Loki: Where Mischief Lies expands off of the popular character from the Marvel Universe, following Loki in his misadventures on Midgard (or Earth, as we know it) far before the events of the first Thor movie and The Avengers.
Loki has always known that either he or his brother, Thor, will be chosen as the next king of Asgard and the Nine Realms. In order to be chosen, Loki must prove himself worthy, but all his attempts to do so land him in trouble, while his brother is lauded for what should be considered failures. Loki befriends Amora, a sorceress in training, but when one of their schemes goes horribly wrong, Amora is sent to Midgard, where she will lose her magic and eventually die.
Later, Loki is sent to Midgard to work with the human organization SHARP to investigate a series of mysterious deaths in Victorian-era London. Loki is initially irritated by being sent on a fool’s errand while Thor gets to search for a missing magical artifact, but he changes his mind after encountering an old friend.
Overall, this was an enjoyable book. Fans of the character will revel in teen Loki’s wit and sharp tongue, and appreciate the numerous references to his other appearances in the Marvel Universe. Lee does a nice job incorporating elements of the character seen in the comics to give readers a Loki who feels authentic, while at the same time thoroughly exploring aspects of the character not typically addressed in the comics.
A good example of this is the depiction of Loki’s feelings of inferiority to his brother, like he is living in his brother’s shadow; while it’s made evident in the comics and films that Loki feels this way, none really take the time to explore how the dynamic between Thor, Loki, and Odin influenced Loki’s feelings. Loki doesn’t so much think Thor is better than him or vice versa, but instead recognizes that they both have strengths and weaknesses and their situation unfairly prizes Thor’s strengths over Loki’s.
Something else to appreciate about this book is its inclusivity in sexuality and gender expression. Loki is pansexual and genderqueer, traits the character also possesses in the comics, and another prominent character is also LGBTQ+. What is slightly disappointing in this regard is while Loki mentions his genderqueerness (and this is addressed quite nicely), it isn’t explored much during the book or mentioned more than once (he presents as male throughout most of the book other than a brief disguise scene).
Likewise, while Loki also mentions that Asgard is very inclusive in regards to sexuality, no LGBTQ+ Asgardian characters besides Loki are even mentioned in passing, despite multiple scenes that occur on Asgard. In fact, in the whole book, there are only two characters, including Loki, who are LGBTQ+. While this might be explained by the small amount of characters with prominent roles, there was still a missed opportunity for the author to show LGBTQ+ characters on Asgard. Excluding Loki’s later comments and solely judging from the scenes that take place on Asgard, Loki may be the only LGBTQ+ individual there -- and he isn’t even Asgardian.
But enough about Loki and his sexuality; let’s talk about his relationships. This is the part of the book that shines. Loki’s relationship with Thor is depicted well, while his relationship with Odin is appropriately rocky. The best relationships, however, are the ones he develops with the human characters. While at first Loki treats them with disdain and contempt, he soon begins to develop relationships with the ragtag SHARP team. Of course, no one ever said Loki was good at relationships, so these ones are naturally extra-complicated.
The only relationship in the book that felt flat was Loki’s relationship with Frigga, his mother. This relationship is one of the more humanizing aspects of the film version of Loki, and moments between the two characters are fan favorites. The book falls short of capturing this dynamic and, while not detracting from the plot, leaves a small hole in the otherwise detailed and complex portrayal of Loki’s character.
Fans of Loki and the Marvel Universe won’t want to miss this book, but it would also serve as a nice introduction to the character and universe for those who are unfamiliar, as the plot is not nearly as convoluted as most comic book storylines. Fans of Tom Hiddleston’s portrayal of the character in the films would also enjoy this book as a jumping-off point for the comics.