As all of the big villainous players are being brought in for the upcoming ‘AXIS’ event, Loki himself is now being drawn into the fray. We see that the events from ‘Loki: Agent Of Asgard’ #5 are referenced and will tie in a character to bring the plot forward. The menace that is Red Skull isn’t quite addressed yet this issue, though it clearly is going to play into it in the next.

Al Ewing has already proven that he knows this Loki. He knows him like the back of his hand and he also knows the supporting cast. However, this issue he also has to contend with Doctor Doom and Valeria Richards. How does he handle taking on these two established characters and throwing them into the mix? Well, it seems that he knows them quite well. When he puts pen to paper they both come alive and seem perfectly in character.

Jorge Coelho is spot on with the art and we see not only the current Doom and Loki but a few other instances of the two as well. While nothing was outstanding or mind blowing in this issue none of it was bad either.

The major interesting change here is that while humans have been involved in the comic so far, such as Loki’s potential love interest, for the most part we have been dealing with Asgard. Asgard and Asgardians from different moments in time have been the mainstay for this comic, so switching to mainly dealing with humanity and entering an event that wouldn’t be a direct issue for many of these Gods is an interesting way to lead us into it. Of course, it isn’t by Loki’s hand or choice that he gets dragged into this crossover.

The dialogue between Doom and Loki is mirrored by what is happening in the real world in Latveria. We see that Doom’s ego is in full force when talking to Loki and honestly he is able to fulfill his threats by controlling what happen through the entire situation. Loki may have become a master at doing this in this series but he has nothing on Doom. While we do see some actual on page fighting here, the true conflict between the two is in words, though is the dialogue the fight itself or the distraction for what is actually going on?

In fact, Doom states how he is defeating Loki as he does it. The ego to state how you are defeating an enemy while doing so shows exactly how intelligent and powerful Doom is. Only, is Doom actually the villain here? With Valerie backing him up and a future shown at the outtake of the comic, it is hard to say who to be rooting for.

Once again we are given a great take on the God of Mischief with bonus inclusion of Doctor Doom that was surprisingly one of his better appearances as of late. Will he end up being another pawn of the Red Skull and give into his future evil nature or be on the side of heroes and help save the day?

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LOKI: AGENT OF ASGARD #6
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Jorge Coelho