Over the years, Loki has committed some terrible acts against his brother, Thor. The two rivals have engaged in some fierce battles in the past. Nothing was more humiliating, however, than the time that Loki transformed Thor into a frog.
The God of Thunder’s wildest transformation took place at the end of 1986’s Thor #363, by Walter Simonson. In this issue, Loki created a machine to siphon power off of the all-powerful Twilight Sword. Using this power, The God of Mischief fired a transmutation beam down to Earth, which affected an ordinary woman. At the end of the issue, the woman kissed Thor, and the energy turned Thor into a frog.
This elaborate scheme was meant to immobilize Thor during the Althing, an event that would decide the next ruler of Asgard in Odin’s absence. Loki wanted the throne for himself, and he knew that, if Thor were on Asgard, he would get in the way of Loki’s goals. Stranded on Earth as a frog, Thor was seemingly helpless.
Appearances were deceiving, however. As soon as Thor was attacked by a sewer rat, his instincts kicked in and he fought the rat off with his usual ferocity. From there, Thor realized that all of Central Park’s frogs were under attack by a horde of rats. Working with the other frogs, such as Puddlegulp, Thor formed a plan to defeat the rats. To Thor, all life, no matter the species, was sacred.
Moreover, the rats were planning to poison the New York reservoir, which would endanger even the humans of the city. As a frog, Thor ventured deep into the sewers. Thor encountered Piper, one of the Morlocks with the power to control animals with his wooden pipe. Thor stole this pipe, commanding the legendary New York sewer alligators to attack the rats.
With the frog kingdom safe, Thor headed back to Asgard. Even though Mjolnir was heavy, Frog Thor found that he was still worthy of his hammer, regaining all of his powers in frog form. Upon arriving in Asgard, Thor viciously attacked Loki for the dangerous prank he’d pulled. Even as a frog, Thor was able to defeat Loki, beating him senseless.
Eventually, Volstagg accidentally destroyed the machine around the Twilight Sword, which reverted Thor to his Asgardian form. As a whole, this misadventure is indicative of Thor and Loki’s relationship. It’s true that Thor and Loki have often been depicted as arch-rivals, who engage in some intense battles. At the same time, the two Asgardians are still brothers.
Considering his roles as both The God of Mischief and Thor’s brother, Loki’s scheme against Thor made sense. Just like many siblings, Loki enjoys messing with his brother. This particular prank was fairly extreme, but Loki is The God of Mischief, after all.
Since Thor and Loki are gods, it only makes sense that Loki’s pranks would take place on a much larger scale than human ones. Loki’s acts of mischief have repeatedly served his plans to rule Asgard as well. Acts like turning Thor into a frog have been just part of this sibling rivalry, which can be vicious, but also quite amusing at times.
Similar acts, like getting the Enchantress’s sister Lorelei to cast a spell on Thor, also served Loki’s goal of ruling Asgard. Yet schemes like these are only harmful to a point, showing that Loki can be dangerous, but he can also just be a general nuisance to Thor. Even on occasions when Loki tries to have Thor killed, he fails, showing more of a godly sibling rivalry than anything else.
This Frog Thor isn’t to be confused with Throg, who first appeared in 2009’s Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers #1 by Chris Eliopoulos and Ig Guara. Throg was originally a human named Simon Walterson who was turned into a frog by a witch. As a frog, Simon was Thor’s ally, Puddlegulp. When Frog Thor lifted Mjolnir, a sliver of the hammer came off. Puddlegulp found this sliver, which transformed him into Throg, the Frog of Thunder. Years later, Throg stands as a testament to Thor’s wildest transformation.
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