New Beginnings - Loki, Agent of Asgard #1

by Matt Puddy

As revealed a few weeks ago in the Marvel Point One review, one of the new titles entering the fray in 2014 is Loki, Agent of Asgard. The teaser we got was full of the typical mischief and misdirection we expect from Loki, all in the service of recovering a sword. In this first issue we get to find out exactly why.

Al Ewing, a well known British 2000AD writer, has penned the story for us. We learn that the real reason that Loki was sent to retrieve the sword was not for its killing potential as a weapon, but for another ability that can be used to save someone, although this too is not without risk. Loki is being guided on a quest for the benefit of Asgard by the All-Mother (still reigning in Odin's place after the events of Fear Itself). Under their guidance Loki sets off for Avengers Tower. Using a few magical items to assist him, he climbs the tower only to be sniffed out by his brother Thor.

Now given the past that Loki has with Thor and the Avengers as a whole, the negative reaction and treatment he is given is no surprise. Before not too long though he is up to his normal tricks of twisting words, using subtle – and some not so subtle – misdirection and mirage to accomplish what he needed to do and also serve his own needs. For the Sword of Sigur was intended to be driven through Thor as we saw in the opening page, in what appeared to be a visceral attack. However it is the other ability of the sword that was desired - to make the individual struck by it face the truths that they deny themselves. In Thor’s case it was the evil that has resided within him.

It’s not an easy thing to stab the God of Thunder through the back in front of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but an illuminated Thor speaks on Loki's behalf and it isn't long before the newly minted Agent of Asgard is back in front of the All-Mother, complete with the evil that he stripped from Thor. This where the biggest twists come in though. Loki claims to be acting as said agent in the spirit of redemption, but is he really? This young Loki is most certainly trying to clean the slate, but upon opening the jar the All-Mother reveals the true character behind this. Loki’s former self.

Now I have to be honest, after the Point One issue I had high hopes for this title. The newest incarnation of Loki was interesting and I can understand his motivation (even though it’s still Loki and I wouldn’t trust him at all!), but this first issue didn’t excite me as much as I wanted. What it did do was open a lot of ideas in my head though, with the duality of the Trickster being showcased, along with a lingering feeling that this is a character who isn’t easily played, so there must be more to this and more to come. This is a title that may well become indispensable over the course of the coming arcs, despite a slightly lacklustre debut.

Lee Garbett’s artwork is similarly conflicting for me. Although I wasn’t taken aback by the overall artistry, I really liked the emotive faces and body language that you are given all the way through the issue, such as the comical moment just before Loki is punched by Hulk. Garbett demonstrates time and time again how he can skilfully convey the feelings throughout. He’s also done it in such a fashion that - when combined with my thoughts on Loki’s acumen - I really couldn’t entirely trust the All-Mother. I don’t believe Loki is that naive! The depiction of the former Loki is also strikingly different from his newer self, complete with a craven pose that demonstrates an entirely different body language and hints at devious actions ahead. A great piece of work.

This first issue has some fantastic elements to it which impressed me, but also others which dulled the impact a little and made it not quite live up to my expectations. I will be interested to see which way this goes. It’s perhaps not one for Tom Hiddleston lovers, but still worth a peek.

Matt Puddy is ready for a trip into the unknown...

The Watcher - Marvel's Avengers Assemble

Dreams do indeed come true, over the last few years we’ve seen the threads of the Marvel universe come together and finally we see the culmination of all of the Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Most thought this ambitious task to be impossible, how could you make a movie with all these massive characters and their varied worlds and succeed? One man, Joss Whedon was assigned to orchestrate this very task and by Odin succeed he did! Every star has their moment to shine, all while making the best superhero action flick yet.

Loki returns and plans to rain destruction down on earth by using the Tesseract to allow an unknown alien force called the Chitauri to invade our planet. This obviously gains the attention of Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D - Fury decides that it is about time to bring together our heroes and find the troublesome demigod along with the Tesseract.

While on the awesome looking S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier the egos of our big heroes begin to clash as Loki gets under their skin. It takes one good man to bring them together as a team - all they needed was that little push. Once united they stand tall ready to defend Earth, the following battle with the Chitauri is immense. Each Avenger shows why they’re part of the team and how the down to earth characters like Black Widow, Hawkeye and Captain America can stand next to the more monumental Hulk, Thor and Iron Man and be their equals.

Joss manages to pulls strong performances out of all the cast members - he makes the characters and their motives believable. You will see that while they may be super-solders, intellectual giants, gods and raging green monsters, they’re all still like us at heart - not perfect.

Robert Downey Jr presents his usual swagger as Iron Man, Chris Evans is ever the honest leader as Captain America and Chris Hemsworth as Thor brings the Yin to Loki’s Yang. It's a shame his relationship with Jane Foster only briefly gets touched on. Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is a lot less of a brat this time around, he is much more full of evil and disdain, driven on by the ordeal of his exile from Asgard.

Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk is great - as Banner he’s bigger than what we’ve been used to but at the same time very quiet and vulnerable. Using motion capture on his face adds a lot more of an emotional element, making his initial transformation into the Hulk quite intense and rather scary.

Last but not least, the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) both kick ass - a lot. Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) seems to show more of his deceptive side but it’s all still for the greater good. As always, Agent Phil Coulson played by Clark Gregg is wonderful and has some great moments, he will forever be a favourite of mine. Finally, newcomer Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders)  doesn't have a lot to do after the opening sequence, but I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of her in the future.

I struggled to find negative points to write about. I did see it in 3D and it didn’t add a lot but it didn’t feel intrusive ether. The few things that were niggling at me were the Chitauri being an army of faceless drones, ready to be beaten with little insight into their further motivations. Their massive battleships reminded me a little to much of the Transformers movies too. A couple of things were also left unexplained, like Thor’s hesitation to pick up his hammer - is this a worry about whether he is worthy? And was Loki’s staff affecting the emotions of our heroes, we’re just left to assume that this is the case. These are only really very small complaints and they don’t spoil the experience one bit.

During the earlier promotional interviews for the film, it was said that this would not be like Whedon’s usual work. This worried me due to the fact I loved most of his previous creations. Fear not! His trademark clever writing and wit is present in bucket loads, I laughed out loud and squealed with geek joy many times. He also directs the big blockbuster action sequences brilliantly, the movie feels big! It runs at two and half hours in length but never feels overly long, the editing keeps the pace up and gives the story chance to unfold nicely.

All that is left to say is assemble and enjoy the ride!

Stefan Harkins may go to see this movie again and again!