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taevachiI was recently browsing through the comic Thor & Loki: Double Trouble, which I find to be a delight, and I started thinking how much I've loved Loki from the Marvel comics and especially the current "Ikol" iteration. I must admit, I actually haven't been following Loki in years. It just feels like a good new story hasn't simply come out. However, it did make me remember the Disney+ Loki series, how much I did not like it, and the fact that I ranted about it to my online friend back when it came out. I wanted to clean up said rant a bit and post it.
So this is your warning, under the cut is a rant about why I don't like it. And also, it is explained to someone who has never read any of the comics.
I also had no idea the season 2 just started so this is purely coincidental.
It's a bit sad because I could see the inspiration they took from the comics. The old man Loki and Kid Loki are characters in the comics, and they are lovely. Kid Loki's story is one of the best comics Marvel has ever put out, and the whole questions about "Is Loki destined to fail? Is he destined to be evil?" etc are questions that have been widely explored in Loki comics in the last decade (Gillen's "Journey into Mystery" and Ewing's "Loki: Agent of Asgard", I recommend).
The thing is, those comics create Loki's character development through friendship and self-acceptance. He is able to have a genuine friendship with another character (Verity, I love her) as well as have self-acceptance in a way where he confronts a different version of himself who took a different path in his life and embraced being as evil as he could. And there's stuff there but by the end of it, both Lokis come to an acceptance about themselves and each other... it's not some selfcest thing but more like, bro hug "I got you bro". And it's beautiful.
This series, on the other hand, introduces "Sylvie" who is not a Loki at all in the comics but a human woman with powers from Loki but she becomes an enchantress instead, by which I mean, in the end, she actually ends up having no connection to Loki at all. I don't think they even really know each other... but in this series, they present her as a version of Loki even though she has none of the appearance or personality of any Loki out there (after all, she has the appearance of the Enchantress). The Marvel multiverse is full of different Lokis from comics, cartoons, games, etc... all a bit different but all still clearly Lokis and I love them all also... Marvel really managed to create the first "Loki" I can't stand with Sylvie. Because she just doesn't feel like a Loki at all.
I am also strongly of the opinion that MCU Loki, or the main comic Loki for that matter, should not have love interests. It's better to focus their stories on family, friendship and intergalactic megalomania. (I'm fine with some alt versions of Loki like Loki from the mobile game Avengers Academy who I ship with another character called Brian but that's like an AU.)
(2023 update: I've actually since made a male love interest for comic Loki OC who's partially based on Avengers Academy Brian.)
Loki has never been a character to care about relationships, and he has always put his plans in priority before any love or sex (plots before hoes, essentially.) It is also really stupid of them to go like, heyyyy we're doing bi representation and then just shipping him off to the first woman who comes by because yay heteronormativity. With no portrayal of any attraction to men at any point, in his history even. Once again, it is Disney taking no risks... Loki's "representation" is one line that can easily be cut off from the show to market it to homophobic audiences in some countries.
I also have a problem with how they've kind of turned him into a clown, so of course "his woman" also needs to be someone who's just bossing him around it's just... But even without Sylvie, he's been turned from a threat into a joke.
There were things that I liked, like Mobius and Kid Loki and old man Loki and the fact that Loki was finally allowed to do some real impressive magic but yeah, that's about it.
Oh yeah, I forgot, the director was like "what's going on between Loki and Sylvie is him having self-acceptance" and that's such bull because like I explained, they did the self-acceptance in the comics and it was 10 million times better:
It makes me so sad because why did they make him a character people just laugh at. Self-acceptance through meeting a different version of yourself... No "I wanna fuck myself".
2023 addendums: The series also fails with Loki's genderfluid representation. No, he does not shapeshift into female form like he often does in the comics. He is supposed to be genderfluid, it says so in his files in the Time Whatever Authority. And still, Tom Hiddleston's Loki asks the other Lokis "have you ever met a female Loki?" (something along those lines.) Like it's something surprising. Like, Loki, you are sometimes female. Why are you asking this. If you had asked "have you ever met a Loki who's a blonde?" you would've actually had a point.
I've seen multiple people say that it is very "in-character" for Loki to fall in love with another Loki, which is ridiculous. All his usual smugness is coming from a deep place of self-hatred and feelings of inadequacy. He also generally does not get along with other universes' Lokis: would even a Loki trust a Loki?
And also, I know "woman and man" relationship itself can be bisexual. However, I don't think it's very good representation if you make the bi confirmation into a line that can easily just be cut off. The memory of Sif kicking him in the nuts was originally supposed to be a male ex-lover. But thanks to Disney...
Lol I actually feel scared to post this because it should be fine right. It's coming with all the tags and warnings and cuts and whatnot. And this is my blog. But I've thought it before, that I've made a reasonable critique, and someone has got very mad at me for it. So I sincerely hope that's not the vibe on this website.
So this is your warning, under the cut is a rant about why I don't like it. And also, it is explained to someone who has never read any of the comics.
I also had no idea the season 2 just started so this is purely coincidental.
It's a bit sad because I could see the inspiration they took from the comics. The old man Loki and Kid Loki are characters in the comics, and they are lovely. Kid Loki's story is one of the best comics Marvel has ever put out, and the whole questions about "Is Loki destined to fail? Is he destined to be evil?" etc are questions that have been widely explored in Loki comics in the last decade (Gillen's "Journey into Mystery" and Ewing's "Loki: Agent of Asgard", I recommend).
The thing is, those comics create Loki's character development through friendship and self-acceptance. He is able to have a genuine friendship with another character (Verity, I love her) as well as have self-acceptance in a way where he confronts a different version of himself who took a different path in his life and embraced being as evil as he could. And there's stuff there but by the end of it, both Lokis come to an acceptance about themselves and each other... it's not some selfcest thing but more like, bro hug "I got you bro". And it's beautiful.
This series, on the other hand, introduces "Sylvie" who is not a Loki at all in the comics but a human woman with powers from Loki but she becomes an enchantress instead, by which I mean, in the end, she actually ends up having no connection to Loki at all. I don't think they even really know each other... but in this series, they present her as a version of Loki even though she has none of the appearance or personality of any Loki out there (after all, she has the appearance of the Enchantress). The Marvel multiverse is full of different Lokis from comics, cartoons, games, etc... all a bit different but all still clearly Lokis and I love them all also... Marvel really managed to create the first "Loki" I can't stand with Sylvie. Because she just doesn't feel like a Loki at all.
I am also strongly of the opinion that MCU Loki, or the main comic Loki for that matter, should not have love interests. It's better to focus their stories on family, friendship and intergalactic megalomania. (I'm fine with some alt versions of Loki like Loki from the mobile game Avengers Academy who I ship with another character called Brian but that's like an AU.)
(2023 update: I've actually since made a male love interest for comic Loki OC who's partially based on Avengers Academy Brian.)
Loki has never been a character to care about relationships, and he has always put his plans in priority before any love or sex (plots before hoes, essentially.) It is also really stupid of them to go like, heyyyy we're doing bi representation and then just shipping him off to the first woman who comes by because yay heteronormativity. With no portrayal of any attraction to men at any point, in his history even. Once again, it is Disney taking no risks... Loki's "representation" is one line that can easily be cut off from the show to market it to homophobic audiences in some countries.
I also have a problem with how they've kind of turned him into a clown, so of course "his woman" also needs to be someone who's just bossing him around it's just... But even without Sylvie, he's been turned from a threat into a joke.
There were things that I liked, like Mobius and Kid Loki and old man Loki and the fact that Loki was finally allowed to do some real impressive magic but yeah, that's about it.
Oh yeah, I forgot, the director was like "what's going on between Loki and Sylvie is him having self-acceptance" and that's such bull because like I explained, they did the self-acceptance in the comics and it was 10 million times better:
It makes me so sad because why did they make him a character people just laugh at. Self-acceptance through meeting a different version of yourself... No "I wanna fuck myself".
2023 addendums: The series also fails with Loki's genderfluid representation. No, he does not shapeshift into female form like he often does in the comics. He is supposed to be genderfluid, it says so in his files in the Time Whatever Authority. And still, Tom Hiddleston's Loki asks the other Lokis "have you ever met a female Loki?" (something along those lines.) Like it's something surprising. Like, Loki, you are sometimes female. Why are you asking this. If you had asked "have you ever met a Loki who's a blonde?" you would've actually had a point.
I've seen multiple people say that it is very "in-character" for Loki to fall in love with another Loki, which is ridiculous. All his usual smugness is coming from a deep place of self-hatred and feelings of inadequacy. He also generally does not get along with other universes' Lokis: would even a Loki trust a Loki?
And also, I know "woman and man" relationship itself can be bisexual. However, I don't think it's very good representation if you make the bi confirmation into a line that can easily just be cut off. The memory of Sif kicking him in the nuts was originally supposed to be a male ex-lover. But thanks to Disney...
Lol I actually feel scared to post this because it should be fine right. It's coming with all the tags and warnings and cuts and whatnot. And this is my blog. But I've thought it before, that I've made a reasonable critique, and someone has got very mad at me for it. So I sincerely hope that's not the vibe on this website.
