Let me preface this by saying that when I first saw the Phase One film THOR (2011), I actually hated the character Loki and was happy when he looked up at Odin and let go of the staff. I was hopeful that he would have just fallen into the abyss never to return. Then I saw the end teaser of CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011) and was surprised to see Loki show up in several shots. Curious, I of course jumped onto the one and only Comic Book Movie to see that he was in fact to be the titular villain of THE AVENGERS (2012). At first I was disappointed, what about the Red Skull?! What happened to him after he was shot up into the heavens by an Asgardian-esque pillar of light?
But... now that I have seen THOR (2011), THE AVENGERS (2012) and now THOR: THE DARK WORLD (2013) multiple times I can fully admit that I was wrong about Loki.
Let me lay out what has inspired me about Loki's journey in the MCU:
1. WE ALL HAVE INNER DEMONS
We've all experienced the realization that we are all different on the inside and that we cannot simply ignore who or what we truly are. As a people we have to understand that not everyone will willingly let their inner demons out. Therefore we must be critical of our interactions with people and take things with a grain of salt.
2. SOMETIMES WE LASH OUT IN DESTRUCTIVE MANNERS
Holding in anger, pain and loneliness can lead to us becoming destructive and revengful. We can sometimes look to people who have alterior motives for help (ahem, THANOS) that lead us farther down this dangerous rabbit hole. However every now and then...
3. WE CAN BE PROVEN TO BE IN THE WRONG
In our attempts to lash out and rid ourselves of our feelings of loneliness, loss and pain that it takes the effort of a loved one to bring a stop to it. Even though we may still believe that we were justified in our actions, what comes next is more often than not a rebirth in character.
4. A SHOCK TO OUR MORAL SYSTEM OFTEN GIVES REBIRTH
Everything appears to be taken, we've hit rock bottom. The loneliness is has overtaken us and we have nowhere to turn, no one to trust anymore and no help. At least, that is what we believe. When we truly have nowhere to turn and no one to have in confidence, such as the death of Frigga, that is when rebirth occurs. Redemption only occurs when we realize that there is nowhere else to go. Like the Soundgarden song says "what if you found it wasn't you, that held the sum of everything you knew!"
5. REDEMPTION HAS MANY FACES
In our quest to "climb the ladder" once more, we sometimes must make a sacrifice for another in order to redeem ourselves. Just as Loki says before his last moment, "I didn't do it for him." This sacrifice has to be to the one that we care about the most, perhaps even the one that showed us how destructive our original path was.
Now if you're still reading... then THANK YOU! And yes, I know that SPOILER... Loki lives anyways and has taken the place of Odin. However, this is still a truth to his character development. It is a story of discovering who we are on the inside and the demons inside that can cause us to lash out. That even when we are wrong about our path we can still find redemption and eventually forgiveness from those that mean the most to us.