The Marvel Universe Is Cursed Thanks to Loki's Newest Weapon

The Marvel Universe is cursed: Loki's weapons explained

Marvel announced the Loki series in January 2023 with a pitch that fits in a sentence. The God of Mischief made something terrible long ago, it got loose, and he has to clean it up. In the official summary, the something is a set of ancient, powerful weapons that Loki built in his past. They are scattered across the realms, and the announcement said the Marvel Universe is cursed as a result.

The story was framed as a scavenger hunt with consequences. The trail runs through Nidavellir, Kree space and Earth, and Loki has to reach the weapons before they land in the wrong hands. The announcement promised clashes with iconic Marvel villains, trouble for the Avengers, and a reckoning with what it called his true dark self.

A follow-up announcement in March 2023 sharpened the stakes. Loki is by then a benevolent God of Stories, and his old identity as the God of Lies comes back to haunt him. If the weapons reach the wrong hands, they can trigger Ragnarok. That is the difference between a treasure hunt and a book about a trickster who has to answer for his old tricks.

Loki is one of Marvel's oldest antagonists. He first appeared in Journey into Mystery #85 in 1962, created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, and the 2023 series arrived in a year when he was also on Disney+: the second season of the Loki television series premiered in October 2023. A reader who knows him only from the screen gets a version here who has already been king, hero and villain.

The structure suits a four-issue run. Loki #1 went on sale June 7, 2023, and a retrieval plot gives each issue a place, an obstacle and a fragment of the curse to deal with, then passes the problem on.

Who made the book

Dan Watters wrote it, making his Marvel Comics writing debut after work on Sword of Azrael and Arkham City. Germán Peralta drew it; his earlier credits include Black Panther and Maestro. Mike Spicer colored the series and Travis Lanham lettered it, and Dustin Nguyen did the main cover. Rod Reis produced the teaser cover for issue one, a look at some of Loki's most memorable forms.

In the announcement, Watters said it was a delight to make his Marvel debut with the God of Stories, taking him all the way around the Marvel Universe and back. He promised magic, danger and a smidge of mischief, since Loki cannot help himself.

Why Peralta suits Loki

Peralta called Loki one of the most interesting characters in comics and in mythology, and said his ambiguity in every part of his life makes him a good subject for an artist. He usually enjoys drawing villains, he said, but Loki has everything, and reading the script was love at first sight.

He singled out the expressions. Because Loki always has a double intention, a face can say two things at once, and the series leans on that. A story about a god of lies lives or dies on faces.

What the weapons turn out to be

The full story gives the weapons a concrete form. According to Comic Watch's review of the final issue, Loki spends the series hunting fragments of Naglfar, the ship built from the fingernails of the unloved dead, and each fragment became a weapon. The collected edition, titled Loki: The Liar, opens with Loki as king of the Jotunheim giants, who learn to read in order to stop fighting and find a use for the old ship in the Norse legends they read.

That is a pleasing turn on the premise. The curse does not start with a villain's scheme. It starts with a king who gives his people books, and the books lead them back to something he built before he reformed.

How the run ends

Loki #4, titled Truth and Consequences and released on September 20, 2023, ends the realm-hopping quest. Its antagonist is Bullseye, an unusual foe for Loki, and his weapon is a book that embodies objective truth. Comic Watch's reviewer named that book one of the series' highlights and scored the issue 8.4 out of 10, giving the art and color full marks and the cover 6.

The issue also undoes much of Loki's recent growth. The reviewer found it tragic, even hopeless, and called the whole book exquisitely crafted but profoundly sad. A reviewer at The Slings and Arrows, covering the collection, praised Watters' inventive plotting and Peralta's range between locations and genres.

Loki limited series at a glance

• Format: four-issue limited series from Marvel Comics, begun June 7, 2023; issue 4 released September 20, 2023.
• Writer: Dan Watters, in his Marvel Comics writing debut. Artist: Germán Peralta. Colors: Mike Spicer. Letters: Travis Lanham.
• Covers: Dustin Nguyen; teaser cover for issue one by Rod Reis.
• Premise: ancient weapons from Loki's past are scattered across the realms, including Nidavellir, Kree space and Earth.
• Collected as Loki: The Liar.

Verdict: does the cursed-weapons story pay off

The setup is strong, and the series largely delivers on it. A solo book for the God of Mischief with a goal, a clock and a rotation of guest stars is easier to follow than an open-ended run, and the scavenger-hunt shape keeps the pace brisk. Each location gives the curse something new to do.

The weak spot is the one every retrieval plot shares: weapons can turn into interchangeable props if each stop does not hand Loki a different problem. The reported Naglfar connection helps, because the weapons are pieces of one thing and not a random list of artifacts. They carry a history that returns to Loki.

The tone is the real divider. The final issue is described by its reviewer as sad, and a reader who wants a romp will get less of one than the announcement's mischief suggests. A reader who wants Loki taking responsibility for what he has made will find that the book keeps its promise.

For someone deciding whether to try it, the answer is yes if the character appeals. The setup is self-contained, the art is the standout, and the idea that a god's curses come home is the kind of plot this character has always carried.

Sources

• Loki (Marvel Comics), Wikipedia — the character and his publication history