You might have heard of Loki from the Marvel movies, but how much do you know about his origins as a cool Norse god? We've got 12 amazing facts all about Loki right here! Find out what animals he can turn into, what magical powers he has, and all about his weird family with these awesome facts! And if you liked these, why not check out our Thor Facts for more Norse nonsense? Or maybe you'd like to challenge yourself with our Norse Mythology Quiz? And if you prefer your Loki in a more suerhero form, why not try our Which Thor Character Are You Quiz?

1. Loki Comes From Norse Mythology

Loki is one of the main characters in the Norse myths, a collection of myths that date back over 1,000 years ago! The other characters include the father of the Gods, Odin, and his son Thor, who is the god of thunder.

2. Norse Mythology Comes From Scandinavia

The Norse myths traditionally come from Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden and Denmark) as well as countries like Iceland and Finland, but also appear in other Germanic countries. The Vikings were one of the groups of people who would tell them to each other. We have examples of Norse mythology written in runes, an ancient language used by Vikings and others.

3. He Is A Trickster God

Loki is a trickster, which means he spends a lot of his time playing pranks on people and generally getting into mischief. He's not exactly good or evil, he just likes messing around with people and enjoying himself!

4. He Can Turn Into Different Animals

These animals include a salmon, a horse, a seal, a fly, and even an elderly woman. He can also change gender and appearance whenever he wants!

5. He Once Dressed Up As A Bridesmaid

In one of the Norse myths, Thor and Loki end up dressed as a bride and bridesmaid in order to save the goddess Freya from marrying a troll. The trolls aren't too happy when they find out the truth!

6. He Likes Fighting Giants

Lots of the stories about Loki involve him fighting and tricking supernatural creatures like trolls and giants. Depending on how he's feeling on any given day, Loki will help either the gods or the giants - it all depends what mood he's in! He's related to gods and giants, and often finds himself in a pickle, like when he promises a goddess to a giant, and then has to rescue her!

7. He's Associated With Mistletoe

In on story, the god Baldur is inviting people to try and harm him, since he is invincible. Loki finds out that the one thing that can harm him is mistletoe, because his mother Freya didn't bother to ask it not to, and so he makes a dart out of mistletoe and kills Baldur! Ever since, the plant has been associated with Loki.

8. He Has Magical Powers

Not only can he turn into animals and other people, Loki also has the ability to control fire and become trees and insects. He also, apparently, er, gave birth to an eight-legged horse?! Ok.

9. He Is The God of Fire

Loki is associated with fire, and one story tells of how he is chained to a rock, just like the Greek figure Prometheus, who also discovered fire! Fire is often associated with tricksters because of it's uncertain, untrustworthy nature.

10. He's Associated With Snakes and Wolves

Two of Loki's sons are a snake and a wolf (of course) and he can also change into those animals. Like Loki, the wolf and the snake are both often tricksters in mythology, and his snake son Jormungandr is so big he encircles the world, biting his own tail. Two entwined snakes are also often used to symbolise Loki.

11. He Has A Very Weird Family

Loki isn't the only oddball in his family - his father is the giant Farbauti, his son is Hel, who rules over the underworld, and we don't even know what his mum, Laufey, is - she could be a giant, a god - anything! He's also the father of a giant snake and Fenrir the wolf. Their family photos must look weird!

12. We're Not Quite Sure Where His Name Comes From

Lots of different theories about Loki's name have been put forward. Some people think it comes from the Norse word 'logi', which means 'flame', while others say it might come from the Germanic 'luk', which means loop. Or it could come for an old word for 'Key'! We'll never know!