marbleglove (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
marbleglove) wrote2012-05-23 11:30 pm
marbleglove) wrote2012-05-23 11:30 pm
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Plot-bunny: The Avengers
This is mostly a re-imagining of The Avengers, with everything in the movie taking place, but a bunch of other stuff happening too that changes the perspective.
Loki is, in my opinion, the single most sympathetic of all super-villains. I mean, there’s the classic younger-brother issues with a heroic older-brother, but more to the point, he was raised on stories of how evil the frost giants are and how much everyone hates and fears them, and then, whoops, surprise, you’re a frost giant and no one told you. I would have thought that a good father, having adopted a frost giant, might have toned down the frost-giants-are-evil stories a bit, but Odin apparently didn't think of that. So my reading on Loki is really more along the lines of a teenager going through a personal melt-down rather than a true villain.
The thing that makes him a super-villain is just how over-powered he is. What he needs is someone to hold him down, tell him his family still loves him, and then send him to bed early to get some sleep. What he gets is a bunch of humans who are far beneath his weight-class and a brother who is more interested in the humans than in him, telling him that he’s being evil, which mostly just escalates the conflict.
In my head, in the movie Thor, Loki reads a lot like a 15-year-old who’s too strong for his own good and winds up on the street after having a public melt-down. In the movie The Avengers, he’s more like a 19-year-old who’s found himself a place in a gang, has done all sorts of violent and vicious things, but is still mostly feeling pain himself and lashing out.
All of this makes me want to redeem him.
He had a crappy revelation in his adolescence, but so too have a lot of other people, and they largely manage to refind their balance. I want Loki to refind his balance, to be a good guy, or at least, not a bad guy.
And then I consider:
Loki is a trickster god, right? Mischief and chaos and plans within plans. And lies. One can’t forget the lies.
And yet, his plan in The Avengers is fairly straight-forward. I mean, there is a small amount of subterfuge with him allowing himself to be taken captive, but it’s not all that much.
And then I consider his battle plan with the Chitauri. Open a single portal right over The Avenger’s base of operations? Then allow through a few advanced guard to test the waters and give the good guys a chance to take stock of the enemy? Wait until the first advanced guard is down and then call in the rest?
I think Loki was playing the two sides against each other.
Say Loki landed amongst the Chitauri when he fell. They are not necessarily a pleasant people and Loki isn’t the type to stay quietly in hiding for the rest of his life. So he needs to get out of there. But the only way out is to make a deal.
But having made a deal, the only way out of the deal is to make sure that the Chitauri are completely decimated. So he has to set up a full-scale conflict that the Avengers will win, knowing that they aren’t going to go into battle under his leadership, especially given the necessity of endangering civilians. Plus, the Chitauri would probably notice a betrayal that blatant. So he needs to escalate a conflict and create a battle plan, so that it looks like he’s leading the Chitauri to conquer the Earth, when he’s really using Earth to get rid of the Chitauri.
So in the end, he plays the role of a villain, a somewhat idiotic villain, and his feeling of superiority/contempt/anger/betrayal increase with the fact that everyone believes the act.
And in the end, he can’t even explain himself both because he’s gagged, and because he’s a god of lies which pretty much gives everyone permission to believe or disbelieve whatever they want about him.
Loki is, in my opinion, the single most sympathetic of all super-villains. I mean, there’s the classic younger-brother issues with a heroic older-brother, but more to the point, he was raised on stories of how evil the frost giants are and how much everyone hates and fears them, and then, whoops, surprise, you’re a frost giant and no one told you. I would have thought that a good father, having adopted a frost giant, might have toned down the frost-giants-are-evil stories a bit, but Odin apparently didn't think of that. So my reading on Loki is really more along the lines of a teenager going through a personal melt-down rather than a true villain.
The thing that makes him a super-villain is just how over-powered he is. What he needs is someone to hold him down, tell him his family still loves him, and then send him to bed early to get some sleep. What he gets is a bunch of humans who are far beneath his weight-class and a brother who is more interested in the humans than in him, telling him that he’s being evil, which mostly just escalates the conflict.
In my head, in the movie Thor, Loki reads a lot like a 15-year-old who’s too strong for his own good and winds up on the street after having a public melt-down. In the movie The Avengers, he’s more like a 19-year-old who’s found himself a place in a gang, has done all sorts of violent and vicious things, but is still mostly feeling pain himself and lashing out.
All of this makes me want to redeem him.
He had a crappy revelation in his adolescence, but so too have a lot of other people, and they largely manage to refind their balance. I want Loki to refind his balance, to be a good guy, or at least, not a bad guy.
And then I consider:
Loki is a trickster god, right? Mischief and chaos and plans within plans. And lies. One can’t forget the lies.
And yet, his plan in The Avengers is fairly straight-forward. I mean, there is a small amount of subterfuge with him allowing himself to be taken captive, but it’s not all that much.
And then I consider his battle plan with the Chitauri. Open a single portal right over The Avenger’s base of operations? Then allow through a few advanced guard to test the waters and give the good guys a chance to take stock of the enemy? Wait until the first advanced guard is down and then call in the rest?
I think Loki was playing the two sides against each other.
Say Loki landed amongst the Chitauri when he fell. They are not necessarily a pleasant people and Loki isn’t the type to stay quietly in hiding for the rest of his life. So he needs to get out of there. But the only way out is to make a deal.
But having made a deal, the only way out of the deal is to make sure that the Chitauri are completely decimated. So he has to set up a full-scale conflict that the Avengers will win, knowing that they aren’t going to go into battle under his leadership, especially given the necessity of endangering civilians. Plus, the Chitauri would probably notice a betrayal that blatant. So he needs to escalate a conflict and create a battle plan, so that it looks like he’s leading the Chitauri to conquer the Earth, when he’s really using Earth to get rid of the Chitauri.
So in the end, he plays the role of a villain, a somewhat idiotic villain, and his feeling of superiority/contempt/anger/betrayal increase with the fact that everyone believes the act.
And in the end, he can’t even explain himself both because he’s gagged, and because he’s a god of lies which pretty much gives everyone permission to believe or disbelieve whatever they want about him.
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I kinda of really want to see something of that nature and I especially like a fic in which Loki goes to therapy and is awesome all around.
But I totally agree with you about the teenager bit, he wants to get out but sees no way how to do it
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StarTrekFanWriter has some pretty awesome stories redeeming Loki, largely through Darcy Lewis' wacky company.
And Raising Loki by SkiesOverGideon is both fun and the only story I've read so far that really acknowledges that Loki is a different species than Asgardians.
Hmm, now I'm imaging some scenario in which Coulson (or Fury, or someone) is reading the newspaper and sees an article about someone raising a leopard cub or some other large non-domesticated cat and being mauled by their pet. He rolls his eyes. Sure they're cute when they're young, but you can't expect a wild animal like that to go against it's nature. There are ways to interact with a wild animal, but it's not by ignoring that it's wild. Who is that idiotic? And then realizing that, oh, apparently Odin is that idiotic.
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I would absolutely love it if this realization was also sparked by Tony deciding to adopt something and being scolded by Pepper and Coulson (Avengers Mom and Dad)
I'll have to take a look on these fics...
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Tony: Don't you think we need a mascot? I'm thinking a jungle cat of some sort. What do you think?
Pepper: No, Tony. We have enough disasters in this building, we don't need to import more.
Tony: But I could give it it's own floor and everything. And it could maul our enemies.
Pepper: When it got tired of mauling our friends, you mean?
Tony: Well, our friends are all super powered or, you know, crazy ninja powered, so...
Pepper: No.
Thor: What is this? Will you acquire us a jungle cat? An excellent idea!
Tony and Pepper both stare. Tony had mostly just been yanking Pepper's chain.
Pepper: No, Thor. Wild cats can't be domesticated.
Thor: Come now. If we raise it right, it will be our boon companion. Why look at my brother Loki who is a frost giant. Before his great madness, he was the best of brothers.
Pepper and Tony go back to staring.
Pepper: Loki is... a different species?
Tony: Huh. Are you sure it is a madness? And not just, you know, reacting differently to different stimuli?
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Poor Loki humans are finally close to understanding him...
Have you read Loki: international man of mayhem?
From the FF.Net reply:
What would happen once SHIELD or Tony even, find out just how fabulous and powerful Loptr is?
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After that conversation cue Coulson and Fury
"Wait, get the experts together again... we need to trace a whole new profile on Loki. And discard the bilogical suppositions made based on Thor's results"
*le sigh*
"Really Thor, coudln't you have mentioned this before we spent millions of dollars building Loki's file?"
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I particularly appreciate the part where the psychologist essentially shrugs off the question about insanity, since there's no way to know what's normal for him.
Yes.
And now Coulson and Fury try to question Thor about frost giants and he mostly says "oh, they're evil and like the cold."
Fury: Really? Your ancient enemy and that's all you know about them? Really?
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Also: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7876901/1/
---
Thor: Well, they are fiece warriors, who thrist for conquest and... have pretty women?
Fury *facepalm* : Anything else?
Thor: They are blue and monstrous with blood red eyes!
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Thor: We kill our enemies, not get to know them!
Coulson: You should read Sun Tzu's the Art of War.
Thor: I have no need to read about the art of war, I learn all that in the practice ring and in manly battle! Loki is the one who reads.
Fury (through gritted teeth): How do you decide how and when to attack, if you don't know your enemy?
Thor: Hah. I leave such planning to my brother Loki, with all of his reading.
Coulson: So Loki is the strategist?
Fury: Christ.
Loki meanwhile is getting therapy. Hee. "Truthfully" looks hilarious.
Check out:
The Subject line is the title of the fic
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Coulson: What about when your brother is away, how do you decide what to do?
Thor: We hunt! And should I stumble upon a quest that needs to be fulfilled or an injustice which must be righted we do that!
Fury: Really? And how do you decide when the injustice is taking place?
Thor: True Justice cannot be masked! Seldom have I ever been deceived by the appearance of right(teosness? how do you spell this?)!
Coulson: Say, when you next meet your brother tell him we would love to speak with him.
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Hah-ha-ha! And Coulson wonders if it would cause an inter-dimensional conflict to ask more pointed questions about whether Thor has ever investigated past deeds to figure out if he had been deceived or not. After a moment's thought he decides it would not cause an incident but only because Thor wouldn't get the point. Loki, on the other hand, ....
And Fury is gaining a lot of sympathy for Loki. If he (Fury) had been raised in such a land with such a brother, surely he too would have taken to creating massive amounts of destruction.
This could lead to a International Man of Mayhem type of scenario.
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Heh, that is so true, I can just imagine Maria Hill on the background taking notes for the SHIELD meeting to happen afterwards.
Coulson: Say Thor, when you went adventuring in other realms, was there any type of requirement the King set for you to go?
Thor: Of course not! I was Free do Adventure as I wished! Mother and Father only asked that I always take Loki with me to ensure he had as much fresh air and exercise as possible. And of Course so he could speak with the sorceres of other Realms.
Maria Hill *taking notes * Attempt to hire Loki; Find out typical collateral of Thor's adventures; Keep Thor away from politicians, business men, the press, models, scientists....
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* Assign a 24-hour minder/PR team to Thor
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also the new hazing experience for new agents... Educate Thor on civilities and modern mind-set
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much better than trying to understand Jane's theories or assist Coulson... not everyone can multitask like he can...
'sides, since Loki is very possessive of his obsessions as one of Thor`s minders she gets less threats from other super-vs than others, and all kidnappings are at least interesting
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one of the resons I love this: http://archiveofourown.org/works/306674
is just how, while being a Villain, non-villanous Loki can be... just mischief!
my favorite sentence there:
"There were too few times he actually interacted with Loki when he was attacking the Avengers; the exception being when they were sparring as they were now, and briefly when Loki arrived for Jane’s weekly kidnapping. That last one made Thor happy. His brother was making an effort to get to know the woman he loved. And for her part, Jane was always eager to be kidnapped, always returning with a new direction or new theory for her work."
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And duck shooting! Hee. And that damn dog who laughed at me! Oh the flashbacks.
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if it is Fenrir though he is a prankster just like his daddy...
The amaizing plan for the World to know Doom is Tacky!!
and come here Glitter Ferret!
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Loki framing Dr. Doom for being tacky just cracks me up, because surely Dr. Doom is tacky enough on his own, but not to the level of glitter geese, of course.
The Glitter Ferret that hates Tony!
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Doom really is quite Tacky, and Loki is a huge diva who can't take insults to his fashion sense, the love of green which brought them together now separates the two...
Also my head canon states that Loki is the God of Internet trolls in this modern age... and he has a Perez Hilton style blog which makes fun of all the heros, villains and their fashion choices and love lives... or lack thereof
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Your head canon has infected me, Loki is surely the God of Internet trolls and I desperately want to see his blog, or rather see the Avengers see his blog. Tony would definitely know about it and get offended.
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There is no way that Steve or Thor are more hunky than he is! The fan pool was clearly higged
It is a great headcannon!
Fury also likes to visit it to be able to manipulate the avenger's images and get petty revenge on Tony's schemes by leaving scathing critiques of his taste
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Steve is mostly just resigned: the Internet is new, celebrity stalkers are, alas, not. Thor, on the other hand, is delighted by the blog, but he always needs someone else (re: Tony) to show him how to get to it, which does not improve Tony's day.
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he likes less the embarassing pictures of him eating which show up on occasion...
and their facination in comparing him do dogs...
Darcy is a secret contributor
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But Darcy is definitely a contributor. Possibly even an administrator.
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Darcy is one of the few people that know that Loki is behind the website.
She helps the minor SHIELD agents, Pepper and other support personel take petty revenge against the Avengers (mostly Tony) by posting the most outrageous pictures and starting rumors...
Such as the rumor that Iron Man and was having a steamy affair with a fellow avenger... and a villain
at which point the internet took over with people posting theories and shipping the most outrageous pairing...
Personal favorite was Victor Von Doom and Iron Man... because they both wear metal armors
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everyone knows Tony is overcompensating with his womanizing ways to hide his unrequited love for Steve
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things only get worse when he finds out about fangirls... those are the most terrifying than anything thing he has, so far, stumbled upon
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I now have to stalk the helpless author so she finishes the fic...
So great!
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