The Worst Things Loki Has Ever Done In The MCU

Ah, Loki. The Marvel villain that fans love to hate, the God of Mischief has been lighting up the MCU with his impish activity almost since the beginning. Ever since the first time MCU audiences met the Trickster on that fateful coronation day on Asgard, Loki has been busy causing trouble for everyone around him — and even when he seems to be on the side of the angels, he always has a hidden agenda up his sleeve. From impressive illusions to lustrous lies to stellar schemes, the dual son of Odin and Laufey is always ready to stir the pot — and usually to his own advantage.

Tom Hiddleston has appeared in multiple blockbuster Marvel movies as Loki (including 2011's "Thor," 2012's "The Avengers," 2013's "Thor: The Dark World," 2017's "Thor: Ragnarok," 2018's "Avengers: Infinity War" and 2019's "Avengers: Endgame"), playing an integral part in the evolution of the MCU from fledgling cinematic universe to box office-conquering global titan.

The guy has his good side. But as is par for the course with someone as accustomed to brilliantly schemed shenanigans as Loki, the Would Be King has definitely had his share of not-so-great moments. For all the reckless fun he's had and devilish tomfoolery he's gotten himself up to, there are times that Loki has gone too far, sometimes even by his own morally ambiguous standards.

Taking a quick stroll through the cinematic Marvel catalog, it's worth pinpointing some of Loki's lowest moments, as the character is now headlining his own Marvel+ series entitled, appropriately enough, "Loki." Without further ado, here are a handful of the absolute worst things Loki has ever done (thus far) in the MCU — because if there's anything Marvel fans can be confident about, it's that Thor's little brother is just getting started.

Anybody with a sibling would probably admit there have been times when they've at least idly considered murder — but they're not serious. Loki, on the other hand, has indulged in the desire to end his brother's life, not even once, but on multiple occasions. He seems to have honed this murderous impulse from a young age, beginning with the snake stabbing incident.

Towards the end of "Ragnarok," when the newly formed Revengers are busy making plans to fly through the Anus and free Asgard from the diabolical grip of Hela, they discuss their plans, at which point the group is interrupted by Loki. Thor casually throws out the fact that his little brother has tried to kill him many times before — remembering that when he was eight years old, Loki (knowing that his brother loved serpentine creatures) made himself look like a snake. 

Thor recalls that when he picked up the creature to admire it, Loki turned back into himself ... and then stabbed his brother. Kid Loki (who, let's remember, is under eight years old at this point) literally lured his brother into a trap and tried to kill him. We've all heard the phrase "boys will be boys," but this story sounds a bit extreme, even by the outsize standards of Asgardian myth.

Let's not split hairs: Thor's problems in his first standalone film were largely due to the God of Thunder's own personal issues. His headstrong, stubborn behavior got the Son of Odin banished to Earth in a hot second — after literally, albeit arguably inadvertently, starting an interplanetary conflict between Jotunheim and Asgard.

That said, you don't have to peel back the curtain too far to see that it was actually Loki who was pulling the strings behind the whole situation the entire time. The mischievous brother kicked things off by letting the Frost Giants into Asgard before the kingdom's big coronation ceremony. After that, he was right there by Thor's side, convincing his unruly brother to enact vigilante justice on Frost Giant leader Laufey and his oversized minions. He also ensured that their father Odin found them, saved them ... and then kicked Thor off Asgard as punishment for his impetuous crimes.

From there, Loki took his brother's place, informed Thor his parents had rejected him, and sent the massive, all-but-indestructible being known as the Destroyer to kill Thor (that's right, another murder attempt). In fact, the plot of the entire first film has Loki enacting one diabolical scheme after another, pulling strings from start to finish. These deceptions include (but are not limited to) espionage, attempted murder, betrayal, and even a healthy dose of treason. 

Taken as a whole, Loki's role in banishing Thor, kicking him when he was down, and taking the throne in his place was, hands down, one of the worst things he's ever done — and all this happens over the course of his first appearance in the MCU. It was just a warm-up act.

Loki's treatment of his brother in "Thor" was pretty appalling. But it pales in comparison to the collateral damage the quarreling brother created in the wake of his bid for the Asgardian throne in Thor's absence. 

At the end of the first "Thor" film, Loki raced out to the Bifrost, where he initiated the rainbow bridge and sent it hurtling directly into Jotunheim itself. When Thor arrived on the scene, he pleaded with his brother, saying that the channeling dimensional energy would rip the planet apart.

This, in many ways, might be Loki's most despicable act of all. Whatever the outcome, it marks the point where his recklessly destructive mischievousness boiled over onto innocent bystanders — like, lots of innocent bystanders. 

As the Bifrost ripped through the home planet of the Frost Giants, buildings were leveled and crowds of beings were shown running for their lives. Many were crushed in plain view; numerous others most likely met a similarly dismal fate offscreen.

Such rampant destruction in the name of power and family quarreling isn't just wrong — it's sickening. Loki's blatant disregard for an entire planet (not to mention his willingness to be the villain that destroys it) is scary. No matter how charming the character might be at times, and how easy it is to root for him when he decides to play the hero at certain MCU moments, it's important to remember that he is also very capable of careless wanton destruction — and massive collateral damage.

Pinning the blame for the Chitauri invasion of Earth entirely on the God of Mischief can be a bit of a flashpoint for pro-Loki Marvel fans. And admittedly, in Loki's defense, the God of Mischief was actually under the influence of the Mind Stone throughout the invasion. 

This little factoid started as a fan theory, building up steam until it was confirmed by the powers that be at Marvel Studios. They even updated their official page for Loki with the explanatory line that, while he has been known to influence others with the Scepter holding the Infinity Stone, "unbeknownst to him, the Scepter was also influencing him, fueling his hatred over his brother Thor and the inhabitants of Earth."

That's a pretty good case for Loki's (at least partial) innocence during the Earth invasion catastrophe that leads to the big set piece in "Avengers." However, it does not excuse one critical piece of the story: Loki was the guy who went to Thanos in the first place. 

The Son of Odin was certainly in his right mind when he showed up knocking at the Mad Titan's door, asking for a shortcut to power. If any of us helped a murderer, there's a good chance we'd be hearing from the police; Loki helped the guy who murdered half the galaxy. 

Early in "Avengers," Loki allowed himself to be captured and placed in confinement on the Helicarrier. As the Avengers made their first, failed attempt to coalesce into a team, Loki remained happily contained, waiting for his chance to strike. When the time came, Loki's lackeys (including Clint Barton at the time) arrived on the scene, at which point all Asgardian hell broke loose.

Part of that process was the unleashing of the Hulk, as Banner lost control and "The Other Guy" began to tear the ship apart. The Avengers managed to contain the damage and keep the ship afloat, but in the chaos, lives were lost — including the death of beloved S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson at the hand of Loki himself.

While the "influenced by another being" argument does still hold up through all of this, it doesn't change the fact that Loki was clearly enjoying himself as he did it. Watch the Helicarrier sequence again and you'll see — it's pretty undeniable that Loki is taking particular glee in his work. It's hard to argue that he wouldn't have experienced similar joy without the Mind Stone at play.

To be fair, this item on the list of Loki's all-time worst MCU misdeeds was an accident. But this is an examination of Loki's worst moves, and sometimes those can be accidental — like in "The Dark World," when he helped cause his adoptive mother's death.

You might recall in "Dark World" that the Dark Elf known as Algrim was transformed into a monstrous super-soldier-like creature named Kurse in the dungeons of Asgard. When Kurse neglected to free Loki from prison, Thor's brother told him "you might want to take the stairs to the left" on his way out of the dungeon, an attempt to cause trouble for the family members that had locked him up.

But spitefully giving Kurse directions ultimately blew up in Loki's face painfully when the monster killed Frigga (Rene Russo) while she was attempting to defend the Aether-infected Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). While his devious comment ended up causing trouble for others, too, in this particular instance Loki had no one to blame but himself for the emotional price of his backhanded deed.

After "Dark World," Loki spent a number of years masquerading as his father. The fact that the son was stealing his own (albeit adopted) father's identity is bad enough to land on the extra naughty list — but don't forget, Loki also kept Thor in the dark (encouraging his brother to stay off-world pursuing his own quests rather than worrying about Asgard). Once he was ensconced on the Asgardian throne, he used the opportunity to build statues to himself, indulge his deepest narcissistic tendencies, and cast a spell over his father that left him in a daze at a retirement home.

Making matters worse, Loki's time as king of Asgard was most likely a thoroughly pre-planned ordeal. 

Fans have long theorized that Loki never had a kingdom on Earth in mind when he asked Thanos to borrow an invasion army. This is backed up by his disdain for the world, which he showed multiple times in "Thor." Some have postulated that the Asgardian prince may have actually been playing the long game by scheming to get captured and brought back to Asgard (where he was persona non grata at the time), so he could worm his way onto the throne one way or other. In either case, impersonating a monarch and ruling in his name definitely earns a place of distinction on the list of Loki's worst moments.

Accident or not, one of Loki's worst moments came when he opened the door for his horrifying sister Hela (Cate Blanchett) to get back to Asgard. The incident took place early in "Ragnarok," as Loki and Thor witnessed their father's passing on the beautiful shores of Norway. As Hela was unleashed from her hellish prison, she arrived on the scene, destroyed Mjolnir, and promptly began toying with her brothers.

Picking up on the overpowering nature of his sister, Loki panicked, asking Skurge to return him and his brother back to their home planet. To Thor's horror, the Bifrost beam showed up, and as the pair were whisked back to Asgard, Hela hitched a ride and kicked them both out.

Considering the genocidal, destructive events that followed in the film, that moment of retreat was a very, very bad move. It's hard not to pin the blame on Loki, even if he'd most likely employ his considerable charm and gift of gab in defense of himself.

After Loki and Thor were thrown out of the Bifrost in "Ragnarok," they found themselves on the garbage planet Sakaar. Loki got there first and, most likely, assumed his brother was dead and his people were lost. By the time Thor showed up, Loki was in full-fledged self-survival mode at this point, and the Son of Laufey wasn't lift a finger to help his brother. 

As Thor was shorn, zapped, and otherwise prepped for his impending showdown with the Grandmaster's champion, Loki sat and watched from a cushy box seat. Perhaps even worse, he cheered as his brother received the same treatment at Hulk's hands as he, himself, did in "Avengers."

Loki betrayed his brother again when Thor made his jailbreak off the trash planet, attempting to turn his brother over to the authorities. Thor was one step ahead, and Loki may have even made amends with his brother not long afterward. But all this behavior was quite reprehensible, even by Loki's standards.

When Loki sees something shiny, he can't keep his hands off it. 

This was true when he walked past the Tesseract at the end of "Ragnarok," When the redeemed Son of Odin saved the day by unleashing Ragnarok via placing the Crown of Surtur on the Eternal Flame and defeating Hela, a happy ending seemed in order.

But, as they traveled through space, they were confronted by none other than Thanos himself in search of the Infinity Stones. Loki's possession of the shiny, superpowered gem brought the catastrophic attention of the Dark Lord down upon them, causing destruction and misery for the Asgardians and the death of Loki himself. 

While a decent case could be made for the desire to nab an Infinity Stone when it's just lying there, Loki's actions once again came back to bite him — and his people, and ultimately the universe itself, in a supremely painful manner.

You'd think Loki would have learned the first time. Or the second. You'd think that, but you'd be wrong.

Loki's first Tesseract burglary came in "Avengers," then he got his hands on the Infinity Stone a second time in "Ragnarok," which led to it seeming like his luck had run out for good. But the Asgardian got one last chance to nab the gem, not in the future, but in the past. 

When the Avengers went back in time to gather up Infinity Stones in "Endgame," they initially botched the job when the Tesseract was dropped ... right in front of the captured 2012 version of Loki. Having glimpsed an opportunity, Loki snatched the weaponized jewel a third time, disappearing into ... his own spin-off Disney+ show.

While 2012 Loki's story is a fun side effect of the "Endgame" storyline, it doesn't change the fact that it was a nasty twist for Earth's Mightiest Heroes. The sudden absence of the Tesseract left the team scrambling, as Loki's initial getaway nearly upset their entire time heist (an event that could have prevented the Blip return and left half of the universe permanently snapped away). Where did Loki's story go from there? Fans are eager to find out — and discover how many more times this Marvel favorite is going to do some very bad things.