Loki in popular culture
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Loki, Odin and Thor are the three characters to appear most often in both Nordic myths and modern fiction derived from them.
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[edit] Depictions in modern popular culture
[edit] Comics
- Loki is a supervillain of the Marvel Universe, the setting for many Marvel Comics publications. He is the primary enemy of Thor. In Marvel continuity Loki is son or adoptive son of Odin and half-brother or foster brother of Thor. Loki made his first appearance in Venus #6 (August, 1949). He was featured as a member of the Olympian gods exiled to the Underworld. In Journey into Mystery #85 (October, 1962), Loki was reintroduced by brothers and co-writers Stan Lee and Larry Lieber. He was redesigned by Jack Kirby.
- Loki also appeared in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys to have teamed-up with Ares.
- Loki, Odin and Thor are the heroes of the Valhalla comic book or graphic novel series written by Hans Rancke-Madsen, and illustrated by Peter Madsen from 1979 until today. The series was published in Denmark by Interpresse and later Carlsen Comics. Originally published in the Danish language, translations have been made into Dutch, Finnish, German, French, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish. One full-length animated movie was also produced from the series.
- Loki was a recurring character in the comic book The Sandman by Neil Gaiman (1988 - 1996). He was freed from his prison under the Earth by Odin and by contrivance of Dream allowed to remain at liberty. He reappeared in the second-to-last story arc, where he ran afoul of the Corinthian. He later makes a cameo appearance in Lucifer.
- Loki is the main hero of the Matantei Loki Ragnarok manga by Sakura Kinoshita, published from August, 1999 to December, 2001. A television anime, The Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok, was based upon the manga series and shared the same title. Twenty-six episodes were released between April 5 and September 27, 2003. The main villain is Odin.
- In the Ragnarok manhwa by Myung-Jin Lee , Loki has reincarnated into a stoic assassin of Midgard. The series was published in English in North America by TOKYOPOP from May 21, 2002 to April 6, 2004.
- In the popular webcomic Sparkling Generation Valkyrie Yuuki, launched in 2002, the chains binding Loki loosen, allowing him to interact with the Earth through control of a small plush cat.
- Loki is the central protagonist in the webcomic The Modern Edda, during which he is sealed on earth by Odin after he escapes his bonds for Ragnarök.
[edit] Film
- In the movie The Mask (first released on July 29, 1994), unlike the original comic book, Loki's bound spirit empowers the titular mask, which grants its wearer shape-shifting abilities and an altered, chaotic personality, from everything/anything they keep suppressed in their unconscious mind (see also Sigmund Freud). In the 2005 sequel, Son of the Mask, Loki spends the movie seeking out his mask.
- A fictional character named Loki, played by Matt Damon, appears in the film Dogma, directed by Kevin Smith and first released on November 12, 1999. The character is a fallen angel, the former Angel of Death rather than the Norse mythological figure. Curiously, the villain, a demon named Azrael, acts like a mischievous trouble-maker. Azrael was originally the name for the Angel of Death.
[edit] Games
- Loki is the main antagonist in the 1993 game God of Thunder.
- Loki is the main adversary in the computer role-playing game Valkyrie Profile, first released in Japan on December 22, 1999 by developers tri-Ace. The only way in which this Loki differs from the mythological god is that he is the offspring of an Æsir and Vanir, which provides the central motivating force for his actions throughout the story.
- In The Sims 2, a pre-made family has a character named Loki who enjoys making crank calls.
- In the PC Game Rune (computer game), Loki is the mastermind behind the destruction of the Runestones to bring about Ragnarok
- Loki is the final boss in Ghouls 'n Ghosts.
- In the game Age of Mythology, Loki is a major god of the Norse civilization.
- In Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, Loki is a playable character that can be summoned to help the main protagonist.
- In the video game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, a wolf named Loki appears in one of the Night Elf campaign levels.
- In the Capcom game Breath of Fire III for the PlayStation, Loki is a shady character who convinces the game's protagonists to steal back taxes from the mayor McNeil.
- In the PC game Dark Age of Camelot members of the Rogue-like class, Shadowblades, follow Loki.
- In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Loki appears numerous times, as a member of Dr Doom's Masters of Evil.
[edit] Internet
- The name LokiTorrent (an indexing website for the Peer-to-Peer protocol BitTorrent) references the mischievous god.
[edit] Literature
- Loki and several other Norse gods (e.g. Heimdall) were featured in the novel, The Incomplete Enchanter by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt (Holt and Company, NY, 1941).
- The 1975 fantasy novel Eight Days of Luke by Diana Wynne Jones features a contemporary take on Loki.
- Loki (using the pseudonym "Low Key" ) and Odin (using the pseudonym "Wednesday", as a kind of joke) were also central characters in the 2001 novel American Gods by Neil Gaiman.
- In the novel series Everworld by K.A. Applegate, Loki is the father of Fenrir, a giant wolf god, Hel, the mad queen of the underworld and the Midgard Serpent. Residing with the other gods in Everworld, he wishes to use one of the main characters, Senna, as a magical gateway to reenter the modern world.
- Loki appears (most often disguised, but in his true identity near the end) in Robert A. Heinlein's 1984 novel, Job: A Comedy of Justice.
- Loki is mentioned a lot in Melvin Burgess' Bloodtide, and is the father of a shapeshifting character.
- Loki is the name of the mischievous cat in Loki's Parrot, a picture book by Pet Serrano based on Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven. The character jumped target audiences and formats from a series of flash cartoons in which he was known as Loki the Cat from Hell.
- Loki is the main character of two novels, Liar and Liar 2 - the prodigal God by Jakub Ćwiek
[edit] Music
- Loki is the tricker mentioned in the song "When The Trickster Starts A-Pokin` (Bordello Kind of Guy)" by Gogol Bordello.
- The track "Loke" on Enslaved's 1994 album Frost is about Loki.
- Loki is the name of a track on the Rancid album, Rancid (2000)
- "Loki Trickster God" is the name of a track on Solefald's 2006 album Black for Death: An Icelandic Odyssey Part 2.
- Power Metal band Manowar have a song on their upcoming album Gods of War intitled "Loki God of Fire".
- Loki foundation-German industrial/dark ambient label. many of the bands reference Germanic and Norse mythology. loki foundation
[edit] Television
- In an episode of Supernatural called "Tall Tales" Loki appears as the Trickster, who played violent pranks on people on a college campus. The episode originally aired on February 15, 2007.
- In an episode of the television series Stargate SG-1 (July 27, 1997 - ), "Fragile Balance" (the third episode of Season 7), Loki appears as an Asgard experimenting on humans (and responsible for many alien abduction stories) to try and solve his race's problems of genetic degradation due to repeated cloning. He is outed when an attempted experiment on Colonel O'Neill goes awry, and Thor eventually steps in to stop Loki.
- Loki had made an appearance as a villain in the American cartoon The Life and Times of Juniper Lee (May 30, 2005 - ).
- Loki has also made an appearance as a member of the Norse pantheon in an episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy called A Kick in the Asgard
- Skullmaster, the main antagonist of the cartoon series Mighty Max, posed as Loki in order to trick a Nordic sorcerer into freeing him from the centre of the earth in the episode Let Sleeping Dragons Lie!.
- In one of the OVAs of the Anime Saint seiya called "the hot battle of the gods" a villain named Loki apears. In the anime Athena and her warriors go to see Aolbare to ask about missing Athena warriors they get help from Frey and Freya, Seiya and companions must battle against Asegard sacred-warriors
- There is another anime, The Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok, which depicts Loki in the form of a young child who had been banished to Earth by Odin.
- Loki also appears as a character in the Hercules television series with Kevin Sorbo"
- Loki is a major character in the Danish children's television Christmas miniseries Jul i Valhal, which is about two children who discover Loki chained in a dolmen called "Loki's Hill."
