Not quite whump exactly, possibly more fanon than anything else, but I love all the little scenes in Avengers that imply that Loki’s connection with the Chitauri was not pleasant or friendly, but rather… painful. And all the threats and general mistrust that lead you to think why were they working together in the first place?
It’s…not just an implication, though.
Okay, I just. I love this photoset, and no disrespect to the OP, but I am getting tired of people outside the Loki fandom behaving as if our belief that Thanos mistreated Loki is “just headcanons.” There is ample canonical evidence. Like, you can take Loki or leave him. No one is excusing his past behavior, and no one is saying he’s a character everyone is gonna love. But let’s just call it like it is: Loki has PTSD from working under Thanos.
1) Loki worked under Thanos at the same time as Nebula and Gamora. Like the sisters, he was a fieldmarshal, “child,” and “collectible” of Thanos’s; like all abusers and warlords throughout fiction and actual world history, he uses the psychological tactic of taking the young specimens of a conquered civilization and assimilating them into his own “culture,” in this case an enormous mercenary intergalactic army, for his own purposes, therefore both debasing and demoralizing the enemy. Nebula and Gamora both suffered “enhancements” to their body chemistry and, in Nebula’s case, to their anatomical structure**** in order to be made better fit to find Infinity Gems. What was Loki’s role under Thanos? To secure an Infinity Gem. It is inescapable that Loki was mistreated by Thanos. Why else would he hate him so much for “saving” him and equipping him with power?
2) Why did Loki work under Thanos, if Thanos mistreated him? Because, as the Other made explicitly clear, to deny Thanos his wits, knowledge, and resources would be to be tortured and killed. If Loki wanted to ever see life beyond Thanos’s grasp, he had to provide the Tesseract. Having earth to rule in Odin and Thor’s image was just a consolation prize; Loki’s main goal was to SURVIVE THANOS. I don’t blame people for not realizing this upon seeing Avengers Assemble; the movie was enjoyable but the writing was often convoluted and unclear, making it seem as if Loki’s only goal was to be a “diva” who “freed people from freedom.” All of that was a distraction.
3) How do I know that? Not just because of little morsels of evidence, like Loki showing signs of heat exhaustion and back injury, but for bigger, more incontrovertible reasons: Loki’s conversation with Thor at Stark Tower, during the Chitauri Invasion, before stabbing him in the side. A deleted scene shows that the Other CAN HEAR LOKI and not even necessarily through the Mind Gem in the scepter, as does a scene in the gifset above, and the Other will take all of Loki’s disobedience directly back to Thanos. Therefore when Thor pleas with Loki to join forces with him, Loki is not at liberty to agree; he has to say “it’s too late” and flee, even though he is brought to tears, lamenting the “sentiment” that he wishes he could acknowledge and indulge, but it would get them both killed. Remember at this point Thor has no idea Thanos even exists, but Loki does. And Loki knows that there will be unending torture, not just from threats, but from experience, if he fails.
4) Loki hid on Asgard as Odin. Does anyone really believe that was just to be lazy, drink wine, and watch plays of himself? No. He was hiding from Thanos, particularly with the knowledge that he had sent the Aether, another Infinity Gem, to the Collector, and kept the Tesseract safely stored in Asgard’s Vault. Hell, I could speculate that he didn’t even know the Infinity Gauntlet was a fake, as Hela revealed, and thought that as long as that was hidden in the Vault, he was safe, but again, this post is not about speculation. But why is Loki so terrified of Thanos that he’d put his entire life on hold and masquerade indefinitely as Odin? Because Thanos is a monster and mistreated him.
5) Probably most importantly, Tom Hiddleston discussed the script of Avengers with Joss Whedon and they decided explicitly that Thanos AND the Chitauri physically and psychologically abused Loki. (I do not have the old 2012 interview link but if anyone reading this does, please send it).
I have more reasons but honestly? Tl;dr Thanos mistreated Loki. It’s a fact, like “Loki has black hair.” As someone who has PTSD and as someone who has training in counseling, I happen to think it informs his behavior for every film installment from Avengers 1 on. You can reject Loki as a character, but you cannot reject the facts about his backstory.
****please note that Nebula was disfigured simply in a fit of sadistic pique over how she couldn’t measure up to her sister, and later when the siblings formed a healthier emotional bond, Thanos killed Gamora in front of, and to further spite, Nebula. And anyone thinks Thanos wouldn’t also have enough spite to do direct harm to Loki?
****Bear in mind also that the Tesseract/Space Gem, while not controlling a mind overtly, does have negative psychological affects, much like substance abuse. Thanos used that to hook Loki–much like Loki used it to hook Bartonand Selvig–and provide himself an insurance policy of absolute obedience. Like, that’s also canon. Not piddling, not headcanons, not grasping at straws. CANON.
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