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Darryl J.M. Balacanao, Cal Poly Pomona
Mentor: Dr. Donald J. Kraemer Jr.
SRC Competition
17 March 2013
Loki Laufeyson: A View on Villainy
Abstract: By analyzing the character of Loki, conclusions can be drawn as to the salient characteristics of supervillains in general and Loki in particular.
Introduction
With the release of the major motion picture Thor in 2011, moviegoers were treated to a look into the fraternal dynamic between the god of thunder and his mischievous adopted brother,
Loki. True to the Marvel cannon, Loki returns in Marvel’s The Avengers and consequently brings together the titular team. Despite Thor’s large rogue gallery, Loki has been a mainstay in comics, acting as the primary antagonist in Thor comics since its inception. Though known for his dissimulation, the trickster god has undergone a more drastic change as of late, namely taking the form of a woman and later taking up the role of hero as a young boy. While Loki’s change in depiction is interesting from a plot perspective, how this change helps to clarify both the role of supervillains and Loki’s particular brand of villainy is of greater import.
Part One: Loki the Villain
Enter Loki. The contrast between brother and sister could not be greater. Thor, standing in the light, battle scarred, face bright and open, with blonde hair, and arms akimbo almost drawn exactly as Will Eisner’s paradigmatic hero. Loki, on the other hand, is shrouded in darkness, pristine, face darkened, with midnight black hair. As if speaking on this clear difference between them, Loki says, “We have always been contrary in our ways.” Eisner points out that the instantiation of hero and villain plays on our “ingrained set of accepted stereotypes” (Graphic Balacanao 2
Storytelling 13). Yet, if this is the case, to what extent is Loki’s newfound femininity part of our accepted stereotype of evil, if at all? That is to say, does Loki’s depiction as a woman, juxtaposed alongside Thor, highlight her being a villain? Our answer lies in the definition of masculinity and femininity espoused by the text.
Loki, ever distrusted by the inhabitants of Asgard, finds herself in the midst of The
Warriors Three. The conversational context is of the Asgardians’ recent resurrection and
Asgard’s relocation to the American heartland. There is an ongoing play on the idea of being a man amidst their dialogue. Fandral begins by insulting Loki…
Loki: Fandral, you wound me. In every way you can imagine, I am not the man I once was. Fandral: Loki, even when you thought you were a man, you were not the man you thought you were. […] The point being – as Thor has said, our future is our own again, and we may do as we wish, may come and go as we wish. Loki: And where would that be, Fandral? Fandral: Pardon? Loki: Beyond these walls a vast new world awaits, largely unexplored by you and yours. Where do you wish to go? And why have you thus far not gone there? […] We have all been blessed with a second chance, I as much as any of you. But what good is that second chance if we do not live up to it? What good is the freedom won for us by our Lord Thor if we do not use it?...... If you wish to ignore and debase the gift Thor has won for us all, that is your right, but I certainly could not do so -- and still call myself a man.
From the dialogue, two possible definitions of manhood can be extracted. Consider the speaker and the context: Fandral is a warrior god of Asgard, a patriarchal and ancient society wherein manhood is associated with heroism and adventuring. The dialogue, therefore, by virtue of the speaker and the context, implies a binary: men, who are heroes, versus women. Mila Bongco makes a similar observation regarding masculinity, saying it “is a principal concept in defining and distinguishing an enduring hero” (115). If manhood is of prime importance to heroism, what does this say regarding villains? In invoking the tools of structuralism, specifically the use of binary opposition, it would seem that femininity, or at least those characteristics opposite of manhood, are distinguishing features of the villain. For instance, where the hero is courageous, the villain is cowardly; where the hero has an indomitable will, the villain is fickle. With respect Balacanao 3 to our specific example of Loki in the context of Asgardian society, femininity manifests itself by marking one as a non-warrior.
Despite being raised an Asgardian male, Loki has never played the role of hero-warrior.
Note the following panel. Loki is sitting at a desk, hunched over, and intently staring at a large book. Loki mumbles to herself, “Mmm...interesting...never thought of that as a use for a dead man’s eyes. The ancient spellcasters, they were such an imaginative lot” (Straczynski, Vol. 2).
Loki, as a villain, has always delved into the arcane, utilizing sorcery and trickery against Thor.
This seems to be a key difference in that Thor’s methods are more straightforward, namely he hits things and they fall; if they fail to fall, he hits harder. Loki is more indirect, realizing that a match of strength with Thor would result in loss. This seems a fairly common trait among villains -- brains versus brawn, villains with their grand schemes and maniacal plans. Consider
Batman’s Joker, Superman’s Lex Luthor, and Hulk’s Leader.
Part Two: Loki the Liesmith.
I turn now to Loki’s younger instantiation wherein he is given a storyline of his own.
Setting the tone for his tale, the panel is of an online conversation regarding a picture Loki has taken.
LENSMAN47: “Awesome. What filter is that?” LOKIOFASGARD: “There’s no filter.” LENSMAN47: “OBVIOUS FAKE IS OBVIOUS! STOP LYING!!!” LOKIOFASGARD: “I’m not” (Gillen, Vol. 1)!
The next panel shows the veracity of Loki’s words as the background matches Loki’s picture exactly. Frustrated, Loki breathes out, “Why do people always presume I’m lying” (Gillen, Vol.
1)? This one page is a metaphor for the drama that is Loki. A filter is a camera lens that allows for effects and alterations to the captured image. In similar fashion, this new Loki has a filter, the Balacanao 4 added effect his being good, yet the key aspects are still present, namely his penchant for deceit.
This in light of the mythological history of Loki squarely situates him as a trickster.
William Hynes and William Doty provide a heuristic guide of six characteristics of trickster. Axiologically, this provides criteria for trickster, allowing us to analyze Loki in light of these characteristics. For the purposes of this presentation though, I will share only two characteristics: situation inversion and shape-shifting.
Finding himself in a situation wherein he must sacrifice himself to save others, Loki at first completely assents. However, as Loki progresses down this path, Loki’s avian familiar begins to change Loki’s mind: “Playing the hero, Loki? Stupid. You may be your Loki, but you’re still Loki. […] Yes, this is what Thor would do. But that’s only admirable because Thor could do this. You can’t. His strengths are not yours. What could Loki do” (Gillen, Vol. 3)?
Following the advice of his familiar, Loki ceases following the path of self-sacrifice and finds an alternative which, on its face, seems to capitulate to the villain: Loki gives the villain exactly what he wants; however, Loki knows that the villain and his fellow cohorts will constantly fight amongst themselves over the object. Explaining his actions to his comrades, Loki confesses, “If
I’m going to save anyone, it’s going to have to be in a Loki way” (Gillen, Vol. 3). This Loki way speaks to the ability of situation inversion, “turn[ing] a bad situation into a good one, and then back into a bad one” (“Mapping the Characteristics of Mythic Tricksters: A Heuristic Guide”
37).
As to shape-shifting, Hynes explains that the purpose of shape-shifting for trickster is “to facilitate deception” (“Mapping the Characteristics of Mythic Tricksters: A Heuristic Guide” 37).
Indeed, it isn’t until Gillen’s conclusion to Journey Into Mystery wherein the truth of Loki’s transformation is revealed: Loki’s previous persona and consciousness will ultimately reassert Balacanao 5 control over little Loki. The spirit of Loki’s former self says: “With your innocence you reestablished my name. And now I have a chance to be something else…by taking your place.”
In this complicated twist of events, the character of little, benevolent Loki is simply yet another of the true Loki’s deceptions, an affectation with a life of its own. With tears, young Loki accepts his inescapable fate of reverting to his former consciousness by taking his familiar and consuming it. Blood stains his mouth as he sits and weeps, finally mumbling, “Damn me”
(Gillen, #645). Here, the sacredness of youthful innocence is corrupted with the ingesting of raw meat, an act understood to represent the shape-shift to the Loki of old: the god of evil.
Conclusion
That the “dinosaur [that is comics] refuses to keel over and die” and “the chief superhero characters remain its most widely understood and recognized creations - to the annoyance of writers and artists” speaks well of comics’ genre work (Reynolds 7-8). True, it is the hero that is most recognizable, but through this look at villainy through Loki, perhaps as Richard Reynolds says, it is the villain who is the true star of each story. While my focus has been on Loki, I look forward to any and all future scholarship on comics’ genre work, knowing full well that, like the villains that inhabit it, the genre will continue on.
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Works Cited
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Universes.” The Contemporary Comic Book Superhero. Ed. Angela Ndalianis. New York:
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Bongco, Mila. Reading Comics Language, Culture, and the Concept of the Superhero in Comic
Books. New York: Garland Publishing, 2000. Print.
Doty, William, and William Hynes. “Introducing the Trickster Figure.” Mythical Trickster
Figures: Contours, Contexts, and Criticisms. Ed. William Doty and William Hynes.
Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama P, 1993. 1-12. Print.
Eisner, Will. Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative Principles and Practices from the
Legendary Cartoonist. New York: Norton, 1996. Print.
Gillen, Kieron, writer. Journey Into Mystery Vol 1. Penciling by Doug Braithwaite. New York:
Marvel, 2011. Print.
Gillen, Kieron, writer. Journey Into Mystery Vol 3. Art by Richard Elson. New York: Marvel,
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Gillen, Kieron, writer. Journey Into Mystery #645. Art by Stephanie Hans. New York: Marvel,
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Hynes, William. “Mapping the Characteristics of Mythic Tricksters: A Heuristic Guide.”
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William Hynes. Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama P, 1993. 33-45. Print.
Klock, Geoff. How to Read Superhero Comics and Why. New York: Continuum, 2006. Print. Balacanao 7
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. Northampton: Kitchen Sink P, 1993.
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Reynolds, Richard. Super Heroes A Modern Mythology. Jackson: UP of Mississippi, 1992. Print.
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Straczynski, J. Michael, writer. Thor Vol 1. Penciling by Olivier Coipel. New York: Marvel Pub,
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