History Characters / MCULokiLaufeyson

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Loki is particularly wacky, crazy and unpredictable in his various antics like a Looney Tunes character.

* InsufferableGenius: Massively intelligent even by the standards of an Asgardian, Loki is a calculating mastermined who doesn't mind reminding people how great he is.

* ManlyTears: Loki may be devious and unpredictable, but he is quite a sensitive man and can often be seen crying:

* {{Sadist}}: ''The Avengers'': He announces his arrival on Earth by killing a bunch of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents with the evil spear of doom that Thanos gave him. He then proceeds to kill many more people over the course of the movie. And he does it with a creepy and sadistic grin in his face. However, when Thor makes him look down at all the chaos he's unleashed from atop the Stark tower, Loki looks horrified and quietly says that it is too late to stop it before stabbing Thor, shedding a SingleTear and fleeing.

* SmallNameBigEgo: Loki is known for being an arrogant narcissist with delusions of self-entitlement which sometimes gets him into trouble like when he insulted Hulk within Avengers Tower, calling him a "dull creature" which caused him to be thrashed around like a ragdoll and called a "Puny God".

[[center: [- [[Characters/MarvelCinematicUniverse Main Character Index]] > Other Individuals and Organizations > [[Characters/MCUCosmic Cosmic]] > [[Characters/MCUAsgard Asgard and the Nine Realms]] ('''Loki Laufeyson''' | [[Characters/MCULokiLaufeysonVariantL1130 Loki Laufeyson (Variant L1130)]] | [[Characters/MCUSylvieLaufeydottir Sylvie Laufeydottir]] | [[Characters/MCUOtherLokiVariants Other Loki Variants]]) | [[Characters/MCUKnowhere Knowhere]] | [[Characters/MCUNovaEmpire Nova Empire]] | [[Characters/MCUSovereign Sovereign]] | [[Characters/MCUSkrulls Skrulls]] | [[Characters/MCUEternals Eternals]] -]]]

* AdaptationalSympathy: In the comics, Loki (at least until ''Thor'' came out, at which point he was altered to appear more like his MCU counterpart) is a conqueror and trickster who seeks power or {{troll}}s others for [[ItAmusedMe his own amusement]], and detests the All-Father's presence on what he believes is rightfully his throne. In ''Thor,'' he sets up the Frost Giants' invasion of Asgard knowing full well his brother's [[BatmanGambit own rash behavior would cause Odin to inflict harsh punishment]], as he feels that Thor's BloodKnight tendencies make him ill-suited to rule, and is utterly crushed when he learns he was the abandoned son of King Laufey, ruler of Jotunheim, and Odin took him in as his own son for political purposes. In the rest of the films, especially in ''Ragnarok'', Loki is indeed a victim of his own predictability, and he [[spoiler: [[Film/AvengersInfinityWar dies at the hands of Thanos]] just when he [[HeelFaceDoorSlam finally starts to do better]].]] His self-titled TV series reveals that [[spoiler:the Time Variance Authority refuses to let Loki redeem themselves because it goes against the "Sacred Timeline", and he must die a villain.]]

* CradleToGraveCharacter: We see Loki as a baby being adopted by Odin (in a flashback), and we see him die (after a few earlier [[FakingTheDead fake-outs]]) in ''Infinity War'' (although a copy of him from another timeline escapes to unknown whereabouts in ''Endgame'', appearing later as a variant in ''Loki'' [[spoiler: managing to redeem himself after shaking off his destiny as a villain the Avengers and co. need to overcome to grow]]); though he never appears elderly, he was hundreds of years old at that point.

* HeelFaceDoorSlam: By the end of ''Ragnarok'', Loki has finally settled on the "face" side and made amends with Thor... [[spoiler: then he's killed by Thanos in the opening of his next appearance, ''Infinity War.'']]

** In ''Ragnarok'', Thor gives a brilliant KirkSummation to Loki after he tries and fails to betray him during the escape from Sakaar, pointing out that Loki's treacherous and scheming nature has paradoxically made him ''predictable to a fault''.

** PlayedForLaughs twice. A straight version in ''The Avengers'': Thor learns from his new allies that Loki killed 80 people in two days, and quickly says that Loki is adopted to distance himself from his brother's crimes. [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] in ''Ragnarok'': this time around Loki, who has gained the favor of the Grandmaster, says he is adopted to distance himself from Thor, now the Grandmaster's slave.

* FateWorseThanDeath: {{Subverted|Trope}}. In ''The Avengers'', the Other threatens him with one on behalf of Thanos should Loki fail to bring the Tesseract to the Mad Titan. However, when he comes face to face with Thanos again in ''Infinity War'', [[spoiler:Thanos casually strangles him to death after Loki attacks him]].

* HeritageFaceTurn: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]]. As a child Loki harbors curiosity rather than hate towards the Frost Giants. When he finds out he is a Jotunn himself, he decries them as a race of monsters and attempts to kill them all to prove himself worthy of being the King of Asgard.

* KnowWhenToFoldEm: He won't fight if he can't win. In the beginning of ''Thor'', Loki sees that they are outnumbered by the Frost Giants and urges his brother to back down from the fight. When his defeat in ''The Avengers'' becomes imminent, he surrenders and asks for a drink. After Hela demonstrates her power by destroying Thor's hammer in ''Ragnarok'', he immediately opts for a retreat with the Bifrost. {{Inverted|Trope}} in ''Infinity War'', [[spoiler:where he would stand up to Thanos no matter what, with a [[RedemptionEqualsDeath fatal result]]]].

** [[DoubleSubversion Double subverted]] in ''Thor''. Loki ''appears'' to be plotting his adoptive father's murder, but it turns out to be a part of a (completely misguided) ploy to impress Odin by [[EngineeredHeroics apparently saving his life]]. But the same ploy involves killing Laufey — whom he has just discovered to be his biological father.
** {{Subverted|Trope}}, when at the end of ''The Dark World'' Loki disposes of Odin offscreen and impersonates him to take the throne. Four years later, ''Ragnarok'' revealed that Loki actually didn't kill him, just wiped his memory and banished him to Earth.

** ''The Dark World'': {{Subverted|Trope}}. He appears to suffer this fate at the hands of [[TheDragon Kurse]], although it doesn't prevent him from [[TakingYouWithMe killing Kurse in return]] before seemingly succumbing to his injuries. Of course, [[FakingTheDead he's faking it]].

** {{Subverted|Trope}} during the climactic fight between him and Thor, when he is left clinging to the Bifrost by his fingertips and pleads Thor to help him only for Thor to find out that it is one of Loki's illusions.
** {{Defied|Trope}} when Odin tries to save both of his sons after the destruction of the Bifrost, but Loki lets go and allows himself to fall into the abyss.

** ''The Dark World'': When he is "dying" in Thor's arms, he says that he is sorry thrice before Thor stops him. {{Subverted|Trope}}, because he is faking his death.

** Inverted in ''Ragnorok''. Combined with a little ToughLove Thor’s telling him he could be more than just the ''The God of Mischief'' even after all he’s done, that convinces Loki to change for the better and pull a BigDamnHeroes on rescuing the Asgardians from Hela.

** ''The Avengers:'' [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist Subverted]]. According to[[invoked]] WordOfSaintPaul (Creator/TomHiddleston in ''The Art of The Avengers''), he thinks conquering the Earth is a grand idea to bring about peace, since everyone will be too busy bowing to him to fight amongst themselves anymore. But all he truly wants is for ''him'' to rule it.

* WouldHarmASenior: When an old man refuses to bow down to Loki in ''The Avengers'', Loki is about to kill him to {{make an example of|Them}} him before Captain America stops him.

** ''Infinity War'': [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] when he proudly refers to himself as "Loki [[IAmXSonOfY Odinson]]."
* ZigZaggingTrope: Loki's entire character is a dance between BigBad, AntiHero, TheEvilPrince, DarkIsNotEvil and WellDoneSonGuy. Ultimately, ''Thor'' sets him up as a bad guy [[AntiVillain who's playing both sides against the middle...]] [[WellDoneSonGuy to win his father's approval]]. He falls completely into villain territory in ''The Avengers'', but in ''The Dark World'', he's a NominalHero and has returned to TheChessmaster. ''Ragnarok'' continues this, having him [[TokenEvilTeammate work almost consistently with Thor and his team]], although he still tries (unsuccessfully) to betray Thor on Sakaar, which prompts Thor to hang a lampshade on the matter. Loki takes Thor's advice to heart and decides to align himself with his brother once and for all, going as far as [[spoiler:dying in an attempt to protect Thor from Thanos in ''Infinity War'']].

* ChildOfTwoWorlds: Namely Asgard and Jötunheim. The fact that they hate each other messes him up [[JustForPun royally]].

!!!'''Voiced By:''' Creator/JoseGilbertoVilchis (Latin-American Spanish dub), David Brau (European Spanish dub), Creator/DaisukeHirakawa (Japanese dub), Creator/AlexisVictor (European French dub), Frédéric Millaire-Zouvi (Canadian French dub), Marcin Bosak (Polish dub), Reginaldo Primo (Brazilian Portuguese dub), Alexander Gavrilin (Russian dub)[[note]][[Characters/MCULokiLaufeysonVariantL1130 L1130]] and other variants voiced by Wesley Santana[[/note]]

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Loki in the movies is ''far'' more attractive than his comic book counterpart, who is often (but not invariably and less so since the '80s) depicted as being hideous, particularly in the early days. Incidentally, this is more accurate to the ''original'' version of Loki, who was described in Myth/NorseMythology as "pleasing and handsome" (an alternate translation is "beautiful and comely," which is closer to our modern definition of a PrettyBoy).

* EvilCounterpart: To Frigga in ''Thor''. They're linked through their sorcery and trickery which contrasts to Thor and Odin upfront combat attitude. Frigga is happy being the Queen consort of Asgard with a supporting role in her husband's reign, whereas Loki is ''miserable'' having to play second fiddle to Thor, the Crown Prince. Loki's envy and resentment towards his brother eventually lead him to commit fratricide (although the enchantment Odin had placed on Mjölnir revives Thor), while Frigga is devoted to Odin and protects him from Laufey's mook.

* TooDumbToLive: Sure, antagonize and yell at the '''[[BullyingADragon Hulk]]''', [[SarcasmMode that won't]] [[MetronomicManMashing end badly]] [[SarcasmMode for you at all]].

* BrokenAce: Loki is truly exceptional. He was always stuck in his brother's shadow, plying a woman's art in the masculine world of Asgard, but he managed extraordinary achievements. He nearly conquered Earth and usurped the throne of Asgard. Twice. His bit of mischief in ''Thor'' spiraled out of control and learning the truth of his heritage really messed him up... and then he fell through the broken remains of the Bïfrost and ended up a little crazy. By the time we get to ''Loki'', he's on the road to redemption, though, so there's that.

* MetronomicManMashing: Hulk doesn't appreciate Loki's attempt to [[BullyingADragon berate and antagonize]] him in the climax of ''The Avengers'' and [[TalkToTheFist shuts Loki up]] by literally wiping the floor with him.
-->'''Hulk:''' Puny god.

* AdaptationalSexuality: In Myth/NorseMythology, Loki is an ExtremeOmnisexual who ReallyGetsAround and fathered ([[MisterSeahorse and mothered]]) several children. His movie counterpart has never been involved in a romantic/sexual relationship on-screen and is childless. However, his prisoner records in ''Series/{{Loki|2021}}'' describe his gender as 'fluid' and it was confirmed by himself that he was, at least, interested in both males and females.
* AdaptationalSympathy: In the comics, Loki (at least until ''Thor'' came out, at which point he was altered to appear more like his MCU counterpart) is a conqueror and trickster who seeks power or {{troll}}s others for [[ItAmusedMe his own amusement]], and detests the All-Father's presence on what he believes is rightfully his throne. In ''Thor,'' he sets up the Frost Giants' invasion of Asgard knowing full well his brother's [[BatmanGambit own rash behavior would cause Odin to inflict harsh punishment]], as he feels that Thor's BloodKnight tendencies make him ill-suited to rule, and is utterly crushed when he learns he was the abandoned son of King Laufey, ruler of Jotunheim, and Odin took him in as his own son for political purposes. In the rest of the films, especially in ''Ragnarok'', Loki is indeed a victim of his own predictability, and he [[spoiler: [[Film/AvengersInfinityWar dies at the hands of Thanos]] just when he [[HeelFaceDoorSlam finally starts to do better]].]] His self-titled TV series reveals that [[spoiler:the Time Variance Authority refuse to let Loki redeem themselves because it goes against the "Sacred Timeline", and he must die a villain.]]

** As a villain, he is less of a threat than in the comics, where Loki is extremely dangerous if he plays his cards right, even becoming the BigBad who plays his fellow A-List supervillains like a fiddle. In ''The Avengers'', he's an IneffectualSympatheticVillain who constantly gets either outplayed or overpowered by the Avengers. Also, in the comics, Loki repeatedly dupes his fellow Asgardians into trusting him even though common sense should make it clear that he can't be trusted. But by ''Ragnarok'', Thor easily sees Loki's treachery a mile away and out-gambits him, though this is more a case of AdaptationalIntelligence on Thor's part rather than Loki being dumber, showing the God of Thunder's growth by having him wizen up to Loki's tricks which have started to become predictable.

* AlliterativeName: '''L'''oki '''L'''aufeyson. He never uses the second part himself though as he prefers going by Odinson.

* AmbiguouslyAbsentParent: His biological father is Laufey, the king of Frost Giants, but it is unclear who his biological mother was and what happened to her -- she is never seen, mentioned or alluded to on screen. WordOfGod does not provide much clarity either, stating only that Loki is a ''bastard'' and hinting that his mother was not necessarily a Frost Giant. This makes sense given that Loki is uncharacteristically small for a Jotunn and the only one of them who is shown to have hair. [[note]]Loki is Laufey's bastard son [[http://collider.com/the-avengers-tom-hiddleston-interview/ according]] [[https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Avengers-Tom-Hiddleston-Talks-Madness-Loki-His-Hope-Redemption-Thor-2-30732.html to his actor]][[invoked]] and DVDCommentary to ''Thor'' by director Creator/KennethBranagh. This also matches the original script of ''Thor,'' where Loki reveals to Laufey who he is, and Laufey replies "Ah, the bastard son. I thought Odin had killed you. That's what I would have done. He's as weak as you are." Branagh also says in the commentary: "we reveal that Loki is ''at least part'' Frost Giant."[[/note]]
* AmbiguouslyBi: In the films. Although Loki has occasionally expressed interest in women, there might be more to the scene where he shares looks with the Grandmaster -- he did somehow get the access codes to the Grandmaster's garage with ships, including the one for ''orgies.'' The ambiguity does not get resolved until the ''Loki'' series, ten years after the release of ''Thor,'' where Loki is confirmed to be bisexual, like his comic and Norse mythology counterparts.

* AnimalMotifs: In a deleted scene in ''Thor'' he casts an illusion to turn wine into three snakes, in ''The Avengers'' serpentine patterns (and a wolf's mask) are embossed on metal parts of his costume, and in ''Ragnarok'' Thor recalls how Loki transformed himself into a snake when he was eight. This stems from Myth/NorseMythology, where both the [[{{Ouroboros}} world]] [[SnakesAreSinister serpent]] Jörmungandr and the [[CanisMajor monstrous wolf]] Fenrir (who is redefined as Hela's pet in the MCU) are Loki's children.

* AstralProjection: In ''The Avengers,'' he projects his consciousness across light-years of space to the distant lair of the Chitauri army while sitting in an underground base on Earth. He is holding the scepter with the Mind Stone, but in a deleted scene he is later communicating with the Other without it. In ''Ragnarok,'' he appears before Thor in the dungeons as an intangible illusion while physically being elsewhere. Loki learned this ability from Frigga.

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Loki in the movies is ''far'' more attractive than his comic book counterpart, who is often (but not invariably and less so since the '80's) depicted as being hideous, particularly in the early days. Incidentally, this is more accurate to the ''original'' version of Loki, who was described in Myth/NorseMythology as "pleasing and handsome" (an alternate translation is "beautiful and comely," which is closer to our modern definition of a PrettyBoy).

* DissonantSerenity: In ''The Dark World'', he watches calmly as Kurse frees the other prisoners while waiting for him to make his way to his own cell. When Kurse leaves him locked up, Loki is later seen quietly reading while sitting against the wall, even as there's a massive brawl a foot away on the other side of the force field.

* AlasPoorVillain: Despite his actions, his supposed suicide at the end of ''Thor'' is met by a BigNo from Thor and a LittleNo from Odin and is accompanied by sad music. His parents and brother are shown grieving afterwards as they believe {{Noone Could Survive|That}} falling off the Rainbow Bridge. When Loki turns out alive and well in the next film, Thor says that all of them mourned him.

* SpotlightStealingSquad: He became this in ''The Dark World'', with him upstaging Malekith -- who is the actual main villain -- and the filmmakers removing some of Malekith's scenes to make room for more Loki. That said, Marvel then put him on the sidelines: his {{Cameo}} in ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' was cut, and he disappears for four years until ''Ragnarok'', where he has less screentime than Banner/the Hulk and Valkyrie, and ''Infinity War'', [[spoiler:where they DroppedABridgeOnHim in the first 10 minutes of the film]].

!!!'''Voiced By:''' Creator/JoseGilbertoVilchis (Latin-American Spanish dub), David Brau (European Spanish dub), Creator/DaisukeHirakawa (Japanese dub), Creator/AlexisVictor (European French dub), Frédéric Millaire-Zouvi (Canadian French dub), Marcin Bosak (Polish dub), Reginaldo Primo (Brazilian Portuguese dub)[[note]][[Characters/MCULokiLaufeysonVariantL1130 L1130]] and other variants voiced by Wesley Santana[[/note]]

** ''The Avengers:'' Had Loki decided to operate under the radar and avoid instigating as much conflict between him and the Avengers, it's possible that Loki would've been able to take over the Earth as Thanos ordered him to do. But his love of theatrics and ever-hungering need for attention gets him on everyone's bad side. Furthermore, while in the first half of the movie he can take advantage of the fact that the Avengers barely work as a team, he than makes the mistake to kill Phil Coulson, a man with close ties to almost all of them, which inspires enough willpower to them to finally come together as a team and defeat Loki, sending him back to Asgard to be imprisoned.

** ''The Avengers:'' Had Loki decided to operate under the radar and avoid instigating as much conflict between him and the Avengers, it's possible that Loki would've been able to take over the Earth as Thanos ordered him to do. But his love of theatrics and ever-hungering need for attention gets him on everyone's bad side, which inspires enough willpower to them to come together as a team and defeat Loki, sending him back to Asgard to be imprisoned.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In the first ''Thor'' movie, Loki was depicted as being a rather quiet and angsty ShrinkingViolet who expressed reluctance to do things that could get him or Thor into trouble, with very little of his LargeHam DeadpanSnarker behavior that would define him for much of the franchise onward. While his change in personality could be accounted to him going crazy after learning of his true heritage, a flashback of Loki pretending to be D.B Cooper in [[Series/Loki2021 his titular show]] showcases him with the wit and charm he would lack in his very first appearance in 2010.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In the first ''Thor'' movie, Loki was depicted as being a rather quiet and angsty ShrinkingViolet, with very little of his LargeHam DeadpanSnarker behavior that would define him for much of the franchise onward. While his change in personality could be accounted to him going crazy after learning of his true heritage, a flashback of Loki pretending to be D.B Cooper in [[Series/Loki2021 his titular show]] showcases him with the wit and charm he would lack in his very first appearance in 2010.

* BladeOnAStick: While Odin is in the Odinsleep, he uses Gungnir as both a scepter and a weapon. He takes a liking to it, as he later transforms his Chitauri scepter [[TelescopingStaff into a longer, bladed staff]].

* HundredPercentAdorationRating: In the third act of ''Ragnarok'', Loki manages to get back in good graces of just about every Asgardian by [[BigDamnHeroes rescuing]] them from Hela. Even ''Heimdall'' of all people, who distrusted Loki in ''Thor'' and tried to kill him (not to mention that Loki-as-Odin wanted to arrest Heimdall for his treason after ''The Dark World''), is glad that the reinstated prince has returned.
-->'''Loki:''' Your savior is here!\\
'''Heimdall:''' Welcome home. [[SuperSenses I saw you coming]].\\
'''Loki:''' ...Of course you did.

** ''Ragnarok'': By the denouement, Loki replaces his deceased mother Frigga as the crafty, [[LongHairedPrettyBoy beautiful]], [[InTouchWithHisFeminineSide graceful]], MasterOfIllusion royal family member who assists the King of Asgard in ruling and defending their subjects and is [[HundredPercentAdorationRating loved and respected by them]].

->''"You...will never be...a god." ''