WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Loki #2 by Daniel Kibblesmith, Oscar Bazaldua, David Curiel and Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
At the end of the War of the Realms event, Loki killed his father, Laufey, and assumed his position as King of the Frost Giants. At the same time, his brother Thor was named the new All-Father by Odin himself. Now, the two brothers are kings of Asgard and Jotunheim, ushering in a new era for their respective people. By all accounts, the God of Mischief is no longer a villain: He helped the world's heroes repel Malekith's invasion, and he's now aiming to be a good and fair king.
However, Loki still isn't wholly satisfied with his new role. After a visit with his brother to the library of the Halls of the All-Knowing, he has learned that he is destined to live happily ever after as the King of Jotunheim. However, that's not all he wants. In fact, in Loki #2, the God of Mischief reveals what he truly wants is... to join the Avengers!
Loki's request to become the latest recruit of Earth's Mightiest Heroes sure is surprising, but it's also one that kind of makes sense. After all, while he has often been a thorn in the Avengers' side over the years, Loki has grown to become an antihero. Some would even argue that, at this point, he is more of a (questionable) hero than anything else. And that's certainly a good point.
After all, Loki was instrumental in defeating Malekith during the War of the Realms. Moreover, he also recently willingly painted himself as a villain to make sure that the Avengers would assemble once more to ensure the world's protection (as seen in Jason Aaron and Ed McGuinness' Avengers #1-6).
And now, he's a benevolent king, one who even finds the time to travel down to Midgard and shut down an illegal sky casino when he has the time (for more on that, see Issue #1). At this point, Loki is a force for good, so it's only a logical development to have him seek membership with the Avengers.
Naturally, such a request, coming from the God of Mischief himself, is one that elicits surprise -- especially in Thor, who has been deceived by his brother plenty of times before. But this demand actually appears to come from a good place -- and that leads to Thor erupting in laughter. However, Loki isn't letting this denial stop him.
After a mysterious trip to the mythical House of Ideas, he next visits Tony Stark to make the same request. And, of course, Stark has a reaction similar to Thor's, with an added mix of disdain and caution. The Armored Avenger also denies Loki's application -- but he also offers him a bit of a challenge: "You want to prove you're worthy to join the Avengers? Next time I see you, walk in carrying Thor's hammer."
While Tony makes this challenge as more of a playful taunt, Loki seems to take it to heart by answering with a low-key (pun not intended) "Deal." This might explain why the cover of Loki #1 actually featured the title character wielding Mjolnir. While he is not able to lift the magical hammer for the time being, his new quest might be to become worthy of it. Then, and only then, will he be able to join the Avengers -- or so he believes. But what are the chances of that happening?