One Piece is a series that is known for its masterful foreshadowing. Due to the sheer length of the story, fans often tend to sweep things under the rug as inconsequential, only for those same things to resurface as massive plot points that affect the entire story.

One of the best examples of foreshadowing in this story has to do with Luffy’s Gear 5, which was hinted at all the way back in the Skypiea arc, almost 800 chapters before the reveal.

Sometimes, however, the reveal ends up being different from the foreshadowing, especially in terms of character designs. This is done through Oda either retconning how a character is supposed to look or, in Loki’s case, maybe even to subvert the expectations of fans as to how the character truly is. So, in this article, let’s go over how Loki has changed since his first appearance in One Piece, both visually and thematically.

Loki’s Visual Change

Loki Looks Very Different From His First Appearance

First Mentioned Appearance: One Piece, Chapter 858, “Meeting”

First Confirmed Appearance: One Piece, Chapter 1130, “The Accursed Prince”

In perhaps the greatest character reveal in the entire One Piece franchise, Loki is finally shown in Chapter 1130 after being first mentioned during the events of Wholecake Island. This was a character fans had been anticipating to meet for many years now and the final reveal far surpassed all the hype that had been built around him. However, as loved as the new design is, it is very different from how everyone imagined Loki would look.

In the flashback regarding him in the Wholecake Island arc, only his silhouette was shown, giving fans a vague idea of his potential appearance. The most notable part of this silhouette was the crown he wore, although his official reveal shows him with a horned helmet instead that gives him a far more sinister and malicious visage. Moreover, Loki’s body shape from the silhouette seemed to be more rounded and soft, giving fans the impression that he was a kind and approachable giant.

However, his actual body shape is austere, muscular, and imposing, with massive tattoos covering his arms and shoulders. His hair is also different this time around. Although both iterations show him with long hair, the Wholecake Island silhouette gave the impression that his hair was curly, bushy and fairly well-kept behind his head, while the actual reveal shows his incredibly long, flowing locks covering much of his upper body.

For all these differences, however, there is one thing that largely remains constant; his smile. Throughout the Wholecake Island flashback, Loki was seen smiling and generally being a happy person until Lola rejected him, causing him to frown. When Luffy comes across the chained-up prince on Elbaf, he is seen smiling throughout the whole ordeal with his tongue out, giving him an unhinged and evil look very similar to Doflamingo.

1. The Thematic Changes Of Loki

What All These Changes Could Mean

The main impression that fans of the series had gotten after viewing Loki from the flashback was that he was a kind giant who genuinely loved Lola and was left devastated after she rejected his marriage proposal. However, the few panels of him in Chapter 1130 give the exact opposite reaction, as he not only looks malicious but also outright claims to be a Sun God who wants to bring about the end of the entire world.

This plays very well into who Loki is in Norse mythology, which the country of Elbaf is clearly modeled after. As the God of Mischief, it is very possible that the first impression that everyone got of Loki as being a kind and caring giant was very well a ploy by him to further his own goals, which currently remain a mystery. This seems to have worked for the most part, considering how he is very different from what his original appearance would have anyone believe.

I am the Sun God who will bring about the end of the world!

His official introduction into the story also came with other revelations, such as the fact that there is a mysterious and legendary Devil Fruit that is passed down the royal line of Elbaf that Loki killed his own father to obtain. The nature of this fruit is currently a mystery, although the hype surrounding it is palpable considering that it is the only other Devil Fruit in all of One Piece that has ever been called legendary aside from Luffy’s Nika Fruit.

This fruit was so dangerous in the hands of Loki that all the warriors of Elbaf had to come together to chain up the Accursed Prince in order to prevent him from wreaking havoc. With Loki calling himself a Sun God looking to bring forth the destruction of the entire world, everything that fans thought they knew of him has been flipped over its head, and with his official introduction into the story, the entire series is likely going to undergo massive changes in terms of the power hierarchy.