Two brothers grew up in the house of a wise king.  They were both given the finest clothes, choicest foods, best education, and the tender attentions of two doting parents. The brothers loved each other, and thought they would always be the truest of friends. Although they were raised in identical circumstances when it came to the amount of love, attention, and provision of needs, these two brothers grew up to be as different as the sun and moon.

Two households, both alike in dignity
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
~William Shakespeare

Loki’s nature is chaos.  It is his destiny to ensnare others, and, in turn, be ensnared by, chaos, because that is who he chose to be.  His desire is to rule, but how can the god of chaos rule anything?  To rule means to instill an order, even if that order is mangled, misshapen and deformed.  But, chaos and order cannot coexist.  They mutually exclude each other.  So, how could Loki ever hope to achieve his desire?  How can chaos rule?It would defy the very nature of what chaos is.  If it were able to instill rule, then it would no longer be chaos.  And thus, even his hopes are confounded by his nature.  His desires, which cannot ever be fully realized, because they are opposite to his nature, leave him ever striving yet finding no solace.  So long as he follows his wanton desires, Loki is stuck in a life of chaos.

Poor Loki suffers from a perpetually tormented spirit.  He always seems to be the recipient of scorn, even if it is only a product of his imagination.  He has a “persecution complex”.  He feels the slights and barbs others aim at him to the power of ten, and this is one of the excuses he uses to justify his behavior.  Loki always plays the victim.  How well his expression reads, “Who, me?  Why? What have I ever done to deserve this?” He lays the blame at the feet of everyone else.  He says, “This is Thor’s fault, because he would have made for a reckless and foolish king.” Or, “My actions were in response to Odin’s mistake of choosing to crown Thor.  If, he had only chosen me, things wouldn’t have had to go down like this.” Pride and hurt propel him to do what he knows is wrong.  In his warped sense of entitlement, Loki believes he can prove to his father that he is fit to rule.  So, he chooses to start a war, in order  to enthrall Midgard, which he somehow believes will belie that he was meant to wear a crown.  The irony of course is that his actions prove to Odin he is not a worthy king, because Odin was hoping his heir would be a person of peace and orderliness.  It is Loki acting on his own orders, which spoils his hopes of ever pleasing his father.  He thinks he can do it his own way, and his father will grin and throw open his arms in loving acceptance.  Except, it is not in the nature of Odin to overlook any crime, no matter how small, let alone Loki’s attempt to conquer one of the realms.  Odin sees all too well the nature of Loki, and it grieves him.  Odin is bound by his honor, indeed, by his very character of self, to oppose and reject Loki.

He is in over his head, but rather than turn and repent, Loki chooses to double down. He cannot allow his pride any further injury.  He is given chance after chance to turn over a new leaf.  He is a person possessed of self doubt, and yet he succeeds in causing trouble where ever he goes.  Even the human, Agent Coulson, tells Loki that he cannot prevail, because he “lacks conviction”.  It goes somewhat against intuition that Loki has so much ambition, but so little certainty of his abilities.  And yet still he recruits an army of Chitauri, who he hopes to use to over throw the earth. Loki listens to his pride, when he should obey his conscience. His own sense of common understanding and wisdom is telling him, that he cannot possibly hope to prevail. Not against Asgard; not against the Avengers. But, he doubles down. He chooses to move forward with his demented designs, because, in his mind, admitting defeat would be confessing to Odin, Thor, and all the realms that he is unfit. Even if he succeeds, the onus of rule will be too much for him. His chaotic nature will not grant him a successful reign. Tony Stark makes this expressly evident when he tells Loki, “You’re missing the point. There’s no throne. There is no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes, and maybe it’s too much for us, but it’s all on you. Because if we can’t protect the Earth, you can be damn well sure we’ll avenge it.” And, Loki knows it. He knows in his intellect that victory is not for him, but he uses his will, fueled by his negative emotions, to convince himself otherwise. He has two natures, just like me.

It would be easy for Loki to give up, and admit his error.  Thor pleads with him multiple times to do just that, but for Loki this would be impossible.  Once again this goes to his nature.  Thor takes it upon himself to mitigate and thwart Loki’s evil, all the while offering him opportunities to quit destroying and make things right.  Thor even spills his own blood, in  a face to face showdown, at the battle of Manhattan. On another occasion, when Thor believes Loki has been killed, Thor is tormented with grief.  Loki on the other hand, seems incapable of caring for anybody but himself, possibly barring his adoptive mother, Frigga.  When Loki became king of Asgard, while Thor was banished on earth and Odin was in his deep sleep, Loki came to Thor to gloat.  Thor is humbled, and asks King Loki for permission to return home, but Loki told Thor that his mother, Frigga, forbade his return.  This crushes Thor even more bitterly. Afterward, thinking he had finally rid himself of anyone who could stand in his way, Loki returned to Asgard smiling triumphantly.