These Loki Comics Will Make You Enjoy Season 2 Even More

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Loki Laufyson, the God of Mischief, burdened with a glorious purpose. The Norse trickster god has existed long before Marvel Comics, let alone the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But he got a modern update when artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee reimagined the Norse gods as superheroes in their fledging comics universe. With powers of mind-control and hallucinations, Loki became one of Marvel’s greatest antagonists.

But Loki didn’t become a household name until he was portrayed by Tom Hiddleston in 2011’s Thor, opposite Chris Hemsworth as Thor. With his striking good looks and duplicitous smile, Hiddleston quickly became a fan favorite, capable of making audiences love to hate his evil ways. Over the course of the MCU’s first three phases, Loki went on a journey of discovery, sometimes battling Thor and the Avengers and sometimes working with them, ultimately dying at the gauntleted hand of Thanos (in 2018's Avengers: Infinity War).

With the Disney+ series Loki, the God of Mischief gets a new lease on life. Plucked shortly after his defeat in The Avengers (2012), this new Loki takes an adventure across the multiverse, working with Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson) and teaming with the only person he could love, a Variant of himself called Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino). As the second season of Loki comes to Disney+, Loki finds himself with a new and equally glorious purpose, one that promises to change the MCU forever.

“Trapped by Loki, God of Mischief,” Journey into Mystery #85 (1963)

Believe it or not, Marvel wasn’t sure that people wanted to read comics about superheroes who weren’t Superman or Batman in 1963. So Jack Kirby and Stan Lee only wanted to tip toe into the genre by telling superhero stories with mythic characters like Thor. When the Norse thunder god appeared in Journey into Mystery #83, he came wearing a red cape and with a mild-mannered alter-ego in the form of Dr. Donald Blake. But the formula really came together with Journey into Mystery #85, which reimagined the God of Mischief as a scheming supervillain.

Despite initially appearing with a silly mustache disguise, Loki quickly establishes himself as a great supervillain in Journey into Mystery #85. He lacks the strength of his brother Thor, but Loki makes up for the difference by deploying a full range of tricks, including hypnotism and mirages. From that one story, Jack Kirby and Stan Lee reimagine the classical battles between Loki and Thor into a superhero struggle that captures the imagination of readers still today.

The Coming of the Avengers,” Avengers #1 (1963)

As impressive as Loki’s debut in Journey into Mystery #85 certainly is, he really hit the big time with Avengers #1 later that same year. Avengers #1 updated the superhero team format that DC Comics played with in earlier decades, bringing together the biggest names in the young Marvel Universe. A gathering this great deserves an equally impressive villain to fight, and that’s what they get with Loki.

Okay, honestly, they don’t really fight Loki, not directly anyway. The story by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby features Loki manipulating the Hulk to turn against his fellow heroes. But Kirby and Lee know that no one comes to The Avengers for a twisty plot. We just want to see Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, and the Wasp join forces to stop the Hulk and thwart Loki, making for an all-time Marvel classic.

“Menaced By the Enchantress and the Executioner,” Journey Into Mystery # 103 (1964)

In addition to turning Loki into more of a straightforward hero, the Disney+ series Loki also introduced an interesting new character into the mythos, Sylvie. In the MCU, Sylvie is herself the Norse God of Mischief in another reality, who fights the TVA after being threatened with pruning. While Sylvie has no clear comic book counterpart, her look and power set does resemble that of an established Marvel character, the Enchantress.

An Asgardian magic user named Amora, Enchnatress is one of Thor’s oldest enemies and often an uneasy ally with Loki. She made her debut alongside a musclebound figure called the Executioner in Journey Into Mystery #103. The Jack Kirby pencils, inked here by Chic Stone, make Enchantress a dizzying seductress who attempts to undermine Thor by disrupting his relationship with Jane Foster. Corny as that sounds, especially with Stan Lee’s wonderfully silly dialogue, Journey Into Mystery #103 is a pop-art masterpiece and a fitting introduction to a wily supervillain.

Asgardian Wars, X-Men/Alpha Flight #1-2, The New Mutants Special Edition #1, X-Men Annual #9 (1985)

What do Namor the Sub-Mariner, Dr. Doom, and Loki all have in common? They all fall in love with Storm, the weather-controlling mutant of the X-Men. But when Loki falls for Storm, he tears apart Asgard and Midgard (or as we non-Norse gods call it, Earth) to get her. To stop Loki and help Storm fight back, it takes not just the X-Men, but also the Canadian superhero team Alpha Flight and the New Mutants, the younger incarnation of Professor Charles Xavier’s students.

As unlikely as that team-up sounds, the Asgardian Wars demonstrate the potential in Marvel’s shared universe storytelling approach. Written by Chris Claremont at the height of his revolutionary run that made Uncanny X-Men the most important comic book of all time, the Asgardian Wars forever changes the characters involved, especially New Mutant Mirage and even Loki and Enchantress. Even better, the storyline features pencils from both established X-Men artist Paul Smith and future superstar Art Adams, doing some of his first work on the characters.

THOR BY WALTER SIMONSON VOL. 4 [NEW PRINTING] (Mighty Thor)

One of the most popular parts of Loki Season 1 was the brief look at Alligator Loki, an alternate reality version of the Norse god in the form of a toothy reptile. An even better antecedent can be found in the pages of Thor comics, one that comes into being thanks to one of Loki’s most memorable pranks. Not content to simply defeat his brother in combat, Loki transforms Thor into a frog, wearing a tiny winged helmet and weilding a tiny Mjolnir, in Thor #364.

Although Thor #364 certainly recognizes this as a ridiculous premise, it doesn’t shy away from high drama or thrilling action. Part of the legendary run by writer and artist Walt Simonson, the issue features all of the faux-Shakespearean dialogue and eye-melting panels that one expects from Thor (or, as he’s called in this story, “the Mighty Throg.”) Still, the issue has plenty of laughs, mostly in the form of Loki’s mischievous cackle.

“So Little Time, So Much to Do,” Fantastic Four #353 (1990)

Before Loki Season 1, even the most committed Marvel Zombie would have a hard time describing the Time Variance Authority and its most notable judge, Mobius M. Mobius. The time-travel police group, charged by the Time Keepers with preserving the sacred timeline, appeared only in a handful of Thor and Fantastic Four comics written and drawn by Walt Simonson. Despite their relatively low profile, the TVA played a major role in the Loki first season, and promised to do the same in Season 2.

MCU fans looking back at the first full appearance of Mobius in Fantastic Four #353 will certainly see some familiar aspects. Although the TVA judges look more like Judge Dredd than they do the well-dressed executives in Loki, they largely serve the same function of the MCU Hunters. But the big difference is the look and behavior of Mobius, far more dapper and less interested in jet skis than his MCU counterpart. Simonson based Mobius on Marvel Comics editor Mark Gruenwald, the man responsible for maintaining consistent continuity across the publisher’s many books. As a creator who certainly got slapped on the wrist by Gruenwald, Simonson gets in a few playful jabs in his portrayal of Mobius.

Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers (2004)

In addition to Hiddleston’s fantastic performance, much of Loki’s popularity comes from the inherent drama in his relationship with Thor. The two find themselves bound together forever, no matter how much they may want to destroy one another. Written by Rob Rodi and illustrated by Esad Ribic, Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers puts a new twist on that eternal struggle, giving the brothers a chance to see the world through one another’s eyes.

Blood Brothers begins with Loki at his moment of triumph, having finally defeated Thor, deposed Odin, and made himself the new king of Asgard. But the trickster god soon finds that it’s easier to undermine than it is to rule, as he must meet the demands of his newly-christened subjects. Ribic’s moody artwork gives the story an epic feel, especially when Rodi begins to explore Loki’s backstory, explaining the tragedy that makes him such a terrifying, and ultimately vulnerable, villain.

Young Avengers: Style > Substance (2013)

By 2013, the Marvel version of Loki had been around for 50 years and had pulled every trick imaginable. So what was left for him to do? According to Young Avengers, he defies all expectations by becoming a hero. Recreated after Ragnarok into a teenager, Kid Loki plays the good guy by assembling a new team of Avengers, one consisting of Marvel’s younger heroes. Joined by the Hawkeye Kate Bishop, Kree warrior Marvel Boy, the shape-shifting Hulkling, Scarlet Witch’s son Wiccan, and the reality-warping Miss America, Kid Loki readies a team for a threat so great even the bad guy turns good.

Of course, Loki’s motivations aren’t always what they seem, and why would we expect anything less? But that’s part of the fun of writer Kieron Gillan’s groundbreaking Young Avengers run. Joined by artists Jamie McKelvie and Mike Norton, Young Avengers hearkens back to Marvel’s 1960s glory days, with a pop art feel both classic and modern. The complex page layouts provide exciting action while also promising a deeper mystery. In other words, Young Avengers is everything you’d want from a superhero book with Loki in the lead.

Illuminati: Life of Crime (2016)

Any MCU fan reading this list might ask: “If Sylvie is based on Amora the Enchantress, why isn’t she called Amora?” That’s because Amora is only one of the inspirations for Sylvie. The other is the second Enchantress, a girl from Broxton, Oklahoma (as seen in the Loki Season 2, Episode 1 credits scene!) who gained the Enchantress’s powers when the gods of Asgard manifested in the small town. The name of that second Enchantress? Sylvie Lushton.

Although she initially takes the name Enchantress, Sylvie has allegiances as complex as her MCU version. She helps Thor and other Asgardians defend Broxton, but later joins a supervillain team called the Illuminati, as seen in the 2016 miniseries by written by Joshua Williamson and drawn by Shawn Crystal. Along with villains such as Titania, the Mad Thinker, and the Hood, Sylvie runs afoul of good guys and bad guys alike, even crossing paths with Spider-Man nemesis Tombstone. While Williamson and Crystal have fun pitting the bad guys against one another, they also find time for subtle character beats in Sylvie’s story, setting the stage for the character we come to love in the MCU.

“The Liar,” Loki #1 (2023)

The comic book version of Loki may be more openly evil than the MCU version with legions of fans, but that doesn’t mean he’s not capable of doing good. The latest Loki series by writer Dan Watters and artist Germán Peralta gives the one-time god of mischief and evil a new mission. Seemingly enjoying a vacation in Florida, Loki gets summoned by his brother Thor to bring together the Nine Realms and save the universe, threatened by a magical talisman that may or may not have been unearthed by Loki.

Watters perfectly balances the expectations of comic book readers and MCU fans who may pick up the issues after watching Loki Season 1 and 2. He maintains the classical voices of Loki and Thor while weaving in the clever asides and one-liners one expects from Hiddleston. Peralta’s clean line work and expressive characters does the rest of the work, especially with rich colors from Mike Spicer. The result is a comic book that feels pulled from Norse mythology, Lee and Kirby comics, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, making something both modern and timeless.

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