Published Aug 2016 by Marvel
Written by Christopher Hastings
Art by Langdon Foss
Cover by Tradd Moore
28 pages, full color

Loki is many things -- god, trickster, brother, liar, son, villain, even hero. Now he wants to add one more thing to the list: President of the United States. That's right, the God of Lies has set his sights on becoming the ruler of the free world, but is this just another scheme? One thing's for certain -- with Loki's winning smile and silver tongue on the campaign trail, this election just got a lot more interesting...

"America, if I were your President, I'd have the guts to lie right to your face. And you'd love it."  —Loki

Featured Characters:
Nisa Contreras (First appearance)
"Lucas" / Loki
Fact Channel News
J. Jonah Jameson
Loki (Behind the scenes)
Hydra
Avengers
Thor (Odinson)
Captain America (Steve Rogers)
Iron Man (Tony Stark)
Hulk (Bruce Banner)
Wasp (Janet Van Dyne)
Black Widow (Natasha Romanova)
Maria Stark Foundation (Mentioned)
Governor Adam Hitt (First appearance)
Mr. Contreras (First appearance)
Mrs. Contreras (First appearance)
Secret Service
NYPD
Richard White (First appearance)
Angela (Aldrif Odinsdottir)
Laureen (Ophidia Research Center employee) (First appearance)
Daily Bugle
Michael (First appearance)
Thor (Dr. Jane Foster)

‘Vote Loki’ cleverly mixes politics, lying, and the responsibility of being president
Catch up on the comic referenced in the Disney+ ‘Loki’ television show.

In anticipation of the 2016 presidential election, Marvel Comics released a four-issue miniseries called Vote Loki. The premise was simple enough: Our two options for president are both bad in their own ways and they both lie, so why not vote for Loki, who will lie to your face with a smile? Conceived by Christopher Hastings, who has plenty of comedic comics under his belt (especially as the co-creator of Gwenpool), with art by Langdon Foss and Paul McCaffrey, the series aims to offer a new take on Loki and shine a light on American politics. One can already guess from the premise things go badly for everyone.

The story opens with Loki saving both presidential candidates from a Hydra terrorist attack at a media event. He quickly gains the attention of the cameras and the American people and soon sees how easy it might be to become president. No longer the god of mischief, Loki sets out to win over the American people in ways not unfamiliar from recent candidates. Along the way he spins negative news articles in his favor (you only need to change the title to something positive since people don’t actually read the whole story) and even using his god-status to start a new religion.

The main character is a journalist named Nisa Contreras who works for the Daily Bugle. She seems to be the only American with some sense and can see through Loki’s lies and manipulations though he’s not even using superpowers to sway them. Instead, he’s using tactics we see in our own political system and it drives her to prove he’s not fit to be president. Along the way, Loki gets involved in American politics, but at some point along the way he realizes the constant bickering and inability to even talk about solutions makes him realize this may not be a job worth taking. It’s a negative look at politics, but it’s a fair one.

Along the way, heroes and familiar locations pop up (wait until you see Jane Foster as Thor!) which are all drawn in a unique detailed style. Foss draws every issue but the second, and he has a great sense of details, from a face to the many colorful people in a crowd. Aside from Loki’s horned helmet, he dresses relatively simply after he ditches his Asgardian clothes. That helps further ground the story which is already visually grounded. The colors by Chris Chuckry with Rachelle Rosenberg are warm and realistic. A good example is in the first issue when Loki uses his beating by the Hulk as proof he never stops fighting.

It’ll be fun to see the Loki TV show refer to this comic and see how deep it goes with him running for president. As it stands, for a political comic in the Marvel universe, there’s not much better than this.

Loki is a television series created by Michael Waldron for the streaming service Disney+, based on Marvel Comics featuring the character of the same name. It is the third television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) produced by Marvel Studios, sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. The series takes place after the events of the film Avengers: Endgame (2019), in which an alternate version of Loki created a new timeline. Waldron served as head writer and Kate Herron directed the first season, with Eric Martin and the duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead serving as head writer and leading the directing team for the second season, respectively.

Tom Hiddleston reprises his role as Loki from the film series, with Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, Eugene Cordero, Tara Strong, Owen Wilson, Sophia Di Martino, Sasha Lane, Jack Veal, DeObia Oparei, Richard E. Grant, and Jonathan Majors also starring. By September 2018, Marvel Studios was developing a number of limited series for Disney+, centered on supporting characters from the MCU films. A series featuring Hiddleston as Loki was confirmed in November 2018. Waldron was hired in February 2019, and Herron had joined by that August.  Martin, who served as a writer on the first season, was revealed to be writing the entire second season in February 2022, along with Benson and Moorhead joining to direct the majority of the season's episodes.

Loki premiered on June 9, 2021. Its first season, consisting of six episodes, concluded on July 14 and is part of Phase Four of the MCU. It received positive reviews, with praise for the performances, musical score, and visuals. A second season, also consisting of six episodes, is in development.

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