Thanks to the Loki has seen a rise in popularity over the past decade, but there is one part of his story that most fans will not see on the big screen. The method by which Loki learned his magic, as well as the first person he killed, are too disturbing for a movie or his Disney+ series.
Loki is the adopted brother of Thor. Biologically he is a frost giant of Jotunheim and the son of their king, Laufey, who died in battle against the forces of Asgard. Odin took pity on the boy and adopted him as his son. As he grew up, Loki developed a penchant for playing tricks on his fellow Asgardians, and his brother in particular. Bitter over the way the people treated the strong and brave Thor and looked down upon the mischief-making Loki, he was often at odds with his brother. Even though he was not as strong or as tough as Thor, the young trickster god, had a natural affinity for magic, but it didn’t fully blossom until Loki met the viking wizard, Eldred.
Loki's First Murder Was A Pivotal Moment In His Life
In Thor Vol 5 #12, by Jason Aaron and Michael Del Mundo, Loki reveals how he learned his magic and it is not a nice tale. The wizard Eldred was a prisoner in Odin’s dungeon, and he had been locked in there so long that even he had forgotten what offense he had committed against the All-Father. Loki would sneak down to see Eldred every day, and for every piece of food he’d give the conjurer, the man would show him a trick. However, the young trickster was devious enough to never give the man enough to be satisfied. He always left him wanting more, so that he would continue teaching him. Eventually Loki became so enamored with his own magic that he forgot about Eldred entirely, until one day he ventured back down to see him and found him dead of starvation.
Eldred was the first person Loki ever murdered and convincing himself that it wasn’t his fault was the first lie Loki ever told. In a way, the death of Eldred marks Loki’s evolution from the God of Mischief to the God of Lies, but not just to others. The most important lies and convincing lies he often told were to himself. In Loki’s mind, he was always the hero or the victim, and everything he did was justified by those lies. In time the God of Lies would graduate to the God of Evil and find himself not just at odds with Thor of Asgard, but with the superheroes of Midgard.
As a villain Loki has committed many atrocities, and he did it all with the magic he learned from Eldred and lies he learned to tell himself on the day that he found the wizard dead in his cell. In the past few years of Marvel Comics Loki has moved from being an outright villain back to being a rogue or antihero. This change in personality has a lot to do with the popularity of the character in the MCU, but it is also a refreshing take on one of Marvel's most irredeemable villains. Part of that redemption is showing that Loki was as much a victim of his own lies as anyone else. In fact, it is fair to say that both in the comics and the MCU, no one has been tricked more than Loki himself.
