Every Time Loki Betrayed Or Tricked Thor In The MCU

Loki repeatedly betrays and tricks others in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and his brother Thor has borne the brunt of this trickery. After the debut of Tom Hiddleston's Loki in Thor he immediately became a fan-favorite character, and remained such even as he was the main villain in The Avengers. Loki's future involvement in the MCU has seen him transform from villain to anti-hero, and his journey met its real end in Avengers: Infinity War right as he appeared to be rounding into more of a hero. Of course, another version of Loki continues on in the MCU thanks to the Loki Disney+ series Avengers: Endgame accidentally set up. How Loki tricks Thor has become one of the MCU's long-running jokes, and many are eager to see more Loki adventures, and it is clear that the god of mischief will be up to some of his old tricks even in Loki season 2.

No matter what version or variant of Loki the MCU has featured or how villainous or heroic they were, it became common to expect some betrayals and tricks. There are many Marvel characters who have been victims of Loki's schemes but none as much as Thor. The god of thunder grew up with his adopted brother and have thousands of years of experiences together. In the few years that the MCU has chronicled, Loki repeatedly betrayed and tricked his brother, but Thor continued to trust Loki all the same. Here's every one of the MCU's Loki pranks.

Snake Trick

The oldest of the Loki-Thor pranks came when they were children and involved Loki changing his appearance to become a snake. Thor retold the events to Bruce Banner and Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok. As the god of thunder said, snakes were one of his favorite animals as a kid and Loki used this knowledge to scare his brother. Loki transformed into a snake to lure the eight-year-old Thor to him, only to surprise Thor with the reveal of his true form. To make matters even worse, Loki also took the opportunity to stab Thor.

Thor's Inauguration

The first time the MCU's Loki pranks Thor came in the opening minutes of Thor. It was the day of Thor's inauguration to become the new King of Asgard. During the ceremony and right before Odin could officially declare his oldest son as the empire's new leader, a small group of Frost Giants attacked Odin's vault in the MCU. This interrupted Thor's coronation and was part of Loki's overall plan. He later revealed that he did this simply to mess with his brother Thor on what should have been his big day on Asgard.

Invasion of Jotunheim

Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Tom Hiddleston as Loki

After betraying Thor by aiding in the Frost Giants' invasion, Loki turned on him again when it came to Asgard's retaliation. Loki manipulated the anger of his brother to trick him into attacking Jotunheim. Thor, Loki, Lady Sif, and the Warrior's Three all went to the icy planet in order to stand up to the Frost Giants. However, this plan went against Odin's wishes. Loki tricked Thor into invading the Frost Giants' homeworld Jotunheim knowing it would anger their father, but he also betrayed Thor's plan. Thor didn't want anyone to come to stop them, but Loki had someone alert Odin of the mission shortly after they left, so he could rescue them. This proved to be a costly trick for Thor, as Odin banished him to Earth and stripped him of his power due to Loki's plan.

Odin's "Death"

Loki's next trick on Thor saw him tell the god of thunder that Odin was dead. When Thor was captured by SHIELD after trying to reclaim Mjolnir, Loki magically visited him on Earth. He told Thor that Odin died after banishing him to Earth and that he became Asgard's ruler as a result. Loki said he couldn't undo Thor's punishment since it was Odin's last command. However, this wasn't true. Odin was very much still alive but just in the Odinsleep. Considering Thor and Odin's relationship in the MCU, this was one of Loki's cruelest tricks on his brother. Thankfully, Thor learned the truth once Lady Sif and the Warrior's Three came to Earth.

Invasion of Earth

Loki raises his scepter in The Avengers.

Loki's invasion of Earth is also somewhat a betrayal of Thor. He swore to protect the planet when needed and Loki's attempt to take over the planet goes directly against Thor's objectives. Loki never really betrays Thor personally during the invasion attempt, but attacking Earth and teaming up with Thanos still partially feels like a way for him to get back at his brother

Avengers Fakeout

Loki does trick Thor in a crucial moment of The Avengers. After the Avengers apprehend Loki rather easily, Hawkeye and other minions of Loki stage a breakout for him. Loki was being kept in a containment cell designed for Hulk, and Thor rushed to the location during the attempted coup, setting up one of the best moments of Loki as Avengers 1's main villain. When Thor arrived, Loki was standing in the open doorway on the verge of escaping. Thor ran to tackle Loki but phased right through him, as this was an illusion. Loki remarks that Thor always falls for this trick and sends his brother hurtling out of the helicarrier.

Loki's Fake Thor 2 Death

Thor A Dark World Loki Death Tom Hiddleston

Thor was momentarily working with Loki to fake a betrayal in Thor: The Dark World's finale, but the god of mischief still pulled a trick on him. After Loki stabbed Algrim the Accursed, the Dark Elf turned and impaled Loki with the same weapon. This appeared to be the end of Loki's MCU story and even Thor mourned as his brother died in his arms. However, this was another illusion by Loki it turns out. Loki swapped places with an Asgardian guard who visited the supposed death scene and went back to Asgard.

Taking Odin's Place

Loki masquerades as Odin in Thor: The Dark World

Tricking not just Thor but all of Asgard, Loki began posing as Odin and ruling Asgard in his place after he returned. Thor came face-to-face with the fake Odin and didn't suspect a thing, as he actually turned down the chance to rule. Surprisingly, Asgard did well under his rule, even if Loki abused his power to bring himself more praise. It wasn't until Thor: Ragnarok that Thor learned about Loki's deception and what he did with Odin.

Stealing the Tesseract

Loki taking the Tesseract from Odin's vault before Asgard's destruction in Thor: Ragnarok could also be viewed as a betrayal of Thor. The god of thunder wasn't concerned with keeping or protecting the Infinity Stone, but Loki couldn't stop himself from taking it. This proved to be costly as it led Thanos right to the vessel filled with what remained of Asgard. The Mad Titan killed half of the individuals aboard the ship, including Loki at the end. The irony, of course, is that Loki had to give up the Tesseract to stop Thanos from killing Thor, but he wouldn't have gone after them if Loki never took it.

Not Being Dead

Out of the MCU's Loki pranks, arguably the greatest trick Loki has pulled is how Thor thinks that he's been dead for the whole of MCU Phase 4, when he's actually been knocking about in his own Disney+ show. Not only that, but Thor's definitely not-dead brother kick started the entire Multiverse Saga proper when he broke Kang the Conqueror variant He-Who-Remains' Sacred Timeline, too. A small detail, but it means that, just like with the Tesseract, Asgardians are once again at the center of a universe-level threat.

Thor doesn't know any of this, however. He thinks Loki is dead — this time permanently. Even if this isn't technically a deliberate trick, it's unlikely that Thor will see it that way, especially with how Loki betrays Thor every chance he gets. Learning of Loki's survival could even prove to be the solution to Thor actor Chris Hemsworth's concerns about wanting to take the character in a different, more dramatic direction. The Thor and Loki reunion is bound to happen — if not in Loki season 2, then at a different point in MCU Phase 6.

When Loki finally sees Thor once more, the Marvel Cinematic Universe could leverage Loki's years of betrayal and pranks to develop a great dramatic narrative for the Asgardian brothers. Indeed, though the MCU's Loki is a variant, he has the same exact past and experiences as the original Loki, and the other Loki variants also have similar experiences with the Thors in their respective universes. It would be interesting to see how Thor would react to not just Loki being alive, but the fact that there are countless other Lokis to worry about in the MCU's Multiverse Saga.

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