From Frost Giant to trickster god, Loki is known for his many roles and disguises. The rules, rhyme, and reasons regarding his many capabilities, however, are often unclear, especially in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Just when we think we know what the God of Mischief's limitations are, we witness him utilize his abilities in an entirely new way, exhibit completely new powers that we had never even guessed that he possessed, or see him best an opponent that he really ought to succumb to in battle, given his prior record. The god even yields a few tricks that make him appear to have everlasting life, despite the fact that he remains vulnerable to many enemies.
As far as Frost Giants go, Loki is pretty impressive, with many abilities that most giants don't possess that he gained through training and trickery. Even though he doesn't look like the giants, he still has his inborn abilities courtesy of his birth, too. For a god, however, Loki is, despite his frequent comebacks, severely lacking, given that he's nowhere near the immortality that he craves. Would he be able to achieve eternal life, he'd surely be much more boring, given that most of his scheming revolves around his desire for power and indestructibility.
Even with his parameters, Loki continues to possess one of the most versatile and impressive bodies in the Marvel universe. Between his ability to shift into animals to his growing and shrinking skills that put Hank Pym's to shame, here are 20 Weirdest Things About Loki’s Body.
He Can Change Into Animals
Loki's animal transformations are something of a legend in the comic books, which makes his lack of transformations in the films a bit of a letdown. Sure, we love to see Tom Hiddleston as much as possible, but animal shape-shifters are pure fun.
Loki has such an incredible arsenal to choose from, too: he's been a horse, a salmon, and even a unicorn!
Perhaps his most famous animal transformation was that of Ikol, a magpie that Kid Loki transformed his predecessor's dankness into, essentially making himself a minion to himself. When Ikol was revealed to only exist within Kid Loki's mind, allowing him to take over the child once and for all, it was a blow to many fans.
He's The Spawn Of Frost Giant Laufey
One of the first things that everyone discovers about Loki is that he's not a real Asgardian. He originates from the Jotenheim, as he is the son of the Frost Giant Laufey and not of Odin.
Perhaps this is why he is so driven to cause trouble for the Asgardians: it's just in his nature to butt heads with those who oppose his own people.
Some ague that Loki is neither good nor bad but merely a trickster, but given that he's both saved entire worlds as well as condemned them with his selfish actions, perhaps he deserves both labels rather than neither.
Time will tell if he'll ever choose a side for good or remain only on his own side.
He Can Swap Genders
By now most fans are aware of what Loki looks like when he takes female form. After a comic version of Ragnarok, Loki returned as a woman, confounding many readers, despite how cool she looked.
Loki appealed to her friend Verity, among others, to accept her as she was even as she plotted with Doctor Doom to take over Asgard once again since, man or woman, that's just how Loki rolls.
The weirdness wasn't that Loki changed genders, but that he was merely "borrowing" Lady Sif's form to help execute his plans.
It wasn't the lowest thing he's ever done but it's up there.
He Can Shrink
Loki's ability to squeeze into wee places is largely ignored, particularly on the big screen, but the Frost Giant can do exactly that with his magical powers.
Perhaps if the MCU attempted to translate this in the films it would detract a bit from Ant-Man's glory, but in Thor #181 Loki shrank to tiny levels.
He shrank so small that the soul of Thor, who had been inside controlling his brother, could be seen, which scared Mephisto away as a result.
Given that he shrunk his "physical form till the body is nothing and the soul is all" while Thor controlled him, perhaps this one should be chalked up to Thor on a technicality. Still, it was Loki's body, not Thor's, that transformed.
He's Been Reincarnated
When Loki is gone, he's never forgotten, but he's also never really gone. The trickster is able to return to life and we're currently enjoying the reincarnation of him in the form of Kid Loki, a form that he not only knew about but actually planned in advance.
Loki's version of reincarnation is much more complicated than most versions, given that he can send shadows of himself separately from his reincarnated form in order to attempt to reunite his old and new selves.
If a Hogwarts student, we all know Loki would be in Slytherin and have seen plenty of memes to prove it, but this is an absolute Voldemort move, prompting us to wonder who would emerge victorious in a battle between the two.
He can become a giant
With Frost Giants for relatives, it may come as no surprise that Loki is able to become giant in size at will.
It's actually due to his magical powers that he is able to manifest such an enormous size, which would be wicked to see on-screen.
We need a scene like Calypso's emergence from Tia Dalma in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, only with Loki. In fact, we need Loki as a pirate, too.
Loki used his power of enormity in battle in the comics against Lady Sif in Thor #191, as well as in X-Men and Alpha Flight #2.
He Was Radioactive
There are plenty of Marvel characters to have spent some time under radiation and Loki is one of many. The only problem about Loki's radioactivity is that it is super random, explainable and, likely, a magical ruse he merely employed in the name of self-preservation. During Avengers #1, Loki made mischief on a B plot, ultimately destroying a lot of property and blaming it on the Hulk, who wanted to tan his hide for the first but not nearly the last time in his life.
In order to keep himself away from the Hulk's angry fists, Loki threatened the Avengers with his radioactivity, suddenly glowing with radiation and dangling it in front of them like a bomb about to explode before he fell into a trap door, courtesy of Ant-Man's ants.
He's Immune To Rogue
Remember the time that Rogue of the X-Men went after Loki in X-Men and Alpha Flight #2, bare hand poised to steal away his magic, only to fail?
She pondered whether or not she'd be able to absorb the power of a god and wrenched her hands away quickly, screaming as if burned.
Loki remarked, "How gallant, young lady. How futile."
The thing is, we know that 's not technically a god, but a giant, so what powers did Rogue come into contact with?
It's possible that Loki simply used magic to make her believe she'd touched a god in order to protect himself from her powers, or that Frost Giants are impervious to her abilities.
He's Fireproof
One of the most convenient powers that Loki has is the ability to remain indestructible from the threat of fire.
Fans have witnessed Loki sit in the center of a glowing fire in Loki: Agent of Asgard #7, an incident that occurred after an attempt was made on her life via poison. In a haughty gesture, she watched the flames around her burn wildly as her waiters succumbed to them, casually talking with Doctor Doom while the latter remained safe outside the room.
Loki obviously has no fear of being burned, but the lack of compassion she had for the two waiters who pleaded for their lives, mentioning their own wives and children, tell us much more about the character.
He's Was once possessed by Thor
As powerful as Loki's mind and body may seem, neither are completely secure from invasion. Thor once controlled his brother's body by infusing it with his own soul, though it was still Loki's fault as he threw a living mask upon his brother in Thor #179, causing the two of them to switch consciousness between their bodies.
While Avengers Freaky Friday sounds like a cool concept, this does prove that Loki's mind isn't nearly as invulnerable as many believe it to be.
He also didn't count on his brother utilizing his own abilities during the body swap, which lasted several issues before they were able to return to normal.
He Can Create Copies of Himself
Multiple Lokis? That's how we'll cast him as pirates, Calypso, and everybody else in his own Caribbean film, naturally.
Loki has the ability to make copies of himself in order to fool his enemies; a cool concept that may still simply be attributed to one of his strongest powers: the art of illusion. Tricking people is what Loki does best and even if his body is capable of magical cell division at warp speed, he'd likely still aim for the hallucination rather than the physical copy.
Loki is so adept at and well-known for this skill that Thor even questions whether or not his brother is really in the room with him at times.
He's Not Innately Magical
Did you really think that Loki exited the womb complete with magical abilities? It's far more complex than that!
Although the Frost Giant's powers congenital to his own species were indeed present, Loki made it his mission to study advanced magic to the point of becoming one of the universe's most advanced sorcerers. He first sought the sorcerer Eldred for lessons in the black arts, but once he proved mastery there he exchanged his own teacher to Surtur, the fire demon ruler of Muspelheim, in exchange for even greater power.
Even Loki's power inception was a cunning, double-crossing, master plan.
We wouldn't expect anything less from the guy who once took the form of Scarlet Witch to fight off an elder god.
He Was Sacrificed To Save Asgard
Don't ever say Loki never gave you anything, Asgard. Sure, he brought about Ragnarok and the destruction of the realm, but he also gave his own life in order to save Asgard. Of course, he knew that he wouldn't permanently be sacrificed, returning through reincarnation and biding his time to return for power, but does that render his sacrifice any less noble?
Yeah, it really does. But it does bring up a superpower that most people don't think to attribute to Loki that he should definitely get credit for having: endless amounts of patience. The man really can wait a while, which makes his impulsive actions in Avengers: Infinity War so infuriatingly out of character.
Or do they? We never know when Loki is truly gone.
It Has Superhuman Reflexes
One of Loki's coolest abilities seems simple enough: his superhuman reflexes provide him with the power to not only perform admirably during an offensive attack but to respond on a defensive level as well.
Case in point: Loki has managed to catch Silver Surfer mid-flight.
This is no easy task for any superhero, and Loki attributed it to reflexes that are faster than "the speed of thought" when he spoke of the ability with his Thor, in Avengers #1. In that issue, he was able to block Mjolnir with a quick spell, something he seems to have forgotten how to do on occasion.
Given how powerful and agile Loki is, it would seem as if he'd be more willing to fight than flight, but his fear of being beaten rules his actions.
He Can survive being crushed
Loki's schemes are legendary, but his ability to think under pressure is just as well-known. In fact, if fans pay attention, they'll see that his last-minute plans have often helped to save the day as well as been his most ingenious ideas.
Loki also literally survives under enormous amounts of pressure. Once, when Thor discovered Loki to be at the heart of a plot to unite villains to wreak havoc for the heroes in the Acts of Vengeance arc, he imprisoned his brother beneath a million tons of earth.
When others expressed skepticism about Loki's ability to withstand such a punishment, Thor dismissed, saying that even an "unworthy god" could handle the punishment.
He's Incredibly Strong And Durable In Battle
Given his cerebral inclinations, many assume that Loki just isn't the most powerful of superheroes (or villains), but that's just not so.
Loki has demonstrated great physical strength, once bringing down an entire building with his fist.
He's also proven his mettle in battle despite his reluctance to physically fight, withstanding several beatings courtesy of many other heroes and villains.
The issue is not Loki's lack of strength but simply the vast strength of his foes. Many superheroes possess enormous strength and durability as their primary powers, and those are the heroes who can hand him a pretty severe beating. Seated next to any normal person and many with abilities, however, Loki remains a strong contender who simply prefers to trick his way out of a problem.
He Can Magically Phase Through Objects
Phasing through objects is one of the many powers that Loki possesses. The Norn Stones that the Frost Giant is so fond of using in his schemes allow him to modify his own molecular structure, allowing his body to phase through objects that retain their own shape and structure.
An example of this occurred in Journey Into Mystery #116 during the Trial of the Gods when Loki needed to phase through some pretty nefarious-looking spiny plants. When he phases, he looks spectral, and his body becomes transparent, with a bit of a white glow.
Loki has also been seeing phasing sans stones, indicating that his magic has simply grown or that he learned how to perform the trick without the Norn Stones.
He Can Withstand A Beating From The Hulk
Yes, you have a Hulk, Avengers, but Loki can take a beating from the big green guy. Could Banner really have retained enough control to reign the Hulk in, beating Loki Odinson only to the point where he would succumb, but stay alive?
That may be the only way that Loki survived such a brutal attack, but some argue it's because his body is magical enough to withstand that kind of a beat down and bounce back up again.
After all, Loki was supposed to be completely gone several times before returning, and he's made it his life's mission to ensure his own survival through his intensive study of magic.
His Reincarnation Has Only A Fraction Of His Original Powers
Given that Loki's powers were earned through his own hard work and years of cunning scheming, it stands to reason that the Loki who returned from the other side only retained a fraction of the powers he enjoyed as an adult.
Fans who recall Thor discovering his younger brother in Paris as Kid Loki remember that not only did he not have the powers we've all come to associate with the god, but he also had no memories of his previous life.
Once Thor restored Loki's memories, the only powers he could access were those of a standard Frost Giant.
Those are impressive on their own, but nowhere near the abilities Loki had so painstakingly worked to achieve.
He Can Survive Without A Head
This one will come as a surprise to many fans of the MCU, but comic readers have witnessed the one and only Loki swaggering around headless.
Balder, Thor's half-brother, decided to take on Loki when he discovered the trickster concocting yet another dastardly evil plan. Boldly swiping at the frost giant's head, Balder found himself horror struck when Loki simply picked up his head and put it back on, as if Balder had knocked of his hat instead of the most important part of his body.
After explaining that the first thing any good sorcerer worth his salt learns is to make himself as hard to take out as possible, Loki delivered the sickest burn in Thor comic history by retorting, "Ah, Balder, thy name is laughter."
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