Long before the fabled days of The Avengers or even Thor, Loki the god of mischief, received his first bit of the supervillain spotlight with another god like hero. Timely Comics' 1948 issue of Venus Goddess of Love showcases the titular super-heroine in the first Marvel comic clash with the mischievous supervillain.
Loki's association with Thor and Asgard would not be the only pop culture staple to have its groundwork completely laid much later down the line. The Marvel Comics publishing company, during the time of Venus' release, was still known as Timely Comics which mainly focused on stories of war, westerns, horror, comedy, and romance while offering only a select number of superhero tales, with Captain America, The Human Torch, and Sub-Mariner Comics. It would not be the 1960s era where the official formation of Marvel Comics would fully embrace the superhero medium and the characters and worlds that would be produced as a result.
The Loki depicted in Venus #6 is not established as the god of mischief or the son of frost giant king Laufey, but rather the prince of evil, allegedly banished forever to an eternity of exile in the the depths of the underworld. Venus and Loki encountered one another centuries prior, so long in fact that Venus cannot immediately put a name to the evil being upon seeing him again in the present day. However, Loki's presence on Earth permits Venus from returning to her home of Olympus, which initiates the hero to confront Loki himself in his ill famed region of the Lower Depths.
Though Timely's early depiction of Loki is a major contrast from how many readers have become acclimated with the character today, the god of mischief (or prince of evil) does retain a few defining Loki traits. Loki's narcissistic reverence of himself is spotlighted early, enjoying the attention the parade audiences gives his otherworldly float. When Venus goes to confront Loki in his own domain, Loki exemplifies his skill as a wordsmith used in tricking Jupiter to allow Loki to leave his exile and naturally the god's tendency to use humans as pawns for his own wicked schemes.
Not unlike his future Asgardian archenemy, Venus ultimately gets the better of Loki and redirects the prince of Hades back to his underworld domain. A defeat for Loki but not one he will take in vain. Though Loki's now trademark horned helmet and green and gold jumpsuit would be established in the post Timely era of Marvel books, the evil of Loki has been well intact from the start of the character's comic history.