The Intervention

In which Spider-Man tries, unwisely, to counsel the battling Thunderfrost Boys.

[The Waiting Room, Episode 4
Video by batinthesun

SPIDER-MAN: AARON SCHOENKE

THOR: COLIN BRYANT

LOKI: LOKI HATES YOU

Effects by Nikolay Zamkovoy]

Loki's Homecoming to Asgard

Loki didn't return quite the conquering hero as intended.

[gifs by cheers-mrhiddleston]

And just when he thought the Allfather couldn't hurt him any worse --

Your birthright was to die! Cast out onto a frozen rock.

But no tears this time. Only cold and seething rage.

[gifs and caption

by wnnbdarklord]

As Loki reels back from Odin's rebuke --

he demands to know:

You’ll make that witless oaf king while I rot in chains?

To which Odin replies:

Thor has to strive to undo the damage you have done.

He will bring order to the Nine Realms

and then, yes…

he will be king.

It's like a punch to Loki's gut, the forcefulness of which is shown only by the involuntary blinking of Loki's eyes as he absorbs the blow.

[gifset by

hiddleston-daily]

Now, off to the dungeons with you for eternity!

Portraits of Loki

A very tragic-looking Loki, full of angst --

[by elena-nekrasova]

Someone's been brooding again, that's why. Brooding and scheming.

[by missionfailure]

I love the artist's great use of light and shadow in this prison portrait --

[by kellydoodles]

That's what the once-and-future Trickster is all about.

[by shop5]

Makeup and The Boys

Colour-coordinated eye shadow? Nice.

[by whann]

And isn't it time for a new coat of nail polish? Clawing Thor's back does real damage to a manicure.

["Fill in the Blanks (Green)"

by levineh]

Hey, wait a minute -- nail polish, okay, but barrettes?

[by ooahoo]

Someone needs to reapply! Part your lips . . . .

[by darlyzomby]

See? These are transferrable skills. Just ask Freya the Ice Queen --

[Emily Blunt and Chris Hemsworth,

stars of The Huntsman: Winter's War

photo by hemsworthgirl18]

Isn't it adorable how he purses his own lips too? Now that's concentration!

Sucks To Be You!

"Kneel, Thor . . . ."

[Commission by

Kneel before Loki

found here]

But never underestimate Thor's strength, speed and ability to turn a situation around!

[by 10000ta (manta)

found here]

"No, YOU kneel, Loki . . . . "

[gifs by thorduna]

And Let's Not Forget Iron Man

He's a complicated mix as well --

[by MieHanz,

found here]

Iron Man needs a lot of support and guidance, if only he would accept it --

[by daily-superheroes]

I love this Game of Thrones crossover portrait -- "The Right Stark for the Iron Throne!"

[found at The Meta Picture]

Like his alter ego, Robert Downey Jr plays by his own rules too.

[found at The Meta Picture]

Portraits of Thor

In honour of Thor's Day, here are more portraits of the Thunderer --

[by iamacoyfish]

I like how the watercolour effect in the background of this next portrait looks like storm clouds --

[by Vanessa del Rey,

found here]

The red of the paintbrush and of Thor's glove and cape really draw your eye into this dynamic portrait --

[by leowdrawingclass,

found here]

And this one has the feel of Art Deco because of the stylized lightning bolts --

[by Jason Pell]

Portraits of Loki

The Jotunheim Prince who controls and commands the power of ice --

[by evil-scientist]

This portrait also suggests ice to me or perhaps the shattering of illusions -- either way, Loki is playing with something sharp and dangerous. Just the way he likes it.

[by hu-lu-lu]

Oh, that evil schemer!

[by traddmoore]

The artist nicely captures Loki's malevolent intensity in this portrait.

[by michelacacciatore]

Portraits of Captain America

Captain America has no doubts, but Steve Rogers has plenty. This portrait nicely captures his angst.

[by chozoraptor]

Pin-up Cap!

[by petite-madame]

Beautifully rendered portrait, especially of his eyes and that tight, determined little mouth.

[by goldfhie]

The artist quite rightly titles this drawing "God Bless America's Thighs" --

[by rcdart]

World War II Captain America

Nice rendition of that era's recruitment posters' propaganda art style:

[by chozoraptor]

All the many factors that went into creating Captain America:

[by MieHanz,

found here]

On the battlefield with his original shield:

[by Ryan Meinerding]

A premature (as it turns out) memoriam to Captain America:

[by capes]

Mea Culpa -- How Wrong I Was

[found at HiddleMemes]

Years ago when I heard that Sir Kenneth Branagh was going to direct the Thor origin movie, my first thought was "how the mighty have fallen!" Man, Branagh must really be in need of money, I thought, if he was going to "slum it" by directing a comic book adaptation. Clearly, such material was far below both his time and his talents.

So when the movie came out, I went to it solely out of curiosity to see how the great director was going to humiliate himself with such tawdry material. And of course I was absolutely blown away by the Shakespearean vision, sweep and grandeur that he brought to the story. Branagh elevated the entire movie to the heights of three-dimensional tragedy while preserving necessary lighter elements with which to offset the brutal archetypal sibling rivalry as both brothers lose everything they hold dear, everything they believe to be true about themselves and everything that gives meaning to their lives.

And Branagh's casting decisions were almost all brilliant -- not just Tom Hiddleston, but Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins and Idris Elba as well. His only misstep was casting Natalie Portman as Jane. She and Chris Hemsworth have virtually no on-screen chemistry. Plus it was a puzzlingly bad decision to have her come across like some kind of ditzy valley girl "playing at" being a scientist.

I wish Branagh was directing the upcoming Ragnarok movie. It needs a director who understands how to portray the terrible and inexorable way in which Shakespearean tragedy culminates.

"You know Tom is suffering"

Tom Hiddleston as Adam the vampire in Only Lovers Left Alive, contemplating Christopher Marlowe's chosen method of displaying Shakespeare's portrait . . . .

[Post title and screen capture

by hiddlestonhiddles]

I love this scene in Only Lovers Left Alive. Despite Christopher Marlowe's obvious antipathy towards his rival William Shakespeare, he greets Adam's appearance at his deathbed with a line from Hamlet -- "What a piece of work is a man?" To which Adam responds -- "This quintessence of dust" -- from the same monologue. Since Marlowe would be unlikely to quote the words of a despised rival, the implication is that he is actually quoting himself -- as the "true author" of Shakespeare's plays.

A nice nod to an old literary controversy.

You Mewling Quim!

[found at The Meta Picture]

Although "you mewling quim" sounds like a Shakespearean insult, it's actually not. Shakespeare used the word "mewling" at one point in his plays, but the word "quim" does not date from his time. It's a more recent word, most popularly used in Victorian times as a slang term for vulva.

So Loki's insult to Black Widow -- "you mewling quim" -- essentially means "you whiny cunt." Nice talk, Loki. You kiss your mother with that mouth?

Hiddleston as Hamlet

If Our Tom ever portrays Hamlet, will he play him as Loki?

[by catwinchester]

Shakespeare of Asgard

It's going to be "All Shakespeare All Week" here on the Thunderfrost Boys blog!

[by hiddlememes]

[by hiddlespeare]

[by hiddleston-is-my-cup-of-tea]