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Over the course of five films, and then again in a TV series, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version of Loki has revealed that deep down, he has a number of positive personality traits and the potential to become a genuinely heroic individual. Nonetheless, he didn’t become the villain of two films — and a conflicted antihero of a number of others — because those traits were at the forefront.
While ultimately sympathetic, Loki has a number of facets to him that negatively impact both himself and others. These traits lead him to betray Thor, throw his lot in with Thanos, and ultimately leave him at his lowest point before his redemption in Thor: Ragnarok.
10 Loki Stubbornly Sticks To His Guns, Even When It’s Clearly Doomed To Fail
A trait by no means unique to Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the God of Mischief proves to be as stubborn as they come at numerous points. Once he decides on a course of action, he will spurn any attempts to divert his course.
In Thor, he chooses to let go of Thor and fall to his apparent death rather than accept his brother’s help. In The Avengers, even when it’s clear that he’s losing first a fight with Thor, and then the overall battle, he first tries to stab his brother and then intimidate the Hulk. This stubbornness forces Loki to stick with his plans, even when they’re hopeless.
9 Loki Tends To Be A Gadfly, Irritating People For No Reason
Loki seems to be driven by a desire to amuse himself at the expense of others, even when it puts him in peril. From snarking at Thanos and his children at the beginning of Infinity War to making light of the threats from the Warriors Three to exasperating Mobius in the TVA, Loki can’t break this habit.
This trait is also not unique to Loki, but given the average person he tends to associate with could kill a human with ease, it puts him in distinctly more peril.
8 Loki Constantly Tries To Kill Thor, Even When They’re On Good Terms
For many other characters, persistent fratricidal urges would probably rank amongst amongst their very worst personality traits. Loki is fortunate, however, in that his target is the durable and forgiving Thor. His attempts to kill his brother can be seen in several films of the MCU in which he plays the villain.
However, Thor: Ragnarok reveals that Loki has been making attempts against his brother since before they were teenagers. Given Loki’s skill and the fact that Thor is still alive, it’s likely that he wasn’t trying that hard, but it nonetheless hints at the darker side of his personality.
7 Loki’s Insecurities Drive Him To Good Deeds — But Also Bad Ones
Loki — and his variant Sylvie — displays a high level of insecurity throughout the entire MCU. This insecurity leads him to his plots in Thor and The Avengers, first desiring the approval of Odin and then recognition from the universe at large.
Likely caused by his childhood and the revelation of his parentage, this self-doubt doggedly sticks with Loki. While it enables some good moments, such as returning as the savior of Asgard in Thor: Ragnarok and to work with the TVA and Sylvie in Loki, it is nonetheless what starts him on the road to villainy in the first place.
6 Loki’s Callous Towards Those He Doesn’t Care For
One thing Loki proves across his MCU appearances is that he truly does care for some people. Despite some acrimony, he shows that he ultimately loves Thor, Odin, Frigga, Lady Sif, and others. However, for much of his life, he holds those he doesn’t specifically care for in much less regard.
He’s responsible for the deaths of numerous humans in The Avengers and Asgardians in Thor: The Dark World, but only seems affected by Frigga’s demise. However, this is a trait Loki grows out of over the course of Loki, and arguably even Thor: Ragnarok, to the point that when Kang the Conqueror returns at the end of Loki, his horror is for the universe as a whole.
5 Loki’s Defensiveness Means He’s Slow To Improve Himself
At numerous points throughout the MCU, including in Loki, other characters call Loki out on his worst traits. His typical response to this is to openly agree with them and reduce this to his base nature. As we see, however, Loki can change.
Instead, this habit is merely his way of redirecting that, and he chooses to acknowledge the criticism rather than allow it to affect him. When he stops doing this in Loki, it’s a sign that he’s beginning to improve, but it nonetheless slows any possibility of redemption before that fact.
4 Loki’s Own Untrustworthiness Leaves Him Slow To Trust
Another trait that Loki keenly shares with his female variant Sylvie is that he struggles to trust others. Having spent so much of his life as the God of Mischief betraying so many people, Loki always searches for an alternate angle to whatever anyone else is doing, going so far as to describe trust as “for children and dogs.”
While this causes Loki no small amount of pain over the series, events conspire to prove it sensible. At the end of Loki, when he has finally come to trust Sylvie, she stabs him in the back so she can kill He Who Remains.
3 Loki’s Obsessed With Gaining Power For Much Of His Story
Relating to his insecurities and his stubbornness, Loki spends much of his time in the MCU attempting to amass as much power as he can by trying to take over Asgard in Thor, promising to install himself as tyrant of Earth in The Avengers, and impersonating his father in Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok. This tendency resurfaces again in the latter movie, when he conspires to take over Sakaar.
As seen in Thor: Ragnarok, Loki can take power without being destructive, but the fact that he’s willing to betray his family and massacre innocents for it shows the depths of his fixation. He overcomes this in Loki, however, casting aside his desire to rule the TVA. When He Who Remains offers him the opportunity in the final episode, Loki only considers it as an alternative to the chaos of letting Kang invade.
2 Loki Suffers From A Compulsion To Betray Others
As the God of Mischief, a recurring point about Loki in the MCU is that it’s not a question of if he will betray somebody, but when. He’s capable of forming alliances with others, such as when he tells Thor “Trust my rage” in hunting down Frigga’s killers in Thor: The Dark World, but they usually only last until he’s achieved his ends.
Even when not betraying others would serve him, Loki does anyway. Had he not faked his death in Thor: The Dark World, he could have returned to Asgard a hero, and perhaps earned back the respect of his people. Thor even lampshades how pointless the betrayals are when he becomes wise to Loki in Thor: Ragnarok, challenging Loki to finally do better.
1 Loki’s Narcissism Causes Most Of His Other Faults
Loki’s narcissism is something he is forced to come face to face with in Loki, mainly at the hands of Mobius, who repeatedly questions his motivations for nearly everything he does. Finally, when he’s forced to relive a moment of enmity with Sif over and over, Loki cracks, and in his apology to the image of Sif, admits that much of what he does is due to his narcissism and his fear of being alone.
This is the root cause of many of Loki’s other flaws, including his defensiveness, his callousness, and his insecurities. This also improves over the course of Loki, as he begins to care more about others and become more typically heroic. However, as Mobius points out, falling in love with an alternate version of himself can’t be healthy.
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