Everyone's favorite villain-turned-hero Loki will finally have his very own titular show as a Disney series coming this June where he would have to make amends to time itself following his actions of escaping during the time heist of the Avengers in hopes of getting the tesseract. Full of tricks, Loki is commonly regarded as the God of Mischief, but is he really a god?
Tracing the character's origins from the Norse Mythology, Loki is a real god, the god of mischief. Despite having in his veins that of a Frost Giant, he also belongs to the tribe of gods, the Aesir. Presumably, while his father is confirmed to be a Frost Giant, his mother may be a goddess making Loki a half-god, half-Frost Giant. He is also considered the god of fire.
In Marvel Comics, however, despite being based on the Nordic myths, while all of them live in Asgard, none of them are gods, not Odin, nor Thor, and neither Loki, nor even Hela. They were just regarded as such because they possess superhuman abilities making them more than that humans. They carry monikers such as Thor, God of Thunder, Hela, Goddess of Death, and as for Loki, God of Mischief.
As explained by Odin himself in Thor (2011), this was confirmed and made canon to the Marvel Cinematic Universe that from birth to death, they would be like any mortal being except they have powers. This was Odin's reply to Loki when he demanded to be treated as a god.
In the same film, when the Norse Mythology was being explained, it was further revealed that Odin took Thor and Loki to Midgard/ Earth. It was the Asgardians who taught language and culture to the Norse people and with the display of their abilities, the Norse thought of them as deities and gave them their monikers like Thor being the God of Thunder, and Loki gaining the title of God of Mischief for his tricks.
Throughout the MCU, they have been called Gods because it is what the history books say so. To sum it up, none of them are Gods but have the moniker of being such. It is safe to conclude that Loki is not a god, just someone who has been regarded as such throughout history considering their abilities are nothing like humans.
Still, it makes sense given that Loki is indeed full of tricks. When he told Hulk in the Avengers that Hulk is beneath him and shall not be bullied because he is a god, he was thrown by Hulk from side to side telling him he is a puny god. It was a funny exchange but it's kind of stuck as one of the defining scenes of Loki. In Avengers: Endgame, when Thanos had his hands on Loki's neck, Loki tells Thanos he will never be a god before being crushed to death.
Now that his 2012 self has messed with time, Loki has been given his very own spotlight where he would be making amends to time itself after creating a branched reality and messing with the timestream because of that.
Excited to see the God of Mischief have his very own adventure? Loki premieres on June 11, 2021, via Disney+.
Related: Loki Teased By Marvel Executive Producer To Have Multiple Seasons