“Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.” ~ Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“Fearless minds climb soonest into crowns.” ~ William Shakespeare
When Loki falls from the bridge at the end of Thor, we see a sort of acceptance in his eyes as he falls. He accepts his fate. So when we see him in the Avengers, after the betrayal and whatever happened to him between that moment of the fall and coming through the portal, Loki’s priorities have shifted.
He has experienced true fear: being shunned from everything he’s known, everyone who cared about him, being left to die, then tortured and forced into servitude (the power of the Tesseract). What does he have left to fear? Death does not scare him, because he’s faced fates worse than death.
Once Frigga is gone, Loki releases whatever fear remains. He has become truly fearless, and that creates room for him to seize power as he’d always dreamed.
Loki understands fear like no one else, and as we all know, fear can be a powerful motivator if wielded properly.
Does this make him less of an anti hero and more of a villain? Or does it just make him dangerous?
I’m dying for your thoughts on this…please comment. Thanks.
*Images were found on Google images. No copyright infringement intended. Merely used as illustration points.
Jen Bradlee 
Dangerous. Someone without fear is truly dangerous. Fear keeps us within the realms that govern society, propriety, and safety. –Like pain. Pain keeps us safe. It warns us against greater danger. Especially if you didn’t fear pain, what kind of person would you be?
Thanks Crystal for sharing your thoughts. Being fearless can be a dangerous trait. It raises a lot of questions, doesn’t it? Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
I think lack of fear is only dangerous if it’s coupled with lack of empathy. I don’t know the story of Loki either traditionally or in the context of Thor; finding him intriguing…
True. If there is no empathy, then I think the person would be irredeemable. Loki is a fun character to study…:) Thanks for the comment.
I only know Loki from Avengers, but he was quite intriguing there. I think all villains have the potential to be an anti-hero (if I’m understanding the terms correctly) — and they’re much more interesting when they’re not pure evil.
I agree with Colleen that lack of fear by itself doesn’t automatically make someone dangerous. Only the weak of mind and spirit need fear to control them. But no fear in a person driven only by personal gain is very scary indeed.
Thanks for leaving a comment, Nicki. I don’t think anyone is truly evil, there’s always a glimmer of hope deep inside somewhere. Loki flips back and forth between villain and anti hero I think. But in the Avengers, I think most of his actions are only because of the tesseract’s influence. 🙂 My other posts get into that influence as well if you’re curious about my theory.
Yet another reason why Loki just tugs at all my heartstrings and makes me want to wrap him in a blankety hug. He has nothing to lose, so he has nothing to fear – and vice versa.
I think that, if Loki was to be furthered as a character in future films, they would give him something to lose, and therefore something to fear. Whether it be the throne, or a romantic interest, or a puppy – whatever. It would be really interesting to see his reaction to fear – would he get scary-crazy-angry, or worried, or something else entirely?
Love this post, Jen! Can’t wait for the next one!! 🙂
Thanks for your support, C.E. 🙂 I really appreciate it, and I’m glad you’re enjoying my series. Absolutely agree…I think they will give him something to lose if they ever make him the main character in a film, not just the villain or the hero’s brother. I wouldn’t mess with Loki…I think he’d be super dangerous if you ever took something that he truly cared about.