In the history of superheroes Thor and Loki, the brothers from Asgard are the ultimate pairing. They made their movie debut together in Thor (2011). Throughout the movies, the constantly evolving relationship between Thor x Loki has kept fans intrigued.
Thor is the Asgardian God of Thunder and the son of Odin, chief of the gods. Loki is Thor’s adopted brother and the Asgardian god of mischief. Growing up, Loki was always jealous of Thor. Thor was the father’s favorite, the center of attraction, and the first in line to be the king. At the same time, Loki lived under his brother’s shadow all his childhood. The longing for a spotlight and Odin’s appreciation manifested in great envy towards his brother. Since they spent a lot of time together as children, Thor always loved his brother. However, blinded by hatred and resentment, Loki always found ways through his mischiefs to cause harm to Thor.
Thor x Loki in the movies:
The love and hate relationship between Thor x Loki has been a center of attraction for the fans. This article will shed light on how their relationship evolved throughout the movies.
Thor (2011)
Thor is banished to the earth, for reacting aggressively with the Frost Giants, against the will of Odin. Meanwhile, it is revealed that Loki is not the actual son of Odin. Frost Giants abandon him in a temple as a baby. Odin finds him alters his appearance to look more like an Asgardian and raises him as his own son.
After Thor’s banishment and Odin’s fall into Odinsleep, Loki becomes acting king. In his seemingly endless quest for power and control, Loki plots mischief in Asgard. Conspiring with the Frost Giants to allow them to enter Asgard and kill Odin, Whereas, in reality, it is merely his trick for saving Odin in the conquest and appearing good in front of his people.
In his attempt to retain control over Asgard, Loki sent The Destroyer to eliminate Thor. However, Thor’s courage paved the way for his return to Asgard. In his hatred for Frost Giants, Loki intend to destroy the ice planet Jotunheim. To stop Loki, Thor gets in a fight with him. Everything crumbles as a result of combat and is saved by Odin. Loki begged his father that whatever he did was for getting recognition from his father, but Odin rejected him. Devastated, Loki fell into the abyss caused by the destruction of the Bifrost Bridge, imitating his fake death to confuse everyone specially Thor.
In Thor (2011), Loki’s jealousy of his brother and extreme desperation for his father’s approval almost destroyed the Asgard.
The Avengers (2012)
In a plan to take control of the earth, Loki makes a deal with Chitauri, an alien race led by Thanos. He bargains to get a private army in exchange for Tesseract. Loki attacks the S.H.I.E.L.D research facility and steals Tesseract by controlling the intelligence agency members. With the Tesseract, he allows the Chitauri to invade earth by opening the wormhole. The God of mischief uses his tricks to get trapped by Avengers and manipulate them. However, his plans backfire, and Avengers become a more closely-knit team. Loki gets defeated without fulfilling his part of the deal.
In Avengers 2012, Loki did not betray Thor personally. However, as a member of Avengers, Thor swore to protect planet Earth. And any attempt to harm the planet is a direct attack on Thor. So Thor considered the invasion of Earth as Loki’s betrayal of his brother.
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
After the plot fails in Avengers (2012), Loki is imprisoned in Asgard. Loki reluctantly agrees to help Thor to defeat the Dark Elves and avenge the death of their mother, Frigga. Loki attempts to defeat the cruel leader of Dark Elves, Malekith, and take back Aether (the Reality Stone). However, Loki makes a historic sacrifice of his life to save his brother Thor.
Devastated by the death of his brother, Thor returns to Asgard and tells Odin about the heroic sacrifice of Loki. However, it is revealed that Loki faked his death and shapeshifted into Odin’s form. Hence, he takes control of Asgard banishing Odin to Earth under a spell.
The Dark World betrayal is the worst of all. Thor, and the audience believes that finally, Loki has turned into the brother Thor always wanted by sacrificing his life. However, it turns out that he has once again fooled everyone with his art of deception.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
At the movie’s beginning, Loki is still running Asgard as Odin. However, Thor exposes Loki in front of the Asgardian people. All his life, he used tricks and mischiefs to get the acknowledgment of Odin. However, in the final moments of Odin, he realizes that Odin loves him as his own son.
Thor: Ragnarok is about the development of the relationship between Thor x Loki as brothers. Thor has evolved, matured, and grown, and Loki, in a way, is stuck in his challenges of the past. The realization that Thor has left hope in Loki’s redemption became a breaking point. In Sakaar, during imprisonment, Thor tries to escape, but Loki stops him to keep his captivity. Thor considers it a betrayal. Whereas, in reality, Loki tried to save Thor as he thought without his Mjolnir, Thor was incapable of returning to Asgard and fighting his evil sister Hela.
Then again, during the final battle, Loki comes to help Thor win the battle. It is an interesting development in their relationship because Thor clearly stopped reforming Loki. Loki realized that he went too far and needed his brother back.
However, mischief and chaos are the nature of Loki which cannot be changed. On the mission to take down Hela, Loki steals the powerful Tesseract from Odin’s vault before the destruction of Asgard. This would prove to be costly for Thor and Loki in the future.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
After Thor: Ragnarok, Thor reconciles with Loki. However, their newfound brotherly love is short-lived. In the opening moments of 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos, and his children intercept the Asgardian ship while hunting for the Tesseract. Loki uses his trickery to try to stab Thanos, so the Titan murders Loki.
In the opening scene of Avengers: Infinity War, Loki hands over the Tesseract to Thanos to protect his brother Thor. However, he tries to use his trickery to stab the Mad Titan one last time but eventually lets Thanos kill Loki. Thor mourned over his brother’s dead body. Moreover, this heroic sacrifice gets Loki one final shot at redemption for the harm he did to his brother.
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Although, Loki died in Avengers: Infinity Wars. But when Avengers travel back in time to retrieve the infinity stones, Loki also makes his appearance. As this took place back in time, his antics are the same as his older version. He uses his tricks and mischief to cause harm to Avengers and steal the Tesseract once again in time travel.
Conclusion:
Thor and Loki have a love-hate relationship. Thor loved Loki as his own brother. He wished him to redeem and come home instead of subjugating innocent people. However, Loki’s quest of getting undue love from his father, his jealousy towards his brother, and his desire to get a power lead to various conflicts throughout the movies. Their relationship developed impressively in movies, with Thor being more mature and Loki seeking redemption for his doings. If you like this article, please visit our website to read other articles on your favorite superhero.
