Loki, the god of mischief, is known as a cunning opponent whose intelligence is more than a match for Thor's sheer strength - but in his first comic appearance, Loki is a dullard who keeps forgetting basic facts, even ones so simple as how Thor's powers work. Debuting in Journey Into Mystery #85 in 1952, Loki quickly made a name for himself as one of Thor's most vile villains, but that reputation clearly didn't establish itself until after this issue. Stan Lee would put considerable work into Loki before he became the conniving charlatan fans know and love today. In the character's debut, however, he was less the God of Mischief and more akin to a God of mediocrity and also had one of the worst weaknesses in Marvel comics history.
The original Thor comics were quite different from the MCU franchise. In his first few issues, Thor had a secret identity as a doctor, fought off an invasion of rock monsters, and most notably, didn't actually know that he was Thor. Doctor Donald Blake came across a staff which, when struck, transformed him into a man with the powers and appearance of Thor, but none of his memories (he would revert to Donald Blake if he let go of the hammer for 60 seconds). Eventually, it was revealed that Blake was Thor; his father Odin had banished Thor to Midgard to teach his son humility. Before that reveal, Thor would fight otherworldly crime on Earth, which included facing off against a certain green and yellow-clad villain named Loki.
After escaping from his tree prison on Asgard, Loki seeks vengeance and travels to Midgard via the Bifrost to challenge Thor in battle. His opening move (after attacking civilians to get Thor's attention) is to hypnotize Thor into throwing his hammer in a lake. Unfortunately, he forgets a crucial detail about his own brother: "Oh...I forgot - the hammer's greatest power - whenever Thor throws it, it returns to him!" Loki resorts to creating an illusion of Thor and tricking hom into relinquishing the hammer that way - but he subsequently fails to remember Thor's powers for the second time in a row. Without the hammer, Thor turns back into Donald Blake, and since the hypnotic spell that was cast upon Thor would only work on Thor, it wears off upon his transformation into Blake.
Amazingly, Loki becomes even less of a threat as the comic continues. Once Blake retrieves the hammer and turns back into Thor, Loki spends the rest of the issue running away - first among a flock of birds, then in a crowded theater, and finally on a winged horse. Thor knocks Loki off his mount and he promptly plummets into the water. Thor dives after him, saying "According to legend, Loki's magic powers are useless in water! He'll drown unless I rescue him!" As astounding as it may seem, Loki the God of mischief - one of the greatest villains in Marvel history - is done in by a substance that covers three-quarters of the Earth.
Classic comics characters aren't always fully formed in their first appearances - some lack powers, motivation and even their costumes oftentimes bear little resemblance to their well-known suits. But Loki is a unique case; almost everything he's known for is basically absent here - save, of course, for his megalomania and ego. Comic characters are a work-in-progress; they evolve over time. In Loki's case, fans are certainly thankful he changed from an ineffectual miscreant who had a weakness to water into the famous formidable foe of Thor he is today.
No comments:
Post a Comment