Loki is known as Thor’s greatest villain, but his recent MCU redemption makes him less evil and more mischievous, and one prank shows that perfectly.
Warning! This article contains spoilers for Iron Man #25Until very recently in the MCU, Loki has proven to be a despicable villain to both Thor and the Avengers as a whole after serving as the main or side antagonist of three separate films within the established universe. However, one prank Loki pulled on Thor in the comics proves that he is more than just a cold-blooded villain, but also a truly hilarious trickster–and with his recent MCU redemption, this prank needs to be in the MCU.
Loki’s depiction in the MCU followed the same broad-stroke plot points from his comic origin. Loki was a Thor villain before attacking the Earth, causing the Avengers to come together for the first time. Since then, however–in both the comics and the MCU–Loki has grown as a character exponentially. In the MCU, Loki is essentially a time-traveling hero who is about to go head-to-head with Kang the Conqueror. In the comics, Loki has actually proven to be more of an ally to Thor than as one of his villains in recent years–though just because Loki isn’t actively trying to kill Thor in his more recent books, doesn’t mean he’s not still a thorn in Thor’s side.
In a short story within Iron Man #25 titled “Daddy’s Boys” by Murewa Ayodele and Dotun Akande, Iron Man has traveled to Jotunheim in search of Thor as he believes the Avenger is in danger. As Iron Man is traversing the icy tundra, he comes across a statue that has been enchanted with synthetic life. This statue is a guard of Jotunheim, one which doesn’t allow any gods to pass unchallenged–though apparently it isn’t all that strong as Iron Man is able to completely destroy it with a single blast. Despite the fact that the statue was initially a threat, however, Iron Man decides to drag its still-talking head with him while looking for Thor as it might have come in handy on his journey. While the statue’s head wasn’t the biggest help in finding Thor, it did provide some hilarious insight into Thor and Loki’s relationship outside their hero/villain rivalry.
Loki Enchanted a Statue to Have a Crush on Thor
When Iron Man finds Thor, the statue’s head takes one look at the God of Thunder and can’t help but to compliment him on his ‘attractive bare chest’ while also calling him ‘awesome’. Noting the oddity here, Iron Man asks Thor if Loki was the one who enchanted this statue to have a crush on Thor, and Thor flatly responds in the affirmative. This is exactly the kind of shenanigans Loki and Thor should be getting into in the current state of the MCU. While main-continuity-Thor’s Loki is technically dead, another Loki (the star of the show Loki) has taken the old Loki’s place and is now the main Loki of the MCU. This means that Thor and this other Loki will inevitably cross paths, and since both would be heroes at that point, Loki wouldn’t pull any literal back-stabbing jokes on Thor–though something like enchanting a statue to have a crush on Thor would be a perfect prank for Loki to pull on his brother.
Not only would this prank fit perfectly in the MCU given how Loki and Thor have developed as characters, but it would also fit the tone of their films as they currently stand. Director Taika Waititi has given the Thor franchise a much looser and more comical feel, and to a certain extent, that extends to Loki. If the two were to find themselves in an MCU movie together again, and if that movie were to be directed by Taika Waititi just as the last two Thor movies had been, then this particular Marvel Comics prank would be a perfect addition as it is a fun spin on Loki’s mischievous spirit while staying true to the non-threatening hero he has developed into.
Iron Man #25 by Marvel Comics is in comic book stores now.
