That's where Marvel Knights Animation Presents: Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers starts, and that is the rather interesting story told through the latest motion comic production to come from Marvel Knights.
This particular four-episode release comes from the 2004 miniseries Loki, written by Robert Rodi with Esad Ribic doing the artwork. Where most Thor-centric tales covers some plot by his step-brother and the Thunder God's eventual spoiling of the green-clad villain's scheme, this one starts with Loki's success and sees where that takes the Asgardians and what the trickster god does with all of his machinations finally fulfilled.
Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers is a very introspective tale as Loki quickly realizes that the trappings of being the ruler of Asgard mean he has to deal with many petty details. This, combined with the pressures from rulers of other realms, starts to cause Loki to second guess exactly what he wants. When Loki is pressured to not just jail Thor, but actually execute him in order to solidify his rule, Loki is forced to ask himself if that is something he truly desires. While he has boasted that he will destroy the hero time and again, he has also come to realize that he is defined against his brother's actions, just like Thor as a hero is only truly apparent when standing next to Loki.
Loki also learns that there are others of his name and role in many alternate dimensions. For those interested, the Loki miniseries takes place in Earth-94001. He is told this, and while those other gods appear in many shapes and sizes and origins, none are destined to rule Asgard. As a result, Loki starts looking into these other worlds himself, only to discover the fact that he is forever fated to be Thor's opponent and will always be punished for the role Odin has groomed him to be; the black to let Thor's white shine brighter.
I have to say that both the writing and the art for this (motion) comic are great. The speech pattern of the characters feels like something from a Shakespearean play, while the artwork has a painted look to it that seems to go right in hand with the writing style. Both aspects are to be praised.
While this DVD collection is titled Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers, the comic's original title is much more fitting since Thor has very little screen time. I can only imagine the title change is a marketing decision in order to bring in more viewers as the Thor movie is scheduled to hit home video on the same day as Blood Brother's release.
That being said, Thor & Loki is still a great video and Marvel Knights once again brings a great story to life. There are a few special features, including a look at the comic's creation, as well as a making-of for each of the four episodes, but then the DVD isn't very long and unless you are a major Thor/Loki fan, or you are really enjoying the Marvel Knights releases, Marvel Knights Animation Presents: Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers is probably best left a rental - there just isn't quite enough bang for your buck.
