Issue 9 - Loki

05/09/18 • 55 min

Capes On the Couch - Where Comics Get Counseling

Anthony and Dr. Issues dissect the God of Mischief, Loki! They also talk sibling rivalries, gender fluidity, and sing the Odd Couple theme. It's a good one, we promise.

SHOW NOTES:

Introduction
Infinity War discussion - SPOILER FREE (01:25)
Background on Loki (03:55)
- First appeared in Timely Comics Venus #6 in 1949 as an exiled Olympian God
- Familiar appearance debuted in Journey Into Mystery #85, October 1962, as Thor's enemy
- Son of Laufey, felled ruler of the Frost Giants, adopted by Odin of Asgard
- Raised alongside Odin's son Thor, but jealous because he's treated differently
- Repeatedly tries to overthrow Asgard and/or defeat Thor
- Instrumental in founding the Avengers as an enemy (08:25)
- During "Acts of Vengeance" story, convinces other villains to attack heroes they're not typically associated with
- Loki manipulates his spirit to control Lady Sif and becomes a woman
- Torn apart by the Void and resurrected
- Kid Loki becomes a street hustler
- Joins Young Avengers, regains power and age through Wiccan's spell
- Agent of Asgard - befriends Verity Wills who can tell when someone is lying
- Survives the incursions of "Secret Wars"
- Doesn't know what comes next (there's a door with a sign and everything!)
Issues (18:34)
- Pathological liar
  - Pathological vs. compulsive liar
- Sibling rivalry/jealousy of Thor (24:52)
- Gender identity/sexuality (33:01)
  - Not gender identity disorder
Treatment
- In-universe - ultimate family therapy (39:49)
  - Proof of progress
- Out of universe (42:16)
  - Family therapy if possible
  - Journal of lies vs. truth
Couch skit (47:59)
Ending (50:07)
- Next few episodes:
  - May 16 - Deadpool
  - May 23 - Booster Gold
  - May 30 - Mr. Freeze

Special links:

"The Scorpion and the Frog" - Mentioned by Dr. Issues at 17:45
"Is Loki Canonically Genderfluid Now?" - Article by Emily Asher-Perrin regarding Loki's sexuality (discussed at 33:01)

iTunes: here Google Play: here Stitcher: here TuneIn: here Twitter Facebook E-mail

Anthony and Dr. Issues dissect the God of Mischief, Loki! They also talk sibling rivalries, gender fluidity, and sing the Odd Couple theme. It's a good one, we promise.

SHOW NOTES:

Introduction
Infinity War discussion - SPOILER FREE (01:25)
Background on Loki (03:55)
- First appeared in Timely Comics Venus #6 in 1949 as an exiled Olympian God
- Familiar appearance debuted in Journey Into Mystery #85, October 1962, as Thor's enemy
- Son of Laufey, felled ruler of the Frost Giants, adopted by Odin of Asgard
- Raised alongside Odin's son Thor, but jealous because he's treated differently
- Repeatedly tries to overthrow Asgard and/or defeat Thor
- Instrumental in founding the Avengers as an enemy (08:25)
- During "Acts of Vengeance" story, convinces other villains to attack heroes they're not typically associated with
- Loki manipulates his spirit to control Lady Sif and becomes a woman
- Torn apart by the Void and resurrected
- Kid Loki becomes a street hustler
- Joins Young Avengers, regains power and age through Wiccan's spell
- Agent of Asgard - befriends Verity Wills who can tell when someone is lying
- Survives the incursions of "Secret Wars"
- Doesn't know what comes next (there's a door with a sign and everything!)
Issues (18:34)
- Pathological liar
  - Pathological vs. compulsive liar
- Sibling rivalry/jealousy of Thor (24:52)
- Gender identity/sexuality (33:01)
  - Not gender identity disorder
Treatment
- In-universe - ultimate family therapy (39:49)
  - Proof of progress
- Out of universe (42:16)
  - Family therapy if possible
  - Journal of lies vs. truth
Couch skit (47:59)
Ending (50:07)
- Next few episodes:
  - May 16 - Deadpool
  - May 23 - Booster Gold
  - May 30 - Mr. Freeze

Special links:

"The Scorpion and the Frog" - Mentioned by Dr. Issues at 17:45
"Is Loki Canonically Genderfluid Now?" - Article by Emily Asher-Perrin regarding Loki's sexuality (discussed at 33:01)

iTunes: here Google Play: here Stitcher: here TuneIn: here Twitter Facebook E-mail

Previous Episode

Issue 8.5 - Bonus Loki skit!

Since the original recording of the Loki episode featured corrupted audio, we thought we'd release the skit (which somehow was undamaged) as an apology to the fans. So enjoy this little skit :)

Next Episode

Issue 10 - Deadpool

Anthony sings the Bee Gees, Dr. Issues channels Madeline Kahn, and the Patreon is announced. Oh, and they also talk about the Merc with the Mouth, Deadpool!

SHOW NOTES:

Introduction
Announcement of new Patreon! (02:34)
Deadpool background
- Created by Rob Liefeld & Fabian Nicieza in New Mutants 98 (Feb. 1991)
- Began as villain attacking Cable & New Mutants
- Later joins X-Force, begins making appearances in other books
- Gets own miniseries in 1994
- Joe Kelly series in 1997 is where character comes into his own - introduces Blind Al & Weasel, along with 4th wall breaking
- Gail Simone introduces little yellow boxes Deadpool could interact with
- Joins Cable in "buddy cop" series, firmly established as comic relief character
- 2010 - joins Uncanny X-Force, more moralized version of character
- 2010s sees Deadpool become the new Wolverine - appears in numerous series and side miniseries
- In solo series, gets cured of healing factor and loses scarred face
- New series by Brian Posehn & Gerry Duggan - gets married and discovers he has child
- Died in Deadpool 250 as part of Secret Wars
- All New All Different Marvel - joins Avengers Unity Squad, initially sides with Hydra Steve Rogers out of respect, but later has crisis of conscience and walks away
Favorite Deadpool moments (24:08)
Issues (25:40)
- Considered in-universe to be "schizophrenic" or suffering from psychosis
- Moral flexibility & ambiguity
- Blind loyalty to certain characters/people can cost him
Treatment (42:37)
- In-universe - any & all treatments are on the table
- Out-of-universe - anti-psychotics, under observation
Skit
Ending