Looking at Loki

Part Twenty-Nine: Breakfast Meat! Er, Meet!

By Wolfen Moondaughter
August 5, 2013

Welcome back to my article series exploring the characterisation of the Norse god Loki within the pages of various Marvel-published comics. A couple of things to note before we begin. Firstly, as Sequential Tart is edited largely on a monthly basis, tarticles can be written as much as two months before they actually go live, and a lot can happen in the comics world in two months. Secondly, while I've generally read issues after the one I'm talking about, I try my best to relate what was going through my head when I was reading, and not take my knowledge of future issues into account. Therefore, theories postulated here may very well be disproven by what's currently on the stands. Now, let's get to it!

I must confess that the advance preview of the cover of Young Avengers #7 elicited from me some guesses that did not pan out. In fact, I'd say it was even a bit misleading -- although not in any significant way. The cover shows a diner in space, but while the Young Avengers do travel some in space and do go to a diner, said diner is on Earth. (So went my hope of seeing Howard the Duck in the issue, or even just some Star Wars Cantina-style chicanery.) And if you were hoping, like me, that Loki might momentarily flash-back to the days Kid spent in the diner in Oklahoma, especially with Leah, no such luck there either. Ah, well -- the issue was plenty fun all the same!

It begins with the team facing off against a group of Skrulls who are riding off in a space-faring, fifties-inspired car (which would have gone nicely with a space-diner, but I digress ...). As the team stands upon a large disc, Kate aims a harpoon-gun at the car and snags it. As the disc is pulled after the car like someone on water skis after a speedboat, Billy asks if this is a good idea, to which Loki insists that it is, asking them to trust him. And ultimately, the situation does turn out ... well, not badly, even if it doesn't turn out quite as expected. The Skrull do fire upon them, and the car collides with an asteroid-ship-thing, but they handle it all just fine, with no injuries to their party, and what does go wrong with the sitch isn't Loki's doing.

In other words, Loki's word proved trustworthy -- or at least not untrustworthy. Still, were I Loki, knowing how people inherently distrusted me, I'd probably refrain from calling attention to the trust issue. Then again, maybe he's drawing attention to it in the hopes -- for good or ill -- that the times his words prove reliable will start to add up and actually earn him that trust. Let's just hope that he doesn't then betray them!

Before the collision, Loki points out that he's preventing them from "explosively decompressing" and asks "Mister Kaplan" if he's ready to do some magic. Billy relies that he'd better be, with all the cramming he's been doing. Loki points out that if Billy's not ready, they're going to die trillions of miles away from Earth. "No pressure, of course ...." I love the cantankerous, Yoda-and-Luke style master / student relationship they have going on!

After the collision, Billy says "insideinsideinside" -- just as Loki says his transportation spell, which is prefaced by the runestring "R-(I think it's "O," but it's not like the one I know)-B-(I think it's "O" again, but different from the other one)-Y-P-R". I'm not sure if Billy is actually using his power -- he seems to typically runs his words together when he does, so probably, but he might just be telling Loki what to do. If Billy is using his power, is he helping Loki, is Loki helping him, or are they using their magic independently? In any case, once inside the asteroid-ship, they discover that the Skrull are really some other alien shapeshifters -- Skifflefluffles -- who have been pretending to be Skrull and harassing the Young Avengers in an effort to be more badass than the bulk of their species. The Young Avengers decide call the Skifflefluffles' parents and get them grounded, then go for breakfast.

We're treated to some Instagram-style pics posted by Loki over a three-month period, starting before the Skufflefluffle encounter, with comments from him and his teammates. It might be worth noting that Loki posts as simply "LOKIOFASGARD", not GODOFMISCHIEF or something similarly aggrandising. Perhaps he's hoping the restraint / humility might help ingratiate him to them.

The first pic shows New York from Noh-vaar's ship, as they leave. Billy wonders if they will ever see their parents again. Loki says they will -- it's just that they (the Parents) may try to kill them. Teddy reports Loki as spam. Well, that seems rather unfair -- Loki wasn't spamming, just telling it like it was on his own account. Don't like, don't look, Teddy! Kate has a legitimate complaint, though, saying that Loki stole her pic; he just winkyfaces at her in response. Poor Kate got Loki'd! Of course, of all the things a God of Mischief might do, the bright side is that posting a stolen pic as one's own is fairly tame -- even if it's still wrong! Bad Loki! No virtual biscuit!

The next pic shows the team getting chased by a giant bear. Loki remarks that Billy's first magic lessons went incredibly well, to which Billy replies that there are no bad students, just bad teachers. The funny thing here is that, while it certainly seems like Loki's being sarcastic, and it would be well within character for him to be, he might actually be complimenting the kid! I mean, considering what Billy did already, it could have gone worse! Loki points out that he (Loki) has "never summoned an inter-dimensional parasite that took over his parents and threatens the Earth itself." Billy unfriends him for that, but hey, the truth hurts! Perhaps Billy realises this, because he continues to comment on Loki's posts (depending on the privacy settings, Billy might have even had to re-friend Loki in order to do so). It's interesting that Billy friended Loki in the first place. Of course, he may have only done it -- and re-done it -- to keep an eye on Loki's online mischief. (Well, that's assuming these posts really exist within the story at all, and this isn't simply a fun way to relate what's been going on for the past three months.)

The next image shows the team fighting monsters at a beach. Loki quips, "What did you do during Break! Break Limbs (sic), mainly, right, Chavez?" Billy points out that America doesn't have an account, to which Loki replies that this is why he's safe to make jokes about her there. Billy says he's telling her that Loki said that; Loki begs him in all-caps not to, promising to lend Billy his best spells. The funny thing is, it wasn't really a mean tease, exactly -- I mean, Loki may not approve of America's thuggishness, but the girl herself often seems proud of her violent streak! If she saw the joke, she'd probably say he'd better remember that's what she considers to be fun. In any case, it's an amusing reminder of how terrified he is of her. I wonder if she reminds him of Thor's rather brutish companions, especially Sif? In one alternate reality, Loki's reason for cutting off Sif's hair was supposedly because she'd turned down his romantic overtures in favour of Thor's; given also that Kid Loki was smitten with Leah, who was abusive towards him, I wonder if we will see the hate dynamic between Loki and America turn into a romantic one at some point.

Next up is a pic of Teddy's birthday party being interrupted by the (pseudo-)Skrull, with Loki saying, in all caps, that the aliens were not invited to the party. I'm kind of surprised that Loki himself was invited. Perhaps it was just a matter of them not really having a choice but to let him be there, but note that no one points this out, skipping a perfect opportunity to heckle him. Instead, there's just some non-Loki-involved talk about Noh-Varr and Kate.

The next shot shows Kate having an archery stand-off with some girls at a school; Loki remarks, again in all-caps, that her finishing school interview could have gone better. Do the caps mean it was more a matter of good-natured, mutually under-fire quipping, and not really a matter of meaning to be mean to Kate? Noh-Varr says she scores an A+ for smooching; Loki remarks that he doesn't like that word.

The next photo shows Billy and Teddy kissing on the moon. Billy says it's "one small step for man, one giant leap for smooching," to which Loki replies that the use of the word smooch is now banned. Billy teases him by replying, "Smmooooch." Interesting that Loki posted the pic of the pair kissing in the first place! Does he want to break them up or not? Perhaps him pointing out the possibility of Billy creating a prince to love him was simply meant as a point of concern, not an act of cruelty or manipulation, and Loki really does "ship" the pair of them!

The next pic, Loki explains as "Dazzler gig on the dark side of the moon. We got tickets; you didn't." (Yay, a Dazzler reference!) Again, there's some non-Loki stuff between Noh-Varr and Kate, with no one pointing out who got the tickets or saying anything bad to or about Loki. His use of "we" without objection from anyone suggests some possible camaraderie going on between him and his teammates now -- or at least tolerance.

The next shot, Loki reveals that they spoiled the Skrull's raid on the moon, in retaliation for them spoiling Teddy's birthday -- suggesting more of a sense of friendship from Loki towards Teddy and the rest (why would he care about Teddy's birthday being spoiled otherwise?). This also suggests that Billy's and Kate's subsequent uses of variations of "smooch" on the post might be friendly ribbing rather than heckling. Loki complains that he thought Kate was the "grown-up one," which I think does a nice job of telling us that he respects her more than he does a lot of people.

The final shot from Loki's posts is of him grinning while giving a thumbs-up as the Skifflefluffles are taken away by some sort of authorities. He says he'll miss them; Teddy adds "Smooch!" to the post, earning a "WILL YOU STOP THAT!!!!" from Loki in reply. I like that they keep teasing him with it (even if it might not be with affection). I do wonder why he's so bothered by that word. Is it just the silliness of it, or is it something Kid used to say? (I honestly can’t remember.) That would certainly add an interesting new angle!

As they make their way to a restaurant, Teddy complains about them having been harassed by "juvenile wannabes" for three months, asking who does something like that. Loki, who is watching Billy during a magic lesson, replies that "one should not provoke his enemies when he dwells within a fortress of glass." Billy insists that they're "a totally different thing" from the Skifflefluffle kids. Loki explains that Asgardians actually use the same phrase, "Don't throw stones in glass houses," and he "was just trying to Norse it up a bit." (And maybe trying to play up the mentor angle, Loki?) America reluctantly agrees with him. Loki uses that to his advantage, and chides Billy to get back to work with his magical studies, asking how they will stop Mother, get their parents back, "and -- most importantly -- stop you all boo-hooing if you don't master your magic?"

I wonder if the Young Avengers know that Loki isn't supposed to remember his previous life: do they think he is the reborn-as-a-child Loki that Thor thinks Loki is? However they perceive him, it's interesting for us, as the readers, to remember that this Loki is a copy of the mind of the old Loki, and therefore is essentially now an adult in a teen's body. With moments like this, I wonder if Loki himself ever has trouble remembering he's supposed to be young and inexperienced; while he's had plenty of immature moments even before his rebirth, he's often so different from Kid now, coming off as a tired, world-weary adult. America is right; hedoes have a point. His advice is practical, and not really any more harsh than some parents or teachers. If he actually looked like an adult (and if Billy didn't know he was Loki), I could see him being treated with more respect while still saying the same things.

Of course, we have to wonder if Loki is only trying to help Billy learn magic out of a desire to clean up the whole pseudo-parent parasite mess, or if Loki is hoping to use Billy's power second-handedly down the road, despite his own admission to himself that his desires combined with power have proven a "poor master." Well, even if he does end up using Billy, he still might use the power for some good!

Teddy confesses his worry to Noh-Varr that Billy might have unknowingly used his power to change reality to make Teddy love him. Well, at least Teddy isn't worrying that Billy created him from scratch, as it seemed to me Loki had really been suggesting! I wonder how long it will be before we finally (if ever) see what Loki's motive was for planting that idea in Billy's head. If Loki really does want to use Billy as a sort of magic wand, casting spells at Loki's bidding, that would be a pretty good reason to try get Teddy to leave Billy. If that is Loki's motive, I hope he realises how horrible that would be of him, how same-old, same-old Evil Loki, and dumps that plan!

Teddy's worries prompt Noh-Varr to reveal that he has mind-control saliva, which subtextually suggests that Kate's feelings for him are similarly in question -- and who knows, maybe it will turn out that they are. For now, though, the possibility is brushed aside as Kate says that's okay, as "many parts of [her] body are mind-control," and Noh-Varr agrees.

Loki insists that "Conversations about saliva are hence out of bounds until I have breakfast before me! Can't this spaceship go any faster? Breakfast! Give me Breakfast! This Norse God of Mischief craves the congress of breakfast meat!" Perhaps the saliva talk, in the context of Kate and Noh-Varr's relationship talk, drifted too close to smootching territory for Loki's liking. Given that he got almost desperate in his subsequent demand for breakfast, I again wonder if the smootching subject and diners make him think of Leah and / or life as Kid. He did complain that being in Kid's body had had an effect on him, so he might simultaneously crave situations that Kid would want to be in yet be repulsed by those very same behaviors.

At the diner, as they decide what to eat, the waitress brings food to them; a mutant named David Alleyne, aka Prodigy, reveals that he's ordered for them. (The previous issue told us that David no longer has his mutant power to absorb abilities and knowledge from others, but still has all the information he'd previously acquired from others with it, and is a genius.) Loki claims that he would have ordered blueberries, and says that David had ordered incorrectly. David replies that maybe Loki would have, but Loki would have wanted bacon. David's likely right, seeing as Loki had demanded "breakfast meats" on the way there.

My first question topic is, who on Earth told David that? Who, besides Loki's teammates, has prior knowledge of Loki's semi-recently developed love of bacon? The waiter that Loki had Billy pay off at that other diner? Daimon Hellstrom, son of Mephisto? Leah? If no one told him, how did he suss it out?

My second question topic is, did Loki lie about how he would have ordered the blueberries, as a means of trying to knock David down a peg, or had he actually changed his mind? If he changed his mind, did he do it just then, after they were given the food, as perhaps a subconscious effort to be contrary and unpredictable? Was he suddenly not wanting bacon because he realised that was what Kid wanted, and he doesn't want Kid to influence him? Or was he punishing himself (depriving himself of something he wanted) because being at the diner, something Kid would have loved, reminded him of his murdering of his other self?

David might agree with that last theory; after David explains how he found them, and Loki asks why they call him Prodigy (I guess Loki wasn't impressed with the guy's explanation), David asks in turn, "You're guilty about something, aren't you?" How did David guess? How much else does he know about Loki? Has he guessed this is a different Loki now than a few months ago?

Kate asks that they "have a time-out on the butting of the big brains, boys." So it seems Loki already feels some extra animosity towards the new guy. Is it just the feeling of competition, of David encroaching on his territory so to speak, or is Loki afraid this guy will see through any lies he might see fit to tell, or nip any potential betrayal in the bud?

David explains (offscreen) that Billy's twin, Tommy (aka Speed), has literally vanished at the hands of someone dressed as their friend Patriot. At the scene of the crime, Loki asks, "Are you sure where the dread spectre disappeared him, Mr. Young, Gifted, and Black?" David assures him that it is, then seems to start to correct Loki or admonish him for the nickname, but pauses. "Wait ... you're a Norse God who knows Nina Simone?" Perhaps they will bond after all, over mutual interests! Now the question is, does Loki know who she is from Kid, or from his own interests and research? Not that it's impossible for a kid Loki's current apparent age to know, but it's unusual! (Then again, Noh-Varr also knows who she is, and he has less reason, given his alien status ....) I suspect Loki said it to keep David off balance, but Loki might blow his own cover at this rate!

Teddy asks why Loki is spreading jam on the floor. (Again with the use of breakfast food in magic!) Loki replies, "Magical reasons. The best of reasons!" but then follows it up with a sour look and the statement, "Trust me. I wouldn't be doing this if I had any other options." It turns out to be another instance where trusting him proves reasonable: the glob of jam bursts into green flame, singeing him. There's his relationship with magic in a nutshell: he loves it (I still say he's addicted to it), but is painfully aware of how it can bite him in the arse.

Loki tells them that he believes there is a trail (that's what the spell was for, to find Tommy's abductor's trail); Billy asks if they can follow it. Loki explains that the preparation for a spell to skip dimensions will take time from Loki and skill from Billy, adding that he'd started the spell to get Billy from Mother the moment Billy had brought the parasite through (and we know it took a while before Loki managed to actually rescue Billy and Teddy from the white cell dimension).

Loki says they'd better get started, "unless there's someone who can ...." America tells him, "Ask if you want something. I won't punch you." "No! You may very well kick me instead!" Loki yells back at her. "And they say you never learn anything," she remarks with a smirk. That's part of why he's in this situation, isn't it? He wanted to change, and stop being predictable, yet the more he tried, the more he seemed doomed to repeat old patterns. So he's trying to save the world alongside these kids, and fix his mistake, and now the Young Avenger with the most animosity for him makes a statement that suggests he can learn, which would suggest in turn that he can change! If there's any chance of him doing so, working with these kids may well be it!

Also, I get the feeling he did that whole trailing off thing in order to convince her to decide to do it on her own, so he wouldn't have to ask and risk being hit. Okay, so that suggests he hasn't changed much -- he's still manipulating. But I don't think changing for the better means that he has to stop his trickery altogether, so much as use it for better reasons. I can't blame him for wanting to expedite matters by getting America to use her own dimensional-hopping skill -- they are on a Mission for Good -- or for getting her to do it without hitting him! And hey, it means he avoided using magic! (Of course, it could just be out of laziness, or the fact that it would actually be Billy casting it rather than him ....)

America created a portal of sorts, and they follow her through it to a strange room, where they find the pseudo-Patriot waiting for them. Patriot beckons, then hops through a portal of his own.

The cover of the next issue hints at some interesting costumes for Loki -- I just don't know if they are for his alternate selves or disguises for the Loki we know! If the former, it'll be interesting to see if any of the alternate Lokis are Kid!

See you in September!

For the Love of Loki — My review of the first Thor live-action film (at Pink Raygun), with heavy Loki-centric commentary.
Thor: Tales of Asgard — My review of the animated film, with some commentary on Loki.
The Avengers — My review of the film, with some commentary on Loki.
Marvel.com