Summary

• Loki's magic in the MCU is innate, he doesn't need to study or use incantations to tap into his powers. As a Frost Giant, he is born with magical abilities and has been trained in Asgardian sorcery.
• Loki's magic is more about trickery and deception, utilizing illusions, shape-shifting, hypnosis, and telepathy. He can also levitate, teleport, create dimensional rifts, and manipulate objects with his mind.
• Despite his powerful magic, Loki doesn't rely on it heavily and prefers to use his intellect and manipulation skills. He views magic as a tool rather than his primary offense or defense. However, throughout Loki season 2, he gains a better understanding of his powers and becomes God Loki, playing a crucial role in holding the multiverse together.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Loki season 2.

Throughout the many appearances of Loki in the MCU, his powers and abilities have been all over the map; here's what they are and how they work explained. While quite powerful in magical abilities in the comics (though admittedly more of a master manipulator than anything), the MCU timeline has showcased this only sporadically, which, in a way, makes sense. Loki hasn't been the titular character of his own movies, and he was the villain back in the MCU Phase 1 when Marvel was focused on establishing their heroes over their villains. As such, it's easy to forget that Loki actually has some rather formidable abilities, as there are still aspects about the character's powers that are unclear even after Loki season 2 - or that are arguably even more unclear as a result of the events of the Loki season 2 ending.

While much time has been devoted to the other magic users of the MCU and how their powers work, such as Scarlet Witch, Doctor Strange, and Agatha Harkness, Loki's magic is more of a mystery. This is down to it not being shown as much as the others, but also because its origins and how it works, exactly, have never been fully explained. Here's what powers and abilities Loki has, how they work, and how they differ in the MCU.

How Loki's Magic Works In The MCU

Set apart from most of the other characters in MCU with magical abilities, Loki's magic is innate. Unlike Agatha Harkness, Doctor Strange, and even Scarlet Witch, Loki never had to study to gain his innate abilities or to tap into his magic. He does not require books to use as magical sources, nor does he have to recite incantations, spells, or use runes to trigger his magical abilities. He has the benefit of being born a Frost Giant, making him inherently magical, and having been taught in the ways of Asgardian sorcery, meaning he can tap into mystical energies solely by concentrating.

With Loki's age and years of practice, magic now takes little concentration at all, as the character can use most of his magical abilities without thought. Asgardians, in general, see magic as really being science, a type of energy that runs through all things in the world. But extremely skilled sorcerers like Loki can tap into even greater otherworldly forces to gain abilities beyond the rest.

For Loki, magic comes as easily as breathing. It's been a part of him since he was born. It's true WandaVision proved that Wanda Maximoff's magical abilities had similarly been inside her all along, but she required the Mind Stone to unlock them. Had she never been exposed to the Mind Stone, she may never have tapped into her magic at all, unlike Loki. That's not to say he hasn't studied – his adoptive mother, Frigga, in particular, found great joy in teaching her son to harness his powers and to unlock new ones – but the magic was always part of him and he's always been able to use it.

One of the biggest hints at this is the story Thor told in Thor: Ragnarok, describing how when they were just kids, Loki turned himself into a snake to trick Thor. That's a high-level form of illusion casting and shapeshifting - a feat even some adult, skilled sorcerers couldn't pull off convincingly in the MCU, showing just how powerful Loki is. Loki's natural role as the God of Mischief lends him a natural edge to his magic, and, being a near-immortal being, he's had over 1,000 years to learn even more tricks he wasn't automatically born with.

How The Origin Of Loki's Powers Differ In The Comics

The origin of Loki's powers and how they work are slightly different in the comics, however. As in the MCU, Loki was born with an innate magic ability and often used it to play pranks on his brother, tricks that grew more vengeful in nature as Loki aged and his resentment and bitterness grew. Unlike in the MCU, Loki didn't particularly need Frigga to teach him sorcery to gain new powers.

However, it would have been better had Frigga been the one to train him. Instead of being a playful prankster as in the MCU, the Loki of the comics had a vicious, vengeful edge, even when young. No longer the "God of Mischief," over time in the comics, he eventually earned the new title of the "God of Evil."

After escaping from being magically imprisoned in a tree by Odin, Loki met a sorcerer by the name of Eldred, who recognized Loki's immense talent and cunning. Taking him under his wing, it was Eldred who trained Loki, not in Asgardian magic, but in the black arts. Due to Loki's lineage, his magical abilities ended up surpassing Eldred's even when Loki was still relatively young. Realizing Eldred could teach him no more and that he no longer had a use for him, Loki made a pact with the fire demon, Surtur. Betraying Eldred, he gave the old wizard over to the fire demon, Surtur, and, upon Eldred's death, absorbed his old mentor's powers, increasing his own.

What Magical Powers Loki Has In The MCU & How They Work

Loki hasn't displayed his prodigious powers in the MCU nearly as often as his brother Thor has, but that doesn't mean he hasn't flashed them when needed. The irony is that, despite Loki's flamboyant and attention-seeking nature, much of his magic is on the more subtle side. He usually doesn't create big, flashy spells like Doctor Strange or overwhelm opponents with massive bursts of chaos magic like Scarlet Witch. Loki's magic is more about trickery and deceit, making people doubt their eyes (and sometimes their sanity), though he has certainly learned how to tap into other forms of magic over the past millennium.

Along with stating he's the most powerful sorcerer in all of Asgard, his official profile on Marvel.com lists powers Loki officially possesses in the MCU. There are also other powers he's shown that aren't specifically listed but that he's exhibited, or that fall under the category of Asgardian sorcery, meaning he'd have that ability. While Loki's main magical arsenal is illusion- and mind-based, he has a few other tricks up his magical sleeve, too.

Astral projection - A specific form of illusion that is perhaps seen the most often in the MCU. Loki, like his mother, Frigga, is able to cast projections of himself and others to trick and deceive. Most sorcerers are only able to cast hazy illusions that appear more like ghosts, but Loki is powerful enough that his projected duplicate (or duplicates, as he's also powerful enough to create multiples) appears as solid and whole as his actual person. He can also use this ability to project himself into another location, even quite far away, in order to speak to someone.

Illusion casting - Loki is also skilled with illusion in general and has shown this over and over again, from altering his appearance to blend in on Earth by hiding his Asgardian armor, to making it appear as though Thor's hand was cut off, to transforming his prison cell to hide the damage he'd done to it in his grief after learning of Frigga's death. Loki's illusions are strong enough to fool all but those who know him best.

Shape-shifting - Loki is famous for being able to not just cast mild glamours on himself, but also completely change his shape at will. This was shown in the scene in Thor: The Dark World where he briefly transformed into Captain America (though that could also have been an illusion) and in the aforementioned snake trick when he and Thor were kids.

Hypnosis - Loki has shown the ability to be able to mesmerize and hypnotize people, even without the use of the staff containing the Mind Stone. This was most notable when he influenced the thoughts of Erik Selvig from a short distance through his speech, though Selvig wasn't able to see him.

Telepathy - Stronger than hypnosis is his telepathy ability. He's able to project himself into a person's memories and use them against that person. This was illustrated during his fight with Valkyrie in Ragnarok when he slammed his hand onto her forehead and forced her to relive the Valkyries' fight with Hela and the loss of her partner. His telepathy does have some limitations, however, as he has to be touching the person to do it. It also appears it only goes one way as he hasn't yet shown an ability to be able to read the thoughts of another at will.

Presence concealment - Another sneaky trick that Loki has used multiple times in the MCU is his ability to conceal his presence. It's not true invisibility as he still shows up in mirrors and reflective surfaces, but Loki can mask his presence completely to spy on others or to hide. His ability is strong enough so that he can conceal multiple people at a time, such as when he snuck the Frost Giants into Asgard. His ability to conceal himself even outmatches Heimdall's gifts as few in the universe, let alone Asgard, could sneak past the all-seeing guardian as Loki did.

Telekinesis - Loki is able to move objects with the powers of his mind, usually accompanied by the trademark traces of his green-hued magic. The most notable example of this is the moment in The Dark World when Loki learns of Frigga's death and causes all the furniture in his cell to violently fly away from him with one quick clenching of his fists. He also regularly uses this to enhance the force behind his throwing daggers, making them travel farther faster and hit with deadlier impact.

Teleportation - Loki has the ability to teleport himself from place to place. In the comics, he can do this over great distances and across realms, but in the MCU, it's unclear how far this ability extends as he's only been seen using it in small bursts, notably in fight scenes.

Creating dimensional rifts - Loki also has the power to create dimensional rifts outright, as well as an innate ability to find and detect rifts between the Nine Realms and elsewhere (evidenced by him knowing the secret passage to Svartalfheim in The Dark World. Like a cat, Loki also seems to have nine lives, possessing an uncanny ability to survive trips into interdimensional portals and rifts that would kill lesser creatures.

Energy blasts - While most of Loki's magic is defensive in nature, he has offensive capabilities, too, most notably his trademark green energy blasts. While finding it a lesser form of magic because it's just so inelegant, and more the brute force his brother favors, Loki can sling devastating blasts of his magic when the situation calls for it.

Energy shields - Loki can also use his magical energy to create protective shields around himself. This is exhibited in the opening act of The Avengers when Loki appears completely impervious to the hail of bullets being fired at him by agents at the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility. Not only do they bounce off him harmlessly, but they also seem to deflect back with enough force to take out a number of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

Levitation - Loki has the ability to levitate, though this hasn't been shown much in the MCU, and nor does he even use it much in the comics. It's also possible he has the ability to fly; in the comics, he can manipulate energy to give him the power of flight, but he rarely ever uses it.

Physical augmentation - By tapping into mystical energies around him, Loki also has the ability to augment his natural Frost Giant and Asgardian attributes, including his already superhuman speed, strength, durability, and stamina. However, this enhanced state is only temporary.

Molecular manipulation/transmutation - Loki has also shown the ability to be able to transmute matter, manipulating the molecules in order to transform one object into another.

Conjuration - More than just having the ability to transmute objects, Loki also has the ability to conjure objects seemingly out of thin air. It's unclear how this works, exactly, but Loki seems to be one of the rare sorcerers gifted enough to use two types of conjuration. In the first, he seemingly creates something out of nothing, having shown an ability to suddenly conjure up daggers in a fight, such as in the Sanctum Santorum and against Hela.

The second type appears to be more an ability to pluck objects out of a pocket dimension, such as when he conjures up the Casket of Ancient Winters to freeze Heimdall and then makes it disappear again with a wave of his hands, or when he pulled the Tesseract out of nowhere to hand to Thanos. While this is technically not true conjuration, it appears to be for all parties involved.

Imbuing objects with magic - Loki is also quite skilled at transferring magic to objects and imbuing them with mystical energies. In the comics, he's even powerful enough to temporarily imbue living creatures and other people with superpowers, but he's not shown this ability in the MCU yet.

Cryokinesis - Due to his Frost Giant heritage, Loki also technically has the ability to manipulate and control ice like his Jotunheim brethren. However, Loki has a complicated relationship with his Jotun blood, as he was abandoned by his people and raised to hate the Frost Giants as an Asgardian. Thus, even though Loki has the ability to use his cryokinetic Frost Giant powers, he chooses not to.

It's that last part that also speaks to a wider pattern with Loki, both in the MCU and the comics.

Why Loki Doesn't Use His Magic More Often In The MCU

While other magic users in the MCU see their magic as their greatest gift and part of their identity, Loki views his magic as more of a tool. He uses it when it's beneficial, convenient, and necessary, but he doesn't rely on it as his first line of offense or defense in his day-to-day life.

Loki's greatest gift is his intellect, and his greatest weakness is his insecurity. Like many brilliant kids who grow up in a place where brute force and athletic prowess are prized above all, Loki is both secure in his vast intelligence but also deeply insecure, as it's the only thing that is "his." Relying solely on his intellect to accomplish his aims proves to him that he is "better" than others, and it amuses him to make a game of it; using his magic would be too easy. As such, he much prefers to rely on his prodigious powers of manipulation, deceit, and trickery over his magic. To his credit, he is fiercely intelligent, and his cunning usually so exceeds those around him that he is able to go without using his magic to succeed.

Loki resorting to his magic only when needed makes him even more of a threat, as Loki has spent just as much time honing his mind and knowledge as his magical abilities. Likewise, while it's easy to forget with him having a warrior god like Thor as a brother, Loki was still raised as an Asgardian, and thus trained in the Asgardian ways of combat. Loki may not have the brute strength of his brother, but when he has had to fight, Loki has shown himself to be just as formidable as any of the Warriors Three, a master of blade and spear as well as being an expert marksman and pilot.

How Loki Season 2 Changes The Character's Powers

Loki as a show works a decent way to explain a potential increase in the character's powers, both because he is exposed to variants of himself and how they use certain abilities, and also because his multiversal adventures allow him far more practice of his powers than he's potentially ever had in such a short space of time. Loki season 2 proves this to be the case, as its titular hero learns to control his time-slipping ability – which sees him become able to traverse the MCU timeline and track people through it – in order to find and help his friends.

In the Loki season 2 ending, the God of Mischief gets another upgrade and becomes God Loki, using his powers and new understanding of the nature of reality to become a linchpin in holding the multiverse together, existing as a living, breathing version of the Temporal Loom that is capable of dealing with the ever-expanding timelines in a way a machine could not. This selfless act of sacrifice appears to trap Loki in place, but also cements this variant of him as one of the most powerful and integral figures in the all the MCU, meaning Loki and his powers will be a crucial part of the Multiverse Saga going forward.

Key Release Dates

• 

  Marvels

  Release Date:

  2023-11-10

• 

  Deadpool 3

  Release Date:

  2024-07-26

• 

  Captain America: Brave New World

  Release Date:

  2024-05-03

• 

  Marvel's Thunderbolts

  Release Date:

  2025-07-25

• 

  Blade (2025)

  Release Date:

  2025-11-07

• 

  Marvel's Fantastic Four

  Release Date:

  2025-05-02

• 

  Avengers: The Kang Dynasty

  Release Date:

  2026-05-01

• 

  Avengers: Secret Wars

  Release Date:

  2027-05-07