Keepers. Loki knew this but rephrased that the agents were actually the ones doing it. Mobius then trailed off into a story of when hunters were trying to find a Variant that were killing Minutemen. However, when the Variant was found, one of the Hunters hesitated as he realized it was just a child. This hesitation caused many hunters to die until another hunter killed the Variant. That hunter lost sight of the big picture and that picture had to be kept because purpose was more burden than glory.
Loki asked how he lived with the burden, knowing Mobius was the failing hunter in the story. Mobius answered that you have scar tissue that reminds you. Loki then asked what happened to the partner that saved everyone, to which Mobius responded became a judge named Ravonna Renslayer. Mobius said that knew the right thing to do was the thing that had to be done. Loki then looked up, realizing that he had to do the hard thing. He thanked Mobius and shook his hand, knowing it was going to be the last time he embraced him. Mobius then splintered away into strings as Loki looked on.
Loki then slipped one last time back to right before everyone died in A.D. Doug’s world. He saw Sylvie Laufeydottir in front of him and stopped time, confusing Laufeydottir until he explained they were outside of time. He then helped Laufeydottir understand the deal with the Temporal Loom and how the only way to save everyone is if Laufeydottir never killed He Who Remains. Laufeydottir realized the last part as Loki was speaking. Laufeydottir got close to Loki and chuckled a bit, telling him she was not giving him her blessing to kill her. However, that thought already passed Loki's mind.
Instead, he asked her what he should do because it was either the Sacred Timeline or nothing. Laufeydottir told him about all of the innocent lives on branches that would be taken away and he could not be the god who took away everyone’s free will. Loki asked what was free will if everyone was dead. Laufeydottir told him they would die trying and die fighting. She explained that she had lived through apocalypses and knew that sometimes destroying something is better. Loki then finished, realizing that that was true if it were replaced with something better.
==== The God of Stories ====
: "He's giving us a chance."
: ―Sylvie Laufeydottir[src]
Loki time slipped back to before Victor Timely was getting ready. With tears in his eyes, he looked around the room at his friends with a tearful smile. Without saying anything, Loki silently walked down to the airlock. He was followed by a worried Mobius M. Mobius and Sylvie Laufeydottir, but Loki closed the doors, locking himself in. He then turned to them, saying he knew what god he needed to be, for everyone. Despite Mobius and Laufeydottir's pleas, Loki turned around and started to forcefully open the gates with telekinesis.
He then walked onto the gangway with no protection. Fighting through the Temporal Radiation with pure will, Loki's clothes started peeling away, revealing green robes and a horned helmet. He walked towards the Temporal Loom mustering up all of his strength as he held his hands up high towards the loom.
Loki then used his powers to rip apart the loom, causing it to break. As he took slight cover, dying branches started raining down on him like ropes. Loki stood there and grabbed one of the branches, lighting it up with magic in order to give it life. He then grabbed more and did the same until he reached the end of the gangway, revealing a rift to the Citadel at the End of Time.
Loki then stopped off the gangway onto an invisible staircase, ascending him towards the gods. Loki looked back towards his friends, giving them one final look. He then walked up the stairwell, with the Multiverse in his hands. The rift soon closed, cutting him off from everyone he loved. Loki then made his way through the darkness to the Citadel as the branches started being woven into him. Loki finally made it up the stairs where a golden throne greeted him. Loki sat on the throne and pulled the branches together, creating a brand-new loom with him at the center.
Sitting for all of time, Loki could hear his friends, but could not make contact as his glorious purpose was to be the loom that saved the multiverse. He finally completed his journey as he found his throne that protected everything and everyone as God Loki.
== Personality ==
:: "I'm a horrible person. I get it. I really am. I cut off your hair because I thought it'd be funny. And it's not. I crave attention... because I'm... I'm a narcissist. And I suppose it's... It's because I'm scared of being alone."
:: ―Loki to Sif[src]
Loki was an ever-scheming individual; the God of Mischief, he meddled in people's lives and even led them to their inevitable deaths as it made him feel powerful, and often used superior ploys or ulterior designs upon his enemies, such as Thor and the Avengers. Compared to his boisterous older brother, he constantly seemed to be relaxed, peaceful and quiet, but in truth he had the mind of a cold, calculating sociopath and was formulating machinations that would achieve the power and respect that he truly believed he deserves at all times. Loki supposedly cared for Thor, consoling him after his coronation was ruined and even claiming to love him beforehand, but in actuality, Loki had been envious of Thor his entire life, although no one knew the extent of such envy until it was too late. He had a deep hatred of Odin and Thor due to supposedly being the least-favored son and rejected by Thor himself all the time. Loki would do anything to mortify, defeat or hurt Thor, even enslaving the world he cared for and supposedly taking his own life.
Part of his bitterness stemmed from the revelation that he was a Frost Giant and intended as a political tool to bring peace between Asgardians and Frost Giants. As such, Loki felt alienated and guilty, since he was a member of a race Asgardians were taught to fear and hate, and the people he thought were his family concealed this from him all his life. Growing up, Loki believed he was an actual prince of Asgard and so genuinely thought he could be king. Loki competed with Thor for Odin's favor, yet once his real parentage was revealed, Loki felt betrayed, as he felt a Frost Giant as king was never a feasible possibility. Furthermore, Loki felt that he was viewed as nothing more than a trophy and tool instead of an actual son by Odin, despite evidence to the contrary.
However, deep down, Loki loved his family to some degree. Though his hatred for his brother and father seemed to be unending, he did not harbor these feelings for his mother, Frigga, who genuinely empathized with him. Upon learning she was killed, Loki, in rage and grief, destroyed everything within his cell. When he got confronted by Thor in his imprisonment, he genuinely asked if she suffered as she died and was ready to work with his much-hated brother to kill Malekith. Part of this stemmed from his regret over directing Kurse to Frigga and Jane Foster. On Svartalfheim, Loki displayed tremendous and uncharacteristic selflessness, such as risking his own life to save Foster and Thor, while "dying" in the process. Thor even stated that Loki indeed died with honor, yet this was a ruse; soon after Thor and Foster departed, Loki, disguised as an Asgardian warrior, was taken back home and after reporting "Loki's" death, overtook Odin and usurped the throne.
Despite his hatred and contempt, Loki had expressed the desire to be Thor's equal and recognized by Odin as a worthy son. He seemed to care about the two of them to an extent, particularly Odin, calling the guards and looking on in concern when Odin collapsed on the ground. While Odin was undergoing the Odinsleep, Loki saved his adoptive father from being murdered by Laufey, as he later stated that his death was not his goal, and did not actually kill Odin While he was hanging onto Thor at the Bifrost, he stated to Odin that he wanted to destroy Jotunheim for him. Loki also appeared hesitant to eject Thor out of the Helicarrier, and, but rather imprisoned him on Earth.
The love he once showed and his more human emotions appeared to be significantly dulled by the time he arrived on Earth, along with the decades of built-up resentment which overshadowed any sliver of humanity Loki might retain; this may have also been due in part to what may have happened to him while in the company of the Chitauri. Despite this, however, Loki's time as king of Asgard appeared to have reduced his rivalry with and resentment for Thor and Odin, as he showed sadness and remorse for Odin's death and even showed visible care for Thor on Sakaar, asking him not to return to Asgard out of possible concern of his adopted brother dying against Hela. He was evidently angry and distraught when Thor ignored his offers to abandon Asgard and join the Grandmaster, saying emotionally that he always had to do it alone. He was also affected when Thor suggested he remain on Sakaar due to his power-hungry nature and seemed saddened when Thor said that their paths had diverged long ago. Ultimately, Loki's newfound love for his brother swayed him to help Thor evacuate the Asgardians, risk his life by personally reviving Surtur, and support Thor's coronation.
He had suppressed his desires for most of his life due to constantly living within Thor's shadow. As such he was capable of presenting himself as timid and meek when in reality he was in possession of supreme megalomaniacal ambitions which he believed he was entitled to more than anyone else, especially Thor whom he viewed as an incompetent fool who would make a terrible King in comparison to himself. As The Other stated, his desires were virtually reminiscent to that of a childish need to always be best; this also made his hatred of Thor an entirely overgrown and impractical sibling rivalry and the entirety of his actions could be intervened as purely attention-seeking, going to horrifying lengths such as the subjugation or destruction of a species, all to impress his father. Indeed, Loki's megalomaniacal desires were foiled by his true objective to stand superior over Thor and crush him completely, proving to Thor that he was his equal and his better, which was all he ever wanted.
As a master of deceit and trickery, Loki utilized his duplicitous nature within combat. Loki was also not above underhanded tactics, such as when Thor offered a hand of peace, Loki deceptively stabbed him in his side. Loki would create feints and appear like running away or surrendering if a fight turned to his disadvantage. For example, when he was at the mercy of Thor on top of the Bifrost Bridge, Loki pathetically begged for his life, yet revealed the act to be just another one of his illusion manipulations and a feint to ambush his brother. However, Loki had a flaw of being arrogant, narcissistic and was in possession of extensive delusions of self-entitlement. This led him into trouble at times as he mocked Hulk within Avengers Tower, calling him a "dull creature" which caused him to be thrashed around like a plaything by the green monster. Later, the same arrogance allowed Doctor Strange sufficient time to teleport Loki away from the New York Sanctum. This overconfidence over his deceptive talents ultimately ended up claiming his life as attempted to smooth talk Thanos into lowering his guard enough to be slain only for the Titan to easily anticipate the attack and inevitable betrayal, having always been the far better deceiver and manipulator, and kill Loki in retaliation.
He had an unfounded superiority over and deep hatred for humans, and this enforced his thinking that he was entitled to rule them; simply because he could, due to mankind's history of following people with power, Loki simply believed that they would view him as a benevolent dictator instead. Added to this, Loki firmly believed that freedom was life's great lie and that no-one was truly free and everyone was oppressed in some way. He went as far to say that humans were created only to be subjugated by superior men and that they craved to have a ruler, claiming that they would be lost and their lives effectively pointless without one to give them their identity. He mocked Thor for his compassion towards humanity and him enslaving Earth would be nothing less than a petty, spiteful attack towards his older brother.
For many years, Loki had no respect for his real heritage and would often contradict himself within this area to whatever situation would require it better. After learning that Laufey was in actuality his biological father, he did not even mention this to him on Jotunheim and later murdered him when he attempted to kill Odin. He called the Frost Giants a "race of monsters" despite already knowing that he was a member of the race himself before unleashing the full power of the Bifrost upon their planet. Effectively ending the war which Thor started and having saved Odin's life, he believed would be paraded as a hero as he apparently could not see the logic that ending an entire race would only make Odin disgust him further. Since learning that he was the son of Laufey, Loki stated that Thor was not his brother at all, ignoring the years that they grew up together entirely and threw this in his face twice. When hanging over the Bifrost, though, he referred to him as "brother", despite having previously disowned him only a few minutes earlier, though this was soon revealed to be an illusion, and another trick to use against Thor. Likewise, after being transported to Earth by the Tesseract he claimed himself as "Loki of Asgard" but on Svartalfheim before the Dark Elves, proclaimed himself "Loki of Jotunheim".
The Battle of New York traumatized Loki, since his defeats at the hands of Hulk left him terrified about the creature, to the extent of trying to leave Sakaar upon discovering that Hulk was the champion of their Contest of Champions. Despite this, Loki showed to be capable of using him, as when he, Thor and Valkyrie plotted how to get Thor out of Sakaar, Loki suggested to use Hulk. When the Statesman came under attack by Thanos, however, the two had formed enough of a partnership to improvise a coordinated attack on the Mad Titan. Indeed, Bruce Banner would later insist on referring to the New York invasion as Thanos' doing instead of Loki's, emphasizing how the two had come to terms.
Shortly after Odin died and Thor learned the truth about Hela and how Asgard really rose to power, Loki genuinely felt sympathetic towards Thor as he had just found out that everything he knew was false, much like how Loki himself did after finding out he was a Frost Giant. After the destruction of Asgard, Loki and Thor seem to have fully reconciled and Loki seemed to have finally accepted Thor as King. However, Loki still kept some of his mischiefs as he stole the Tesseract from Odin's Vault before Asgard's destruction. Ultimately, though, seeing Thanos on the brink of killing Thor, Loki gave up the Tesseract, despite the fact that it allowed the Titan to be one step closer to conquering the universe, showing his love for his brother had now far surpassed any desire for power that Loki had, but another reason Loki did so, was an attempt to assassinate Thanos. Unfortunately for Loki, Thanos easily anticipated this and killed him.
An often remarked flaw of Loki's was that he not only lacked conviction but often failed to appreciate the long term consequences his actions might have as stated by Phil Coulson and Iron Man shortly before the Battle of New York. This was seen again following his usurping of Odin's throne as his decadent leadership caused most of the Nine Realms to fall into chaos and unintentionally precipitated Hela's release. This period of total power had also given him a sense of complacency to the point where most everyone he came across had come to anticipate all of his potential tricks and betrayals. Indeed, Thor openly mocking this attitude was a deciding factor in Loki's decision to reform his ways and genuinely aid his people.
In the final moments of his life, Loki displayed that he truly came to accept both his Asgardian heritage and his Frost Giant parentage, proudly identifying himself as "Odinson" and the "rightful king of Jotunheim". Though having lived in fear of Thanos since their first meeting, Loki selflessly attempted to slay the Titan in spite of his power and entourage, showing he had truly redeemed himself. When Thanos effortlessly parried the attack and began choking Loki to death, Loki not only accepted his fate but remained openly defiant, ridiculing Thanos that he would never achieve true godhood. In the end, Loki died doing what many believed he would never do: display open care for others and reconcile with and accept his lineage.
Loki was similar in many ways to the Loki of the main timeline, as he possessed an incredible amount of arrogance, ego, and deceitfulness bordering on narcissism, along with having a lot of pride in his own abilities. Just like the original Loki, he seemed to have the mind of a cold, calculating sociopath, and was formulating machinations that would achieve his power and respect that he truly believed he always deserves.
Like the original Variant, he used to have a deep hatred of Odin and Thor due to supposedly being the least favored son and rejected by Thor himself all the time. Despite his anger at his family, the Variant possesses love and affection for his family, noticeably erupting in anger when Mobius revealed that not only did Frigga die, but he was also indirectly responsible for her death. He seemed to deeply love his family as shown when he displayed genuine happiness upon learning in the main timeline that he had made peace with his father, Odin and his brother Thor, ending up crying tears of joy seeing his alternate version in the main timeline, standing being side by side with his brother in war just like he always dreamed of.
Not going through the original Loki's journey, the time traveler Variant still has quite a lot of pride and ego in his own abilities, rarely believing anybody is better than him. His ego is shown when he initially believed he could conquer the TVA along with Sylvie Laufeydottir, despite his lack of control of things. This Variant was still noticeably quite selfish and self-centered, as shown when he was not willing to give Laufeydottir her TemPad out of hunger for power, being willing to betray Mobius from time to time, using deceit as a means to an end.
Deep down, he knows that despite his destructive tendencies he does not genuinely enjoy hurting people or causing death. When stuck in a time loop with Lady Sif, the Variant admits that he is like that because of his own self-hatred - never being able to make true bonds with most people, as he betrays them endlessly in the pursuit of power, hurting them, starting conquests all just to have some control over his life because of his own low views of himself. Throughout his journey, the time traveler Variant realizes that his manipulative tendencies are just a cocoon to what he truly desires - to be loved and to be trusted - gaining an eventual hatred for the supposed conquests of power itself.
Eventually, the Variant comes to terms with himself as he realizes due to his self-perceived inadequacy of himself, and his low self-esteem, he constantly looked out for a "glorious purpose" - wanting a "purposeful" life, through wanting to conquer Earth, wanting to rule Asgard, wanting to rule the TVA, and wanting to be the smartest Loki Variant. Being seen when he did not want anything for himself at the Void, being disgusted at what the other Loki Variants used to do just for the purpose of conquest, wondering if he was any different himself. Throughout his pursuit of his "glorious purpose", the Loki Variant realizes that he never really wanted to have the control of everything, he just wanted to be a person who could be trusted and loved, as seen by how he tells Laufeydottir how he never really wanted his own empire, he just wanted her to trust him, and wanted her to be alright, as she was wondering his true allegiance as he was stopping her from killing He Who Remains.
Eventually, the Time Traveler Variant grows to be far less selfish and self-centered, owing that to the company of Sylvie Laufeydottir and Mobius M. Mobius. The Variant grows to become humble and caring through his journey, even going as far as admitting Sylvie was the best of all Variants - better than him. Loki has grown to care greatly for his friends and those who are close to him, as shown when he was visibly terrified when Mobius told him that Sylvie had been pruned, when he was incredibly saddened for his friend Mobius who had supposedly died under the hands of Ravonna Renslayer. Reunited in the Void, this Loki hugged Mobius and viewed him as a true friend, showing that he truly became capable of trusting.
As the Variant grew to be very close to his Variant, Sylvie Laufeydottir, his narcissism began to sink down, as seen when he was stuck at the Void, he began to lose his desires to be better than everyone else, to be the one with power and control. The Loki Variant grows to realize that there are greater than his conquest for power, as seen when he is notably afraid how the upcoming multiversal war will impact humanity more than his revenge for the TVA. This Variant also could give up his plans to overthrow He Who Remains and the TVA once he knew doing so may mean the start of another multiversal war, showing he is capable of considering thoroughly instead of blindly pursuing for the greater power and glory.
== Powers and Abilities ==
=== Powers ===
: "You have no idea what I'm capable of!"
: ―Loki[src]
:* Frost Giant Physiology: Since Loki had been enchanted to look like an Asgardian, Loki's Frost Giant features only came out when he was in contact with Frost Giant magic, such as when he utilized the Casket of Ancient Winters or when he was afflicted with the Frost Giants' touch. Though he is surpassed in physical capabilities by Asgardians, he can easily overpower grown men such as Tony Stark and keep up with enhanced individuals such as Captain America.
:** Superhuman Strength: Loki possessed considerable superhuman strength, allowing him to overpower multiple S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and Captain America with little effort, easily defeat multiple Frost Giants, Dark Elves and Berserkers. He also effortlessly lifted Tony Stark off his feet and threw him, and even handled an Infinity Stone without being harmed. He threw one of his knives with enough force to break through a Frost Giant's ice weapon. However, Loki's strength is still outclassed by that of Thor, the Hulk, and Thanos. Although he was able to fight Valkyrie on nearly equal grounds by matching her strength with his own skill, speed, and agility before she overpowered him. He was completely unable to resist Thanos, who effortlessly overpowered and lifted him off his feet with no strain even as Loki struggled to break free. He was also unable to fight Hulk, who lifted him off his feet and repeatedly pummeled and defeated him within seconds. When wielding the Scepter, which contained an Infinity Stone, and Gungnir, Loki managed to go toe-to-toe with a Mjolnir-wielding Thor in a fight, albeit he was ultimately defeated even when Thor was holding back.
:** Superhuman Durability: Loki was highly resistant to physical harm, further augmented by his armor. Hence, Loki only flinched after getting shot in the face multiple times with a handgun and was not at all affected by assault rifle rounds to his torso. Loki also barely reacted to a jab to the face from Captain America, and even a full force kick to the face from the latter that made Loki stumble back only hurt him slightly. He could even withstand the explosion of the energy of the Rainbow Bridge with no damage. However, sufficiently powerful weapons, such as Iron Man's repulsors, Hawkeye's explosive arrows, and a deflected shot from his own Scepter, were at least able to cause Loki pain and leave minor marks. Loki's durability was implied to be far greater than that of a normal Frost Giant, as he was able to take multiple mighty blows from Valkyrie, and even Hulk and Thor without any fatal damage. In addition, as a Frost Giant, Loki was immune to the extreme cold of Jotunheim. He also managed to safely touch the Tesseract without being harmed and even endure Thanos' grip on his neck long enough to defiantly threaten him that he will never be a god, although he quickly died. However, Loki's endurance and durability were shown to be considerably lesser than that of Thor, as seen when Loki was completely wiped out by Hulk's attack, yet Thor managed to recover from the same attack moments later, without any visible injuries and this was later shown when Thor survived being badly beaten and even having his head squeezed by Thanos while Loki was easily killed by Thanos when he snapped his neck without any effort. He could also survive in the vacuum of space unfazed.
:** Superhuman Speed: Loki's inferior strength compared to Thor was compensated for his superhuman speed; he was fast enough to catch Hawkeye's arrow in mid-flight, inches away from his neck. He also used his speed in his fight against Captain America, during which he easily gained the upper hand, even smashing Captain America's Shield to the ground. Loki's speed even allowed him to contend with stronger opponents, such as Valkyrie and Thor, by outmaneuvering them, though he still ultimately lost such fights and Thor was holding back against Loki each and every time they fought and once Loki angered his brother in their second fight, Thor was able to easily catch Loki off-guard and beat him without Loki being able to react, implying Loki's speed is inferior to Thor when Thor held nothing back. Loki was also fast enough to tackle his brother out of the way before Hulk ambushed Thanos.
:** Superhuman Agility: Loki had immense agility and reflexes. When arriving on Earth, Loki leaped a great distance to impale a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and later defeated several Dark Elves at once by using swift and agile movements. He later kept up with the stronger Valkyrie for the majority of their fight with his agility, though Loki was ultimately defeated and chained up, as well as going toe-to-toe with Thor, albeit Thor was holding back, despite the latter's own great agility and fighting ability, in both of their fights.
:** Superhuman Stamina: Loki possessed superhuman stamina that allowed him to fight prolonged battles. He defeated almost all of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents without tiring out. He also fought in the Battle of New York which took a couple of hours and did not get tired either.
:** Superhuman Reflexes: Loki possesses superhuman reaction time and reflexes. During the Battle of New York, Loki he managed to catch an arrow shot by Hawkeye when it was in the mid-flight without looking. After the Destruction of Asgard, Thor threw an object at Loki, which he promptly caught using his reflexes.
:** Regenerative Healing Factor: Despite his astounding resistance to injury, it was still possible to injure or even kill Loki. However, due to his Frost Giant physiology, Loki healed at a rate much faster than that of humans. Hence, Loki was quickly recovered back on his feet even after being brutally smashed multiple times against the ground by Hulk.
:** Longevity: Frost Giants naturally are able to live for thousands of years. Loki, who was born in 965 A.D., lived up to 2018 while still keeping a relatively young appearance.
:** Ice Manipulation: Not long after learning of his Jotun blood, Loki discovered an ability to create and manipulate ice. This allowed him to quickly learn the properties of the Casket of Ancient Winters, which he used to freeze the Bifrost in place when trying to destroy Jotunheim.
:*** Cold Immunity: Due to his Frost Giant physiology, Loki was immune to the otherwise cold and damaging touch of Frost Giants. He was unharmed when Raze grabbed him, whereas Volstagg was injured by the physical contact from a Frost Giant. In fact, both a Frost Giant's touch and his, either using or even touching the Casket of Ancient Winters, would reveal his true form as a Frost Giant.
:: "A master of magic could bring three Jotuns into Asgard."
:: ―Hogun[src]
:* Magic: Loki learned how to wield Asgardian Magic while growing up in Asgard, thanks to his adoptive mother Frigga. He eventually became an extremely skilled and formidable sorcerer, with it being his main asset in battle, though other exceptionally skilled sorcerers, like Doctor Strange could contend with him. Even Odin was impressed by Loki's magical skills and noted that Frigga would have been proud of him.
:** Illusion Manipulation: Loki could generate extremely detailed images from outside himself, which are perceptible in the external world, sometimes with a gesture. His holographic illusions could be projected across entire rooms, which allowed him to disguise the fact that he was disheveled and had destroyed his cell in the Asgardian Dungeons in anger over Frigga's death, though Thor was able to deduce the illusion quickly. However, Loki most notably conjured up the extremely convincing illusion of him seemingly dying from a wound inflicted by Kurse. During the Virtue Challenge, he was able to conjure a second Habrow Hawk to distract the first while Sif grabbed the Hawk's Egg. Loki was also able to alter his physical appearance, as well as voice, and clothing in order to resemble another person or animal. When Loki uses this power on an entire person, the light generated is green, whereas if it is used on only part of a person or their clothing, the light appears yellow. He used this power to change his clothing from his usual armor to a human's business suit, and back to his battle armor. He was also capable of imitating Thor, Captain America, Odin, and an anonymous Asgardian guard. Loki's illusions were so skilled that even as a child, he was able to transform himself into a snake to trick Thor, with his disguise being convincing enough to allow Thor to pick him up and hold him without arousing suspicion. He can also change others appearances as he briefly turned Thor into a frog as well as making him look like Lady Sif, and later on, to appear as if he had been stabbed, beaten and missing a hand when tricking Malekith into thinking that he had attacked Thor. Loki's shapeshifting also allowed him to generate weapons and armor as well, such as when he turned himself into an Asgardian Guard, he generated a spear and armor. Loki also used this power to generate a dagger in an attempt to assassinate Thanos. Loki's shapeshifting could not free him of any restraints placed upon him, as when he transformed into Captain America to mock him, Loki's hands were still bound, although he made it appear that the restraints had vanished.
:** Decoy Manipulation: Loki could recreate an exact facsimile of one's own body, which acted as a true holographic mirror of its molecular structure in its present circumstance. He was particularly noted to fool enemies who try to attack him by creating a duplication casting or in other words, an illusion. These projections cannot interact with the environment and when someone attempts to interact with it, they will phase through it and the projections will give a green glow around wherever it was touched. Thor was noted to fall for this ability numerous times. Loki can even produce multiple images of himself appear simultaneously during a duel with Thor before the latter blasted them away with a blast of lightning. He could also use this ability to project himself into other locations, similarly to astral projection, through which he can perceive and communicate with others. He may have used this method to speak Thor when the latter was imprisoned by Phil Coulson after failing to pick up his hammer, instantly appearing in and then disappearing from the sealed room Thor was kept in. While in possession of the Scepter, Loki could project himself far across the universe to speak with The Other and was able to feel when the latter touched his projection's face. Whilst Thor was imprisoned on Sakaar, he would send an illusion of himself to try and convince Thor to work with him in his future scheme to betray the Grandmaster. Being more wary of his brother's duplicitous antics, Thor managed to recognize Loki leaving a decoy of himself in his place as the pair were walking side by side while he attempted to sneak away from him.
:** Presence Manipulation: Loki was able to render himself and others unseen and unheard to whomever he wanted. This effect could be achieved both through him creating the illusion of letting light waves pass through himself or as simply a trick of the mind, similar to hypnosis. He could even mask his presence from the all-seeing Heimdall himself while he was in Jotunheim, sneak several Frost Giants into Asgard without Heimdall's notice, and hide from S.H.I.E.L.D. agents when he briefly visited Thor and attempted to lift Mjølnir himself. Also, he appeared as a reflection in a mirror without being present in a room, while no one noticed him, as he even spoke aloud and neither Erik Selvig nor Nick Fury heard him, though this may have been at least partly accomplished through the use of the Scepter to astrally project himself to the location as he subliminally influenced Selvig. Using two illusory decoys of himself, one to lure Thor into the holding cell on the Helicarrier previously containing him and another to distract Thor and Phil Coulson, Loki managed to lurk behind the latter despite otherwise being in full view of Thor before killing Coulson and revealing himself.
:** Mental Manipulation: Loki could subtly influence the minds of others, such as when he manipulated Erik Selvig into researching the Tesseract, making him repeat his words and thoughts as if they were his own. Later, Loki was even able to cast such a spell on Odin himself, which induced the All-Father to stay on Midgard while Loki usurped his Asgardian throne for four years, though it should be noted that the spell's effects were ultimately not permanent and Odin was able to break the spell shortly before Ragnarök, and only choose to remain in exile due to his impending death. Loki's illusions could also take the form of entire vivid visions, such as when he notably forced Valkyrie to relive her day of defeat against Hela by placing his hand on her head, something he was able to perceive.
:** Conjuration: Loki was able to cause objects to appear or disappear according to his will, oftentimes those he had previously acquired. When Heimdall was about to attack him, Loki quickly summoned the Casket of Ancient Winters to use against him, then made it disappear with a wave of his hands. He also appeared to be able to summon his dual daggers out of thin air when threatening Doctor Strange. Later, he used this ability to summon a dagger to throw at Hela while in the Bifrost. Finally, he used this ability to make the Tesseract appear in his hand when presenting it to Thanos.
:** Telekinesis: Loki would influence objects and move matter with mere gestures and focus. Upon hearing of Frigga's death, Loki, in a fury, clenched his fists and sent nearly everything around the cell flying through the air and crashing into the walls, which also shook the cell violently like a small tremor, causing the light in it to flicker like an electromagnetic pulse.
:** Frost Giant Physiology: Loki is a Frost Giant who has been enchanted to look like an Asgardian. Due to his heritage, Loki possesses all of the various superhuman attributes common among his race, including superhuman strength, durability, speed, agility, reflexes, stamina, healing and was extremely long-lived, as well as the power to manipulate ice.
:*** Superhuman Strength: Like all Frost Giants, Loki possesses great superhuman strength. This allowed him to overpower Hunter B-15 in combat. Although he struggled against his Variant controlling a larger body, he was easily able to contend with Lamentian guards and even launch one through a window with a single kick.
:*** Superhuman Durability: Loki's physiology allowed him to survive falling into the Gobi Desert from a high altitude, being soundly beaten by his Variant, Sylvie Laufeydottir controlling a larger body and being tossed out of a moving train. He even endured the magical attacks of his Variant without suffering any harm worse than being knocked to the ground. In the Gobi Desert, Loki was hit by a Time Stick and although he felt all of the pain, he was only knocked down. On Lamentis, Loki was shot at by a woman's blaster, but took no damage whatsoever. While dueling Laufeydottir, Loki took a direct hit to the neck with her sword, which was meant to be a killing blow to He Who Remains.
:*** Superhuman Speed: Loki can run and move at great superhuman speed. He and Sylvie Laufeydottir managed to outrun the meteors and destruction on Lamentis-1. He also ran very quickly while distracting Alioth long enough to help Laufeydottir.
:*** Superhuman Agility: Loki has superhuman agility due to his Frost Giant heritage. He went toe-to-toe with Sylvie Laufeydottir while dodging her blows on Lamentis. This included many knife jabs to his face, but he ducked out of the way. He was also able to dodge countless meteors crashing down on him. He later squared off against his own Variants, dodging their attacks as well.
:*** Superhuman Stamina: Loki's endurance allows him to fight and run for great periods of time without tiring out. On Lamentis-1, he battled guards on the train without tiring out and then ran a long distance directly after. Against Alioth, he ran great distances to distract the creature. Although he claimed that he had never walked so long on Lamentis and complained of tiredness, he still ran at full speed afterwards.
:*** Superhuman Reflexes: Loki can react and dodge objects traveling at high speeds. When first meeting Sylvie Laufeydottir, she tried to strike him with a sword, but he quickly used an illusion to get away and then sneak up behind her. His reflexes were quick enough to use his telekinesis to prevent a building from toppling on him and Laufeydottir. Against the Lamentis-1 guards, he used his reflexes to block their staff attacks while being outnumbered. While escaping his Variant's Army he dodged many flying bodies on his way out of the scuffle.
:*** Regenerative Healing Factor: Despite his body's resistance, Loki can still be injured like any other Frost Giant. However, his metabolism enables him to rapidly regenerate damaged bodily tissue with far greater speed. After the Battle of New York, his wounds healed very quickly. The scar on his nose had healed even before he got to the TVA. His scar on his forehead had also been healed a little later.
:*** Longevity: Loki, like all other Frost Giants, are extremely long-lived beings, he ages at a very slow pace which allows him to live many years.
:*** Cold Immunity: Due to his Frost Giant physiology, Loki is immune to cold. However, he pretended to feel cold in the Void in order to get closer to Laufeydottir.
:*: "Someone taught you fairly decent magic."
:*: ―Sylvie Laufeydottir to Loki[src]
:** Magic: Loki was taught Asgardian Magic by Frigga while growing up in Asgard. He admits this fact to Sylvie Laufeydottir when he expressed surprise at the degree that she was able to teach herself magic similar to his own. He is knowledgeable enough to point out to Hunter B-15 that there is a difference between Illusion Manipulation and Duplication Casting. He can also use his magic as weapons as well, hitting a Lamentis Guard with a green blast.
:*** Illusion Manipulation: Loki can generate detailed images from outside himself, which are perceptible in the external world. He would proceed to demonstrate his abilities to Laufeydottir after speaking of his mother's training by creating a small projection of fireworks from his hand in an effort to impress her. Loki can also alter his own body with illusions, seemingly shapeshifting. He could alter his attire, his voice and his physical appearance in order to resemble another person. Loki's shapeshifting could not free him of any restraints placed upon him, as when he transformed into Captain America to mock him, Loki's hands were still bound, although he made it appear that the restraints had vanished using illusions. After entering the Roxxcart Mall in Haven Hills, the rain-soaked Loki sent a wave of green energy across his body to instantly dry himself off. After being gifted Laevateinn by Kid Loki, Loki manifested a harness to sheath the sword on his back.
:*** Decoy Manipulation: Loki could recreate an exact facsimile of his body, which acts as a true holographic mirror of its molecular structure in its present circumstance. Loki better names this as Duplication Casting, which he describes, is different than Illusion Manipulation.
:*** Presence Manipulation: Loki is able to render himself and others unseen and unheard to whomever he wanted. This effect could be achieved both though him creating the illusion of letting light waves pass through himself or as simply a trick of the mind, similar to hypnosis. Whilst battling Sylvie Laufeydottir, he disappeared in a green flash, evading her sword swing, before reappearing behind her and knocking her away. This could also extend to items in his possession, such as the TemPad he made invisible after having it disappear from his grip to hide it from Laufeydottir, a method which unfortunately did not protect it from being destroyed when Loki was thrown from a train. Loki additionally managed to appear in front of Laufeydottir as she was about to attack He Who Remains, having previously been left dazed on the other side of the room.
:*** Conjuration: Loki can cause objects to appear or disappear according to his will, such as instantly summoning his daggers when needed for combat. However, he must first acquire the objects before summoning them, as he needed to take the dagger from the locker confiscated by Hunter B-15 as only later could he summon them when needed. On Lamentis-1, Loki managed to make a TemPad disappear, secretly transporting it into his back pocket and using illusions to make it invisible. After being thrown from a train, he removed it from his pocket, making it visible to reveal it had been unknowingly destroyed by his fall. In addition, Loki demonstrated the ability to generate tangible items, such as a quill and parchment he was able to write on before making vanish while on a train ride with Laufeydottir and a green and gold blanket that he could extend to encompass his Variant while the two were in the Void.
:*** Telekinesis: Loki is able to influence objects and move matter with mere gestures and focus. During his duel with his Variant in Roxxcart, Loki summoned a Roomba vacuum from a shelf, sending it flying straight into his grip. On Lamentis-1, he used his mind to lift a large piece of a falling building and return it upright, something that required sustained effort and all of his concentration to accomplish. He used his telekinetic abilities to pull Laufeydottir away from He Who Remains, dragging her a few feet backwards before she broke free and attacked him in retaliation. By the time of the Multiversal Liberation (centuries later from Loki's perspective), his telekinetic abilities had grown powerful enough for him to rip apart the Temporal Loom through sheer force of will.
:*** Energy Blast: Loki can project green energy bolts and blasts, allowing him to strike, push, or blow away his targets. The blasts are powerful enough to send an adult humanoid flying and even stun other Frost Giants. During his duel with Laufeydottir, his energy blasts were powerful enough to stop her from going ahead and killing He Who Remains.
:*** Enchantment: Just like his counterpart Sylvie Laufeydottir, Loki can enchant his victim by making physical contact and then grab hold of its mind. But this was taught to him by Laufeydottir on the spot to control Alioth.
:*: "But it isn't random because you keep ending up around exactly the people you're looking for, and it's evolving because you're not just slipping in time, you're also moving around in space. It's like you're a better version of one of those TemPads."
:*: ―A.D. Doug to Loki[src]
:** Time Slipping: Loki has control over time slipping, a phenomenon that happens when an individual is pulled through time, and sometimes space. At first, he time slipped uncontrollably, appearing to warp away at random intervals. With the help of Ouroboros' past self A.D. Doug, Loki learned to control his time slipping by focusing on a person rather than a specific event in time. Loki's time slipping allows him to travel physically or transfer his consciousness to a version of himself within his past, enabling him to travel to critical events in his life and explore any alternate outcomes, such as extending a conversation with He Who Remains or altering the course of history by preventing Victor Timely from fixing the Temporal Loom.
:*** Time Manipulation: As part of his Time Slipping phenomenon, Loki is able to pause and resume time on a certain individual or in general. He describes this ability as moving outside the proper flow of time. He uses this ability to frequently pause time on Sylvie during his many revisits to He Who Remains' Citadel to stop Sylvie from killing He Who Remains as he learned from him what this ability does and what to do with the Temporal Loom. This ability also allows him to bring other people with him outside of time, as did with both He Who Remains and Sylvie.
:*** Spatial-Temporal Lock: As he exists outside space-time, Loki is immune to the effects of spaghettification, caused by either prolonged exposure to temporal radiation or the destabilization of reality. He is able to enter the Temporal Loom's chamber without any protective gear and survive.
=== Abilities ===
: "You're very clever."
: ―Mobius M. Mobius to Loki[src]
* Genius-Level Intellect: Loki possesses a high-level intellect, something Mobius M. Mobius was aware of when interviewing him. He quickly deduced the involvement of time travel when he realized that there were two versions of Tony Stark present before he escaped with the Tesseract. During his TVA training, he quickly understood their rules and technology. Mobius later called him "very clever", a statement with which Loki agreed. Loki claims that he could resist enchantment from Sylvie Laufeydottir because his mind is too strong. Loki's history as a trickster allowed him to understand Laufeydottir's methods. As such, he deduced she was hiding out in apocalyptic events due to their absence of variance energy.
: "Let's talk about your escapes. You're really good at doing awful things, and then just getting away.""What can I say? I'm a mischievous scamp."
: ―Mobius M. Mobius and Loki[src]
* Master Tactician: Loki, as the God of Mischief, is a master strategist and escapologist, and according to Ravonna Renslayer, his file describes him as "unpredictable". He nearly succeeded in conquering Midgard while leading the Chitauri Invasion. When working at the TVA, Loki found it "adorable" that Mobius M. Mobius could possibly manipulate him and claimed to be ten steps ahead of him, an incredibly smart person himself. Using his intellect, the great tactician was able to deduce the tactics his "superior" Variant was using.
: "Casey, we need to widen the voltage input and invert the temporal decay.""What about the ion decoupler?""It's fine. Route it with the primary compartment.""Won't it overheat?""No. Allow it to interface with Timely's adaptive exponential computing system. Those upgrades will allow the Loom to scale the capacity to manage the branches."
: ―Loki and Casey[src]
* Master Engineer: After spending centuries learning engineering with the use of his Time Slipping ability, Loki now specializes in engineering and is exceptionally masterful at it, having learned everything from O.B. and being capable of knowing the Temporal Loom's capabilities.
* Master Scientist: To be added
* Expert Investigator: To be added
* Expert Combatant: Even though Loki was far more interested in sorcery than Asgardian warrior arts, he was still a highly skilled and formidable hand-to-hand combatant, having received extensive training in unarmed combat as well as having centuries of combat experience. He was able to go toe-to-toe with multiple Avengers before and during the Battle of New York. He was also able to reverse Hunter B-15's hold on him and subdue her. While he struggled to defend himself against Sylvie controlling a larger body, he fared better against her when he was equipped with his daggers. Together, they were able to defeat multiple Lamentian guards and Minutemen. However, Ravonna Renslayer was able to get the drop on him and "prune" him by using sneak attack.
* Knife Mastery: Loki's preferred weapon in combat other than magic is daggers, as he was highly skilled at using them, being able to duel one of his Variants with his twin daggers and great efficiency. He can also throw his knives, although Laufeydottir criticized his lack of accuracy.
* Sword Mastery: Loki is highly skilled at using a sword in combat, being able to use Laufeydottir's sword to great effect against the Minutemen. He was even able to fight equally using Kid Loki's Laevateinn against Sylvie during their confrontation on whether or not to kill He Who Remains.
* Expert Thief: Fitting with his mischievous nature, Loki is an adept pickpocket. He deftly stole Mobius' Time Twister when the latter helped him stand up. He also stole Laufeydottir's TemPad.
* Multilingualism: Loki is fluent in his native Asgardian, as well as English and Latin.
== Equipment ==
=== Weapons ===
* Retina Extractor: A tool used by Loki to extract one of Heinrich Schäfer's eyeballs.
* Blades: After being taken into the Time Variance Authority, Loki was given his daggers back by Mobius M. Mobius before they were confiscated by Hunter B-15 and placed in a locker. However, Loki reclaimed the daggers in order to confront Sylvie Laufeydottir with them.
* Scepter: Loki wielded the Scepter during the Battle of New York, and it was taken from him by the Avengers once he was defeated.
* Sylvie Laufeydottir's Sword: Loki used Laufeydottir's sword to battle the Minutemen.
* Laevateinn: Laevateinn is an Asgardian sword that is able to generate fire. Kid Loki gave Laevateinn to Loki while in the Void. Loki used it in a failed attempt to distract Alioth, and he used it to duel Laufeydottir over the fate of the Multiverse.
=== Other Equipment ===
* Asgardian Armor: Loki's primary set of armor consisted of green tunic overlaid with golden metal. It occasionally came with a green cape.
* Horned Helmet: Loki possessed a golden horned helmet as a protective headgear and to represent the Asgardian magic he wielded.
* Asgardian Collar: Following his defeat in the Battle of New York, Thor muzzled Loki's mouth with an Asgardian collar to temporarily prevent him from speaking.
: "I came into possession of the Tesseract because they traveled through time."
: ―Loki to Ravonna Renslayer[src]
* Tesseract: In his quest to conquer Earth, Loki used the Tesseract to open the wormhole to the Chitauri. After his defeat, due to the Avengers from the main timeline interfering, Loki managed to reclaim the Tesseract, opening a portal and escaping Stark Tower. However, shortly after, the Tesseract would be confiscated by the Time Variance Authority.
* Time Collar: To be added
* TVA Holoprojector: After being taken by Mobius M. Mobius to the interrogation room, Loki was shown his defeat at the hands of the Avengers in New York City and Frigga's death, much to his disbelief. When Mobius left the room, Loki used the Holoprojector to see Odin's death, his bond with Thor, his alliance with Valkyrie during Ragnarök, and his death at the hands of Thanos. After seeing that the main version of himself became redeemed, Loki stopped using the Holoprojector and took what he had seen in.
* Time Twister: Loki used the Time Twister to teleport himself away from Hunter B-15 and then later to teleport Hunter B-15 away from him in the interrogation room.
* Timedoor: Loki used a Time Door to follow Sylvie Laufeydottir.
* TemPad: To be added
=== Vehicles ===
* Lamentis-1 Train: While trying to escape Lamentis-1, Loki and Sylvie Laufeydottir boarded the Lamentis-1 Train in order to get to the Ark. However, they were soon kicked off the train by Lamentian guards.
== Facilities ==
* Royal Palace of Valaskjalf: The Royal Palace was Loki's home when he lived in Asgard.
* Stark Tower: During the Battle of New York, Loki used the Scepter to open a Wormhole above New York City for the Chitauri. Loki then hid out in Stark Tower where he confronted Tony Stark and then fought against Thor. Later, he was defeated by the Hulk in the Tower and taken into custody by the Avengers.
* Time Variance Authority Office: After using the Tesseract to travel elsewhere disrupting the timeline, Loki was taken into custody by the Time Variance Authority and was tasked by Mobius M. Mobius to work at the TVA office.
* Loki Palace: While in the Void, Loki accompanied Classic Loki, Boastful Loki, Kid Loki, and Alligator Loki to their hiding place. There Loki listened to each Loki's stories, before trying to leave to take down Alioth, but was subsequently stopped by President Loki and his bandits. During the confrontation with President Loki, Loki escaped the Palace with Classic Loki, Kid Loki, and Alligator Loki through a portal.
* A.D. Doug's Workshop: Loki was stuck Time Slipping through various timelines, and used A.D. Doug's workshop as a base of operations while working to save the Time Variance Authority. He brought Variants of his friends to the workshop in their attempt and saw it get destroyed as the universe fell apart. However, Loki managed to use his time slipping to jump to before it was destroyed.
* Citadel at the End of Time: After Loki destroyed the Temporal Loom and began enchanting splintering timelines, he opened a rift to the Citadel at the End of Time, where he sat on the throne and formed the Multiverse into a "tree of life" where he gained control over all of existence.
=== Prisons ===
* Time Cell: Loki was put into a Time Cell twice by Mobius M. Mobius, in which he relived a reconstruction of a memory of Sif.
:
== Relationships ==
=== Family ===
* Laufey † - Father and Victim
* Asgardian Royal Family
** Buri † - Adoptive Great-Grandfather
** Bor † - Adoptive Grandfather
** Odin † - Adoptive Father
** Frigga † - Adoptive Mother
** Adoptive Uncles †
** Hela † - Adoptive Sister and Attempted Killer
** Thor - Adoptive Brother, Former Attempted Victim and Former Teammate
* Love - Adoptive Niece
=== Allies ===
* Asgardians - Former Subordinates and Temporary Enemies
** Brunnhilde/Valkyrie - Former Teammate
** Heimdall †
** Skurge/Executioner †
** The Tragedy of Loki of Asgard
*** Loki Actor
*** Odin Actor
*** Thor Actor
*** Jane Foster Actor
*** Sif Actor
*** Volstagg Actor
*** Fandral Actor
*** Hogun Actor
** Einherjar
* Warriors Three - Temporary Enemies
** Volstagg †
** Fandral †
** Hogun †
* Haldier - Temporary Enemy
* Brunok - Temporary Enemy
* Siegrold - Temporary Enemy
* Hilda - Temporary Enemy
* Destroyer † - Former Subordinate
* Hugin and Munin
* The Other †
* Chitauri - Former Subordinates
** Leviathans
* Jane Foster † - Situational Ally
* Revengers - Former Teammates
** Bruce Banner/Hulk - Former Enemy
* Sakaaran Rebellion
** Korg
** Miek
** Biff
** Tasba
** Roscoe †
** Hajo †
**
**
** Chitauri - Former Subordinates
*** Leviathans
** Time Variance Authority - Former Enemies
*** Mobius M. Mobius - Best Friend
*** Hunter B-15 - Friend
*** Hunter C-20
*** Hunter D-90
*** Casey - Friend
*** Ouroboros - Friend
*** Judges' Council
**** Gamble
** Sylvie Laufeydottir - Alternate Self, Temporary Enemy and Love Interest
** Kid Loki's Crew - Alternate Selves
*** Kid Loki
*** Classic Loki † - Savior
*** Alligator Loki
** Victor Timely - Friend
** Frank Morris †
** Clarence Anglin
** John Anglin
** Verity Willis †
** Don †
** A.D. Doug †
** Eric	
=== Enemies ===
* Northwest Orient Airlines
** Florence Schaffner
** William A. Scott
* Brunok
* Frost Giants - Temporary Allies
** Hailstrum †
** Grundroth †
** Raze † - Victim
* Sif - Former Ally and One-Night Stand
* Sleipnir - Former Ally
* S.H.I.E.L.D.
** Nick Fury
** Maria Hill †
** Phil Coulson † - Victim
** Tyler
** Galaga Guy
** STRIKE
* Erik Selvig - Former Thrall
* Schäfer Sicherheitsdienst
** Heinrich Schäfer † - Victim
* German Old Man - Attempted Victim
* Avengers
** Steve Rogers/Captain America † - Attempted Victim
** Tony Stark/Iron Man † - Attempted Victim
** Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow † - Attempted Victim
** Clint Barton/Hawkeye - Former Thrall and Attempted Killer
* World Security Council
** Gideon Malick †
** Pamela Hawley
* HYDRA
** Alexander Pierce †
** Brock Rumlow †
** Jasper Sitwell †
** Jack Rollins
* Einherjar Guard † - Victim
* Dark Elves
** Malekith † - Attempted Killer
** Kurse † - Attempted Killer and Victim
* Lorelei
* Vin-Tak
* Masters of the Mystic Arts
** Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange
* En Dwi Gast/Grandmaster - Former Ally
* Sakaaran Guards - Former Allies
** Topaz †
* Fenris †
* Berserkers †
* Surtur †
* Thanos † - Former Master, Attempted Victim and Killer
* Black Order
** Ebony Maw †
** Cull Obsidian †
** Proxima Midnight †
** Corvus Glaive †
* Ravonna Renslayer
* Miss Minutes - Temporary Ally
* Lamentian Homesteader †
* Hicks †
* Hudson †
* Time-Keepers †
* Alioth - Attempted Killer and Thrall
* Loki Variant Army - Alternate Selves
** President Loki
** Mustache Loki
** Glamshades Loki
** Bicycle Loki
** Pokey Loki
** Warrior Loki
** Ninja Loki
** Assassin Loki
** Goth Loki
** Military Loki
* Boastful Loki - Alternate Self and Former Ally
* He Who Remains †
* Dox's Loyalists
** Dox †
** Hunter X-05
** Hunter M-34
* Robber Baron
== Trivia ==
* In the non-canon comic Captain America & Thor: Avengers!, Loki helps his friends to free Fandral who is captured by the Dark Elves led by Alflyse.
* In a promotional file of the TVA, posted by Loki's official account, Loki is described as of fluid sex, 6'4" height, blue eye color, 525 weight, black hair, and unknown race/ethnicity, date of birthday and age. The file later appeared in the show, in the first episode and the credits sequences.
** This version of Loki is partially based on the Ikol incarnation of the character from the comics. Both are revived past versions of Loki, from prior to his heroic turn.
** Loki is the first bisexual title character of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
** In a promotional file of the TVA, posted by Loki's official account, Loki is described as of fluid sex, 6'4" height, blue eye color, 525 weight, black hair, and unknown race/ethnicity, date of birth and age. The file later appeared in the show, in the first episode and the credits sequence.
*** Loki is the second character identified as genderfluid in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the first being Xavin.
*** In the file, Loki is classified in the sector '1900-2099' and his arrest ID is 'JO98235'.
*** The file in the first episode lists his height as 6'2".
*** The weight noted in the file contradicts previous MCU information; while in the comics Asgardians and the like do weight considerably more than humans due to their denser bodily structure, in the MCU Asgardians and the like were consistently shown to weight similarly to humans; even in the Loki series itself.
** Loki is the only individual shown physically holding the Time Stone.
** Loki prefers to sit forward while riding a train.
== Behind the Scenes ==
* Tom Hiddleston, the actor who portrays Loki, originally auditioned for the role of Thor.
* Charlie Cox auditioned for the role of Loki.
* Loki is the first Marvel Cinematic Universe villain to appear in multiple films in the franchise, not counting appearances through photographs and archive footage.
* Loki is the fifth character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe based on a real-life individual to not be portrayed by themselves, after Jamel Shabazz, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Florence Schaffner and William A. Scott and followed by Frank Morris.
* Loki's death in Thor: The Dark World was initially intended to be genuine and permanent, having been part of the initial pitch. However, during test screenings, the audience refused to believe that Loki had died and was sure he would somehow return, leading the filmmakers to reshoot the ending for one in which Loki survives.
* Tom Hiddleston originally filmed scenes for Avengers: Age of Ultron, in which Loki's Scepter plays a pivotal role. However, Hiddleston's scenes ended up being cut when Joss Whedon felt that the movie would be overstuffed.
* Tom Hiddleston stated that as the ruler of Asgard since the end of Thor: The Dark World, four years prior to the events of Thor: Ragnarok, that "Loki has devoted most of his efforts to narcissistic self-glorification. Not so much on good governance".
* Paul Lacovara, Mark Musashi, Douglas Robson, Harley Durst and Adam Lytle were stunt doubles for Tom Hiddleston in the role of Loki.
* Brent Reichert and Freddie Andrews were stand-ins for Tom Hiddleston in the role of Loki.
* Gene Arnold was a photo double for Tom Hiddleston in the role of Loki.
== References ==
The Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Loki.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki has a collection of quotes related to Loki.
# ↑ Jump up to:1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Avengers: Infinity War
# ↑ Jump up to:2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 Thor
# ↑ Jump up to:3.0 3.1 3.2 Loki: 1.01: Glorious Purpose
# ↑ Jump up to:4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 Thor: The Dark World
# ↑ Loki's TVA File
# ↑ "4/30/2018" on Scott's laptop in Ant-Man and the Wasp
# ↑ Marvel Studios' The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline
# ↑ Loki: 1.03: Lamentis
# ↑ Jump up to:9.0 9.1 Thor: The Dark World Deleted Scene
# ↑ Jump up to:10.00 10.01 10.02 10.03 10.04 10.05 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.09 10.10 10.11 10.12 10.13 10.14 Thor: Ragnarok
# ↑ 'King Loki' Deleted Scene Would've Included Thor Transformed (Exclusive)
# ↑ Eric Martin on Twitter
# ↑ Jump up to:13.0 13.1 Loki: 1.04: The Nexus Event
# ↑ Film Music Live with NATALIE HOLT
# ↑ Thor, The Mighty Avenger
# ↑ Jump up to:16.0 16.1 Thor Deleted Scene
# ↑ Jump up to:17.00 17.01 17.02 17.03 17.04 17.05 17.06 17.07 17.08 17.09 17.10 17.11 17.12 17.13 The Avengers
# ↑ Marvel - Characters: Loki
# ↑ Thor Post-credits Scene
# ↑ Jump up to:20.0 20.1 Thor: The Dark World Prelude
# ↑ Black Widow
# ↑ Jump up to:22.0 22.1 Avengers: Endgame
# ↑ Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 1.15: Yes Men
# ↑ Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 2.12: Who You Really Are
# ↑ The Most Guarded Secret of 'Thor: Ragnarok' Was an A-List Cameo
# ↑ Avengers: Infinity War: The Heroes' Journey
# ↑ Thor: Ragnarok Post-credits Scene
# ↑ Thor: Love and Thunder
# ↑ Ms. Marvel: 1.01: Generation Why
# ↑ Loki: 1.02: The Variant
# ↑ Marvel Studios Visual Dictionary
# ↑ Loki's TVA File
# ↑ Loki's Thor: The Dark World Death Was Originally Permanent
# ↑ JOSS WHEDON EXPLAINS WHY THERE'S NO LOKI IN 'AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON'
# ↑ Hulk speaks in awesome new trailer for Thor: Ragnarok
== External Links ==
* Loki on Marvel Database
* Loki on Wikipedia
* Loki on Wikipedia
* Loki on Wikipedia
* Loki on Marvel Website
* D. B. Cooper on Wikipedia