Loki: Glorious Purpose

Part I: A Brief History

Left to die as an infant in wartorn Jotunheim, Loki Laufeyson was raised as a god and a prince, adopted by the King of Asgard. He grew up in his older brother Thor’s shadow, leading to his mischievous and sly character. He was more intelligent than brute, more introspective than mighty. After learning that he was born a frost giant and that his adoption was a means to political unity between Jotunheim and Asgard, he turns against his family. Loki felt entitled to a throne and used his Machiavellian ways to gain power.

Loki’s attempts at permanently exiling his brother from Asgard, taking over Earth, and masquerading as his father on the throne, were all short of success. He felt that he was “burdened with glorious purpose” and tirelessly chased the elusive throne.

Shortly after Loki reconciles with Thor, Loki is killed by the mad titan, Thanos… in the main timeline that is. Despite his untimely death, a variant of his character made it out alive… 

Part II: My Favourite Character

After appearing in a handful of films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Loki was given his own starring TV show. It tells the story of his variant, a version of Loki who exists on an ‘alternate timeline’, who learns of his fatal fate on the ‘main timeline’. Fans like myself wanted to see more of this character, a complicated and multifaceted antihero whose story was cut short. 

I was captivated by his underdog story and inspired by his journey of learning from his mistakes. Variant Loki learning that he is insignificant in the grand cosmos of the universe is a very human feeling, far from his godlike tendencies. We start to see the more introspective side of Loki, someone who was blinded by resentment but learns to gain empathy. He finally starts to reflect on his mistakes and ultimately becomes a hero who saves trillions of lives. It is refreshing to see the human sensibilities of a godly character.

By nature, Loki’s mercurial and mischievous personality allows him to often be cheeky and humorous. He can be sassy and quippy, dropping funny memorable one-liners. On the other hand, he delivers thoughtful monologues about self-identity and purpose. His duality of humour and sentimentality is a large part of why he is my favourite character.

In the TV show, he finds a group of friends who he starts to really care for. With every life at stake, Loki spends centuries figuring out how to fix the universe. As a result, he sacrifices his chance for freedom in order for his friends to freely live. Finally, he rightfully earns a seat on a throne at the End of Time, where he safeguards the universe. 

Throughout Loki’s whole story, I was enamored by his poetic journey and search for his glorious purpose, which was ultimately not for the sake of greed, but love. Despite the finality of his character arc, his story still stays with me and inspires me everyday.