In Norse mythology, Loki is a
shape-shifting god who enjoys the occasional turn as a woman. The gender
bender doesn’t discriminate—sometimes he’s even a female animal. In
fact, Loki was once mounted by a stallion. He then gave birth to an
eight-legged horse.
So when comic book writer Al Ewing, who’s working on the solo story Loki: Agent of Asgard, wrote on Tumblr recently that the character would be bisexual and that he would “shift between genders,” it wasn’t a huge surprise.
Marvel
has yet to confirm this new direction for the character, perhaps
because the whole idea of a queer superhero is complicated by the
fictional character’s other gig: as arguably the most popular character in a string of blockbuster superhero movies, from The Avengers to this weekend’s Thor: The Dark World,
which has already raked in $100 million overseas and could match that
total in domestic receipts within days. Yet according to those who know
the comic book world, the whole discussion is moot: Loki’s fluid gender
has nothing to do with sexual orientation at all. It’s about guile, and
that’s why we Loki.
Played
masterfully by English actor Tom Hiddleston, the movie version of Loki,
Thor’s brother, is sensitive and slim, with long hair and feminine
features. (Just watch this scene.) He wears a long coat that resembles a dress. In the
new film, Loki morphs himself into Captain America, glances in the
general direction of his crotch, and says that his suit feels tight.
Still not convinced? A Chinese theater accidentally displayed a fan-made
poster of Thor and Loki in a romantic embrace.
At
a recent screening, Hiddleston was applauded whenever he appeared on
screen. People like him. Christian Bale’s Batman, Tobey Maguire’s
Spider-Man, and Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man were fine in tights. But
they’re essentially just crimefighting bros.
Lex Fajardo, creator of the graphic novel series Kid Beowulf, really
likes Loki, too. In his series, characters say “Holy Loki” when
something exciting happens. His three-year-old border collie is named
Loki. But Fajardo says applying the word “bisexual” to the movie version
of his favorite hero—or any other fixed label—is nearly impossible.
“With Loki you never know what you’re going to get! Will he be helpful
or will he be deceitful? Will he look like a human or a horse? Will he
be a he or a she?”
He’s not alone in that assessment. Roger Langridge, who wrote the comic-book series Thor: The Mighty Avenger
in 2010, doesn’t think the “flimsy” nature of an imaginative character
can even support the moral weight of this conversation. “It’s a
potentially interesting subject,” he says. “But in a superhero comic
it’ll probably just get in the way of all the fighting and pretty
costumes.” If it were up to him, Langridge would make the comics
resemble the movies, at least superficially, because that’s what a new
generation of readers wants. He’s right. And that’s essentially what’s
being done.
“Male villains are often portrayed as effeminate. Chicks, historically, have gotten bad press.”
Inevitably,
however, the labels will be affixed. Moviegoers will call Loki “gay” or
“bisexual” or whatever else. And that could be problematic. An
examination of the cover
of Ewing’s book reveals something unsettling, as gay author Andy
Mangels points out. It’s right there, in big letters: “Prince of Lies.”
“When you’re dealing with an amoral antihero style character who is
generally portrayed as a villain and a liar, who uses trickery as their
modus operandi, that can play into different psychological elements,”
Mangels says, “What does that say about women? And gay people?”
“Male villains are often portrayed as effeminate,” says Paige Braddock, author of the lesbian-friendly comic strip Jane’s World. Disney is a notorious offender (remember Jafar?) “Chicks, historically, have gotten bad press.”
Then
again, it wasn’t so long ago there was a truly effeminate main
character in a blockbuster superhero film—one who was cheered and loved
in spite of his nefarious plots to kill everyone in his fictional
universe. It was Heath Ledger’s Joker, and he was still pretty cool.
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