Humans are strange creatures. When they hear about the death of a stranger, it's just another statistic. At most, they might say, "That's really unfortunate." But when someone close to them dies, the impact is earth-shattering.
Phil Coulson—just a small-time agent in the grand scheme of history—became the catalyst for the formation of the world's most powerful superhuman alliance.
Tony, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and the Hulk—they had already been toyed with by Loki multiple times, but killing someone close to them? That was too much to swallow.
Especially when the system detecting the energy of the Tesseract revealed that Loki had chosen Stark Tower, Tony's newly completed building, as the portal's opening point. Tony's anger hit the roof.
The six of them rushed to the scene in different ways, and Tony decided to go solo... well, not really!
"Buddy," he shouted into his comm.
"I'm in position," came the response.
"Thanks, man." Tony might not trust Captain America or Nick Fury, but when it came to Atreus, someone he'd been through hell with, his trust was absolute.
Landing on the helipad of Stark Tower, designed specifically for Iron Man, Tony casually let Jarvis control the robotic arms to remove his heavily damaged armor from the airship battle. Meanwhile, he spotted a figure he absolutely loathed in his proud sky garden—Loki!
How interesting! Arrogant people love to show their elegance or grandeur. Rarely do they attack right away.
Seeing Tony take off his armor, Loki, not fully understanding the situation, stayed calm. He was sure that without his iron suit, Tony was nothing.
"You're here to beg for my forgiveness, aren't you? If so, I might consider giving you a small, pitiful spot in my glorious kingdom," Loki said, opening his arms with fake magnanimity.
"Actually, I came here to beat you up," Tony replied honestly, catching Loki a little off-guard.
"Then you shouldn't have taken off your armor."
"Yeah, it was getting a bit old. And you're still holding onto that shiny scepter." Tony sarcastically jabbed at Loki. Over time, he'd gotten a sense of Loki's personality. He knew Loki wouldn't lash out immediately. Besides, Tony had a backup plan: Atreus.
Loki felt a little embarrassed by Tony's comment. If he attacked now, he'd seem petty.
Tony, acting casual, asked, "Care for a drink?"
"Stalling won't help you," Loki said, though he too was stalling.
Tony continued casually, "Beating someone up is a sacred thing. warriors would always have a drink before battle."
Tony wasn't fooling himself. Without the Iron Man suit, he was incredibly vulnerable. But he was betting that Loki, being an arrogant "god," wouldn't understand remote-controlled tech.
While pretending to pour a drink, Tony discreetly slipped on a new controller for his Iron Man suit. At that moment, half of his anxiety eased, though he still worried about where Atreus was. Atreus had said he was in position, but where?
Without a comms device, Tony had no way to call for him.
Loki sneered, "The Chitauri army is coming, and no one can stop the portal from opening. I have nothing to fear!"
"Really? This world has the Avengers, a group of extraordinary beings, and some people you really don't want to mess with. Like Superman, or Kratos." Tony didn't know why he name-dropped a certain guy, but he just felt like it.
"I've already seen your so-called strength," Loki retorted.
"Are you sure you're not scared of your dear godly brother?" Tony's first shot hit a nerve, metaphorically ripping Loki's pride apart.
Hitting where it hurts was the key.
Tony continued, rapid-fire: "We've also got a big, angry muscleman with serious anger issues, a caped guy who flies around like a god, and a bald-headed warrior who can kill gods."
Loki frowned. He sized up the Hulk, and those other two guys sounded even more absurd.
At that moment, the iconic scene unfolded.
Loki had let Tony talk for so long because he was short on manpower. After Hawkeye was snapped out of his control by Black Widow, he was left without a henchman. That irritated Loki.
Seeing Tony seemingly defenseless, Loki thrust the scepter at his chest, aiming to control him.
Unfortunately for Loki, his scepter hit Tony's arc reactor with a "Duang" sound.
He tried twice. Nothing happened.
Tony was about to mock Loki when, suddenly, Loki, enraged and embarrassed, grabbed Tony by the throat.
"I am a god!"
"Ugh," Tony gasped, feeling like he was caught in a vice.
Loki's seemingly weak hand had the strength of ten human men.
That's the power of a god!
Even though Loki wasn't known for his close-combat skills, his physical strength still far surpassed any human's.
Tony had a sinking feeling that in a tenth of a second, his jaw would be crushed.
But then Loki sensed something. His right hand suddenly lashed out, unleashing an energy blast.
"Boom!" The heavily fortified walls of Stark Tower, built to withstand 40mm grenades, were blown apart, leaving a five-meter hole.
Loki, suddenly unconcerned with Tony, casually tossed him out the window.
"Crash!" The glass shattered, and Tony plummeted toward the ground, seemingly doomed. In that final moment, he saw a tall, bald man.
Back with Loki, he swung his scepter to dodge the hulking figure that had crashed through the wall: "Aren't you going to save your friend?"
"Not necessary," a rough, deep voice replied.
In the next instant, the bald man charged like a cannonball.
For some reason, seeing that wild face made Loki understand what his brother's enemies must feel like.
That savage rush and insane speed nearly made Loki wet himself.
Without thinking, Loki used his famous duplication technique.
But with a snap of the man's fingers, "Bam!" Loki and all his clones were shocked at the same time.
"Got you!"
A massively powerful hand clamped around Loki's throat, just like he had done to Tony moments earlier.
"I am a god!" Loki screamed with all his might.
"I am Kratos!" the bald man bellowed as he slammed Loki to the ground with a devastating throw.