Tag Archives: Thor

5 Crazy Comic Variants of Loki: We Could See in Disney+’s “Loki”

August 11, 2021 Jason Nichols Leave a comment

Loki’s finale has the MCU audience lauding the story so far and ready for the next season. Kang the Conqueror (He Who Remains) set the expectation for a wide variety of possible character variants across the multiverse. Of course, one of the most anticipated character variants is the Lord of Lies himself, Loki.

While show writer Michael Waldron and director Kate Herron undoubtedly have ideas and variant versions in mind, the fan-favorite comic Loki portrayed in the show by Richard E Grant proved that comic screen appearances work.

Loki God of Stories

Young adult Loki from Agents of Asgard # 13 isn’t above a bit of mischief but also a night and day comparison from what you might expect from the master of manipulation. Here fans see the conscious moral decisions of a Loki that fought to turn away from a truly terrible future. Working as an agent of the Mothers of Asgard, Loki rejected Those Who Sit Above in Shadow—later resisting the manipulations from his future self and becoming a God of Stories rather than God of lies. With newfound purpose, the God of Stories was essential to ending the War of Realms event and later creating a wave of peace between Asgardians and the Frost Giants. Ascending the throne of the Frost Giants following the slaying of his father, Laufey.

Necro God Loki

Undoubtedly one of the most potent and terrifying versions is the self-proclaimed Loki the All Butcher in Jason Aarrons Thor #5 (2018). After centuries of whispering lies and madness to Ego, the former wielder of the Necro Sword All-Black. Loki had finally acquired a weapon capable of bringing all of the cosmos to heel; driven by the overflowing malice of the Necro Sword, set upon a path to kill everything. Disemboweling his brother Thor atop an erupting star before meeting a nearly identical fate by the resurrected Gorr the God Butcherer.

Loki God of Heroism and Truth

After the Scarlet Witch switches the morality’s of the heroes and villain’s in yet another reality-warping series called AXIS. Here Marvel gives us probably the most accurate “good” version of Loki, honor-driven, and worthy of wielding Mjolnir becoming the God of Heroism and Truth. After gaining newfound powers, Loki selflessly endeavored to make things right, to stop Thor and help the Scarlet Witch restore reality. It’s a great look at Loki’s most nuanced and noble version; such a character could undoubtedly inspire some of the show’s more sinister iterations.

Sorcerer Supreme Loki

Preferring to torment enemies with daggers and knives, Loki wields a set of formidable magic powers; seeing writers couple Asgardian magic with a Sorcerer Supreme boost and you start to imagine a universe without Dr. Strange. Appointed by the Vishanti, Loki proved to be a worthy replacement until he decided to seek out the Exile of Singhshoon, a spell that would transfer all the world’s magic to him. Loki would be defeated by a returned Dr. Strange wielding power from Asgard’s Tree of Knowledge.

King Loki

Arguably the most successful version of Loki comes from Loki: Agent of Asgard; fans practically open the page to the climactic height of King Loki seizing the throne, triumphing as the unquestionable king of Asgard and defeating Thor. With absolute power King Loki began working with the All Mothers Asgardia to corrupt his younger self, further ensuring this twisted future came to pass. In the end, King Loki is foiled and even sparred by a younger version of himself; this younger version empathizes and pities King Loki choosing a different future to become the new God of Stories.

There are undoubtedly dozens of other versions/variants of the trickster that deserve an honorable mention like Unicorn Loki, Loki 2099, Loki Dark Reign, Lady Loki and Ikol to name a few. Loki is a long standing pillar for gender and character fluidity in Marvel Comics, whatever alternate versions Disney+ has in store they’re certain to be entertaining and befitting the shows unique comic verse MCU meshing.

Did you have a Loki variant, version or reincarnation in mind that should of been mentioned, put it in the comic section below and dont forget to like, lie and stay mischievous.

Comics, News

Thor is Herald to None: Then What Has Him so Worried

August 21, 2020 Jason Nichols Leave a comment

With the conclusion of Thor #6 there can be no debating that Thor is the mightiest Avenger, was there ever a doubt. As we painstakingly await release of issue #7 we can take a look at this run so far and marvel at the depth of the story so far.

First off why is Cates writing Venom? He is and always should be first and foremost a Thor writer, I haven’t been this engaged in a comic book since Jason Aaron’s Thor God Butcher . Donny Cates is on fire, it seems the guys keyboard or fingertips have the Midas touch. Just as quickly as Thor was brought into the conflict with the Black Winter, issue 6 keeps that pace and ends an an unbearable cliff hanger for number 7. All we know up to this point is the fight so far was just warm up round.

It’s hard to put a starting point on where the magic starts in this series, is it when King Thor butchers the devourer Galactus or does it begin in the first pages of issue #1 as Thor hurls Mljonir across all ten realms. Whatever panel gets you hooked you won’t have been waiting long to appreciate the vibrant artwork and detail Nick Klein throws at you from the gate. Even if every pannel was void of a single word the tone draw into Thors face is he’s in charge and regardless of what Galactus, his heralds, Loki or the Silver Surfer think will stop at nothing do what he thinks is right. Spurned on by the Black Winter power of revealing your death has driven the King to near desperation

WARNING POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW

Personally I feel it reminds me of a darker Unworthy Thor setting, something no one is going to complain about. Apart from aesthetic scenes worthy of a forehead tattoo Cates dialogue is phenomenal. Thor’s progression through his time as King is not an evolution but a devolution of him from God to King to Herald and by the end to hopeless. The way audiences see this is unique because never once is Thor’s ability or power called into question if anything he shows new unheard of levels of strength; instead we see these holes emerging in Thor’s Psyche as he fights to save everyone and be a moral king. Avengers Endgame may have touched on this emotional mental dilemma with the chubby Thor equaling the depressed model, even Thor can only take so much. What Donny Cates highlights is Thor has been in a state of war for a very very long time, has escaped his death countless times and it is all building to something so terrible Thor can feel

Thor facing images of past foes shown by the Black Winter

The big takeaway is the demise shown to Thor by the Black Winter. The horror so profound it led Thor to return home in silence with no mention of his deeds and exploits to save everyone. Cates tries to put a scale for the challenges ahead, having the Black Winter itself state it was never here for his universe that fate is already guaranteed.

*What Thor saw when Black Death showed him his end*

Now at first I was giddy as a schoolgirl with the imagery but the excitement soon faded as I realized Marvel Zombies has been done time and time again. If you notice though Thanos is wielding a black gauntlet, maybe this is not the Zombie virus at all. Could Thanos have trapped death itself into a weapon? I definitely have no more ideas under my tin foil hat but maybe you do, leave your theories and comments in the section below.

Overall a pleasant read and 4 solid stars.

Comics, Movies/TV

With The Nova Core Gone, What Happens to the Nova Force

July 14, 2019 Jason Nichols Leave a comment

Even when taking a large step back it can be tough to encompass the full scope of just how many possibilities lay waiting in the MCU. If it’s not Thano’s killing our decade long developed heroes/heroines, Adam Warlock marinating in a pod or Kurt Russell sporting a magnanimous screen beard it is some world ending event that means our utter annihilation. Completely understandable to forget about some of the begging to be asked finer questions.

Questions like what happened to the Nova force, not the Nova Corps but specifically the energy source used by the Xandarians entire society, which leads to an even bigger question what does the MCU have planned next? We know from what Thor tells us in Avengers Infinity Wars that when retrieving the power stone Thanos decimated Xandar, homeworld of the Nova Force. Does this mean we will see one of the most active galactic level forces omitted, hopefully not. If you find yourself asking what is the difference between the Nova Force , Nova Corps, will I see John C Reilly in a jumpsuit again and why should I care. Well before pondering that it helps to have a little background from the comics to get an idea of what could be coming next.

Nova Force being emitted from Nova Prime

What’s referred to as the Nova Force is a nearly limitless energy source harnessed by the Xandarian people. The Nova Force has a range of abilities, (primarily manipulating gravity fields): for a visual reference the large interlocked shield that appears when the Xandarians join their ships in the Guardians of the Galaxy, that is a physical manifestation of the Nova Force. The source of this energy is a machine known as a Xandarian Worldmind, one of the most advanced sentient supercomputers in the known universe. After the Marvel Annihilation event, all of the Nova Force was transferred to the last Nova Corps Centurion, Richard Rider. As inheritor of the Nova Force Rider becomes the Nova Prime, giving him a host of powers like superhuman strength; speed, stamina, durability, flight and the power to emit gravimetric pulses and beams. One of the lesser mentioned powers of Nova Prime is the ability to make use of the vast Shiar stargates network. Due to the infinite pool of energy, the Nova Force is capable of bending space and time itself when centered into a single conduit. With such a high versatility it is easy to see why the Nova Force could be a top contender for future MCU phases. With directors Taika Waititi and Simon Kinberg displaying cosmic level power sources like the Phoenix Force and Odin Force throughout their films, filmmakers have really just scratched the cinematic surface of what the Nova Force can do.

Nova Corps with the World Mind computer at the top right

Channeling this awesome power is Xandar’s space militia also known as the Nova Corps, a galactic police force that first appeared in Fantastic Four #205 (April 1979). Initially charging themselves with protecting the Andromeda Galaxy and later earth, the Nova Corps seeks to uphold the ideals of justice and order. A brief quote from Nova Prime after being trapped in the cancerverse puts into perspective the resolve of the Nova Core,

“I would do it all again because of one simple reason: what would have happened if I didn’t. Peace and order aren’t the natural state of things. They had to be invented and they have to be constantly defended. That’s why the Nova Corps was created. That’s the legacy that you carry on. “

Movie watchers had a brief glimpse in the MCU of the egalitarian galactic peace keeping society the Nova Core strives for. The operations of the Nova Core are reminiscent to a militant policing force that has a history of involvement in space conflicts such as the War of Kings event and the 1,000 year war with the Kree Empire. Within the Nova Corps are various ascending ranks imbued with access to portions of the Nova Force, rank determining the portion of control over the Nova Force granted. This gives us an idea of just how powerful Nova Prime could be in the MCU. As this universe has expanded the sheer proportions of the MCU creates such massive distances between locations, it’s more than a hop skip and jump from Xandar to Earth. This type of scaled environment makes it essential to have heroes and villains able to utilize powers for traveling vast distances fairly quickly.

A cinematic Nova Corps depiction on the right with comic apperance on the left

Even though Thanos was able to destroy all the Nova Core members in Avengers Infinity Wars, if the 2006 Annihilation comic crossover is any indicator of what’s to come: the Nova Core has been decimated before and made a comeback. As long as the Worldmind has survived Xandar’s destruction the Nova Force lives on. If we are strictly speaking films, all bets are off and it is very possible a director may create their own unique story similar to what Taika Waititi did in Thor Ragnarok. Marvel phase 4 has been laid out following the story lines of established Avengers like Black Widow and Doctor Strange. Marvels recent announcement at the San Diego 2019 Comic Con confirmed some amazing MCU additions: Fantastic Four, X-Men, an Eternals movie and to many fans surprise a new Blade movie. You can see the full phase 4 announcement here . This leads a lot of room for speculation as to what we could see over the next few years leading to phase 5.

If we are speaking in terms of pure story potential I would think the Guardians would have some of the most, an entire galaxy in disarray after Thanos’s snap. The concept behind the snap is that such a massive ripple of cosmic energy across the universe could have created realities like the cancerverse and negative zone. Traditionally most MCU films have been based on an earth setting but with the potential of an Annihilation event the entire galaxy could be a battleground for Annihilus’s forces. Speculating it would appear that phase 4 is beefing up a the hero and heroine cast, maybe for something terrible coming in phase 5? Fans can be ecstatic at the possibility of an event leading to a Guardians of the Galaxy Nova Prime meet. Plenty of comic history between Annihilus and the Nova Core sets a high expectation for fans in upcoming Marvel films. While the possibility of an Annihilus Nova Prime show down is a little backwards since the Nova Corps had an Alamo stand against the Annihilation wave and fell, I will take what I can get if it means a Nova Prime movie. Such heavy hitters are established in the MCU; Scarlet Witch, Captain Marvel, Thor etc. it is inevitable that we will see a consistent up scaling in heroe power levels.

It would seem that the silent absence of the Nova Force so far could be leading to a big show later down the road. In trying to change the universe Thanos may have created one of the most powerful heroes we have seen yet, John C. Riley er I mean Nova Prime.