to the Scarlet Witch 'calculating the odds' of someone showing up to defeat them—the sky opens and Thor, his brother, appears for revenge. Issue 13 shows further demonstrations of his powers by attempting to trap Thor in an illusion and withstanding a direct blow from Thor's hammer uninjured, claiming it cannot hurt him. During this battle, Thor mentions that Loki's powers have weakened for an unexplained reason. After Loki summons an army of monsters to battle the Ultimates and nearly kills Thor, the thunder god then proceeds to summon allies from Asgard while he strikes Loki with his hammer, sending him back to Asgard where Odin awaits. Loki's motivations for his actions are not completely revealed. He mentions several motivations, from a desire to cause World War III to Odin favoring Thor over him and attempting to gain Odin's favor. Throughout the whole ordeal, Loki regards humans as mere playthings for his pranks. In addition to creating a Norwegian super-soldier program that was supposedly part of an EU initiative and making people believe it was real, even though Norway is not part of the European Union, he claimed to have been the one who framed Captain America for treason and murdering Hawkeye's family, regarding the failure of humans to realize the problems with these assertions as humorous. Loki is freed from his "punishment" in New Ultimates, playing an integral part in the re-appearance of the Defenders, now super-powered, as well the invasion of trolls to New York with the help of Amora the Enchantress. He is later revealed to be the one behind Valkyrie's powers manifesting after the invasion forces attacked America. In revenge against Thor, Loki impales Valkyrie with a sword, to which she is restored by Hela as a real Valkyrie and takes vengeance on Loki, banishing him to Hel. Loki and every other Asgardian, excluding Thor, were killed by the Children of Tomorrow (led by Reed Richards) when Asgard was destroyed. Ultimate Comics: Thor elaborates Loki's backstory. Loki is the child of Odin and the giantess Laufey, who procreated him as part of a peace settlement between Asgard and Jotunheim. Loki was always jealous of his older brother Thor for having been given Mjolnir and rebelled against Asgard by stealing the sacred Norn Stones (relic extensions of Odin's power) and killing their half-brother Balder with their favoured bow. Banished from Asgard, Loki (going under the disguise of