Loki's attempt to take over New York in The Avengers was really nothing more than an attempt to hurt Odin. The adopted son of the Allfather has always had a complicated relationship with both him and with Odin's biological son, Thor. Marvel Studios leaned on this in the early years of the MCU, casting Loki as the primary villain in The Avengers.
The God of Mischief had a frayed dynamic with most of his family, especially after learning that he was adopted. Following his presumed death at the end of Kenneth Branagh's Thor, he re-emerged as an even greater threat in The Avengers, where he launched a massive invasion of New York. Being an unknown threat to Nick Fury and the Agents of SHIELD, they were forced to assemble the Avengers to contain the villain, who was backed by both a Chitauri army and two Infinity Stones — the Mind Stone loaned from Thanos, and the stolen Space Stone.
While Loki seemed to have devised an intricate plan that involved mind-controlling Dr. Erik Selvig and Hawkeye, and goading Bruce Banner to transform into the Hulk in the Helicarrier, there's really nothing more to those things past causing a disruption. As he explained in the film, he wanted to take over Earth so he can rule the planet, since he knew that there was no way he can be the Asgardian king with Thor around. But that seemed like a pipe dream considering that he was mostly focused on New York; he already had a difficult time invading the city, and occupying the whole planet would've been a far much more daunting task which he was clearly not ready for. He didn't have any back-up scheme other than to overwhelm the Avengers with more Chitauri, which were fairly easy to take out once the heroes got in their groove. This indicates that the endeavor was nothing more than an attempt at revenge at Odin; Loki wanted to wreak havoc on the Nine Realms as a way to hurt his adoptive father.
No different than a child throwing a tantrum, Loki's invasion of New York in The Avengers was an attempt to get a reaction from Odin - perhaps even an act of revenge for how he'd been treated. Unfortunately for him, his adoptive father didn't have to expend much effort towards his antics, as the newly-formed Avengers were able to stop him without needing any help from Odin beyond sending Thor to Earth. Loki in The Avengers was arguably the most villainous he'd been. He was sinister and heartless, even straight-up killing people with his own hands, but it's worth noting that he was also somehow controlled by Thanos who gifted him the Mind Stone. While the God of Mischief was undoubtedly interested in wreaking havoc on Earth, he probably did more evil things than he would've normally done had it not been for the Scepter.
What sets Loki apart from other MCU villains, even Thanos, is that Marvel Studios took the time to actually flesh out his character — a treatment primarily reserved for the heroes. Without excusing everything horrible he did during the Battle of New York in The Avengers, it was more than just a villainous act; it was a cry for attention from a deeply hurt and jealous son.
No comments:
Post a Comment