Despite spending much of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as an (occasionally sympathetic) villain, Loki has just as much (if not more) of a following and love from fans as other heroes within the MCU. He is a cult favorite among fans and the adoration the character has received when played by Tom Hiddleston has nicely transitioned into a love for his comic book interpretations.
It is exactly why there is so much excitement for his upcoming Disney+ spinoff series, which may take a shift into the character by turning him into a hero. Loki becoming a redeemed protagonist actually does not sound so far fetched, considering that there are just as many instances of him saving the world as him nearly destroying it.
10 NEARLY DESTROYED: Kickstarting The Siege On Asgard
Being a literal Trickster, Loki has gone out of his way to unleash destruction in his path without having to lift a finger. Case in point, in Siege (written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Olivier Coipel), he pulls enough strings to convince Norman Osborn to commit a full-on attack on Asgard with the Dark Avengers.
When things get out of hand, especially with The Void being unleashed, Loki realizes the error of his ways, but it comes too late as The Void kills Loki moments after the fact.
9 SAVED: Undoes "The Inversion"
Writer Rick Remender and artists Adam Kubert, Leinil Francis Yu, Terry Dodson, and Jim Cheung's AXIS saw the Marvel universe literally inverted onto its head when Scarlet Witch used her reality-bending powers to turn all of the good guys into bad guys, and vice versa. This event was referred to as "The Inversion."
Even the villains-turned-heroes knew that keeping the world like this wasn't right and took the steps to revert things back to normal. Playing his own part, Loki - now The God of Heroism and Truth - stopped a villainous Thor from thwarting this plan by lifting Mjolnir and defeating him.
8 NEARLY DESTROYED: Caused Terror Throughout Jotunheim
The planet Earth nor even Asgard are the only places to which Loki nearly brought about its entire destruction. After getting his brother banished to that planet at the beginning of Thor, Loki also managed to stress his stepfather into a coma right before claiming the throne for himself.
As if all of that did not make the God of Mischief a busy bee already, he also betrays the King of Frost Giants that he had been conspiring with and then pursuing the destruction of Jotunheim, hoping all of this would prove him worthy. The true worthy one, Thor, returned to Asgard before Loki's plan was complete.
7 SAVED: Stopped A Sorceress With Spider-Man
This one is a unique one because Loki got to team-up not with his brother or another Asgardian, but everyone's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. The Amazing Spider-Man #503-#504 - by J. Micheal Straczynski, Fiona Avery, and John Romita Jr. - sees the return of an evil Sorceress of Chaos named Morwen who returned to earth inside of a new body: Loki's daughter, Tess Black.
To save his daughter, Loki reluctantly teamed up with Spider-Man, but it got the job done. Not only did Loki get his daughter back and locked up Morwen for good, but Spidey got to introduce him to New York's fine cuisine: hot dogs.
6 NEARLY DESTROYED: Sent The Destroyer To Earth
To make sure that his brother did not meddle in his plans over in Asgard by returning, Loki sent The Destroyer to Earth. While on the planet, The Destroyer almost immediately committed insurmountable damage to his surroundings, laying waste to everything in front of him.
Loki could have paved the way for The Destroyer to create even more casualties. Thor, without any powers or Mjolnir on his side (yet) nearly got himself killed trying to take on the giant himself, something that Loki was counting on, but it backfired as the nobleness helped earned Thor his worthiness.
5 SAVED: Rewrote Asgardian Myth So Thor Could Stop The Serpent
This was a case where Loki indirectly saved the day but did so by helping his brother save it, even if he also intentionally sacrificed his brother's life to do it. In writers Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker and artists Stuart Immonen, Scot Eaton, and Steve McNiven's Fear Itself storyline, Thor sacrificed himself to stop the all-powerful Serpent.
However, it is then revealed in writer Kieron Gillen and artists Whilce Portacio and Doug Braithwaite's Journey into Mystery #629 that Thor's sacrifice was by design of Loki when he meddled in a classic Asgardian tale to give Serpent a weakness that his brother could exploit.
4 NEARLY DESTROYED: Kickstarting The Battle Of New York
Although it is later revealed - or, as some may debate, retconned - in the MCU franchise that Loki did all of this as an unwilling pawn at Thanos' grip, Loki still brought an alien invasion to New York City's doorstep and nearly totals the entire city, if not for the Avengers.
Even with the team stopping the worst of his plot before the Trickster can follow through with it all, Loki still did a lot of damage during his time in New York, including mind-controlling Hawkeye and killing Agent Coulson.
3 SAVED: Unleashing Surtur On Asgard
Yes, in this case, Loki bringing about the end of the Asgardian world - better known in this case as the "Ragnarok" prophecy - is a good thing in this case. Despite their best efforts, Loki and Thor struggled to combat Hela and her undead army.
However, Thor thankfully comes up with the clever idea to retrieve Surtur's crown, reviving and unleashing the beast upon the realm. He calls on his brother to commit the deed and Loki succeeds. It sacrifices Asgard, but it puts a stop to Hela's destruction and allows the remaining Asgardians to escape, making Loki essential in saving everyone.
2 NEARLY DESTROYED: Taking Over The Asgard Throne
The ending to Thor: The Dark World did not amount to much compared to what it teased and in retrospect reads as something of a missed opportunity since Loki's ambitions as Odin get found out at the very beginning of the Ragnarok sequel. All things considered, it's easy to forget this ending in the grand scheme of things, but in those same grand schemes, the gravity of Loki's takeover is exponential.
Though it seems like all he really did was put on two years worth of comedic plays as Odin, Loki got exactly what he wanted. The throne and the power of Asgard was in the palm of his hands. Had he been more reckless with his possession, he could have done some real damage to Asgard before Surtur ever touched it.
1 SAVED: Sending Ratatoskr Back To Asgard Through Bifrost
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #8 - written by Ryan North with art by Erica Henderson - is a treat for fans of the series for two key reasons: one is because Loki spends most of it donning a humanoid cat head and two is because he stands up as a true hero who saves the day.
Ratatoskr - an evil, mind manipulating squirrel who Loki forget he released from Asgard eons ago - unleashes itself on earth and causes chaos, even forcing the local heroes to fight each other. While the squirrel is distracted by a failed attempt at a motivational speech from Squirrel Girl, Loki takes the opportunity to open Bifrost and send Ratatoskr away to Asgard, where she's imprisoned.