10 Thor Graphic Novels You Must Read Before You Die

Beginning in Thor #622, Journey into Mystery saw Loki turned into a child after his apparent death, and Thor imprisoned by the All-Father Odin. Fear Itself, while being an overall event affecting all main titles in the Marvel lineup, the stories it spun out in the Thor series are regarded as one of the best in modern Thor history in terms of how it developed the character of Loki.

The story sees Loki trying to prevent the God of Fear (also known as The Serpent) from taking over Earth, but finds himself without allies due to the actions of his adult self. Instead, he finds help within his new avian advisor Ikol, the undead Tyr, God of Battles, and a bloodthirsty Hel wolf, joining them in an adventure through the underworld.

While many would prefer if the story concluded with Loki saving the universe from the Serpent, the actual defeat of the threat was reserved for the mainline Fear Itself comic series, and so the reason this particular story is especially important is due to its meta commentary on the villain archetype Loki has come to represent.

Loki is effectively immortal in almost every sense of the word, and his personality has been intrinsically tied to this idea of him being the villain of 'the story', forever doomed to relive the same defeats in different forms for all eternity. Fear Itself challenges this idea, and displays a Loki with a moral conscience with a desire to be a hero, thereby creating a compelling story that develops the relationship between the God of Mischief and his brother.