#mcu!farbauti

[lokiinmediasideblog]

TIL Loki's biological mom was shown in Loki series concept art

[mrsdesade]

Marvel make them kiss please

[lokiinmediasideblog]

I agree with this HC pretty much. Farbauti as a low-ranking Jotun is my favorite way to portray Loki's bio mom. And I think one of the concept arts showed that Laufey didn't want Loki, because it's like she's shielding him, and reluctantly leaving him in a hiding spot (At least that's how I interpret it).

Thoughts on Loki's bio mother?

Omg. This is a good question.

So, a lot of people headcanon that Loki’s biological mother is non Jötun, (and that Loki is a bastard child) which is why he’s a runt, but I really don’t believe that at all. I believe that Loki is fully Jötun and just turned out to have a deformity which made him much smaller than the average Jötun. Not because he’s actually half Asgardian or half anything else. Though, the headcanon is pretty interesting.

Yeah… I believe his mother was another Jötun.

But I have realized that we only see male Jötnar in the MCU. WHERE ARE THE WOMEN?! Maybe they’re sort of intersex or they can change sexes? Or all the female ones are in hiding for some reason. I’m thinking all the female Jötnar were in hiding and were not allowed to be guards or soldiers, which is why we don’t see them.

I know there’s a lot more clarity about this in the Myths and in the comics, but clearly… the MCU doesn’t follow that. So… UNSERIOUS HEADCANON TIME!

I headcanon that she was another Jötun, of a lower status than Laufey. She was of course very gorgeous (Loki has to get it from someone…), and she was charmed by Laufey one way or another. They wed, and she becomes pregnant. They needed an heir soon because tensions were rising between the realms, and Laufey started doing some crazy shit (like in the opening scene of Thor 1 in Norway).

War continues to break out… it’s definitely an interesting time to be pregnant. The heir will be born soon, and he will be great! They hold onto that hope. But all continues failing for them.

… Okay so the baby is born, and he’s actually tiny af. They have been cursed. That’s a sign of a curse for the Jötnar, anyway. Hmm… how do they cover this up? If this got out to everyone, it would be… very disheartening. They still have a war to win, and this would discourage everyone. A cursed child born during the war that they were losing. This was bad.

Everyone was told that she died in childbirth, and so did the child. What a bummer…

But In reality, she was killed because she was “responsible” for the curse, and the child, who actually survived childbirth, was left out to die. Laufey and everyone else who knew (midwives, probably) needed to get rid of the evidence.

Laufey never remarried, and never tried to create another heir. Fearing another curse but also feeling down because of Jötunheim’s defeat in the war. His nephew or someone else will be the heir, probably..

But when Loki came down to Jötunheim… he recognized that he was his son.

“Your father is a murderer and a thief! He stole what was ours, and left our world in ruins. We have the right to reclaim the Casket”

The thief part was about more than just the Casket.

But, he could not acknowledge that Loki was his son in front of anyone else, because he “died” in childbirth 1000+ years ago. He couldn’t reveal that he was responsible for the cursed runt.

So, we’re left with the idea that Laufey had no idea that Loki was his son. But, deep down inside, he knew. He just couldn’t do anything about it. But he was okay with that, because he could get revenge on Odin now. The child was good for something..

… Oh no, Laufey is assassinated by his own son.

… Oh no, his own son attempts genocide against Jötunheim.

Yeah maybe Jötunheim has been cursed. This is Asgard’s doing!

“Am I cursed?” Perhaps, just not in the way you think you were.

Okay this is just an unserious/lighthearted headcanon I came up with idk maybe it can make a little sense

Thanks for the question this was really fun to think about and maybe I’ll make a more serious post about this if anyone finds it interesting LOL

[kindnessemitsagoldenlight]

[gaaralover55]

Shuumatsu no Valkyrie/MCU crossover: part 2

Spoilers: In this crossover, a few things are different

First. It's not Odin who is trying to summon the primordial god. It's his crazy younger brothers, Vili and Vé who is trying to do it.

And they both look identical to Odin. The only difference is they are more emotinal and still have two eyes. Unlike their older brother.

The one who was closed to fatally wounding Buddha and Beelzebub was Vili, the middle brother who had disguised himself as Odin

And Thor saw through his facade and was NOT happy.

And if you wonder where the real Odin was when it happened. He was doing it with his wife and the Goddess of Sky Frigg in the hall of the arena. So he missed Apollo winning and the meeting.

Inspired by @greeneyedsigma sexy fanfic!

And the Loki Brunhilde meet at the hall's of the arena was not Loki.

No! It was Logi. The representation of fire, who is also the twin brother of Loki and also madly in love with Brunhilde.

The different between Loki and Logi is their hair colors. While Loki and his sons (Narfi and Vali) has emerald green hair. Logi has flaming red hair that dances like a living flame.

The children of Odin and Frigg are Thor, Saga, Bragi, Baldur/Hodr, Vidarr, Vali and Brunhilde.

Loki is the blood nephew of Odin. Thanks to a blood pact that his mother Farbauti did with Odin.

Mimir is the uncle of Odin, Vili and Vé

The children of Njord are Freya and Frey.

Back to ideas for the story

The SnV norse Gods and goddesses are threats. They are deities that holds back most of their power when they are in the presence of mortals. And this will make the Avengers, SHIELD and MCU Asgardians understimate them.

SnV Odin openly mocks MCU Odin for his cowardice. For hiding Asgards dark history from himself to make himself look good in the pepole's eyes. And because of his foolish choice. Everyone in Asgard has grown Naive and spoiled.

The only ones who noticed this is the Snv gods/goddesses and the Avengers (who kind of understand what SnV Odin means) But the MCU Asgardians (except MCU Frigga and Loki) is Ignorant to it and MCU Thor tries to make the mood better with his horrible jokes.

Especially after they had seen the mural that appeard in "Thor: Ragnarok" where they make the MCU Asgardians look like saints

And No one stops SnV Odin. Because he is actually right. All of them thinks MCU Odin is a hypocritical coward for hiding this!

And SnV Odin has been very opened about the creation of their Asgard. And it's not a pretty story

SnV Thor (who had during this time spent his time with his family and bestie (who is Tyr) starts to worry about his MCU counterpart.

He dosen't like how these mortals (Avengers) are treating his younger blonde counterpart. As if he was an naive child and it made SnV Thor even more worried when he saw MCU Thor didn't get it. He is suppose to be the protector of the nine realms! Not a lumbering fool!

And he didn't like either how MCU Thor acts when he is around mortals. Because it's not sociable acceptable.

Because if he acted like his MCU counterpart did. He would not just humiliate himself. He would humiliate his children, his wife and family.

And his parents (Odin and Frigg) would kick his ass.

He will get even more pissed when he meets Jane.

SnV Sif HATES this mortal. She thinks Jane is an arrogant, knowing all and just annoying woman. And she can't understand what her husband's foolish counterpart saw in her.

The SnV Aesirs and Vanirs can't stand Tony, Jane, Darcy and Dr Selvig. Because they try to magic can be explain through science. Which they can't!

At first. The SnV Aesirs and Vanirs at first started to respect these mortals (The Avengers/SHIELD) and their false gods counterparts ( The MCU Asgardians and Vanirs) because of their will to fight. Even at the risk of their lives.

But that all fell apart when the mortals and false gods started to disrespect them! First at their culture, and then acting arrogantly as if they could take them all down with their technology.

The Avengers and SHIELD are starting to fear the misplaced gods. While they still don't accept they are deities. They starting to make plans to take down the SnV norse gods if they are going to attack earth.

Because they succeded to take down MCU Loki. So how hard would be to take down there counterparts

All of the misplaced gods were offended by this! Even SnV Loki who was laughing like a mad man when he hears this!

He is laughing because these foolish mortals belive they can take down HIM! Loki! The God of mischief! And that they dare to compare him to his weaker and naive counterpart. How foolish.

Meanwhile. SnV Heimdall is in a custody battle against his own counterpart. He wants to take over as parent for Astrid. No I mean "Axl".

And also give the boy a new name!

More will come and would love to hear your ideas!

[benevolentgodloki]

LEGAL NAME: Loki Odinson [née Laufeyson]

NICKNAME[S]: God of Mischief, Prince of Lies, Rightful King Of Asgard/Jotunheim, Reindeer Games, Rock of Ages, Real Power, Puny God, The War Criminal, The Asgardian Mussolini, Lackey, Little Blue Baby Icicle, D.B. Cooper, etc. etc.

DATE OF BIRTH: (OG & L1130 on this blog) 20th June (RIP I missed it again)

SEX: Usually male. Can change to female when she feels like it.

PLACE OF BIRTH: Jotunheim

CURRENTLY LIVING: Thread dependent. Usually New Asgard, the Sanctum Sanctorum, Avengers Tower or Avengers Compound. Sometimes on Asgard if it survived. For L1130, any of the above or the TVA or wherever he's situated i.e. homeless.

SPOKEN LANGUAGES: Asgardian, Norwegian, English, Old Norse/Asgardian, Latin, possibly Spanish, Kree. Potluck really whether he speaks a language if it took his interest. I'm unsure how successful the All-Speak is in the MCU compared with the comics so I usually limit it to him being understood but not necessarily understanding others for a bit of flavour until he learns a language. If the MCU tells us at some point that Loki can understand everything no matter what then I'll upgrade him.

EDUCATION: Palace tutored, royal upbringing. Highly educated.

HAIR COLOR: Black

EYE COLOR: Blue (sometimes blue-green or green in other forms)

HEIGHT: 6' 2"

WEIGHT:  Error 404. Ranges between Tom Hiddleston's and the 500lb dense mofo the wiki says. A lady doesn't tell.

FAMILY INFORMATION

SIBLING[S]: Thor Odinson, Hela Odinsdottir

PARENT[S]: Birth parents Laufey and Farbauti. Adoptive parents Frigga and Odin.

CHILDREN: None (except in myth flavoured verses where his various myth children come into being)

PET[S]: None unless still on Asgard, horse named Njoll.

RELATIONSHIP INFORMATION

SEXUAL ORIENTATION:  Bisexual/Pansexual

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Thread dependent. Default single.

SINCE WHEN: Thread dependent. Default pretty much always.

TAGGED BY: @paragonrising (thanks!)

TAGGING: @araedi, @arroganceandfear, and any other partners. I'm sleepy and don't want to choose more peeps.

[lokiinmediasideblog]

The concept art with Loki's biological mom has inadvertently made me get "River, oh river, flow gently for me" stuck in my head. LMAO. The vibes... xD

[thewritergremlin-rae]

Meet the OC: Hilf Fastúlfrdottir

Fandom: MCU Name: Liviana (Hilf Fastúlfrdottir) Nickname: N/A Birthdate: 571 BCE Gender: Female Face Claim: Bridget Regan Hair: Black Eyes: Blue/Red Height: 5'5"/11'2" | 165cm/340cm Species: Frost Giant Occupation: Healer Partner: Bucky Barnes Family: Deceased Bio:

Served Farbauti and was tasked with watching over the baby Loki in the temple.

Went to Asgard and disguised herself when Odin took Loki and seemed to be the victor of the war.

Became a healer and worked in the Palace where she was able to keep an eye on Loki from time to time and see that he come to no harm. In Asgard, she learnt that her King was still alive though she heard nothing of Farbauti.

When Loki was some 700 years old, he suffered from a illness and fever. She was one of the healers tending to him.

However, upon touching him, it exposes both of them for what they truly are. Loki had dismissed this as some strange fever dream before finding out that he is a Frost Giant.

Heimdall, under Frigga's orders, helps Hilf to Earth.

Unfortunately, she is eventually found by Hydra, having discovered her seemingly otherworldly healing skills.

She is the one to heal the Winter Soldier after every mission and to bring him on and off ice.

Although his memories are not always useful to him, something that persists is the relaxation he feels at a song she always sings to try and soothe him. She sings it in the language of her home world knowing the meaning of the song is one thing that cannot be taken from her.

Want to be tagged in future parts or future character fic? Go here

Hilf Fastúlfrdottir Masterlist

[mischievous-thunder]

Laufey: Loki, you're adopted.

Loki: I knew it! Please tell me about my biological parents.

Laufey: Farbauti and I are your biological parents. But the new ones will be arriving shortly.

Loki:

Laufey, cheerfully: Now, go pack your things fast!

[blood-jewel]

From what Uatu the Watcher said in “What If” that Odin found infant Loki in a temple during the battle in Jotunheim and instead of taking him, he gave him back to his family and King Laufey was overjoyed with seeing his son again. That means Odin lied to Loki saying that he was left to die. No the truth was that he was lost. If Laufey abandoned him then why would he be happy to see him?

This is the face of a father whose just been reunited with someone he loves dearly.

My theory is that maybe during the war Laufey sent his wife Farbauti and their infant son away for them to be safe. The Queen took shelter in a far away temple thinking they were safe from the bloodshed but ultimately either the Einherjar army or Odin himself started attacking Farbauti and she lost her life protecting her son. Odin saw what she was protecting and decided to take Loki as a pawn and and a stolen relic for his so called “uniting” of the two kingdoms.

Afterall, when Thor, Loki, Sif and the Warriors Three went to Jotunheim, Laufey told Thor that he doesn’t understand what his actions will unleash referring to what the cost of war between Asgard and Jotunheim has costed himself and then spoke very someberly that he knew what the repercussions were. Which means that he grieves for his wife and son and regrets what he has done in what the consequences of his actions has costed him of what he cared about most.

[kindnessemitsagoldenlight]

Little Jotunn royalty (before Laufey was informed of the birth of his youngest child)

[dailylogyn]

Logyn Meta: Loki & Sigyn’s Family in Myth and Marvel (Comparison)

Photo Source: https://www.deviantart.com/youkai-no-shimo/art/Colouring-LOKI-s-FAMILY-260392721

The family that is ready to begin Ragnarok in order to defend your honor. It’s a tragic tale, but family is something worth fighting for!

Follow me as we explore this crazy, wonderful family that is probably the most famous of the Myth’s. 

We may not know much about Sigyn’s side, but Loki’s side is one that legends are made of. 

From the Norse Myths, to Marvel Comics and the MCU, we will see the similarities and differences for each member in the different universes as well as learn facts about each one and why they are important. 

Laufey (or Nál) - Loki’s Mother 

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

She is Loki’s Mother in Mythology.

Mostly mentioned by the matronymic, “Loki Laufeyjarson” meaning: Loki Laufey’s Son.

Her name (Laufey) is typically thought to mean leaves/foilage. Nal means Needle. 

Not much is known about her. We don’t even know if she was a Goddess, human or giant so it is assumed Loki gets his godhood from her. 

In the poem Sörla þáttr, Nál and Laufey are portrayed as the same person: "She was both slender and weak, and for that reason she was called Nál [Needle]." 

Laufey is listed among Ásynjar (goddesses) in one of the þulur, an ancestry that perhaps led her son Loki to be "enumerated among the Æsir", as Snorri Sturluson puts it in Gylfaginning.

Related to nature like forests and leaves.

MARVEL COMICS (Earth 616)

Laufey is Loki’s Father in this universe. 

As Loki was born small, a motive of embarrassment for his parents, his existence was kept a secret.

A younger Loki sends Laufey into a fateful battle between Odin, leading the All-Father to claim Loki as a son. Laufey was left for dead, wounded, but alive, leaving a future Loki to kill him. 

A group of Frost Giants try to revive Laufey by retrieving his skull. It ends with Malekith performing a spell to resurrect King Laufey. 

Laufey hates Loki and thinks of him as a disgrace

It ends with Loki killing his father again after he tries to steal the Casket of Winters and kill Frigga. 

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (MCU)

Same as Marvel Comics Counterpart. Appears in the first Thor movie. 

Fárbauti - Loki’s Father

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

He is Loki’s Father in Mythology. 

Attested in the Prose Edda and in Kennings of Viking Age Skalds.

A Jotunn

The Old Norse name Fárbauti has been translated as 'dangerous striker','anger striker',or 'sudden-striker'.

Related to lightning

MARVEL COMICS (Earth 616)

Mother of Loki in this universe.

Gave birth to an unusually small child to the annoyance of her husband.

It is said the night Loki was born that she stabbed her own heart with an ice dagger, but Loki suspects Laufey is the one who killed her. 

Appears as a figment taken on by a parasite. She’s mostly deceased in the comics. 

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (MCU)

Does not appear or have a reference in the MCU

Loki Laufeyjarson - Son of Laufey & Farbauti. Lover of Sigyn & Angrboda (and many others honestly)

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

Everyone already knows the tales about Loki, so I won’t repeat it all again. It’s pretty lengthy. I’ll just point down the basics for him with it. 

He’s famous for causing trouble among the gods as the Trickster and God of Mischief. Not a bad guy, but misinterpreted that way, although he can be a dick too. Despite how much he causes trouble for them, he also helps them out of situations too. He just wants to have fun, even if he takes it overboard at times.

Some sources put as Jotun and some say he is Half-Jotun, Half-Aesir (on his mother’s side.) 

A well-known Shapeshifter who can be anything: Salmon, Male, Female, Horse. The list just goes on. 

A really handsome being who loved to get it on. *finger guns*

Blood Brother’s with Odin. How? We don’t know. It’s interpreted as a friendship or foster-brothers. It’s unclear really.

Gonna start Ragnarok for valid reasons honestly after having his entire family taken away from him or killed by the Gods. #TeamLoki

MARVEL COMICS (Earth 616)

Far too many appearances to document here from 1942 to present. There has been some retcons as well with the fact the current Loki has been reborn in a new incarnation also known as Ikol.

In the comics Loki is the adopted son of Odin and Frigga and Adoptive brother to Thor & Balder. 

He’s depicted as being the God of Evil in the classic comics serval times. In fact, it’s one of his titles. 

Depending on the writer for the classic comics, Loki can have moments of humanity, but all around he causes trouble.

Just wants to rule Asgard and get rid of Thor who is his enemy. 

He’s honestly a bad guy most of the time in the classic comics #VillianTrope

I personally have yet to read any current comics of Loki that aren’t the classics so this is where my knowledge and research stops. 

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (MCU)

First off, Tom Hiddleston as Loki is just *chefs kiss* perfection. 

Pretty much the same as comics except for the fact he isn’t really a villain. He plays tricks on people for fun and laughs and truly cares about his family. 

However, things change when he discovers the truth that he is a Jotun and has been lied to about it his whole life despite being told countless stories of how Jotun’s are monsters to be slain (You fucked up a perfectly good kid, Odin. Look, he has anxiety and trauma.) 

He develops major identity problems on top of others things, but despite it, Loki tries to still do best by his family as he wants to belong. Yes, he becomes a villain in The Avengers movie, but not for the hell of it. #Thanos

Honestly, he just deserves better. That’s where this leads. Thank you.

Angrboda - Loki’s Consort/Lover (Fenrir, Jormungandr & Hel’s Mother)

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

She is only mentioned once in the Poetic Edda as the mother of Fenrir by Loki. The Prose Edda describes her as "a giantess in Jotunheim" and as the mother of three monsters: the wolf Fenrir, the Midgard serpent Jörmungand, and the ruler of the dead Hel.

A Jotun known as Mother of Monsters and Giantess of Ironwood. 

In Old Norse, Angrboda means: 'the one who brings grief', 'she-who-offers-sorrow', or 'harm-bidder'.

According to scholars, the name Angrboða is probably a late invention dating from no earlier than the 12th century, although the tradition of the three monsters born of Loki and a jötunn may be of a higher age.

Some scholars say she was a very powerful witch and that she had the ability to see into the future. She was confined to Hel and would not be released from the realm of the dead until Loki was unbound.

In some versions of the Myth’s she knows her children will bring about the end of the world (Ragnarok) as well as being a witch set on fire three times before Loki eats her heart. 

MARVEL COMICS (Earth 616)

A giantess of Jotunheim and a Witch.

Born to Elderspawn Vârcolac and Echidna.

She mated with Loki and gave birth to Fenrir and Jormungadr. Legends say she also gave birth to Hela, but it seems to be nothing more but legends. 

Angrboda died of unknown causes and was sent to the Underworld of Hel. 

When Thor needed to know how to get to Hela's realm because she had been taking mortals to Niffleheim, he went to the Hlidskjalf and summoned Angerboda from the underworld, forcing her to tell him how to get there. Once she revealed to Thor the path he had to follow, she tried to take him with her to the underworld.

Only has one appearance in the comics -- Thor #360 (1985)

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (MCU)

Does not appear or have a reference in the MCU

Sleipnir - Loki’s Son

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

Attested in the Poetic and Prose Edda. In both Sleipnir is Odin's eight-legged steed and child of Loki by Svaðilfari. He is described as the best of all horses.

The Prose Edda contains extra information saying he is grey. 

Old Norse meaning: Slippy or the Slipper. 

Sleipnir is also mentioned in a riddle found in the 13th century legendary saga Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks, in the 13th-century legendary saga Völsunga saga as the ancestor of the horse Grani, and book I of Gesta Danorum, written in the 12th century by Saxo Grammaticus, contains an episode considered by many scholars to involve Sleipnir. Sleipnir is generally accepted as depicted on two 8th century Gotlandic image stones: the Tjängvide image stone and the Ardre VIII image stone.

Scholarly theories have been proposed regarding Sleipnir's potential connection to shamanic practices among the Norse pagans.

Sleipnir was born when Loki shape-shifted into a mare and became pregnant by the stallion of a giant, as is recounted in the tale of The Fortification of Asgard.

MARVEL COMICS (Earth 616)

There are two different origins for Sleipnir in the comics: 1. Thor fighting off an army of the undead on Midgard. He promised to help as long as his horses weren’t eaten, however, Thor was betrayed and took his horses remains back to Asgard, coupling it with Asgardian Magic to create Sleipneir. 2. Loki had hastily agreed to let a Frost Giant re-build the wall around Asgard, in exchange for the Moon, the Sun, and Freya, only he had to do it in six months. The Frost Giant had only asked to use his grey stallion, Svadilfari. Right as the last brick was about to be placed, Loki transformed into a beautiful white mare, and lured Svadilfari off. Loki later gave birth to Sleipnir. (Just like in the Myths.) 

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (MCU)

Odin’s eight-legged steed. 

Sleipnir’s origins are unknown. He appears in the first Thor Movie. 

Fenrir Wolf - Loki & Angrboda’s Son

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

Attested in the Prose and Poetic Edda as the first son of the Jotun couple. He is a wolf destined to kill Odin. So, they bind and seal him when he's still young, with Tyr losing his arm in the process. When Ragnarok comes, he indeed kills Odin, but is killed by Odin's son Vidar in return.

Fenrir is the father of the wolves Sköll and Hati Hróðvitnisson. 

In the Prose Edda, additional information is given about Fenrir, including that, due to the gods' knowledge of prophecies foretelling great trouble from Fenrir and his rapid growth, the gods bound him, and as a result Fenrir bit off the right hand of the god Týr.

No chain can hold him, except for Gleipnir, a rope made by Dwarves containing the roots of a mountain, the breath of a fish, the sound of a cat's footfall, the sinews of a bear, the beard of a woman and the spittle of a bird, all of which were impossible items to obtain.

MARVEL COMICS (Earth 616)

Pretty much the same as his Mythos with some additional storylines. 

When Raganrok happened, Fenrir was reborn with the other gods on the New Asgard universe on Midgard. No details of his fate on Earth have been revealed.

Fenrir helped the mutant Wolfsbane as she was carrying the child of one of his descendants. 

It is one of the few individuals believed to be more powerful, or equally as powerful, as Dormammu; the others being galactic entities like The Beyonder.

Fenrir is Genderfluid in the comics. 

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (MCU)

Fenris is a giant Asgardian Wolf who serves under Hela and is portrayed as Female. She resurrects her as they take over Asgard. 

Instead of being her brother, Fenris is her loyal companion and mount. 

Fenris ends up getting into a fight against Hulk as he pushes her off, sending her falling into the void below to her supposed death. 

Appears in Thor: Ragnarok. 

Hel - Loki & Angrboda’s Daughter

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

Attested in the Prose and Poetic Edda. She is a giantess/goddess who resides over the Underworld that is also called Hel, a place where many of the dead reside. She is the daughter of Loki and Angrboda, sister to Fenrir and Jormungandr and usually depicted as the youngest of the three.

Goddess of Death and Graves and ruler of Hel who welcomes the souls of those who died of old age, disease or by accident.

Hel is described as having been appointed by the god Odin as ruler of a realm of the same name, located in Niflheim.

The Prose Edda details that Hel rules over vast mansions with many servants in her underworld realm and plays a key role in the attempted resurrection of the god Baldr.

Old Norse Name Meaning: Hidden

She’s mostly mentioned only in passing. Snorri describes her appearance as being half-black, half-white, and with a perpetually grim and fierce expression on her face.

MARVEL COMICS (Earth 616)

Renamed Hela in the comics.

Allegedly the daughter of Loki and Angrboda, but it’s never made clear or stated. Hela's genealogy is the subject of controversies and retellings. 

Her path pretty much follows her Mythos where she is destined to do terrible things and Odin makes her the ruler over the dead in the realms of Hel and Niflheim until maturity. 

At some point, she was considered the daughter of Odin and of a long-lost goddess.

Honestly, she usually tries to expand her powers, wanting to rule over Vahalla and obtain Asgardian souls. 

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (MCU):

Appears in Thor: Ragnarok as Odin’s firstborn and only daughter. Sister to Thor and Loki.

Kinda pissed her dad locked her away and wants to rule Asgard and take revenge.

The cause of Ragnarok and supposedly dies on Asgard after everything is said in done in the movie.

Jormungandr - Loki & Angrboda’s Son

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

Usually depicted as the middle child of Loki and Angrboda, he is known as the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent who is a giant snake. When Odin takes Loki’s kids away from him, he tosses Jormungadr into the ocean that encircles Midgard. The serpent grew so large that is was able to surround the Earth and grasp it’s own tail. When it releases it’s tail, Ragnarok will begin and he will fight his arch-enemy, Thor. 

The major sources for myths about Jörmungandr are the Prose Edda, the skaldic poem Húsdrápa, and the Eddic poems Hymiskviða and Völuspá. Other sources include the early skaldic poem Ragnarsdrápa and kennings in other skaldic poems; for example, in Þórsdrápa, faðir lögseims, "father of the sea-thread", is used as a kenning for Loki. There are also several image stones depicting the story of Thor fishing for Jörmungandr.

MARVEL COMICS (Earth 616)

Both Loki and Angerboda were descended from the Frost Giants of Jotunheim and were of humanoid appearance; however, the sons Angerboda bore Loki, Jormungand and the Fenris Wolf, did not. It has been suggested that Jormungand and the Fenris Wolf were born as sentient animals because their parents each had the magical ability to change his or her own shape. Hence, Jormungand and the Fenris Wolf each bear the form of the animal that their parents had assumed at the moment they were conceived.

Jormungandr follows the same as his Mythos to a certain degree with his fate to fight Thor during Ragnarok as the God of Thunder would die from his venom. 

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (MCU)

Does not appear or have a reference in the MCU

Sigyn - Loki’s Wife

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

Sadly, not many stories that have Sigyn in them have survived to this day. She is only attested in the followings works: Poetic Edda & Prose Edda. 

The most famous of her story tells of how Loki has been bound by the gods with the guts of his son, Nari, and how his son, Vari, has been turned into a wolf. The Goddess Skadi fastens a venomous snake over Loki’s face, from which venom drips. Sigyn, stated as Loki’s wife, stays by his side and holds a basin under and catches the venom so it won’t drip onto her husband, but when the basin grows full, she pulls it away to empty it, during which time venom drops onto Loki, causing him to wither so violently that earthquakes occur that shake the entire earth.

In the poem, Gylfaginning, Sigyn is introduced in Chapter 31 as being married to Loki and that they have a son by the name of “Narfi or Nari”. She is then mentioned again in Chapter 50 where events are described differently than in Lokasenna; Vali, described as a son of Loki only, is changed into a wolf by the gods and rips apart his brother, “Narfi or Nari.” The guts of Nari are then used to tie Loki to three stones, after which the guts turn to iron, and Skadi places a snake above Loki. Sigyn of course catches the venom in a bowl. This process is repeated until he breaks free, setting Ragnarok into motion.

In the poem, Skáldskaparmál, Sigyn is introduced as a goddess, an Æsir, where the gods are holding a feast for their visitors and in kennings for Loki: “husband of Sigyn” and “cargo [Loki] of incantation-fetter’s [Sigyn’s] arms.”

Old Norse Name meaning: Victory Girlfriend. 

MARVEL COMICS (Earth 616)

Lonely and looking for female companionship, Loki ends up coming across Sigyn and plans to make her his. However, she is already engaged to a warrior of Odin’s Crimson Hawks -- Theoric. Hence, Loki sets up a trap to have Theoric killed during a mission so Loki can disguise himself as Theoric. Once they are wed, Loki reveals himself and despite Odin attempting to annul the marriage (which goes against Asgardian Law)), Sigyn tells the Allfather that she will follow the duties of a loyal wife since she is Loki’s now. 

This is when Odin proclaims her to be the Goddess of Fidelity. This was a thing first started by the Marvel Comics.

Sigyn doesn’t have much of an agency in the comics except being a loyal wife to Loki, sometimes going along with his plans or getting on him for it. 

I personally haven’t been able to find any evidence of Sigyn’s parents being Iwaldi and Freya in the comics, so I’m not sure if this fact is Fanon or not. 

Sigyn has suddenly seemed to vanish from the comics with her last official appearance being in 1996. It has been allueded at that she died or was killed during Ragnarok. 

Her relationship with Loki in the comics is...complicated and changes a lot depending on the writer. 

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (MCU)

Does not appear or have a reference in the MCU

Narvi/Narfi & Vali - Loki & Sigyn’s Sons

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

Not much is known about Narfi and Vali except for being Loki & Sigyn’s sons with Vali being transformed into a wolf by the gods and killing his brother whose inners are used as a chain to bind Loki in the cave. 

Narfi and Vali are referred to in a number of sources. According to the Gylfaginning section of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, he was also called Nari and was killed by his brother Váli, who was transformed into a wolf; in a prose passage at the end of the Eddic poem "Lokasenna", Váli became a wolf and his brother Nari was killed.

Snorri also names "Nari or Narfi" as the son of Loki and his wife Sigyn earlier in Gylfaginning, and lists "father of Nari" as a heiti for Loki in the Skáldskaparmál section of his work.

Narfi’s name could mean “Corpse” in Old Norse, relating to how he was killed by his brother. 

There's no mention of what became of Vali after he became a wolf.

MARVEL COMICS (Earth 616)

Narvi never makes an appearance in the comics and is only mentioned in: Free Comics Book Day Vol 2018 Avengers. 

There is a Vali in the comics called Vali Halfling. He is the son of loki and a unnamed mortal woman. So, I don’t consider this to be the same Vali that is the son of Loki and Sigyn. 

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (MCU)

Does not appear or have a reference in the MCU

_________________________________________________

Thanks for reading everyone. This required a bunch of research, but I hope this helps and has been educational. We only have what we can work with considering the surviving myths, but there is so many stories out there that we don’t know of that aren’t clear because of it. 

I tried my best to cover everything I knew about them in Marvel too, but sometimes so many retcons is too much to keep up with. I know there may be some errors in places, but it’s the best I could get this with what we have to work with.

SOURCES:

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Laufey_(Earth-616)

https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Laufey

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laufey

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fárbauti

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Farbauti_(Earth-616)

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Angerboda_(Earth-616)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angrboða

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Hela_(Earth-616)

https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/giants/hel/

https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/giants/jormungand/

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Jormungand_(Earth-616)

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Sleipnir_(Earth-616)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleipnir

https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Sleipnir

https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/giants/fenrir/

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Fenris_Wolf_(Earth-616)

https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Fenris

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigyn

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Sigyn_(Earth-616)

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Narvi_(Earth-616)

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Vali_Halfling_(Earth-616)

https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/the-aesir-gods-and-goddesses/loki/

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Loki_Laufeyson_(Earth-616)

https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Loki

https://skjalden.com/narfi-and-vali/

https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Hela

[dani-luminae]

I'm referring to this art by Mushk Rizvi (as far as I can tell):

We didn't get a name, but some people have taken to calling her Farbauti as that's the name of Loki's father in mythology.

(Marvel got the names mixed up. In Norse mythology, Laufey (also referred to in kennings as Needle or Leaf-Island) is Loki's mother. Farbauti is Loki's father. In the MCU, they decided Laufey was the name of his father. I think this might have been out of a misunderstanding about the naming conventions referring to Loki in mythology, but this isn't about that.)

I however am too attached to mythology to stand for the continued name-switching thing so I'm gonna call her Morn.

So what got me thinking is that Morn, despite being a Jotun, is clearly not a giant like the stature of Laufey and most of the other Frost Giants. She's maybe only a little taller than the average human/Asgardian. Why is this?

I wonder if she's only half-Frost Giant. That maybe one of her parents comes from another realm, then I thought maybe her father was a Light Elf from Alfheim. In roots closer to folklore and mythology, light elves were often said to be bright like the sun and could even manipulate light like mirages.

So Morn is half-Light Elf. This is why she's smaller in size, but she inherited skilled light magic from her father, and this power is primarily what made Laufey interested in her.

They have a son. Their son is taken and assumed dead. Morn is distraught, naturally.

As Loki grows up in Asgard, unknowing of his true heritage, he stills finds that out of all his tricks and sorcery, it is illusions - the manipulation of light - that comes easiest to him. The first skill he ever mastered was illusions. Frigga is especially proud, as illusions are often one of the most difficult magic to work with.

As for Cassia, allowed to explore and develop her powers without real guidance, her traces of Light Elf heritage somewhat combine with her Frost Giant powers: her ice naturally has a slight glow to it, and she wields it in a way that mimics how Light Elves control light. This gentler power is what allows her to create intricate forms with ice instead of just the spikes, shards, and other sharp formations we see from the Frost Giants in the movies. And of course, out of all her magic, illusions are also the first sorcerous skill that comes to Cassia, allowing her little tricks like the color of her hair and designs on her nails.

Heck. Now my headcanons about Loki's mother in the MCU based off that concept art are informing my ideas about how Cassia's powers work.

[moon-arts02]

Farbauti ✨

[9worldstales]

Loki’s adoption: comparison between the comic version(s) and the MCU version with intensive commentaries

So... I really wanted to talk a bit about one of the relevant plot points in the movie, hence this post.

As various MCU movies and comics get mentioned, I made a list of the sources referenced so you’ll know if they might end up spoiling you. Consider yourself warned.

SOURCES MENTIONED:

Movies: “Thor” (2011), “The Avengers” (2012), “Thor – The Dark World” (2013), “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014), “Captain America – Civil War” (2016), “Thor – Ragnark” (2017), ��The Avengers – Infinity War” (2018)

Comics: “Journey Into Mystery” n° 112 (1965): “The coming of Loki!”, “Thor” n° 346 (1984), “Loki” (2004), “Thor” n° 12 (January 2009), “Ultimate Thor” (2010-11), “Thor – MCU Tie-in” (2013), “What If?” (2018): “Thor was Raised by Frost Giants”,  “War of the Realms” n° 1 (2019)

Motion comics: “Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers” (2011)

Books: “Art of Marvel Studios: Thor” (2011), “Marvel Cinematic Universe Guidebook” (2017), “Marvel Studio Visual Dictionary” (2018), “The Moviemaking of Marvel studios Heroes + Villains” (2019)

Webs: The official web

Others: “Thor” old movie script, Interviewn “Thor - When worlds collide”

In the comics there are various tales for how things happened in the “Thor” universe.

The comics are absolutely unapologetic on how they seem to retcon their own canon, taking advantage of how “Thor” is based on mythology to support the idea there are multiple versions of his origins and adventures and so on... or that all those versions exist in different universes.

The result is that we’ve variants for Loki’s adoption also.

Recently, the one I see referenced the most in the comics is the one taking place in “Thor” n° 12 (2009), in which Odin adopts Loki when the latter is already an older child who, in human years, would look like 10/11, a version that hugely crashes with the MCU one in which Loki was a babe... though I think the “Ultimate Thor” (2010-11) version in which Loki was sent to Asgard as a peace offering (and he is the son of Odin and a Jotun, Farbauti) was also interesting.

Anyway the one in the MCU Thor movie seems to be inspired by a tale in “Journey Into Mystery” n° 112 (1965), “The coming of Loki!” (also mentioned in the “Marvel Cinematic Universe Guidebook”), which is kind of referenced in the much more recent “Loki” (2004), which was also adapted into a motion comic “Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers”.

So let’s give a look to the 1965 tale.

THE PREMISE

“Ages ago, when the universe was young, and Asgard was a’borning, noble Odin was compelled to battle a myriad host of foes in order to secure his rightful reign. One such foe was the titanic Laufey, kind of the giant warriors of Jotunheim...” [“Journey Into Mystery” n° 112: “The coming of Loki!”]

As it’s easy to see, in the comic the battle between Asgard and the Jotuns is presented merely as one of the many battles Odin fought, which were a mean to secure his own ‘rightful reign’... quite a huge difference compared to the MCU where it seems it’s fought for mankind’s sake (in the comic mankind wasn’t even mentioned).

“Once, mankind accepted a simple truth, that they were not alone in this universe. Some worlds man believed to be home to their gods. Others, they knew to fear. From a realm of cold and darkness came the Frost Giants, threatening to plunge the mortal world into a new ice age. But humanity would not face this threat alone. Our armies drove the Frost Giants back into the heart of their own world. The cost was great. In the end, their king fell. And the source of their power was taken from them. With the last great war ended, we withdrew from the other worlds and returned home to the Realm Eternal, Asgard. Here we remain as a beacon of hope, shining out across the stars. And though we have fallen into man's myths and legends, it was Asgard and its warriors that brought peace to the universe.” [“Thor”]

Odin isn’t fighting to protect mankind, no, his goal is a lot less noble and much more self serving as he just aims to secure his ‘rightful’ reign.

On the other side it’s clear the Jotuns aren’t good people in the comic either, they also wants to conquer Asgard (Asgard, not Midgard/Earth like in the movie) but there’s not an excessive emphasis on them being evil monsters.

So let’s dig on them.

THE JOTUNS

It’s probably good to mention in this comic the Jotuns are defined just as ‘Giants’, not ‘Frost Giants’... and guess what?

They don’t have blue skin, they’re just very big, which makes sense since they’re giants, and will come at hand because this means no spell will be required to change Loki from blue to pink. Also they wear full body armours, which seem to have kind of a futuristic look to me.

They’re not scary or monster looking, just tall, but since the quality of the art fits the 1965 standards well... you might even miss it.

In the movie instead they decided to paint the Frost Giants blue with red eyes, leave them mostly naked and with marking on their skins which, according to “Art of Marvel Studios: Thor” (2011), indicate their ranks (for some reasons not in all the images of the book their skin is blue).

Not that the movie tell us what their marks stand for, we are just shown them wearing marks, infant Loki included, and we’re left to wonder if this means something or they’re just born this way.

Now... panting the Jotuns blue with red eyes in the movie was an artistic choice as “Art of Marvel Studios: Thor” and “The Moviemaking of Marvel studios Heroes + Villains” point out that Frost Giants had been represented in way too many ways along the years by Marvel.

“When you hear Frost Giants, they’ve been drawn anywhere from thirty feet in the comic to normal height, with everything from blue skin to completely made of ice. So we had our work cut out for us to design something... The most important part is that they’re characters. They’re not monsters. They’re not creatures. They’re characters.”

Well, the sentiment is nice and undoubtedly Laufey is an interesting character... but skipping the fact that the movie refers to Frost Giants as ‘monsters’ more than once and by the end of it does nothing to retcon this idea that they ARE monsters, well... the Frost Giants’ design looks like the one of a primitive monster, with Laufey looking like an unburned blue version of Freddy Krueger who might claim "My Reign of Terror Was Legendary" [“Freddy vs Jason” (2003)].

What here is painted as a mere artistic choice however as effects on the plot as well, because while in the comic Loki, due to being smaller than standard giants, looked no different from an Asgardian baby, now he looks like a “little blue baby icicle” as “Thor - Ragnarok” put it, and therefore clearly not as an Asgardian baby.

The problem is solved, according to “Marvel Studio Visual Dictionary”, by Odin using his magic to change his look. However, always according to “Marvel Studio Visual Dictionary”, if Loki touches Frost Giants or their relicts he temporally reverts back to his original form. This thing, which goes completely unexplained in the movie and merely shown (causing viewers to come up with different theories for what they’re shown) is used as a plot device to force Loki to realize he’s a Frost Giant as well as showing him with a Jotun/monstrous look when he freezes Heimdall.

This ends up creating two problems.

The first is of practical nature.

We’re told Odin adopted Loki because he wanted to use him to bring peace between the two species.

‘I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day. Bring about an alliance, bring about permanent peace. Through you.’ [“Thor”]

The implication of this sentence seems to be that Odin wanted to place Loki on Jotunheim’s throne... but HOW could Loki be accepted as a king if Loki wouldn’t even look like a Jotun? Or was it the idea to see if they could bring peace by magically transforming all the Jotuns into Asgardians and Loki was a test to see if this was possible?

The second problem regards the clear intention of erasing Loki’s identity as a Jotun which included even the altering of his physical characteristics so that he could pass for an Asgardian and being educated in the belief Jotuns were “monster(s) parents tell their children about at night” and that his brother would “hunt the monsters down and slay them all!” just as Odin did in the past, which works as a charm in persuading Jotuns need to be exterminated, in fact what Loki plans to do as the movie marches toward its end is:

“To prove to Father that I am the worthy son. When he wakes, I will have saved his life. I will have destroyed that race of monsters. And I will be true heir to the throne!” [“Thor”]

This is a perfect result of handling in a terrible way an adoption (an adoptee should be informed that he’s adopted WHEN HE’S A KID of an age that ranges from 2 to 8), erasing his identity, forcing him to internalize racism and the belief Jotuns are monsters that should be slay, favouring his other son and, despite all his pretty words, not really educating any of his sons to a culture of peace and not of violence.

The worst part of it all though is all this will never be addressed, Loki is painted as an ungrateful adoptee complaining for “imagined slights” as Thor will say in “The Avengers”.

But whatever, I’m digressing.

THE BATTLE

The comic take some times depicting how Odin and Laufey were fighting on Jotunheim land. We don’t know if the Jotuns were forced to retreat there or if the Asgardians attacked them first but we’re told on Jotunheim the Jotuns have the advantage.

Odin’s hammer break Laufey’s cub so all the Jotuns go to support their king, but ultimately Odin’s legions prevail and force Laufey’s warriors back. At this point the Jotuns would like to surrender but Laufey refuse, saying they should gather at his castle and attack again and that he’ll kill who’ll surrender.

He evidently spoke a tad too loud because he was overheard by Odin who decides that Laufey has to die because they can’t win the Jotuns as long as he’s the king.

Laufey fights against Odin until his death and, once he’s dead, the fight can cease.

It’s not really clear where we are, but they might be in a castle by the scenery... or not yet, hard to say, as well as it’s hard to say how many Jotuns survived, if there are some. Probably there are (especially considering they will show up again in the “Thor” stories).

As for the movie, in a way it waves away the battle a lot faster.

We see the Asgardians fight the Jotun on Earth, then we’re told they managed to drive them back into ‘the heart of their own world’.

Although Odin says in the end Laufey fell, Laufey actually doesn’t die but literally fall on the ground, Odin pointing his weapon at him but not striking him. There’s the visual implication Odin lost his eye while fighting with him, that ‘the cost was great’, and then we’re told and shown that the casket, ‘the source of their power was taken from them’, a an Asgardian soldier, an Einherjar, an elite member of Asgard’s army from the look of him, takes the Casket of Ancient Winters t away.

Note that the movie won’t call it Casket of Ancient Winters anywhere if not in the side material or in the old script.

There’s no Casket of Ancient Winters in the comic… well, at least not in that one. In the comics the casket was an Asgardian artifact, which contains the Fimbulwinter of Ymir [“Thor” n° 346] and not a Jotunheim relic.

It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for the fact that in side material they link the Jotuns loss of the Casket to Jotunheim falling into ruin.

“Jotunheim is one of the Nine Realms and in its day was a powerful advanced civilization not unlike Asgard but with a malevolent intent underneath it all. So with that in mind, Odin was forced to take their Casket of Ancient Winders, and it’s pretty much destroyed the place. It’s slowly splintering away and falling into deep space.” [“Art of Marvel Studios: Thor”]

“Without the Casket, Jotunheim slowly fell apart.” [“Marvel Cinematic Universe Guidebook”]

So basically it’s slow genocide opposed to the fast genocide Loki wanted.

Really, I don’t get WHY the MCU put those things in the side material then proceeds to ignore them as they’re important plot points, it’s not like we’re talking about the characters’ favourite flavour of ice cream.

If the lack of the Casket is killing the Jotuns’ world not only it makes a whole lot of sense they want it back ASAP and see Odin as a murderer, their murderer, but it basically crashes the image of Odin as protector of the Nine realms since he’s slowly killing one of them… and it makes ridicule Asgard would hold against Loki the idea he would commit genocide when that’s exactly what they’re doing.

Yet this story has no relevance whatsoever in the plot, it’s not even mentioned if not in the side material so that when you read it you experience a horrible moment of fridge logic.

Why is that?

It could be an interesting plot point but if there’s… well, no point to it and the story keeps on incensing Asgard as the saviour of the universe and how against genocide they are… well, why to waste time including it?

Even in the old movie script all we get is:

“The Casket of Ancient Winters belonged to the Jotuns. They believe it’s their birthright.”

It’s a tad more than their birthright, it’s their mean to keep together their planet.

If we want the closest reference to the casket power we have in the old script is this:

“Your father is a murderer and a thief. He stole what was ours, and left our world in ruins. We have the right to reclaim the Casket.”

It’s still unclear as we can assume that their world is in ruins due to the war... though, sure, the fact it never got fixed in 2976 years makes you ponder a bit.

But whatever, let’s go on.

THE FINDING OF LOKI

So, back to the comic, after Laufey’s death Odin and his warrior hear a faint whimpering cry from a bundle, so they open it to check its content and it turns out there’s an infant child inside.

At this point Odin explains that the child is Loki as it was apparently common knowledge how Laufey was keeping his son hidden because he was ashamed of how his son wasn’t born giant.

One of Odin’s soldiers, just by hearing how the child is named ‘Loki’, says that very name has a tinge of evil and a tinge of foreboding because in the comic Loki was written for years as just the ‘god of evil’ along with the ‘god of mischief’ (and Thor had no problem to call him ‘Evil one’) and the idea Loki was evil started right from the day the Asgardians set eyes on him, when he was still a babe, something that gets explored wonderfully in “Loki” (2004)... but I’m probably running ahead.

Back to the story Odin decides since Loki is a prince he should accord him his rightful due and announces to his men that Loki is now his son and half-brother to his well-beloved Thor and for better or for worse Loki is forevermore an immortal of Asgard.

This implies that Odin assumed that, although Laufey was ashamed of Loki’s size, he would have still kept him around and made him his heir.

[On a side note Loki can’t be half brother to Thor as they don’t share a parent in common... He’s just his adoptive brother... but whatever, that’s not plot relevant.]

Adopting Loki to protect his right as royal child makes sense, it’s a fair tribute from a king, Odin, to another king, Laufey. It doesn’t require Odin to love Loki or pity him, it’s more a matter of fairness toward Laufey and his heir.

Loki lost his father and he’s undersized for a giant, so he couldn’t inherit the crown right then... and whoever were to do it for him might not be interested in keeping him alive. By adopting him Odin’s allows Laufey’s descendant to survive.

This makes him still noble, but noble because he respects the rules between royalties and toward a fallen enemy, not because he showed humanity toward an innocent child.

(“Loki” (2004) will suggest Odin had also a ulterior motive but... well, that’s another story and in the comics what’s canon for a story might not necessarily be canon for another so...)

Anyway the comic gives us 0 info about Laufey wanting to kill his son, it only tells us that he’s ashamed of him. While placing him in a bundle might be not the best idea, they were at war and it might be a plan to hide him from enemies. Odin believing Loki was Laufey’s heir and that, by killing his father he stole from him his birthright in inheriting the kingdom, implies Odin assumed Laufey wanted Loki to live and inherit the kingdom.

It’s overall interesting how future comics will depict Laufey as a terrible person and as an abusive father but not as someone who would kill his infant son.

“Loki” (2004) has Loki’s mother, Farbauti confirm Laufey was ashamed of Loki, but she says nothing about Laufey wanting him dead.

“Thor” n° 12 depicts Laufey as an abusive father... but one that let Loki live despite his diminutive size.

The “What If: Thor was Raised by Frost Giants” again paints Laufey as an abusive father, but not one who would kill his infant son. Actually he didn’t even kill Thor and even admitted it shouldn’t have been easy for Thor to be his ward, his son and let them both reach adult age. Ironically Loki grows much psychologically healthier with him despite the abuse than in the Asgard court.

Long story short in the comics there seemed to be a general idea that Laufey wouldn’t kill an infant Loki and would keep him as a potential heir.

It’s worth to say that in “War of the Realms” n° 1 Laufey will ultimately kill... well, attempt to kill Loki...

...but this will be after the latter, who’s an adult by then, has betrayed him, cut his hand and sided against him.

Anyway how all this was translated in the MCU movie?

Well, the MCU ultimately changed quite a bit of it and not always for the better.

Okay, I’ll be blunt, the whole adopting thing is a mess.

First of all the scene is postponed, we learn about Loki’s adoption only much later, after Loki finds out about it and confronts Odin. This isn’t bad per se, it’s actually pretty good as the movie build up mystery on Loki’s origins to unveil them at this point.

So what’s what we learn?

That’s how Odin tells Loki (and us) how things went.

“No. In the aftermath of the battle, I went into the temple and I found a baby. Small for a giant's offspring. Abandoned, suffering, left to die. Laufey's son.” [“Thor”]

The same scene is also visible in the comic version of the movie.

There’s no mention of how Odin figured out Loki was Laufey’s son, no implication it was public knowledge Laufey had a son born small whom he planned to kill.

Odin tells Loki about how the child he found was left there to die, and whatever secondary source you’ll read, be it the official web or some guidebook seems to agree with him about how the Jotuns were planning to commit infanticide by exposure.

In the fandom there are speculations about this not being planned right from the start but the result of changes to the plot along the way due to Laufey saying to Thor about Odin:

“Your father is a murderer and a thief!” [“Thor”]

The thief thing clearly refers to how Odin stole the casket… but what about the murderer thing? It seems difficult it could refer to how Odin murdered them during the war. Is it referring to how, without the casket, their world is slowly falling apart (as said by the “Marvel Cinematic Universe Guidebook”) which might bring them to an earlier than planned demise… or to how Laufey believed Odin killed Loki?

After all in the old script we had this bit:

“Ah, the bastard son. I thought Odin had killed you. That's what I would have done. He's as weak as you are.”

While there’s no love in Laufey’s words, this implies that when he said Odin was a murderer he referred to this, and since he wasn’t exactly praising Odin for being a murderer, this seems to imply he disapproved of the idea of how Odin killed his infant son.

Of course the ‘That's what I would have done’ opens another huge can of worms. Is he referring to Loki only he found deplorable to personally kill an infant while death by exposure was something he could accept? Or it’s just that Laufey was meant to be like Yondu Udonta (from “Guardians of the Galaxy”)?

After all, according to Quinn:

“Yondu was the guy who abducted me, kicked the crap out of me so I could learn to fight, and kept me in terror by threatening to eat me.” [“Guardians of the Galaxy”]

...which was Yondu’s way to try to be funny if you trust him.

Was Laufey also meant to share the same sense of humour?

Whatever, ultimately all this is another dropped plot point as Loki will never reveal to Laufey he’s his son... and anyway the old script also left the whole ‘bastard son’ unexplained.

In “Ultimate Thor” Loki is the son of Odin and a Jotun, Farbauti, sent to Asgard as a peace offering...

...but since here it’s clear Loki is meant to be the son of Laufey, unless they were meant to have Laufey have a story with Odin, really, I don’t know what they planned and I don’t get why to plan it. To explain why Loki was born small? Who knows?

Back to the movie it’s worth to mention when we hear ‘temple’ we think Loki was left in some Jotun variant of a church (we aren’t really shown the place around)... but the script for the movie calls ‘temple’ also the place where Thor met Laufey and where, later, Loki will meet Laufey.

Does Laufey, instead than living in a palace, lives in a temple in the MCU? Or locations were changed later on?

After all in an interview we’re told:

“The only set for our sequences that was physically built was the lower area of Laufey’s palace, which is where the characters talk with Laufey prior to the battle itself.” [“Thor - When worlds collide”]

...meaning that area isn’t viewed as a temple but as part of Laufey’s palace.

We’ll probably never know.

Anyway the fact that Laufey wanted to kill his baby son paints a much darker shade on the Jotuns and Laufey, as they would just let a baby die because he didn’t fit their standard, which, by contrast, paint Odin in a much more favourable light since they saved him, again generating a setting in which Jotuns are monsters and Asgardians are good people, protectors.

Anyway all this flies out of a metaphorical window when Odin admits he actually took Loki because

‘I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day. Bring about an alliance, bring about permanent peace. Through you.’ [“Thor”]

How, as said before, is never explained, but it makes Odin’s actions even worse than in the comic.

First of all because he doesn’t admit that immediately but, at first, tries to paint himself as noble by adopting him just because he was an innocent child.

Loki: “Why? You were knee-deep in Jotun blood, why would you take me?” Odin: “You were an innocent child.” Loki: “No. You took me for a purpose. What was it? Tell me!” Odin: “I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day. Bring about an alliance, bring about permanent peace. Through you.” Loki: “What?” Odin: “But those plans no longer matter.” [“Thor”]

The movie, by confessing Odin had an ulterior purpose, makes it another lie on the top of the huge mountain of lies he told Loki. It fits with Odin’s profile as Frigga said:

“There's always a purpose to everything your father does.” [“Thor”]

…but it also made the adoption a mere act of convenience for Odin, not a noble thing. He wasn’t trying to save an innocent child, he was trying to profit from him. Sure, the idea is likely he later grew fond of him since all the side material confirms Odin believes he loves Loki… which isn’t terribly reassuring because we’re meant to accept Thanos loved Gamora too. His own way.

Anyway this turns the adoption into a rather dark matter, something that’s done out of self interest, something that manipulated Loki into believing he was an Asgardian, cutting whatever bridge he had with the Jotuns, changing his looks so that he wouldn’t identify with them and making him internalize them as monsters.

Connections between Loki and the Jotuns are cut both by Odin and by the movie makers.

Comic Loki is called Loki Laufeyson, but the same will never happen in the MCU where he’s just ‘Loki’ or ‘Loki of Asgard’ or ‘Loki Odinson’ and he uses ‘Loki of Jotunheim’ only when he has to trick Malekith into thinking he wants Thor to die.

The scene in “Thor” in which Loki revealed himself to his father as his son was removed. The idea that Loki would hide on Jotunheim after the facts of “Thor - Ragnarok” was discharged as well. MCU Loki never attempts to reconnect with his origins (although he’ll define himself as ‘the rightful king of Jotunheim’ but, I wonder, if that line was left because there was a plan to have him play that role that ultimately got scrapped).

At the same time the story insists in presenting Odin as a saviour, DESPITE THAT.

The Jotuns wanted him dead, Odin basically saved him, which will allow him to shout at Loki how ‘his birthright was to die’ in “Thor - The Dark Planet”. Whatever Odin were to do to him, it would be less bad than what the Jotuns wanted to do to him, placing Loki in debt.

It’s... basically a waste of a dark part of what the characters did.

Loki’s adoption is a mess, it basically checks all the things you are supposed not to do in an adoption... and it’s made even worse by the fact that this is an interracial adoption so they managed to check in all the don’t included in it too... and okay, it could have been that Odin and Frigga didn’t know better, that maybe adopting wasn’t an Asgard thing so they had no idea of the do and don’t and assumed ultimately love would save the day but the movies end up involving Earth as well and yet the fact they made a mess with the adoption is never brought up, no, the whole thing is presented as just Loki being ungrateful.

It’s a waste of plot points that really, didn’t need to be included if they didn’t mean to work with them.

It’s as if they wanted to toss in references to the “Loki” comic...

In it Loki says Odin took him because he wanted to use him as a foil to Thor, to make him a villain so that this would galvanize Thor’s goodness...

...and, when he’s faced with Farbauti, his true mother, he hated the fact he couldn’t suppress his disgust for her because he was taught to appreciate solely the Asgardians.

Those are GREAT plot points... but somehow the movie doesn’t really dig on them... as if it suddenly changed its mind and just wanted to paint Loki as evil and who cares if there were reasons beyond it.

Loki viewing the Jotuns as monsters is ultimately handled as if it was due to Loki being evil, not due to his messed up adoption and upbringing.

It’s a shame because it could fit into the story and make it even cooler and yet... it was scrapped in favour of a black and white views were the Jotuns are monsters, Loki is evil and Asgard is good with Odin, Frigga and Thor being noble and just and never having made a single mistake toward Loki... and this is disappointing.

In “Captain America – Civil War” Steve Roger writes this beautiful letter to Tony Stark:

“Tony, I'm glad you're back at the compound. I don't like the idea of you rattling around a mansion by yourself. We all need family. The Avengers are yours, maybe more so than mine. I've been on my own since I was 18. I never really fit in anywhere, even in the army. My faith's in people, I guess. Individuals. And I'm happy to say that, for the most part, they haven't let me down. Which is why I can't let them down either. Locks can be replaced, but maybe they shouldn't. I know I hurt you, Tony. I guess I thought by not telling you about your parents I was sparing you, but I can see now that I was really sparing myself, and I'm sorry. Hopefully one day you can understand. I wish we agreed on the Accords, I really do. I know you're doing what you believe in, and that's all any of us can do. That's all any of us should... So no matter what, I promise you, if you need us - if you need me - I'll be there.”

Steve APOLOGIZED.

Tony was wrong, Bucky wasn’t responsible of his own actions when he murdered Tony’s parents so he didn’t deserve to be killed (and anyway you shouldn’t just kill people because they wronged you, which is also a theme of the movie), yet Steve realized by hiding the truth to Tony he hurt him, that he did keep the secret also for his own self gain and apologized.

His apology didn’t make Tony’s attempt to kill Bucky right, it just acknowledged Steve’s part in hurting a friend who came to face the truth unprepared.

There’s no apology in the whole “Thor" saga for the messed up adoption of Loki and the way he was raised (actually the whole thing is so messy I could write another post digging into it).

We’re just meant to believe Odin’s family was a loving one and Loki did what he did because he was an ungrateful adoptee and this... is either a waste of how they had set things up or a wrong message as, in a hurry to criticize Loki’s actions, turns into good Odin’s actions.

I don’t know how they got to this since the source material actually... handled it better.

The old “Journey Into Mystery” n° 112: “The coming of Loki!” decided to have Loki being inborn evil and Odin being rightful and didn’t create any level of grey in this. Odin’s actions aren’t overly pure but he’s not painted as evil or as doing wrong to Loki.

“Loki” (2004) instead decided to use all the grey available and, while it didn’t make Loki good or praiseworthy, didn’t shy away from making Odin, Frigga and Thor as well as the other Asgardians, part of why Loki became what he had become.

They’re both two good ways to tell a story, one very black and white and one instead realistically grey and with adult themes and you can choose which one you favour... but the movie seems to attempt to mash them together, using the grey and then... denying it. And this is a pity.

I think the “Thor” movie or the “Thor” saga would have been much better if they had acknowledged the grey they decided to put in their movies instead than just present it and then... handwave it.

But that maybe it’s just me.

Said so I recommend everyone all the source material I used to write this post because it’s a great read/watch. Really, you won’t regret it.

[lokiinmediasideblog]

My new pet peeve since concept art of Loki was revealed is the insistence that he looks NOTHING like Laufey. He does! There's even posts about how good they were at casting Loki's father as someone that looked like him! The actors have a very similar facial structure! And the reason the concept art looks more like Loki is because it was also based on Loki without a cast in mind, and because Loki, and Jotun women apparently, don't shave their heads.