#marvel mystery comics 001

[daily-namor]

[bookclub4m]

Episode 175 - Revisiting Genres

This episode we’re talking about the very many genres we’ve read for the podcast…and which ones we’d read again! We discuss Jeff VanderMeer’s Zorro, Boat Fiction, We Have Always Hosted The Podcast, Bubble Gum Fiction, Cheese-based Erotica, whether the 1980s count as Historical Fiction, and more!

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jam Edwards

Old Episodes

Episode 090 - Adventure Fiction

Episode 106 - Alternative/Alternate History

Episode 086 - American Gothic

Episode 143 - Amish Romance

Episode 160 - Biographical Fiction & Fictional Biographies

Episode 069 - Bizarro Fiction

Episode 094 - Chick Lit Romance

Episode 151 - Classics

Episode 053 - Comedic Science Fiction & Fantasy

Episode 110 - Comedic/Humorous Fiction

Episode 021 - Coming of Age

Episode 147 - Contemporary Fantasy

Episode 007 - Cozy Mysteries

Episode 127 - Crime Fiction

Episode 131 - Cyberpunk

Episode 025 - Detective Fiction

Episode 172 - Domestic Thrillers

Episode 041 - Dystopian Fiction

Episode 070 - Erotic Romance

Episode 135 - Erotica

Episode 037 - Experimental Fiction

Episode 045 - Family Sagas

Episode 002 - Gothic Literature

Episode 014 - Historical Fantasy

Episode 098 - Historical Fiction

Episode 001 - Historical Romance

Other Media We Mentioned

Käärijä - Cha Cha Cha (Here’s a time stamped link to the finals performance in a half hour video of the top 10 songs this year. I can’t link solely to the performance due to region locking, booooo.)

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Wikipedia)

Marvel Snap (Wikipedia)

Far Cry (Wikipedia)

Tomb Raider (Wikipedia)

Horizon Zero Dawn (Wikipedia)

The Sandman (comic book) (Wikipedia)

Earth Abides by George R. Stewart

My Macaroni And Cheese Is A Lesbian Also She Is My Lawyer by Chuck Tingle

Inheritance: A pick-the-path experience by Darrell Dennis, Daniel Arnold & Medina Hahn

The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante

The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante || Talking Simulator (stream Matthew watched)

The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik

Links, Articles, and Things

Hark! The Holiday Music Podcast

Eurovision Song Contest 2023 (Wikipedia)

World Goth Day (Wikipedia)

Just Plain Wrong

Bubblegum music  (Wikipedia)

Episode 028 - Accidental Romance

Dairying and Cheese Erotica

12 Southern Gothic books by Authors of Colour

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

Ruby by Cynthia Bond

House of Cotton by Monica Brashears

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

Ghost Summer by Tananarive Due

The House of Erzulie by Kirsten Imani Kasai

A Visitation of Spirits by Randall Kenan

When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Cane by Jean Toomer

Bitter in the Mouth by Monique Truong

Sing Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward

We Are a Haunting by Tyriek White

Give us feedback!

Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!

Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Twitter or Instagram, join our Facebook Group, or send us an email!

Join us again on Tuesday, June 6th we’ll be discussing the genre of Fantasy! 

Then on Tuesday, June 20th we’re talking about how we’re bad at scheduling!

[nonsololibristore]

Bentornati amici di carta e d'Inchiostro ecco le novità del giorno: 001 EDIZIONI: - GANNIBAL BOX 2 J-POP EDITORE: - BJ ALEX BOX 6 - BLACK JACK 11 - FRIEREN OLTRE LA FINE DEL VIAGGIO 9 - GARON 2 - OSHI NO KO 6 - OVERLORD 16 - TABLEAU GATE 24 MAGIC PRESS: - DONNE IN CARRIERA - MOONLIT FANTASY 2 - TRA LE BRACCIA DELLA PRIMAVERA 14 PANINI COMICS: - A.X.E. - JUDGMENT DAY 3 - ANTEPRIMA 377 - ARPEGGIO OF BLUE STEEL 22 - BLEACH 1 - RISTAMPA - ETERNI 3 - UNA STORIA SCRITTA COL SANGUE - GIANT KILLING 54 - GLI INCREDIBILI X-MEN 397/16 - GROUNDWORK OF EVANGELION MOVIE 1-2 E COFANETTO COMPLETO - IMMORTAL X-MEN 7 - KENGAN ASHURA 24 - L'ATTACCO DEI GIGANTI 27 - RISTAMPA - L'USURAIO 38 - MARVEL INTERNATIONAL - INCREDIBILI X-MEN 49 - MUSHOKU TENSEI 16 - PLANET OF THE FOOLS 8 - PROTEGGI LA MIA TERRA 9 (DI 12) - RAT-MAN GIGANTE 107 - SHANGRI-LA FRONTIER 6 ( NORMAL E EXPANSION PASS ) - SONO SOLO FANTASIE 4 - SPRIGGAN 1-2-3-4 E COFANETTO 1 - STAR WARS: L'ALTA REPUBBLICA 21 - THE MANDALORIAN - STAGIONE 2 - GRAPHIC NOVEL - WOLVERINE 432/28 - X-FORCE 33 PANINI COMICS - DC: - BATMAN/SUPERMAN I MIGLIORI 4 - CRISI OSCURA SULLE TERRE INFINITE 1 - LUCIFER 4 - LA DIVINA COMMEDIA - SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 E COFANETTO COMPLETO - SUPERMAN 44 SALDA PRESS: - GODZILLA 27 ( NORMAL E VARIANT ) - THE WALKING DEAD COLOR EDITION 23 - TO-Y 3 - UNA GIUSTA SETE DI VENDETTA 2 VI ASPETTIAMO!!! #fumetterianonsololibri #fumetti #manga #comics #fumetto #graphicnovel #consiglidilettura (presso Non Solo Libri - Store) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnjwZUCN61W/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[magical-girl-hell]

A Fan-%#&#$-tastically Good Story

A Reading Guide to Marvel Comics’ Loki

This is an updated version of an old post that was getting a little unwieldy to edit. Same caveat as the original post: this isn’t every appearance of Loki in the last fifteen years, but it’s pretty dang close! I’ve tried to focus on trade paperbacks with the most commonly listed author, to make it easy for people to find them.

Part 1: 2007-2015

Thor by J. Michael Straczynski (volumes 1-3)

Thor, now king of Asgard and wielding the Odinforce, is returned from the void after Ragnarok. He decides to bring back the rest of the Asgardians and establish a new Asgard floating above Broxton, Oklahoma, but Loki has plans of his own –  or rather, her own.

There’s a lot in these, but particularly there’s a good amount of time devoted to Loki’s origin and how he came to be adopted by Odin. I highly recommend these! They’re quite good, and if you’re new to the Marvel Comics universe (if you’re coming from the cinematic universe, for example) it’ll give you a good idea of who the characters are and how they fit into this world.

Thor by Kieron Gillen (Complete Collection) and Siege by Brian Michael Bendis

With the help of Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers, Loki works to bring new Asgard crashing down – but the heroes bring chaos that not even Loki is prepared for.

Thor: The World Eaters by Matt Fraction

In the wake of the siege of Asgard, Thor misses his brother. Oh, and Galactus wants to eat Earth or something.

These are transitional, and there’s a lot less focus on Loki overall, but I still recommend them. Siege is a big Avengers crossover event, Gillen’s book and Siege contain the end of Old Loki, and World Eaters contains the beginning of Kid Loki. If you want to skip them, the next entry in this series will recap them.

Journey Into Mystery by Kieron Gillen

The complete(ish) adventures of Kid Loki. The old Loki is dead and in his place is a new Loki: a child with no memories of his predecessor’s evil. But Asgard doesn’t trust him, and old Loki left behind plenty of schemes. Some crimes can never be forgiven.

If you want these in paperback and you can afford it, there is a pair of lovely and sadly out-of-print omnibus books, but for the rest of us peasants, there are five volumes to keep track of:

Journey Into Mystery: Fear Itself

Journey Into Mystery: Fear Itself Fallout

Journey Into Mystery: The Terrorism Myth

Journey Into Mystery: The Manchester Gods

The Mighty Thor / Journey Into Mystery: Everything Burns

Tie-ins:

The Mighty Thor by Matt Fraction (volumes 1-3) -- While Loki and Leah are doing their own thing in Journey into Mystery, Loki’s having some adventures with Thor on the side, as well. If you want to read about them, this is where to find them.

Young Avengers by Kieron Gillen

Loki schemes to manipulate a bunch of teenage superheroes into helping him regain his full power as the group is pursued across the multiverse by the sinister Mother: an extradimensional entity invisible to adults, who manifests as murderous doppelgangers of the teenagers’ parents.

At least digitally, these are available now as a single collection: Young Avengers by Gillen & Mckelvie: The Complete Collection (But one comic didn’t look that great so... enjoy the original three trade paperbacks -- the full collection has the same cover as the last volume, sans volume title.)

Tie-ins:

A+X 005 (collected in Marvel A+X TPB: Equals Awesome) -- Directly before the events of Young Avengers, Loki appears in issue 5 of Marvel’s one-shot crossover series A+X, in a teamup (of sorts) with Mister Sinister. I can’t find the trade paperback anywhere, but it’s just a one-shot side story and he only appears in the one issue, so unless you’re really invested in finding out the fate of Doom’s Loki clones from Siege or you want to read the rest of the Avengers/X-men teamups in the book, you can skip this.

Loki: Agent of Asgard by Al Ewing

Loki makes a deal with the All-Mother of Asgard: for every mission he takes on for them, they will strike one of old Loki’s crimes from the books. Since the old Loki was reborn when Thor called the Asgardians back from the void, he has been scheming and struggling against the vicious cycles of his past. Loki has done terrible things to become the god he is today -- and now he is determined to wrest back control of his destiny and write his own story at last.

Or die trying... again.

Original Sin: Thor & Loki -- The Tenth Realm by Jason Aaron and Al Ewing

Loki takes a break from dealing with the All-Mother’s missions to accompany Thor on a mission to the sealed-off tenth realm to find their long-lost sister.

These are available as a single complete collection digitally (Loki: Agent Of Asgard - The Complete Collection), and I highly recommend it, as it also contains the relevant parts of the elusive Marvel Now! Point One 001 one-shot prequel comic (without which, the beginning of Agent of Asgard is rather abrupt.) Otherwise, if you want the three original volumes, don’t skip Original Sin -- it’s not recapped in Agent of Asgard, and without it the transition from volume 1 to 2 is very confusing. Think of it as volume 1.5.

Tie-ins:

Ms. Marvel 012 (Collected in Ms. Marvel Vol. 3: Crushed by G. Willow Wilson) -- (Takes place before Original Sin.) Loki makes some mischief in Kamala’s neighborhood -- and her love life! -- in the Valentine’s Day issue of Ms. Marvel. One-shot, can be safely skipped.

Avengers & X-Men: Axis by Rick Rumender -- The full Axis alignment-swap event. Relevant parts are included in the trade paperbacks for Agent of Asgard, but there’s more Loki content in the full event! It can be safely skipped.

Angela: Asgard’s Assassin (Collected in Angela: Asgard's Assassin Vol. 1: Priceless by Kieron Gillen) -- Loki has a brief part trying to help Thor hunt down their sisters when Angela steals Odin and Freyja’s new baby daughter, Laussa. Recommended if you liked Angela from Original Sin and/or if you’ve enjoyed the rest of Kieron Gillen’s work so far. If you’re just here for Loki, you can safely skip it, he ducks out of the adventure pretty early.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl 007-008 (Collected in The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Volume 2: Squirrel You Know It’s True by Ryan North) -- Somewhere between the end of Axis and the end of Agent of Asgard, Loki helps Squirrel Girl trap Ratatoskr, the wicked squirrel-god of gossip – never mind that he’s kind of the one that let her out to begin with! While you can skip this one, I actually really recommend reading it unless you’re super not into SG. Loki gets a fair few more little teamups with her (including some that span multiple issues), Thors appear (in both Worthy and Unworthy flavors), and Ratatoskr stays relevant. It’s pretty easy to find single issues digitally if you don’t want the whole tbp. (Loki appears in the second half, in issue #8)

Honorable mention:

Thor and Loki: Blood Brothers by Robert Rodi and Esad Ribic -- In an alternate universe, Loki has waged war on Asgard and won, and now he must decide what to do with his new crown and his captured enemies. To secure victory for all time, all he must do now is execute Thor -- so why does he hesitate?

A heavy deep dive into Loki’s character, his past, and his relationships that, while not canon to the 616 comic universe, has greatly informed both the comics and cinematic adaptations of Loki. A piece of Loki history, and the source of a lot of common fanon.

-

I’ll link to part 2 when it’s finished. Until then, enjoy this updated guide!

I don’t know that I remember some of these well enough to give good content warnings for them, but I definitely remember Siege in particular having some brief but surprisingly extreme gore, so you might want to skip it if that’s gonna bother you. (And maybe World Eaters, if that contains the dream arc?) Tenth Realm and Asgard’s Assassin also both contain babies in mortal peril.

[bewitching-elizabeth-olsen]

Press/Gallery: Elizabeth Olsen Is Ready to Lead the MCU

An ambitious new Disney+ series might just give the strongest Avenger the happy ending she deserves.

  GALLERY LINKS

Studio Photoshoots > 2021 > Session 001

  ELLE: We can’t keep meeting Elizabeth Olsen like this. By “this,” I mean in the throes of catastrophe or bereavement, or, to put it plainly, when she’s an emotional wreck. In the 2018 Facebook Watch drama Sorry For Your Loss, Olsen assumes the role of Leigh Shaw, a young widow grappling with the unexpected loss of her husband and all the painful nuisances that come with death: the unbearable waves of sadness, the clichéd condolences, a grief support group that runs out of donuts. At one point, Leigh says through a cracked voice, “I’m just mad all the time.” It’s hard not to draw parallels to Olsen’s other angry character. After all, “mad” is exactly how 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron introduced us to Wanda Maximoff.

Defined by tragedy since her Marvel debut, Wanda (aka the Scarlet Witch) is an orphan with telekinetic powers. When not saving the world, she spends most of her time onscreen grieving the deaths of her parents, twin brother, or lover. Wanda’s never been allowed to fully exist outside the confines of her grief and anger, but with the launch of WandaVision—Marvel’s foray into serialized content for streaming—she may just be getting the happy ending she deserves.

Partly inspired by The Vision comic book, which follows synthezoid superhero Vision and his family as they move to the suburbs of Washington, D.C., the Disney+ series is an ode to the TV sitcoms we’ve come to love, with Wanda and Vision (Paul Bettany) basking in newlywed bliss—except Vision’s been very dead (killed twice, in fact) since the events of 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War. It’s unclear exactly how these starcrossed characters got to suburbia, but for now, it’s a delight to see the typically solemn duo sink their teeth into slapstick comedy.

“The show is like a blank slate for them,” Olsen tells me over Zoom, her light brown fringe a departure from Wanda’s red waves. The Scarlet Witch’s doleful glare is also long gone; in its place, Olsen’s eyes are wide with excitement. “Wanda and Vision’s journey to this point is a story of pure, innocent love and deep connection with another person,” she explains. “It was also very traumatizing. Tragedy has always been their story. In our show, we kind of wipe that clean and start fresh.”

But Wanda’s complicated past looms over WandaVision. Age of Ultron saw her and her twin brother, Pietro, initially opposing the Avengers (the siblings volunteered for a series of experiments with Hydra—a super evil organization within the MCU—after the deaths of their parents at the hands of Tony Stark’s Stark Industries) before switching sides to help save the Earth. The movie ends in victory for our superheroes, but yet another tragedy for Wanda when Pietro dies in battle. She finds comfort in the arms of Vision, an android created from the remains of Tony’s J.A.R.V.I.S. program, but even that bliss is short-lived. You see, Vision can only live with the help of the Mind Stone, which Mad Titan Thanos needs to take over the universe. In Infinity War, Vision asks Wanda to sacrifice him, and Wanda reluctantly agrees—but Thanos reverses time to gain control of the stone, killing the robot for a second time. Wanda’s pain is palpable: Imagine sacrificing the love of your life to save everyone else, just to watch him brought back to life and killed again—by the very villain you’re trying to defeat.

Though the thrill of playing a character with superhuman abilities is enticing for any actress, Olsen says it was Wanda’s internal battle with mental health that attracted her to the role in the first place. “[Joss Whedon] explained to me that Wanda Maximoff has always been this pillar of the struggle of mental health, from her pain and depression and traumatic experiences to how she completely alters the reality of the comics,” Olsen says of her early conversations with the Age of Ultron director. “The thing I held onto after reading the initial script was that she was not only powerful because of her abilities, but because of her emotions.”

In fact, MCU theorists would argue she’s one of, if not the, strongest Avenger. She can infiltrate the others’ minds to reveal their biggest fears (Age of Ultron). She can overpower Vision and send him plunging through several floors to break up a fight between warring superheroes (Avengers: Civil War). She can even bring Thanos to his knees, snapping his sword in half and forcibly removing his armor piece by piece (Infinity War).

Still, “they keep slapping her over the head with more grief,” Olsen quips.

As phase one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe began with the sound of clanging metal on May 2, 2008, phase four kicked off on January 15, 2021 with a kitschy 1950s sitcom theme: “She’s a magical gal in a small town locale / he’s a hubby who’s part machine / How will this duo fit in and pull through? Oh, by sharing a love / like you’ve never seen.”

With WandaVision, Marvel steers clear of the typical superhero trappings: no destructive battles at a Berlin airport or across the streets of New York City; no blonde-haired god time-traveling to other realms; no tree-like alien fight alongside a raccoon. Wandavision takes place after the events of Endgame in a fictional suburban town called Westview, and the biggest problem the newlyweds face in the show’s opening moments is creating a convincing backstory to get nosy neighbor Agnes (Kathryn Hahn) off their backs.

“They are just trying to fit in,” Olsen explains. “They’re trying to not be found out by their neighbors that they’re super-powered beings.” Now, if only we can figure out what the hell is actually going on. Olsen remains tight-lipped: “The reason it’s a sitcom shows itself later in the show,” she hints. “When Kevin [Feige] told me, it didn’t feel so bizarre. It felt like a great way to start our story.”

“With our show, you don’t know what the villain is, or if there is one at all.”

So, is Wanda stuck in the first stage of grief, denial? Has she altered reality as a coping mechanism for Vision’s death? Is she being held hostage by a terrorist organization (ahem, Hydra!)? One thing we do know is that someone is watching the couple and taking notes. At the end of episode 1, the camera pans out from a retro TV playing an episode of WandaVision (meta!) to show a hand jotting down notes. There’s a strange sword symbol on the notebook and a nearby control board, and in episode 2, the same sign appears on a toy helicopter lodged in the couple’s front yard. Later, when a mysterious beekeeper crawls out of the sewer on the couple’s street, the symbol is seen on the back of his suit. In its 20-plus movies, Marvel villains have always existed in plain sight. But with a new, less obvious darkness lurking at every turn, Wanda may have to return to her world-saving roots.

“Someone said to me when you watch any of these hero movies, you know when the villain’s about to show themselves, and you also have an idea of who the villain is,” Olsen says. “With our show, you don’t know what the villain is, or if there is one at all.” For now, WandaVision allows for glimmers of hope and optimism for Wanda and Vision, despite what darkness tries to threaten their happiness. “Wanda is trying to protect everything in her bubble, protect what she and Vision have and this experience,” Olsen says. “I think everything she does is in response to keeping things together.”

In addition to exploding the concept of the superhero onscreen, WandaVision toys with a different era of TV in each episode. The pilot takes viewers to the ‘50s with an episode filmed in front of a live studio audience, and Wanda dresses up in the quintessential housewife garb, not a hair out of place in her voluminous bob. By the time we click on episode 2, she trades in her apron and kitten heels for a more pared-down ‘60s look, while episode 3 gives a nod to the ‘70s, complete with a Brady Bunch-style staircase and a shag haircut for Vision.

While dressing up was the fun part, time-hopping through the eras required a lot of binge-watching old sitcoms to get the mannerisms down right. Olsen studied series like The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Brady Bunch, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and Bewitched to “understand the tones of each era” and get a grasp of how Wanda and Vision should act as a couple. (One of her favorite TV pairings was Jane Kaczmarek and Bryan Cranston from Malcolm in the Middle.) She was fascinated by the way female characters evolved through the decades: “You have to learn appropriate manners—what’s considered being polite or proper. That coincides with women’s voices changing,” she explains. “I enjoyed challenging myself to match the syntax and the lyricism. I live in a very chest-register kind of deep voice. I had to remember not to bring it up at certain moments.”

For so long, Wanda served as a supporting character to Marvel’s biggest names, and the formulaic mundanity of the major theatrical releases made it easy to get comfortable. WandaVision offered Olsen a much-needed challenge. “I’ve only been working for 10 years, but there is this feeling where you start to get comfortable,” she says. “WandaVision was the furthest thing from comfortable for me. It felt intimidating. The character is a completely different thing.”

And fans hoping for a little Marvel action won’t be disappointed. “We still live up to what Marvel does,” she promises. “We just tell the story in a completely different way. It’s a very emotional, female story and it’s a story they haven’t told yet for either of our characters.” Whatever your theory is, keep the cliché condolences to yourself. No one will be uttering, “Sorry for your loss” in Wanda’s world.

Press/Gallery: Elizabeth Olsen Is Ready to Lead the MCU was originally published on Elizabeth Olsen Source • Your source for everything Elizabeth Olsen

[beaulesbian]

i finally remembered to get the marvel comics that the mcelroys wrote

and i have few favorite parts i need to share

unless

can’t forget their love for dogs

this is the first issue and they already said gay rights

everyone loves brother teams

peak mcelroy humor

ive known this team for a day and i love them already

War of the Realms: Journey into Mystery #001 (2019)

[comicwaren]

This week on Marvel Comics (10th April 2019):

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 2 #043

Unstoppable Wasp Vol. 2 #006

War of the Realms: Journey into Mystery #001

Web of Venom: Cult of Carnage #001

Winter Soldier Vol. 2 #005

X-23 Vol. 4 #011

X-Force Vol. 5 #006

[godofstoriessuggestion]

A Fan-%#&#$-tastically Good Story: A Reading Guide to Marvel Comics Loki

In other words: every Loki appearance in my collection of Marvel comics, in chronological order. (It's not everything in the past ten years, but it's really close, and I've tried to make a note where there's stuff I haven't read yet -- I'll get to it all eventually! Minimal spoilers, and I've tried to list the trade paperbacks where I can rather than single issues. Updated 6/27/2019.)

Old Loki

Thor by J. Michael Straczynski (aka the Lady Loki ones)

Thor, now king of Asgard and wielding the Odinforce, is returned from the void after Ragnarok. He decides to bring back the rest of the Asgardians and establish a new Asgard floating above Broxton, Oklahoma, but Loki plans to bring it -- and Thor -- crashing down. (There’s a lot in these, but particularly there’s a good amount of time devoted to Loki’s origin and how he came to be adopted by Odin.)

Thor by Kieron Gillen

Contains the leadup to and fallout from Siege, including Siege: Loki, a one-shot prequel that shows the deals Loki was cutting behind the scenes from his perspective.

Siege (aka the one where old Loki dies)

With the help of Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers, Loki brings down new Asgard -- but the heroes bring chaos that not even Loki is prepared for.

Kid Loki

Thor: The World Eaters by Matt Fraction

In the wake of Siege, Thor misses his brother -- enough to bring him back from the dead, despite his many crimes.

Loki: Journey Into Mystery by Kieron Gillen (aka the Kid Loki ones)

The old Loki is dead and in his place is a new Loki, a child with no memories of his predecessor’s evil. But Asgard doesn’t trust him, and old Loki left behind plenty of schemes.

A+X 005

Loki manipulates Mr. Sinister into retrieving the sample of his DNA that Doom’s been using to try to clone him.

Young Avengers (2013) (aka Young freaking Avengers)

Loki schemes to manipulate a bunch of teenage superheroes into helping him regain his full power. Chaos (predictably) ensues.

Loki: Agent of Asgard

Marvel Now! Point One 001 (one-shot)

Loki hunts down a magic sword on the orders of the All-Mother of Asgard. A prequel to Loki: Agent of Asgard.

Loki: Agent of Asgard (aka THE Loki Comic)

Loki makes a deal with the All-Mother of Asgard: for every mission he takes on for them, they will strike one of old Loki’s crimes from the books. But he’s not the only one trying to rewrite his story.

Ms. Marvel 012 (one-shot)

(takes place during the first volume of AoA) Loki makes some mischief in the Valentine’s Day issue of Ms. Marvel.

(Original Sin) Thor and Loki: The Tenth Realm

(takes place between volumes 1 and 2 of AoA) Loki takes a break from dealing with the All-Mother’s missions by accompanying Thor on a mission to the sealed-off tenth realm to find their long-lost sister.

Angela: Asgard’s Assassin

(takes place after Original Sin but before AXIS) Loki has a brief part trying to help Thor hunt down their sisters when Angela steals Odin and Freyja’s new baby daughter, Laussa.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl 008

(takes place before the end of AoA but after AXIS -- the timeline is a little wonky here) Loki helps Squirrel Girl trap Ratatoskr -- never mind that he’s kind of the one that let her out to begin with!

Avengers & X-Men: AXIS

The inversion event is a big part of Agent of Asgard, but if you get the AoA trade paperbacks, it’ll be pretty well-covered. I haven’t yet read all of these.

Loki: God of Stories

The Mighty Thor (2015) (aka the Lady Thor ones)

Loki���s been out of the game for a while, but now he’s back doing the bad guy thing -- or is he?

Vote Loki

(takes place during -- and is referenced in -- the second volume of TMT) Loki runs for president.

All New Guardians of the Galaxy 012

Loki has a brief (but pretty!) cameo in which he impersonates Cable to prevent Drax from meeting the real one, and spies on the other Guardians as they meet other heroes, trying to track down the Infinity Stones. Kind of starts the ball rolling for Infinity Wars.

Marvel Legacy

(takes place during TMT) Loki gathers a group of frost giant runts -- the Black Ice Berserkers -- and sends them after a mysterious crate heavily guarded in a SHIELD warehouse, while Loki himself takes a trip to South Africa and makes a new friend. A prequel to Avengers (2018) and Infinity Wars (2018).

Loki: Sorcerer Supreme

Doctor Strange by Donny Cates (Volume 1: God of Magic) (Doctor Strange 381-385 aka Loki: Sorcerer Supreme)

In the aftermath of the Empirikul’s attack on magic, Loki takes on the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme.

The Amazing Spider-Man 795

The new Sorcerer Supreme asks for a little help from a certain friendly neighborhood superhero.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (Volume 8: My Best Friend’s Squirrel)

When Tippy-Toe and Nancy Whitehead are abducted by squirrels from outer space, Squirrel Girl gets some help tracking them down from the Sorcerer Supreme. Space road trip? Space road trip.

Loki: ...Double-Agent of Asgard?

Thor by Jason Aaron (2018) (aka the one where they go to Hel)

In the aftermath of the Mangog’s attack on Asgard, Thor is trying to put a stop to Malekith’s War of the Realms and find himself worthy once more -- and Loki  is trying to help... probably. In the far future, things have taken a dark turn for the brothers, and not just because the universe seems to be dying!

Marvel Free Comic Book Day 2018

Odin entreats T’Challa to stop Loki’s plans to call down the Final Host. A prequel to Avengers (2018).

Avengers (2018) by Jason Aaron (Volume 1: The Final Host) (aka the one where he gets the band Avengers back together)

Loki calls down the Final Host, revealing the reason why Earth is such a hotspot for superpowers in the cosmos.

Infinity Countdown Prime

When Logan comes into possession of an Infinity Stone, Loki offers to take it off his hands. Another prequel to Infinity Wars (2018)

Infinity Wars Prime

Loki scours an ancient library for an answer to the question: why can’t he ever seem to win? Someone is pulling the strings of his story, and he’s determined to find out who. Still another prequel to Infinity Wars (2018).

Infinity Wars (2018) (aka the ones where he has a ponytail, finally.)

Aliens fighting over shiny rocks interrupt Loki’s existential crisis, so he does what he always does: puts together a team of superheroes.

Infinity Wars: Infinity

An epilogue to Infinity Wars. Demoralized after his jaunt into the Prime Universe, Loki is deciding what to do next when a fiery old acquaintance from the end of time drags him straight back into things. A prequel to Wolverine: Infinity Watch.

Asgardians of the Galaxy (aka holy shit what is HE doing here?!)

While Gamora’s playing Gotta Catch ‘Em All with the Infinity Stones, Nebula is determined to show that she’s still a contender for the title of “deadliest woman in the universe.” Angela and a motley crew of Asgardians (and adjacent) are out to stop her, but you’ll never guess who’s pulling their strings. (Well... something tells me you might have an inkling.)

Wolverine: Infinity Watch (aka one last hurrah before the shit hits the fan)

Old Logan finally reveals the reason Loki’s plans involving the Infinity Stones went awry and enlists his help to prevent a catastrophe.

The Unbeatable Squirrel-Girl #43-46

When Squirrel-Girl is unexpectedly teleported to New York during Malekith’s invasion, Loki sends her on a mission to destroy a secret Frost Giant base in Canada.

War of the Realms (aka what it’s all been leading up to)

Malekith is finally poised to take over Midgard with the help of his allies. Loki’s failure to stop the War of the Realms culminates in a final, tragic battle with his father -- Laufey, the King of Jotunheim.

War of the Realms: War Scrolls #2

Billy Kaplan has a brunch date with his old Young Avengers compatriot, Kate Bishop. She wants to talk about the good old days -- and what they’re going to do about Loki.

War of the Realms: Omega

What’s next for Loki? An epilogue to War of the Realms and a Prequel to Loki (2019).

Loki: King of Jotunheim

Loki (2019)

After Laufey’s fall in War of the Realms, there’s a power void in Jotunheim that Loki is all too happy to fill. Sorry, did I say happy...?

(to be continued)

Extra-Canon Comics

These aren’t part of the prime Marvel comics universe, but I think they’re noteworthy.

Thor and Loki: Blood Brothers (aka Loki (2004))

Loki has waged war on Asgard and won, and now he sits on Asgard’s throne. Odin and Thor are imprisoned, and all he has to do now is decide what to do with them. So why does he hesitate? An exploration of Loki’s character that definitely informs the movies and the comics, even if this comic itself isn’t canon. (Be warned if you’re looking for a lovely Tom-Hiddleston-esque Loki... this Loki is very, very much not that. This was yours truly’s very first Marvel comic~)

What If? Thor (2018) (aka what if Thor was raised by frost giants?)

The origins of Thor and Loki, in an alternate universe where Laufey defeats Odin and brings his son home to Jotunheim. At least as much -- if not more -- about Loki than Thor, honestly.

[etrnty-a]

                                                    BIRTH  OF  A  COSMIC  ENTITY  /  ABSTRACT.

I say headcanon, but most of this is like 95% canon with a dash of my own personal views.  While I haven’t read every single comic featuring cosmic stuff, nor will every cosmic be referenced here, i’v read a heckofalot over the past six or so years since becoming hooked on marvel.  Anyway!!  Let’s get down to the good stuff.  But first...

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COSMIC ENTITIES  &  ABSTRACTS. In layman terms: Abstracts simply ‘appear’, are often a fundamental aspect for a functional multiverse,  &  tend to be a personification.  While Entities can be born in a number of ways  &  aren’t overly important in the grand scheme of things.  There are three exceptions to this: Galactus, Eon,  &  Epoch, all of whom exist on the edge between Entity  &  Abstract, corporeal  &  non-corporeal.  There are also Cosmic Beings ... but that’s a post for another day.

SIMPLY COMING INTO BEING. At the birth of the multiverse there are a number of Abstracts whom come into existence, because they are existence itself.  These beings are:  Eternity, Infinity, Death, Oblivion*, Lord Chaos, Master Order, the Phoenix Force (among a variety of other cosmic forces),  When sentient life began to evolve other ‘lesser’ Abstracts came into existence:  Mistress Love, Sire Hate, Empathy, Eulogy, Expediency, Epiphany, Enmity.  Others were created shortly after the big bang by higher Abstracts, or merely came into being for some reason or another:  In-Betweener, Entropy, Numinus, Eon, Queen of Nevers.  *Oblivion’s existence is debatable.  Some believe he was around before the multiverse,  &  some say he represents the void between universes.  I’m a little on the fence with this, so  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

ASCENDING PAST THE MORTAL REALM. Sometimes, once in a millennia, the most miraculous individual is born.  This happened to an Inhuman called Ulysses.  When the terrigen mists found him, he began to see the future, a multitude of possible futures. These powers continued to grow until he was confronted by Eternity, who asked if he wished to join them among the cosmic elite.  Ulysses joyously accepted.  The Elders of the Universe  &  Watchers could be considered here too, though they are more physical than Entity.

THE CHOSEN ONE. Similar to the one above, however an individual is chosen to become a Cosmic Entity.  The most obvious example here being Galactus.  He was once a mortal of the sixth iteration of the multiverse, a space explorer with a brilliant scientific mind.  When reality came to its natural end he was confronted by Eternity of said multiverse.  Their essences merged, Galan of Taa was reborn into the seventh multiverse as Galactus. But he was a just a mere mortal,  &  so it took many millennia within an incubation pod to evolve into a fundamental part of the cosmos.  A human girl called Atleza was also chosen to be the next multiversal anchor.  Adam Warlock was chosen by The-One-Above-All to be the next Living Tribunal ... or a facet of it, who knows.

CLICHE EXPERIMENT GONE WRONG. The Titan god of time, Chronos, was once just your average guy ... whom also happens to be Thanos’ grandpa.  Anyway, one day a particular machine he was working on  (can’t remember specifics)  blew up in his face.  His mortal form was destroyed  &  scattered across all time.  

KILLING AN ABSTRACT.. This unfortunately is the most common way seen in canon to become a Cosmic Entity or Abstract.  If you destroy one, you are then able to take its place, or anyone for that matter should you have enough power to do so.  Thanos once briefly replaced Eternity ... &  quite literally everyone else in the recent Infinity Conflict.  A fellow Cosmic can also kill  &  replace another.

COSMIC UNION.  Perhaps the least common to occur for the simple fact that there really is no need to do it.  Abstracts  &  Entities are able to combine their energies to create.  This happened between Eternity  &  the personification of the DC multiverse, Kismet.  The two were forced together by a mad scientist named Krona, but the two multiverses were incompatible  &  began to collapse ... though the star-crossed lovers still fell for each other.  After the heroes saved the day, both actualities were pulled apart,  &  left behind a cosmic egg which was said to one day hatch into a new universe.  Singularity might also be a product of a loving moment between Eternity  &  the Queen of Nevers ... but that’s just my lil headcanon. 

OTHERS. The Living Tribunal’s origin is a mystery.  They are the arbiter of the multiverse, keeper of balance  &  cosmic law between all universes.  They are abstract, the right hand entity of The-One-Above-All,  &  only one exists.  A group of beings called The Infinities exist beyond the multiverse  &  are capable of shifting entire galaxies.  While The Infinities intentions were ‘good’ in a way, a similar race outside the multiverse called the Beyonders are just jerks  &  decided to destroy everything.  How??  Who the heck knows, that whole event was bull.  The Celestials existed since the first universe but are capable of ‘duplicating’ themselves via seeding planets.  Then you have a shit ton of extra-dimensional entities like Shuma-Gorath  &  Dormammu, mostly physical but are stupidly powerful.  Beings such as Thanos  &  Adam Warlock constantly flutter between Being, Entity,  &  Abstract.

[toomanylokifeels]

Kid Loki is an amazing character arc for Loki that is well worth the read and a good entry point for fans of the character. Below, I’ll provide a visual guide on the reading order of comics where Kid Loki appears. I will also provide a link to Marvel’s digital comic book shop for those interested in buying. You can also find these comics in select comic book shops (buying individual issues costs $$$) or other online comic providers.  

Thor 617 - 621 (Fraction, Ferry, Hollingsworth)

If you do not want to buy individual issues, you can buy Thor: The World Eaters which collects issues #615-621 of Thor. This is often the most cost effective way of buying the comics. Individual issues are linked below.

617 | 618 | 619 | 620

620.1 | 621

Click the read more to see what comes next!

***Important Note***

Below, you’ll see The Mighty Thor and Journey into Mystery listed multiple times. That is because The Mighty Thor and Journey into Mystery go back and forth. One might pick up where the other left off and vice-versa! There may also be other tie-ins with other major Marvel story arcs like Fear Itself and Exiled. You do not need to read those arcs in their entirety to understand these tie-ins.  

The Mighty Thor 001-006 (Fraction, Coipel, Morales, Martin)

If you do not want to buy individual issues, you can buy The Mighty Thor by Matt Fraction Vol. 1 which collects issues #001-006 of The Mighty Thor (2011-2012.) This is often the most cost effective way of buying the comics. Individual issues are linked below.

001 | 002 | 003 | 004

005 | 006

Journey into Mystery: Fear Itself 622-626 (Gillen, Braithwaithe, Arreola)

If you do not want to buy individual issues, you can buy Journey Into Mystery Vol. 1: Fear Itself which collects issues #622-626 of Journey into Mystery: Fear Itself. This is often the most cost effective way of buying the comics. Individual issues are linked below.

622 | 623 | 624 | 625 

626 

Journey into Mystery: Fear Itself 626.1-631 (Various)

If you do not want to buy individual issues, you can buy Journey Into Mystery Vol. 2: Fear Itself Fallout which collects issues #626.1-631 of Journey into Mystery: Fear Itself. This is often the most cost effective way of buying the comics. Individual issues are linked below.

626.1 | 627 | 628 | 629

630 | 631 

Journey into Mystery: Terrorism Myth 632-636 (Gillen, Breitweiser, Elson)

If you do not want to buy individual issues, you can buy Journey Into Mystery Vol. 3: Terrorism Myth which collects issues #632-636 of Journey into Mystery: Fear Itself. This is often the most cost effective way of buying the comics. Individual issues are linked below.

632 | 633 | 634 | 635

636

The Mighty Thor 007-012.1 (Fraction, Ferry, Kubert, Larraz)

If you do not want to buy individual issues, you can buy The Mighty Thor Vol. 2 by Matt Fraction which collects issues #007-012 of The Mighty Thor (2011-2012.) This is often the most cost effective way of buying the comics. Individual issues are linked below.

***Note: The Mighty Thor 12.1 is part of The Mighty Thor Vol. 3; You don’t need to read all of Vol. 3 in order to follow Kid Loki’s Arc. I won’t discourage you from reading it, though!

007 | 008 | 009 | 010

011 | 012 | 012.1***

Exiled: Journey Into Mystery / New Mutants (Various)

If you do not want to buy individual issues, you can buy Exiled: Journey Into Mystery which collects issues #001 (Exiled), #637-638 (Journey Into Mystery), and #42-43 (New Mutants) This is often the most cost effective way of buying the comics. Individual issues are linked below.

001 | 637 | 042 | 638 

043

Journey Into Mystery: Manchester Gods 639-641 (Gillen, Dematteis, Elson)

If you do not want to buy individual issues, you can buy Journey Into Mystery: Manchester Gods which collects issues #639-641 of Journey Into Mystery. This is often the most cost effective way of buying the comics. Individual issues are linked below.

639 | 640 | 641

Everything Burns (Various)

This is it. This is the end of the Kid Loki Arc! Everything Burns switches between The Mighty Thor and Journey Into Mystery. Thor and Loki’s stories come back together in a really big way. 

If you do not want to buy individual issues, you can buy Everything Burns which collects issues #18-22 of The Mighty Thor and #642-645 of Journey Into Mystery. This is often the most cost effective way of buying the comics. Individual issues are linked below.

018 | 642 | 019 | 643

020 | 644 | 021 | 645

Interested in reading more?

You can check out Thor: God of Thunder (2013) for more Thor and Young Avengers (2013) for more Loki!

Finally, let me know if any of the above links do not work and/or if you have any questions, comments, or concerns :)

[lucrezianoin]

What to read in Avengers volume 1 (with bonus SteveTony moments). Part 1 #001 to #151

A list of nice Avengers storylines and issues to read and I'll add the bonus SteveTony elements if there are any (indicated with * to ***  for the amount of SteveTony-ess)! Between the issues to read I will put a brief summary of what happened to understand the story better (they are between parenthesis and in italics).

If you are wondering where to read them: Marvel Unlimited is the solution.

AVENGERS VOLUME 1: Part 1 issues #001 to #151

I decided to start this list whie I was reading the Kree-Srull Wars so my memories of the first arcs are pretty vague regarding the Steve/Tony interactions and plot summaries. I will update this in the future, rereading the first issues.

#1 and #4: Classic issues with how the Avengers are born and the addition of Captain America to the team.

#16 - #28 (more or less) : Cap's Kooky Quartet. Stories where Wanda, Cap, Clint and Pietro are the Avengers. Some insight in Steve Rogers' (probable) depression, some fights to decide who is the team leader and in general some great stories!

Avengers Point One: This is a 2017 miniserie that takes place here. 

#52:  Black Panther joins the Avengers.

#57 - 58: Vision is born!

#63: Clint becomes Goliath.

#89 - 97*: The Kree-Skrull War. It has some nice panels of Iron Man and Cap close together and some nice art, but overall not extremely SteveTony. Still, the story is linear and amazing, and there’s also Carol Danvers in it! The Avengers in this storyline are Wanda, Clint, Pietro and Vision (with Wanda and Clint kidnapped by the Skrulls, which really shows the start of the Vision/Wanda romance), Captain Marvel, Steve, Tony, Thor and some Hank and Wasp.  [PICS]

#98 - 100: The amnesiac Hercules arc. Not a fundamental storyline, but definitely fun. A mysterious tune turnes humans into war thirsty beings, and the Avengers are hypnotised as well. Only Thor and Vision can stop them. Also, it explains where Clint ended up in the Kree-Skrull war, Hercules is back and Wanda admits she is in love with Vision. But no Steve and Tony interactions.

(The Vision and Wanda accept their love, Pietro contacts the Avengers and tells them he is in love with Crystal and is staying with the Inhumans because he can't accept Wanda and Vision's relationship; Clint leaves the Avengers because he doesn't feel 'super'hero enough and goes looking for Natasha after his love disappointment with Wanda. Nat is with Daredevil and Clint gets angry, so he refuses to help her rescue the Avengers. Nat leaves Darevil and joins the Avengers, feeling mixed feelings about Clint. T'Challa feels the pressure of his nation asking for its prince back.)

#112 - 114*: The Lion God arc (sort of, a issue 113 is a bit of a break from that). Black Panther has to fight against a rival Lion God, Nat ends up leaving the Avengers (so soon!), Wanda and Vision are attacked for their love, Mantis and the Swordman join the Avengers. This story arc has some very faint Iron Man & Cap moments. This has also a nice Tony Stark "I'll go find Iron Man!" secret identity moment. ALSO, Tony winks at Blake, asking him to find Thor, and Blake realises Tony knows he is Thor, which means that Blake knows Iron Man is Tony Stark.

(The crossover Avengers versus Defenders happen here, and Wanda's hatred for humans intensify. The Avengers defeat the band of the Zodiac and Cap is not among the Avengers as he has troubles in his own comic)

#123-124: The origin of Mantis and prequel of the Celestial Madonna arc. 

(Cap returns to the Avengers)

#126*: The Avengers fight Klaw. Love triangle between Mantis Vision and Wanda, or so the Swordman and Wanda think. Cap wants to leave the shield and ends up leaving the Avengers again, as Black Panther does, Wanda starts to control her powers. [PICS]

(The Avengers visits the Inhumans and they meet Agatha Harkness and they fight Ultron)

#128: Wanda and Agatha witches together and Wanda's powers increase. Mantis tells the Swordman she doesn't love him anymore and tries to kiss Vision.

#129 - Giant Size #2 - #130 - 132 - Giant Size #3 - #133 - 135 -Giant Size #4 *: The Celestial Madonna arc. Kang kidnaps the Avengers, knowing that one of the women is the prophetised Celestial Madonna, who will give birth to a powerful being (and he wants to be the father). This arc contains Kang's backstory as well, Clint is back, Swordman dies, Moondragon appears and reveals her backstory, Steve Rogers returns as Nomad for a brief moment, Mantis finds out her destiny and marries a tree, the Avengers discover the orign of the Skull Kree war, Wanda and Vision get married after Vision sees his own true origin. What a wild ride! There are some nice scenes of Iron Man being delighted at seeing Cap as Nomad (only in #131, then Steve disappears again).  [PICS]

(Tony meets Hank McCoy - and then Iron Man fights the Beast because of a misunderstanding/mind controlling villain)

#137: A cute domestic issue where Thor, Iron Man and Hawkeye (the only Avengers left) decide to look for new members. Moondragon accepts, Janet and Hank Pym come back, The Beast asks to join the Avengers. There's also a nice scene with Vision and Wanda on a holiday.

(Hank is worried for Janet, who has been wounded in the previous issue and is in a coma, Hank has some troubles controlling his powers, The Beast cures him, Janet wakes up, Iron Man and Moondragon find out that Hawkeye disappeared, Wanda and Vision are back from their honeymoon)

#141**: Patsy Walker makes an appearance, Cap is back with the Avengers, Thor and Moondragon go looking for Hawkeye. Iron Man decides to help Cap with his enemies because ‘[...] that [SI dealing with that enemy before] and your smiling face are what kept me here’. [PICS]

(Moondragon and Thor finds Hawkeye in the cowboy era and they defeat Kang once for all - sort of -, the other Avengers are still prisoners in Roxxon and Cap has a plan to escape)

#143 - 144**: Patsy Walker's backstory! Tony helps Cap and Patsy and compliments Steve's shield and abilities (and Cap literally made a plan knowing Iron Man would catch him), then they spend a good part of the issue telling to each others how much they missed each others and there are some hilarious panels as well. Patsy becomes Hellcat. [PICS]

(At this point the story is interrupted for two issues of an extra story, because of editorial reasons. In this short story, assassins are after the Avengers, Hawkeye thinks about his friendship with Cap, Cap is seriously wounded and the end is much darker than usual Avengers stories of those years)

#147: The Avengers continue their Roxxon/Squadron Sinister adventure and escape the enemy, finding the Serpent mind-controllng crown as well. Wanda is affected by it by manages to break the spell (because of love!).

#148*-149: The fight continues. Thor and Moondragon join the other Avengers. The Avengers win, Thor and Hellcat save the day. End of the Roxxon arc. [PICS]

#150-151*: These two issues introduce the new Avengers team and recap the beginning of the Avengers and how the team changed during the past issues. Thor decides to leave the Avengers because he feels like he is losing his purpose, so far away from the other gods. Thor names Iron Man chairman and the first thing Iron Man does is ask Cap if he is staying (the two have a moment here and Cap tells him that he is staying as the Avengers are his home). Vision, Wanda, Yellowjacket and Janet decide to stay as Avengers, Moondragon decides to leave the Avengers as well as she needs more freedom, Beast is officially accepted as an Avengers, Hellcat wants to be an Avenger but accepts Moondragon's offer to go with her and train with her. Wonder Man is back! [PICS] 

Avengers in the teams (during these issues): Iron Man, Hulk (briefly), Ant Man/Yellowjacket/Giant man, Wasp, Captain America/Nomad, Thor, Hercules, Black Panther, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Vision, Black Widow (briefly), Rick Jones/Captain Marvel, Mantis, Hawkeye/Goliath, Swordman, Black Knight (briefly), Agatha Harkness (as Wanda’s teacher), Jarvis (as butler), Moondragon, Beast, Hellcat.

[daily-namor]

[aion-rsa]

Marvel’s Loki Episode 2: MCU Easter Eggs and Reference Guide

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains major spoilers for Marvel’s Loki episode 2, potentially future episodes, and the wider MCU.

Marvel’s Loki episode 2, “The Variant,” wastes absolutely no time. And like some of the best Marvel TV efforts, the Easter eggs and references are numerous, but not all of them are obvious. In fact, a lot of them don’t even necessarily pertain to the MCU! Loki is having fun with genre, TV formulas, and the very notions of time travel itself, so looking to the pages of Marvel Comics isn’t quite enough.

Here’s everything we’ve found so far, and if you spot anything we missed, be sure to let us know!

The Renaissance Fair

The Renaissance Fair takes place on April 12, 1985…in Oshkosh, WI. Why Oshkosh? It could very well be because that’s the place where legendary Marvel writer/editor Mark Gruenwald, the man who is the basis for Agent Mobius, was born! 

Now, anyone have any ideas why that date might be significant…other than it being the opening date of Return of the Living Dead?

The Renaissance Fair setting of the opening feels like a nod to early Thor and Loki comics, where Stan Lee’s overblown faux-Shakespearean dialogue felt like the kind of fun put-on you would find at a RenFaire.

The poor Ren Faire actress who is sad to see the TVA in their futuristic garb is played by Kate Berlant. Like fellow Loki actor Eugene Cordero, she comes from a comedy background and you may have seen (or heard) her in Search Party, The Good Place, and BoJack Horseman.

Holding Out for a Hero

Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero” plays during the pre-credits Renaissance Fair sequence. This song is EVERYWHERE at the moment, but its connection to the MCU is at least twofold. There’s this incredible Thor: Ragnarok fan edit that went viral back in 2018, and then there’s the fact that the ’80s banger was originally recorded for the Footloose soundtrack …aka Star-Lord’s favorite film.

Meanwhile…at TVA HQ…

The TVA’s commitment to outmoded technology is on full display on Mobius’ desk next to that old computer terminal, with an actual hourglass instead of a clock.

The jacket that says VARIANT is like the PRISONER prominently displayed on the back of orange jumpsuits.

In the TVA Nexus Event Report we learn that TVA Agents are called Minutemen. Because of course they are.

There’s a hilariously dystopian poster in the TVA commissary that says “the timeline won’t wait for seconds,” exhorting people not to linger on their lunch breaks.

Since we found out last week that Casey doesn’t know what a fish is, we can reasonably conclude that Agent Mobius isn’t eating a Caesar salad, the dressing of which is made with anchovies. 

Running off the Josta gag that started in episode 1 (and continues here), where the TVA consumes discontinued food items as well, we have a Boku juice box. Boku was on shelves from about 1990-2003, and was like a juice box for grownups.

Miss Minutes

Even the computer terminals at the TVA display readouts in Miss Minutes’ accent. On Loki’s screen you can see “let’s see what ya know!”

Jet Skis, the Universe, and Everything

Loki appears to be reading something called Wake magazine, volume 26, #4. Like many things in the TVA, this appears to be a vintage magazine rather than one being published currently. Probably at the height of the jet ski craze of the early ’90s. We’re reasonably sure this is a fake magazine, but haven’t been able to verify it. Yet.

LOKI VARIANTS 

For the sake of keeping all of these straight, we’re just cataloging the Loki variant numbers for you. Here they are…

“Our” Loki  = L6792

“Athlete” Loki = L1247 (you know he cheats…and this image seems to be from a familiar photo)

“Horny” Loki (sorry) = L6795

“Party” Loki = L8914

“Warrior” Loki = L7803

The Lady Loki/Sylvie variant appears to be L1130. More on her down below!

If you’ve got any ideas about the significance of these numbers, please let us know!

Loki explaining the differences between particular magical abilities feels very much like anyone who has ever played D&D with someone who REALLY knows their stuff and/or is a bit of a “rules lawyer.”

Loki tells the TVA hunters that “where there are wolf’s ears, wolf’s teeth are near.” At first glance, this is just a charming Loki-ism in which he celebrates how cool and dangerous his Variant is. It also, however, is an homage to the “real” Loki of Norse mythology. That Loki has some latent lupine characteristics to the point that he fathered the giant wolf, Fenrir.

The FDR High School pen is…probably nothing. The school was established in Brooklyn in 1965, so there’s obviously no chance Steve Rogers went there. We’re trying to figure out if a Loki or Marvel-related creator went to high school there, but so far…no luck.

Also, is it us, or does the Timekeeper’s armor in Ravonna’s office look a LOT like a Dr. Doom mask?

The Destruction of Asgard

Just a few notes from the “destruction of Asgard” paperwork…

File IPB-ASG-001

Note the “Revengers” codename mentioned from Thor: Ragnarok

Asgard’s population was 9,719…not really an Easter egg, just kind of a cool and useless fact.

Destruction of Asgard was a “class  7 apocalypse” yet the hurricane later in the episode was a “class 10.” More on this in a minute…

Pompeii and Other Apocalypses

The destruction of Pompeii not only is a horrific historical moment, it’s also the basis for one of the greatest concert films of all time, the moody and bizarre Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii.

Almost all of the apocalypses Loki and Mobius find between 2047-2051 are climate related. The climate disaster of 2048, extinction of the swallow in 2050, the tsunami of 2051…and of course the fact that the hurricane hitting Alabama in 2050 is a “Category 8.” At the moment, in our real/modern world, hurricane classifications only go up to “5” and 5s are becoming more common. Oh no.

Roxxcart

Originally created by Steve Engleheart and Sal Buscema in a 1974 issue of Captain America, Roxxon (loosely based on Exxon – weird how some folks knew they were evil in the ‘70s) eventually moved beyond its petrochemical roots and became a stand in for all evil corporations in general, which is why they map so neatly onto Amazon here. Roxxon has regularly come into conflict with Thor, most recently when they were headed by actual minotaur Daario Agger in the Thor: God of Thunder–War of the Realms run by Jason Aaron and several incredible artists.

Hunter B-15 notes that the events in Roxxcart represent a “Class 10 apocalypse.” It’s interesting that the TVA recognizes multiple severities of apocalypses as the apocalypse is supposed to be a singular event: the end of the world. If the Roxxcart hurricane is a “Class 10” then the TVA’s classification system must recognize Class 1 as the most severe, since this is relatively mild as apocalypses go. It’s also worth noting that similar classification systems for tornadoes and hurricanes both go up to only “Category 5”.

Haven Hills, AL appears to be fictional, but there is a Haven Hills Farms near Mobile, AL, and Mobile certainly would be vulnerable to the kind of storm surge damage that we seem to be seeing in this episode.

Lady Loki…or Sylvie?

A Lady Loki isn’t new or all that surprising, as there is precedent for Loki taking on a woman’s form for at least the last 15 years of comics. But it also…might not be Lady Loki after all.

Sylvie Lushton was a regular human living in Broxton, Oklahoma, until one day shortly after Asgard reappeared over her hometown (following Ragnarok). Long story short, Loki gave her powers just to mess with her.

It’s complicated, so we have much more on who our mysterious variant is here.

The Branching Timeline

These are the places mentioned as the timeline starts to branch. Something tells us we’re going to be visiting most of these places.

Vormir:  the location of the Soul Stone. We saw this teased in the early trailers, as well.

Asgard: This shouldn’t need any further explanation why this show might bring us there.

Jotunheim: the realm of the Frost Giants. Might we get an It’s A Wonderful Life style look at a life for Loki that might have been?

Hala: The Kree homeworld, a place that certainly won’t be getting any LESS significant to the MCU any time soon going forward!

Xandar: the homeworld/headquarters of the Nova Corps (of Guardians of the Galaxy fame). We’re probably due to eventually get more Nova stuff in the MCU down the line, so perhaps we’ll get a glimpse of that here.

Ego: Kurt Russell, cosmic deadbeat dad extraordinaire, from Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2.

Titan: The homeworld of the dreaded Thanos. uh-oh…

Miscellanous Time Fragments

Mobius refers to Loki as an “ice runt” during his “scared little boy, shivering in the cold” speech. It feels pretty rare that we get direct references to Loki’s frost giant roots in the MCU these days. Based on the Jotunheim reference above, there’s probably more coming, though…

The woman that Loki has to deal with in charge of the file room desk feels like a live-action Roz from Monsters Inc., which is a super fun touch.

The beginning of Loki and Sylvie’s face-off reminds us of the Kermit the Frog vs. Hooded Kermit the Frog meme, and that’s just a treat. 

Before they deploy to Alabama, Mobius hands Loki his trusty twin daggers…which are promptly confiscated again.

The locker room number where Mobius’ locker is #26. 2/6 as in Number 2 and Number 6 from The Prisoner?

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Spot anything we missed? Let us know in the comments!

The post Marvel’s Loki Episode 2: MCU Easter Eggs and Reference Guide appeared first on Den of Geek.

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Staff Picks: Our Favorite Anime of 2016

After a bit of a delay, we're back with our third and final set of Staff Picks. David, Ink, Evan, and Jared rattle off their top three new anime titles of 2016 (that means retro releases are disqualified, though there were a lot of good ones this year). Taking a look at both the breadth of genres and the artistic ambition of these series and movies, it's easy to see that 2016 was a pretty fantastic year for anime. Here's to another one.

David Estrella

Kizumonogatari Parts One and Two

To no one’s surprise, Kizumonogatari Parts One and Two are the best anime of 2016. In all likelihood, Kizumonogatari Part Three will be the best anime of 2017, having missed the cut off by about six days. “Best Anime of 2017” is looking like a title defense without any promising contenders on the horizon, save for perhaps Makoto Shinkai’s runaway monster hit your name., staggering into the US a year after its heroic Japanese theatrical run like a favorite uncle that always arrives at the end of your birthday party. Will there be an anime that’s as impactful with the violence, as seductive with the visuals, and as hypnotically scripted as Kizumonogatari? Takeshi Koike’s Redline and its infamous “seven hand-drawn years” development cycle is perhaps the closest analogue to the experience of having to wait this long for a project that many assumed just wasn’t happening anymore. Well, Kizumonogatari did happen, I flew out to Japan to see it, to live and breathe it on opening day, and just that one hour runtime for the first part alone blew the doors out the theater. Everything after Kizumonogatari is an exercise in disappointment, an eternal trial for my commitment to the medium in this monochromatic post-Kizumonogatari world.

Ink

Picking three titles for AOTY (Anime of the Year) is nerve-racking when you consider the sheer number of series that debut (let alone continue) per season. For every title that deserves recognition for its animation, there’s another that’s got a great story, another that has great art, and another that’s of social value. And while it feels like any Sayo Yamamoto work should be included on principle alone, sometimes there’s just too few accommodating slots.

#3 Mob Psycho 100

I like stories that surprise, stories that upend or skew expected methods of execution or outcome. Most fans of Mob Psycho 100 will immediately cite the art and animation as its main draw, and that’s because there seems to be nothing else praiseworthy in the first two episodes. The story of an inept boss taking advantage of and credit for his employee’s true talents is a little too real to be funny and too overused to be engrossing, and the associated humor is as stale as the aforementioned concept. But what this series does to avoid that trench is turn the narrative away from that situation to focus on the main character’s inner turmoil, turn away again to focus on his relationship with his brother, and link everything together by heading down another avenue. The world expands organically and without contrivance. It’s a grand bit of storytelling, told with an unexpected tenderness spiced with laughter, under an umbrella of raw and powerful art and animation that’s portrayed some of the best action scenes this year.

#2 Keijo!!!!!!!!

It’s just about to wrap up for the season as I write this, so I’m probably a little biased, but this is the best damned anime comedy of 2016. Every single episode literally made me laugh out loud multiple times, and as a man who values the healing power of laughter, and given the ever-sinking shithole that is 2016, I can honestly say that this is a healing anime. On more than one occasion, I’ve elicited the concern of neighbors and housemate alike for my post-guffaw, out-of-breath wheezing/gasping. That’s because the show approaches a fictitious sport with earnest exuberance for the elaborate exaggerations within. That is to say Keijo!!!!!!!! takes itself seriously and reaps the benefit of humor through contrast. The show also manages to all but bench fanservice while being all about T&A, which is a rather incredible feat. That’s not to say this show is particularly empowering, but it knows how to make fun of and thereby negate its own offensiveness while being wildly entertaining with its absurdity. What I thought would surely be the worst of the season turned out to be one of the most enjoyable of the year.

#1: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju

Brilliant in its staging and how that relates to story, characters, and concept, this Showa-era anime centers around two comedic storytelling practitioners who grow up like brothers and fight like them too. This show wows with the subtlety of its own storytelling and the storytelling capabilities of its VAs as rakugo performers. The level of detail in the character and background art, the dedication of trained camera focus, and degree of imaginative storyboarding of this period piece are also commendable. Set outside of traditional classrooms and featuring a large range of ages, this is also a great anime with which to introduce anime to people who don’t normally watch anime. It’s drama, pure and simple, told in an engrossing and visually appealing manner. I’ve heard of rakugo before via an anime comedy but didn’t realize that focusing on that art form and (the fictional lives of) its performers could be this interesting! For an in-depth discussion, listen to Episode 001 of the Oldtaku no Radio podcast. The second season airs in the winter 2017 season, so catch up quick!

Best Anime Short:

#3 Ojisan and Marshmallow

#2 Yamishibai S3

#1 To Be Hero

Best Anime We Never Got:

Konnichiwa Onara Gorou

Biggest Disappointment:

Flip Flappers

Evan Minto

#3: Erased

Originally considered by many as a shoe-in for Anime of the Year, Erased stumbling a bit at the finish line was enough to condemn it as a failure in the eyes of some fans. The series builds up a tense, time-traveling murder mystery in its first 11 episodes that the finale doesn't quite deliver on, but the journey is so immaculately executed that it's hard to dock it too many points. There's so much to love in Erased that it's hard to sum it all up: evocative cinematography, authentic depictions of grade-school friendships, nail-biting cliffhangers.... But what really stands out is the unexpected ability of director Tomohiko Ito (Sword Art Online) and A-1 Pictures to replicate the escalating tension and complex relationships of American "prestige" TV series like Breaking Bad and Mr. Robot. By the end, Erased may not weave quite as intricate a web as it seemingly sets out to, but along the way, it reminds us that TV anime is still capable of breaking into the sort of mature adult storytelling that has often been the exclusive purview of live-action TV.

#2: Mob Psycho 100

Last year webcomic artist One burst onto the anime scene with the smash-hit animated version of One-Punch Man, but the anime was based on artist Yusuke Murata (Eyeshield 21)’s Shonen Jump version of the series (adapted from One’s original webcomic). The real test for One was his second anime adaptation, this time without the filter of Murata's art. Appropriately, Mob Psycho 100 leaves behind One-Punch Man's grandiose action tendencies in favor of surprisingly heartfelt teenage soul-seeking, all while One maintains his off-kilter sense of humor and penchant for the grotesque. On top of that, Studio BONES delivers what might be some of their best work yet, as their animators attempt to one-up their coworker, Shingo Natsume, who directed the animator showcase that is One-Punch Man. The psychic powers in Mob create a kaleidoscopic world in which reality bends and distorts at the whim of its characters, who are themselves animated with wildly exaggerated expressions despite One's remarkably simplistic designs. If One-Punch Man introduced One's shockingly unique style to an anime world plagued by sameness, Mob Psycho 100 has cemented his place among this decade's most essential new creators.

#1: Space Patrol Luluco

In a shocking twist, a series featuring Inferno Cop made my Anime Staff Picks list! Space Patrol Luluco is a shameless work of self-congratulation, combining characters and settings from Studio Trigger's entire catalog into a mashup which clearly draws inspiration, at least in part, from the Marvel comics that director Hiroyuki Imaishi & co. love so much. That this feat has so rarely been attempted in anime should come as no surprise to anyone who's been keeping up with Trigger; they've consistently pushed the envelope in anime, whether its lo-fi comedy like Inferno Cop or Disney-esque family-friendly animation like Little Witch Academia. Not only does Luluco feature Imaishi's trademark breakneck dialogue and manic animation, but it builds nicely into something with real heart to it — not unlike Kill la Kill (though KLK screenwriter Kazuki Nakashima sat this project out).  Peppering the core story, itself full of nonsense about space shoplifting and black holes, are cameos and references from every Trigger project so far, including Kill la Kill and Little Witch Academia and even Ninja Slayer and Kiznaiver. But it's the unrelenting energy and clear creative passion that makes Luluco shine so brightly in a sea of phoned-in anime cash grabs. Long live Studio Trigger! 

Jared Nelson

#3: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable

David Production hasn't gotten anywhere near the credit they deserve for their work on JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable. I never thought I'd be living in a time where people could grow accustomed to having anime adaptations of Hirohiko Araki’s legendary manga. In my opinion, Part 4 stands as the best JoJo anime yet made. While Part 3 had an epic, globetrotting scale and told of an ancient evil and the battle to end a family curse. With Part 4, Araki went in the opposite direction, exploring the lives of the residents in the town of Morioh. A lesser creator may have failed to exceed the iconic Part 3, but Araki not only delivered, he surpassed himself. Part 4's stories and characters show Araki at his most creative yet. The Stand users in this series have extraordinarily imaginative powers that lead to sometimes zany, sometimes dramatic stories that leaving you guessing what could happen next. The craziness rose to a whole new level and capturing Araki's genius was a monumental task, but the animation staff at David Production did a marvelous job of bringing the crazy, noisy, bizarre town of Morioh to life. It’s one thing to create a work of genius, it's entirely another to adapt the work of a genius and heighten its impact even further. Diamond is Unbreakable deserves a spot as one of the best anime of 2016.

#2: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

Ink and I covered this show extensively in our (extremely long) debut episode of Oldtaku no Radio because it blew us both away for a whole host of reasons. From its debut episode, Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu stood apart as a mature, artful tale worthy of celebration. In a time where nearly all anime seem to revolve around adolescent concerns it was so refreshing to see a (period!) drama aimed at adults and featuring adult characters. It introduced the Japanese art of Rakugo to a broader audience and its depiction of Rakugo storytelling could itself be a masterclass in storytelling. Not only did the Rakugo performances leave me spellbound in and of themselves, they also advanced the larger plot of the show and the character arcs of the performers all at the same time. I’ve never seen layered storytelling so skillfully interwoven throughout an anime. Rakugo also depicted nuanced, complex relationships between its principal characters, particularly Shin (Sukeroku) and Bon (Kikuhiko/Yakumo the 8th). Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu stands out as a compelling story of passion, drama, and tragedy. After seeing it, I was convinced it would be my Anime of the Year, and I can’t wait to see its second season. It looked like 2016 would pass without any other show even coming close to matching it…then Sayo Yamamoto said “hold my beer and watch this.” Well, probably not. But that’s sorta what happened.

#1: Yuri!!! on Ice

Yuri!!! on Ice took anime by storm this Fall and it’s my pick as Anime of the Year 2016. This show has all the hallmarks of a strong show: memorable characters, a great score, and excellent storytelling. How it uses all those qualities sets it above all the rest. Yuri’s personal growth over the course of the series results in a very satisfying character arc. You can’t help but cheer Yuri on as he breaks through the barriers of his own self-doubt to reach greater heights as a competitor, artist, and person. As the series progresses we learn more about each skater’s motivations while advancing the overall plot at that same time. It turns out figure skating is a perfect vehicle for this kind of layered storytelling!

Like Diamond is Unbreakable, Yuri on Ice has memorable characters. Like Showa Rakugo, Yuri on Ice portrays nuanced dramatic relationships between its three leading characters. But unlike the other two, Yuri on Ice combines all of these qualities into one show, a show that isn’t based on prior work, but an original work from Sayo Yamamoto and Mitsurou Kubo. But above all those reasons, this show is an important show because it prominently and proudly features a healthy, open homosexual relationship. Yuri and Victor’s relationship isn’t played up for laughs or just suggested, their relationship is the heart of the show. So many times in the past, we’ve seen LGBTQ characters in anime exist simply as a punchline or as degenerates. With Yuri on Ice, we finally have a mainstream hit that treats gay men with the respect they deserve. Yuri on Ice is the best show of 2016 for a host of reasons and I won’t be the first to say so. I’m just happy that I get to say it at all. It’s definitely a show born to make history.

That's it for our Staff Picks. What are some of your favorite anime of 2016?

Check out our picks for manga and video games too!

Staff Picks: Our Favorite Anime of 2016 originally appeared on Ani-Gamers on January 25, 2017 at 7:48 PM.

By: David Estrella

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