Stan Lee's 20 Greatest Marvel Comics Creations

The God Of Mischief himself just misses out on the top ten, and he’ll no doubt be irritated that his brother just beats him once more.

Or adopted brother, more accurately. It’s this little kernel of difference between the two in Stan Lee’s original story that has grown into the complex, heated rivalry of today. Like a grain of sand in a clamshell, as Loki grew so did the pearl of distrust inside him.

By leaning heavily on Norse mythology, Loki’s story is at once absorbing and full of intrigue. Odin only spares and then adopts him is out of a warrior’s respect for the boy’s family, and because of the Nordic curse from his own father.

Loki is ultimately a man displaced. He grew up inferior to his brother not because he was the ridiculous dunce of the family, but because of Asgard. In another realm, Loki could have been the golden boy and Thor the dumb meathead. Loki is intelligent, quick witted and a talented spellcaster, but this counts for little in a world where strength and combat are the defining features of a man.

Loki is a nerd at the gym, and so he turns to mischief.