Loki — both in the comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) — is already an iconic character by himself. The God of Mischief entertains both readers and moviegoers alike with his oozing charisma, flattery, wit and thirst for liberty. Despite sharing Thanos’ warped view of peace and victory, Loki is the walking example of a man (in this case, a demigod) struggling between good and evil in his pursuit of what he believes is right.
One Loki is already enough to make everyone laugh, swoon, cry and gasp in shock. But imagine having more than one Loki!
Phase 4 of the MCU introduced fans to the idea of time-traveling and multiverses. In “Loki,” we are re-introduced to the God of Mischief, as well as the Loki variants: Lady Loki (Sylvie), Kid Loki, Boastful Loki, Classic Loki, President Loki and even an Alligator Loki! All of these Lokis are one of the reasons many people prefer Marvel to DC (no shade intended).
Before the “Loki” series, however, Loki has always had other versions of himself. It seems like, similar to the movies, you can’t get rid of this mischievous demigod. Loki himself said it best when he was talking to Sylvie in Lamentis-1: “We may lose. Sometimes painfully. But we don’t die, we survive.”
So with all the Lokis running around the MCU and the comics, here’s a rundown of our favorites.
Kid Loki
Kid Loki is a reincarnation of the original Loki who had died during the Siege of Asgard. After using the Norm Stones to help the Avengers fight off the Void, he was killed in front of a shocked Thor. Before his death, however, he had already manipulated Hela into removing his name from the Book of Hel, which enabled him to be reborn as Kid Loki.
Despite the villainy of the original Loki, Thor searched for his brother because he missed him. He found him reborn in a much younger boy who lived in Paris. Kid Loki’s name was Serrure, which is “lock.” This child version of the God of Mischief has no recollection of his memories as an adult. Initially, he thought Thor was crazy. But the God of Thunder eventually earned his trust and managed to reunite with his brother.
Kid Loki is considered a better and more humane version compared to his predecessor. He’s Like Zuko of Avatar: The Last Airbender — a young man who used to be evil but is a good person now. On his first meeting with Thor, he revealed that he dreamt about the horrible things he did and tearfully asked his brother why he did them. When he returned to Asgard, the kid version of Loki faced insults and ridicule from people who were traumatized by the original Loki’s wrongdoing. Despite the hate and distrust, he experienced from the Asgardians and his own father, Kid Loki still tried to help Asgard and Thor, especially during the Galactus invasion.
Another proof of Kid Loki’s goodness is when he faced an echo of his elder self. The spirit revealed that his death and rebirth were part of the original Loki’s plan. In order to return as a better version of himself, the older Loki had to die. But he made sure that evil would eternally endure and this echo could help Kid Loki be the trickster that he was born to be. The younger version of Loki wanted no part of this. He dismissed his predecessor, turned him into a magpie and kept the bird as his companion.
His decision to not be a villain sets him apart from the original Loki. He also lost his powers but Kid Loki doesn’t seem to mind since he also lost his desire to rule Asgard and his lust for power. Like his older version, however, Kid Loki is sassy, mischievous, cunning and childish. He is also a big fan of his brother Thor, which isn’t a quality older Loki is known for. His love for his older brother is one of the primary reasons for his desire to become a better person.
Kid Loki would also become an integral member of the Young Avengers squad. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he already made a cameo at the end of “Loki’s” episode 4. Kid Loki, played by Jack Veal, is expected to make more appearances in the MCU as the film studios continue to build up the Young Avengers.
Frost Giant Loki
Loki may appear Asgardian but during the first “Thor” movie, we find out that he is actually the son of a Frost Giant, particularly the king of the Frost Giants. So Frost Giant Loki makes sense.
Loki had always seen himself as a bad boy, the God of Mischief. But upon discovering that he wasn’t a son of Odin, Loki embraced his Frost Giant nature and started his journey toward villainy. In the second episode of “Loki,” Mobius references his Frost Giant origins by calling him an “ice runt,” a reference to Loki being an undersized Frost Giant in the comics.
We get to see what Loki would look like if he was Frost Giant. During Mobius’s recap of his encounters with Loki variants, he shows a Frost Giant version of Loki, complete with red eyes and blue skin. Theorists think that this version of Loki joined the Frost Giants instead of conquering Midgard or Asgard. Either way, Frost Giant Loki is the ice-cold royalty we’d love to see.
Lady Loki
Popularly known as the female version of Loki, Lady Loki rose during the time the Avengers broke up. During the “Avengers: Disassembled,” Thor and the rest of Asgard went through a cycle of Ragnarok, which is the cycle of rebirth and death. Ragnarok led to the absence of some Asgardians in the world or drastic changes in their characters.
Thor was reborn as the only existing Asgardian. While looking for his kin, he realized that most of them were concealed in human form, waiting for him to reawaken them. With assistance from an awakened Heimdall, Thor tracked most of the Asgardians who were seemingly imprisoned by a mindless weapon.
It turns out that Loki, still in human form, was responsible for the trouble with Asgardians. He did all of this to trick Thor into restoring his power — something typical of Loki. But he did all of this with a twist.
Loki returned to this world as a woman, aka Lady Loki. This isn’t abnormal for someone like Loki. Apart from being genderfluid, Loki can take the form of creatures and people of many different genders. He is also well-versed in illusions and shape-shifting.
In the “Loki” series, Lady Loki takes the form of Sylvie, an amalgamation of the comic Lady Loki and Enchantress Sylvie Lushton. She is portrayed by Sophia Di Martino.
President Loki
“Vote for Loki!” is a motto we never thought we’d associate with the God of Mischief. But in Marvel’s “Secret Wars,” Loki is entangled in a web of politics as Malekith attempts to conquer the Ten Realms. Loki pursues a political path on the earth, as told in “Vote Loki.”
Loki enters the world of politics, rising through the polls and becoming a crowd favorite for the position of president. But it turns out that Loki has been playing both sides of the election, working with his competitors to sow chaos and discord, which leads to the God of Mischief conceding his place and helping install a new president.
He leaves the political race to pursue the Infinity Stones, which leads him to a brief stint with the Time Variance Authority.
King Loki
In “Loki: Agent Of Asgard,” the young Loki returns to Asgard as All-Mother’s secret agent. As Loki becomes an agent of Asgard, he fulfills all of his missions for the three-in-one goddess, shaking his confidence in Asgard along the way.
When he accidentally confesses his crimes to Odin, he is banished from Asgard. During his exile, he meets an older version of himself who wishes to groom the young Loki into the villain that he is meant to be. Young Loki uses his wit, enabling the older Loki to destroy him, which leads the former to be reborn as the god of stories.
While the older Loki becomes King Loki, young Loki is aware of the coming Multiverse. He also collects the essence of the Asgardians so they can be reborn. In the end, young Loki confronts King Loki, absorbing the essence of his older self.
There’s no such thing as “just one Loki.” In the world of Marvel, the more Lokis, the better! How about you? Who’s your favorite Loki?
