"Well, look at that. 'Start Ragnarok, all die.' Even had it underlined."

I watched the last season of What If? over the holidays, and while it didn't knock my socks off, I don't know why it's ending, either: plenty of other stories out there, although I suspect they're limited by what actors are available to use. (Just use voice actors! They usually do a better job anyway.) Here's a recent one, that maybe could've used a Watcher, to ask, what was Loki thinking? From 2023, What If..? Dark: Loki #1, "The Song of Mjolnir...in minor..." Written by Walt Simonson, pencils by Scot Eaton, inks by Cam Smith and Scott Hannah.

This was "What If...? Dark," not "Dark Loki," and I think there were a few one-shots here that were all downbeat endings. I was flipping through old Journey Into Mystery covers, since I thought this might be based of a story from that era; but it didn't immediately jump out. (Maybe around Thor #138!) While Thor fought Ulik, Loki steals Mjolnir, having used enchantments of his own and from Karnilla so he could lift it. He then stabs Dr. Donald Blake in the back with Mjolnir's walking-stick form, and murders Sif for good measure! Then, he makes a quick trip to Nornheim, to kill Karnilla before she could take back her magic. Three murders so far, and Loki's just getting started! He's mildly annoyed that Mjolnir doesn't return to his hand and he has to dig it out, but as the hammer sparks lightning while he holds it, he thinks Mjolnir is starting to learn who was boss.

Spying on Odin, Loki sees how Ragnarok usually goes down, starting with his torture, then the death of Balder. He opts to move up that timetable, using Mjolnir to force-grow a sprig of mistletoe into a mighty spear, with which he backstabs Balder, right after he got the bad news about Karnilla. Loki then frees Fenris, and rallies his allies: the Frost Giants, Hela, the Midgard Serpent Jormungand, and Surtur. Heimdall gets clobbered by Mjolnir before he can sound the alarm, and Loki's forces storm Asgard almost without a fight. Odin is eaten by Fenris, and Loki is now in charge...for about three seconds, as Surtur was going to light his sword, and burn all of the Nine Realms. Somehow this comes as a surprise to Loki; and he can't throw Mjolnir hard enough to stop him; nor can he turn the lightning on Surtur. Instead, Mjolnir lightnings Loki into ash. Surtur lights his sword and destroys everything; even himself. But, a flash of lightning heralds a new universe.

Feels like Loki should have kinda seen this coming; but gods might be locked in on some of their actions. Still, he had been on a roll; did he really need Surtur? All he does is show up at the end to set everything on fire; maybe leave him on the bench. This issue would've been on the racks just prior to the first episode of the second season of Loki, and feels like a conscious choice, to remind readers when Loki was consistently an amoral monster.