8. Loki: Agent of Asgard by Al Ewing and Lee Garbett (Marvel)
Mighty Avengers writer Al Ewing is joined by artist Lee Garbett to bring us everybody's favourite charm factory villain in his solo title, Loki: Agent of Asgard. In an attempt to redeem himself of his many crimes, Loki will take on all the missions the All-Mother can throw at him beginning with a heist on Avengers Tower and the death of Thor?! Loki will be the ambiguously heroic/villainous superhero version of James Bond in noir-ish, crime thriller stories as part of the second wave of Marvel NOW! titles, All-New Marvel NOW!. In his most recent series, Loki has been presented in the form of a teenager but in this series he'll be more grown-up, in his early 20s. Though he'll receive his missions from the All-Mother in Asgard, the series will take place mostly on Midgard (Earth) as Loki has taken a liking to living amongst mortals, like his brother did. And while Ewing promises Thor will be dead on page one, he's also said part of the title's remit is to lie to the readership and keep us guessing throughout... Initially Loki will face the Avengers but Loki will have a Big Bad of his own, though the identity of his villain is yet to be revealed. Loki: Agent of Asgard launches in February.