Created by writer Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby, he is based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name.

After learning of his true origin as a Frost Giant from Jotunheim, Loki grows jealous of Thor and frequently plots to take the throne of Asgard for himself.

Under the pen of Kieron Gillen, Loki is resurrected but exists in a child's body, remaining the main character from 2011 to 2012, his final issue as lead being #645.

[15] In this series Loki decides to run in the US presidential election,[16] but loses seemingly after his tricks are uncovered by the media; he is later revealed to have lost intentionally on behalf of the then-winning candidate.

[18] The Asgardians valued great strength, tenacity, and bravery in battle above all things, and Loki was clearly inferior to his brother Thor in those areas.

[49] After Ragnarök, Loki returned in a female body working with Doctor Doom so Thor would unwittingly resurrect his Asgardian enemies[50] and manipulated Balder to make him the new successor to the throne of Asgard.

Since Volstagg had gone for adventures like Thor, the U-Foes could attack him and destroy Soldier Field during an American football game, killing thousands while Osborn and he watched in astral form.

[72] Sometime after, he magically disguised himself as Osborn's Green Goblin persona to lay siege to Asgard, Loki encountered the Disir (the Valkyries of Bor) after he lured them using several wandering god's souls he imprisoned as bait, revealing that he desired to gain their service as his slaves.

[75][76] Thor, missing his brother, searched for Loki who had returned to life in the form of a young boy; as due to his schemes his name was removed from the Book of Hell, allowing him to permanently cheat death.

Now located in Paris, France, Loki was a street hustler going by the name of Serrure (the French word for lock), who feigned simple card tricks in front of an audience while an accomplice pickpocketed them.

Thor, in civilian disguise, gave chase, resulting in the restoration of Loki's memory, but not of his past life with the exception of a guilty conscience for things he cannot remember.

When a magpie exploded in his quarters carrying a key, it led to a chain of events where at the end, Loki was contacted by an echo of his former incarnation, who revealed he chose to sacrifice himself fighting the Void as part of a greater plan which would involve his death and return.

Loki, who disagreed with Odin's actions, was put to work by Volstagg into cleaning the stables of Thor's goats to keep him out of trouble and danger.

Using the wool of one of the goats, Loki descended into the roots of the world tree at the advice of Ikol to ask questions from the Nornish women who live there.

[83] During his adventures, the young Loki had inadvertently helped create and was tied to a powerful artifact that was about to be used by Mephisto to conquer all the Hells and ultimately everything.

[87] They are saved by Kate Bishop and Noh-Varr, but they are then attacked by citizens of New York City who fall under the control of Mother as the team flies by in Noh-Var's ship.

Seeing no other option, Wiccan agrees, and Loki immediately teleports away, seemingly abandoning the group to face the mob of mind-controlled New Yorkers on his own.

[88] While he originally intended to leave them to die, Loki has an internal conversation with his child self (that still exists within him) whom he killed at the end of Journey into Mystery, and is convinced to return to the team.

His triumph, and feeling of great power and accomplishment, is short-lived; Scarlet Witch's second inversion wave restores Loki and Thor's original moral 'axes'.

However, he was still viewed as nothing more than the God of Lies, and, being unable to take it anymore, once again became an enemy of Thor; an unknown amount of time later, King Loki destroys the Earth, leaving it a barren wasteland.

Eight months pass, and the sky turns red as the Secret Wars is about to begin, when Verity hears a knock on her door, with Loki standing there, claiming to be the "God of Stories".

[100] The "Last Days" part of the Secret Wars storyline picks up directly after the prior events with Verity being unsure if she can trust Loki now that he is a different person.

Just as it seems certain that King Loki will defeat the Asgardians, Freyja sacrificed her life to destroy Jormungandr and Odin blows the fabled Gjallarhorn (the Horn of Heroes) to resurrect the dead gods, as foretold, for their final battle.

Loki then explains that the universe will be reborn, and invites Verity to follow him, into a new reality by creating a door labelled 'Next', although he unsure as to whether he will change again on the other side.

Loki decided to leave the story entirely through the House of Ideas to escape the old status quo but was inspired by the Blue Marvel’s bodhisattva vow to instead help others break free.

Loki possesses genius-level intelligence and has extensive training in magic, and possesses the ability to manipulate magical forces for a variety of purposes: energy projection, creation of force fields, temporarily increasing his own physical capabilities, granting superhuman abilities to living beings or inanimate objects, flight, hypnosis, illusion casting and inter-dimensional teleportation.

[111] Loki possesses extrasensory abilities and is capable of astral projection and casting his thoughts across great distances—even across dimensional barriers, like that between Asgard and Earth—even if he is unable to move.

He is sometimes armed with a sword, a whip, or a three-pronged spear and has used magical items (such as the Norn Stones[volume & issue needed]) to enhance his powers.

In this universe, Loki is stripped off his powers and banished to Earth after his latest mischief (which involved sabotaging the Destroyer with help from the dwarf Kvisa Röksdóttir) results in the death of Thor and several casualties in New York City.

One month after settling in a trailer in Buffalo with his best companion being a gecko named Brian, Loki is put in a redemption mission alongside the Valkyrie Rūna for the fate of Asgard.