Loki

Loki is one of several powerful beings from the magical realm of Asgard, who have been worshipped as gods. Odin, once the ruler of the Asgardian gods, led his subjects in a war against their enemy, the frost giants from the land of Jotunheim (one of the nine worlds of Asgard). Laufey, king of the frost giants, was slain in battle and the giants were defeated. Surveying the spoils of war, the Asgardians discovered a small Asgardian god-sized baby hidden at the giants' main fortress. The infant was Loki, whom Laufey had kept hidden due to his shame over his son's diminutive size. Odin remembered his father Bor’s dying words to adopt the son of a father killed by his hands; Odin adopted Loki into his own family, raising Loki like a son along with his biological son, Thor. In childhood Loki greatly resented the fact that Odin and the other Asgardians favored the young Thor, who already had a nobility of spirit and excelled in all his endeavors. As a boy Loki began studying the arts of sorcery, for which he had a natural affinity. He became infamous for his mischievousness, but secretly resented Thor and the love that Odin lavished upon him. When Odin was preparing his greatest gift for Thor, the enchanted hammer Mjolnir, Loki interfered with its creation, causing its handle to be forged too short. Loki was envious that Thor would one day wield Mjolnir, and over the years repeatedly crafted schemes to make Mjolnir’s power his own. When Loki and Thor were still young, Thor was attracted to the swordmaiden Sif, who had beautiful gold-colored hair. Loki cut off her hair while she slept, but Thor guessed that Loki was responsible and demanded that he restore it. Loki enlisted the dwarves Brokk and Eitri to forge new hair for her, but as he did not pay them anything, they decided to craft the hair from nothing, making black hair from the night itself. However, Thor still loved Sif, even without her golden hair.

As Loki matured into a young man, his antics became more and more pronounced, until Odin finally sent him to jail to learn from his actions. Fed up with Asgard, Loki used his magic to escape his cell, and eventually met Eldred the sorcerer, who increased his training in the black arts. Finally, Loki confronted the 1000-foot tall fire demon Surtur, enemy of the gods from the one of the nine realms of Asgard called Muspelheim, and offered him Eldred’s soul in exchange for power. Surtur accepted, and Loki assumed ownership of Eldred’s lands and minions. His foray into the black arts earned him the title of “god of evil” among the Asgardians, and he forged alliances with many of the realm’s enemies. Loki mated with the goddess Angerboda, who bore him the monstrous offspring Jormungand (the Midgard Serpent) and the Fenris Wolf, as well as Hela, the goddess of death. Loki also tricked the goddess Sigyn into marrying him by posing as her true love, Theoric. Loki eventually learned of the prophecies of Ragnarok, a cataclysmic event in which he was fated to bring about Asgard’s ruin by slaying Balder, then leading the enemies of Asgard into final battle. Loki ultimately embraced this destiny, and sought the means to bring about Ragnarok on more than one occasion. However, Loki usually crafted his schemes so subtly that Odin and Thor could rarely justify punishing him, and Loki would continue to live in their midst, awaiting his next opportunity.

In recent years, Loki finally obtained an advantage over his half-brother when Odin sentenced Thor to Earth in the guise of Dr. Donald Blake, a medical practitioner who would transform into Thor using Mjolnir. Loki sought victory over his brother by exploiting Blake’s human weakness, and employed many pawns against him on Earth, including Jinku the Lava Man, the Weather Maker, Sandu, Amora the Enchantress, Skurge the Executioner, Skagg, Surtur, Cobra (Klaus Voorhees), Mr. Hyde, the Absorbing Man, and the Super-Skrull (Kl’rt). In one attempt to trick Thor into battling the monstrous Hulk (Bruce Banner), Loki diverted a distress call intended for the Fantastic Four to Dr. Blake’s office, but it was also intercepted by the Wasp, Yellowjacket (Henry Pym), and the armored adventurer Iron Man (Tony Stark). When the four heroes learned of Loki’s involvement and banded together with the Hulk to defeat him, they decided to form a team of heroes to face future threats, calling themselves the Avengers. Loki long regretted having caused their formation.