A to Z: Loki

If you’ve been following my blog, this entry should come as NO surprise! Loki, as of about 2013, is genderfluid and probably bi/pan, as shown in Young Avengers and Loki: Agent of Asgard. I talked about how much I love Young Avengers just the other day, but I’ll reiterate that it’s fantastic. I’ve been doing reactions to all the Agent of Asgard issues for a while now, and I’m a bit behind, but far enough along to know that I love them too!

The idea of the series is that the adult, villainous Loki has reformed and is trying to erase his past sins. He does this by going on missions for the queen of Asgard, and for each mission, they erase one of the villainous acts. It’s a spectacularly-written story from Al Ewing, and honestly the best meta-story I’ve ever seen. Magic is telling the universe a story, you see. Making the universe believe what you tell it. Ewing uses that idea to great effect, making the story itself PART of the story. You really have to read it to believe it.

Thus far Loki hasn’t engaged in any romantic shenanigans, so I think it’s cool how gender is part of his/her identity without needing a romance to illustrate it or legitimize it. Gender makes a difference, sorta, but Loki is always Loki. I don’t think she’s treated any differently in female form than he is in male form, storywise, and I love that too. Overall I’ve just really enjoyed the way the comic asks questions instead of giving answers. And finally, as Al Ewing explained at the end of the first issue, I love that it’s a comic about being For Yourself. About defining yourself and fighting for yourself.

I believe Loki got the youthful makeover due to the movies’ success, so, I don’t know if it’ll ever work the other way around for us to have a genderfluid Loki on the big screen, but I’d certainly love to see it!

(FYI, I’ve used “he” when Loki is presenting as male and “she” when Loki is presenting as female, here and in my reviews, since that’s the way the comic seems to do it.)

Recommended Reading:

• Young Avengers Omnibus by Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie (pub. 2014, ISBN 9780785191711). It’s one complete story, but you can also get the individual volumes that make up the omnibus, starting with Young Avengers Vol. 1: Style > Substance. You don’t have to read this first, but chronologically it’s before Agent of Asgard.
• Loki: Agent of Asgard Vol. 1: Trust Me by Al Ewing & Lee Garbett (pub. 2014, ISBN 9780785189312).