Month: June 2021

Tucker Carlson has a lot of interesting theories. The Jan. 6 insurrection was no big deal. Alternately, it was a big deal and it was cooked up by the FBI. (To say nothing of him floating actual white supremacist chatter.) On Monday he had a new whopper: He’s being spied on by the National Security Agency, and he has irrefutable proof (which he didn’t share with his viewers).

As per The Daily Beast, the Fox News superstar circled back to his FBI false flag theory, which has been roundly debunked, which means of course that he’s continued asserting its legitimacy. He softened the language a bit, now claiming the feds had “sources in that crowd, confidential sources, snitches,” adding that this is “100 percent certain.” (Ron Howard voice: It isn’t.)

He then insisted the FBI had other fish to fry, namely, him. “But it’s not just political protests that the government is spying on,” Carlson told his many viewers. “Yesterday, we heard from a whistleblower within the U.S. government who reached out to warn us that the NSA, the National Security Agency, is monitoring our electronic communications and is planning to leak them in an attempt to take this show off the air.”

It was a bewildering claim, big if true. And Carlson assured his audience that an agent definitely contacted him about something he can’t talk about.

“The whistleblower who is in a position to know repeated back to us information about a story that we are working on that could have only come directly from my texts and emails,” Carlson claimed. “There’s no other possible source for that information. Period. They did it for political reasons. The Biden administration is spying on us. We have confirmed that.”

Carlson then said he’d filed a Freedom of Information Act, to see what material the government has on him. “Only Congress can force transparency on the intelligence agencies and they should do that immediately,” Carlson said. “Spying on opposition journalists is incompatible with democracy. They are doing it to us and again, they are definitely doing it to us, they are almost certainly doing it to others. This is scary and we need to stop it right away.”

But not even rightwingers were buying it.

Nor were anti-Trump Republicans.

Some marveled at Carlson’s ignorance of how things work.

And others just thought it was yet another tall Tucker claim.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Now that the world knows how Britney Spears herself feels about her conservatorship, it’s all but impossible for anyone to stand by and not show support for the embattled pop star. Earlier today her sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, clarified why she herself hasn’t been public with her support of Britney until now, saying she wanted to let the world hear what Britney had to say first. Another of her closest peers, Christina Aguilera, was moved to speak out in support of Britney today too in a lengthy Twitter thread where she reflects on the “mental and emotional damage” that a betrayal of this level can create.

“These past few days I’ve been thinking about Britney and everything she is going through,” Aguilera began, sharing an adorable photo of the two young musicians together. “It is unacceptable that any woman, or human, wanting to be in control of their own destiny might not be allowed to live life as they wish. To be silenced, ignored, bullied or denied support by those “close” to you is the most depleting, devastating and demeaning thing imaginable. The harmful mental and emotional damage this can take on a human spirit is nothing to be taken lightly. Every woman must have the right to her own body, her own reproductive system, her own privacy, her own space, her own healing and her own happiness. While I am not behind the closed doors of this very layered & personal yet public conversation – all I can do is share from my heart on what I’ve heard, read and seen in the media. The conviction and desperation of this plea for freedom leads me to believe that this person I once knew has been living without compassion or decency from those in control. To a woman who has worked under conditions and pressure unimaginable to most, I promise you she deserves all of the freedom possible to live her happiest life. My heart goes out to Britney. She deserves all the TRUE love and support in the world.

Here’s hoping the media attention and celebrity support will lead to what seems to be the best outcome for Britney — ending this terrible saga of her life and starting fresh.

America has a major problem right now with right wing extremism. Merrick Garland, the current Attorney General, even believes that domestic terrorism is again on the rise, as it was circa the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. But on Monday morning, Right Wing Watch — a longtime leftwing watchdog of the kind of conservative extremism Garland’s worried about — learned that they had been permanently banned from YouTube, only to be reinstated later that day.

According to The Daily Beast, the site was informed by YouTube that they’d violated “community guidelines.” No details were provided. When they appealed, they were rejected.

But later they received a message from the video streaming service, telling them they’d been “mistakenly suspended,” but that “upon further review,” their permanent suspension had been lifted.

The problem isn’t new. Right Wing Watch, senior fellow Kyle Mantyla told the Beast, has had ongoing problems with YouTube for years, forcing them to repeatedly assure them that they were reporting on extremism, not broadcasting it. They’ve even had to stress that they have disclaimers on their videos saying as much. Those issues, Mantyla says, increased over the last year, as they’ve combated COVID-19 and 2020 election misinformation.

YouTube has a three-strike, and they awarded Right Wing Watch two of them in April over videos they published. They even refrained from publishing for 90 days, when the strikes dropped. Mantyla claims they dug up “some video from eight years ago,” and flagged that as their third strike. The service took them down last week, and it wasn’t until Monday morning that they learned their appeal had been rejected. But now they’re back up.

Right Wing Watch is an off-shoot of the longtime liberal nonprofit People For the American Way, and it was launched in 2007. Since then it has posted thousands of videos, all of which were jettisoned in the since reneged upon YouTube purge. Meanwhile, many of the outlets and personalities Right Wing Watch has covered for their extremist positions are not suspended or banned, as they briefly were.

(Via The Daily Beast)

The Los Angeles Clippers are one game away from their offseason arriving earlier than they hoped for the second straight season, as they will face the Suns in Phoenix needing a Game 5 win to extend the series. L.A. has been within striking distance in all of their three losses to Phoenix, as evidenced by the Clippers actually having a positive net rating in a series they’re losing, but part of their issue has been that they are without their top closer in Kawhi Leonard.

Paul George has been terrific in Leonard’s absence, putting to rest a lot of the narrative around his playoff struggles, as have Reggie Jackson, Terance Mann, and others, but Kawhi’s absence looms large in the lack of on-ball creativity as well as having another elite defender to apply ball pressure to the Suns’ backcourt stars. Mann in particular has turned heads, bringing some much needed energy on both ends to the Clippers both as a reserve and a starter at times, filling part of the Leonard role.

Still, the takeaway from this Conference Finals for most seems to be that the Clippers are a contender that’s short a superstar at the moment due to injury. However, for the sports world’s foremost takesmith, Stephen A. Smith, he sees something different. He sees that it’s time for a changing of the guard and that L.A. should just let him walk in free agency this summer (Leonard has an opt out), citing Mann’s energy as a major reason on top of Leonard’s injury history.

It is just an incredible Stephen A. take that I’m not even sure he fully believes, but he’s still going to let it fly. Any time he starts by couching a take this hard, noting that Kawhi is still an elite, top-5 talent in the NBA, you know it’s going to be a wild ride. If you’re the Clippers, the only way you sell this is if Leonard chooses to go elsewhere and you need to spin it around, but there is no world where they’re saying “yes, we are going to build around Terance Mann instead.” For one, you don’t have to choose between the two, as Mann is under contract and next year you can just give him a bigger role.

There’s also the issue of the Clippers, at most, having $6 million in cap space even if Kawhi leaves, and most likely they’ll be over the cap even if he does. As such, it’s not like they can replace Kawhi with a different star level guy, they’d be replacing him exclusively with Mann and, like, a mid-level exception guy. I do applaud Stephen A. for being willing to not only think up this take but to fire it off on national television, but I’m going to go out on a limb here and say the Clippers won’t be listening to his advice.

Republicans are currently in the unusual position of hating the U.S. military. Last week, General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, came under fire after refusing to condemn the latest GOP scare tactic, Critical Race Theory, which teaches that, well, the U.S. has had a checkered history (and present) when it comes to how it’s treated non-whites. One thing Milley said really outraged them: That he had read the works of Mao, Marx, and Lenin in order to educate himself, but “that doesn’t make me a Communist.” On Monday’s Fox & Friends, co-host Brian Kilmeade became the latest to take him down…by claiming he’d been made to read Mein Kampf in school.

“I thought general Miley totally missed the point last week,” Kilmeade told guest, Texas representative Dan Crenshaw. “He says ‘Oh I read Mao, I read Stalin’ that has nothing to do with it.” He then dropped an unexpected bombshell. “We read Mein Kampf in school, no one thought we were Nazis, that is part of the curriculum, you find out about other things and other insurgencies, we get it, that has nothing to do with Critical Race Theory.”

It was a curious comment for a number of reasons. One: Was Massapequa High School on Long Island really making its young students read Adolf Hitler’s memoir-cum-manifesto? Two: Wasn’t he making basically the same point that Milley was — that reading works we may not agree with enriches our understanding of the world?

But there was really little to do but make jokes.

Some thought this admission explained a lot.

Some questioned the claim’s veracity.

Others questioned why Kilmeade thinks it’s okay to read Hitler but not accounts of America’s racist past.

And others were drawn to Crenshaw’s “WTF” reaction.

Al Gore knows more than anyone what it’s like to have an election potentially taken from you. The results of the the 2000 race were hotly contested, leading to an epic recount in Florida. But after weeks of turmoil, Gore decided that the unity of the country was more important than his potential win, and he’s never taken issue with it since. In other words, it’s the opposite what the Donald J. Trump has done after losing the 2020 election, ranting and railing with claims even his loyal Attorney General deemed “bulls*it.” And when asked about how the 45th president continues to peddle lies, Gore had some words.

In an interview with CNN, the former vice president spoke about the “refusal of the former president to acknowledge that he lost by seven million votes — it wasn’t close, for God’s sake.” He also slammed the Republicans, saying the “majority of his party is still so enthralled to him that they still believe that the American people did not make the judgment that they clearly made. This is very damaging for our democracy.”

Gore was cautiously hopeful, though, saying, “I’m hoping this craziness fades over time.” But you better stress “cautious,” because there’s still a large portion of GOP voters who’ve been effectively brainwashed:

“We hear about AI standing for artificial intelligence. They’re putting another kind of AI out: artificial insanity. … They’re putting out messages that create an alternate reality, and people get into these echo chambers on the internet, and it’s all they hear, and they begin to believe the alternate reality.”

When asked what he would say to Trump, Gore chuckled darkly, admitting, “I’m not sure that whatever I’d say to him would have any impact whatsoever.” But, he said, “just on the off chance that it would, I would say please do the right thing. Acknowledge reality. Stop hurting this country. Stop undermining democracy. Honor the great and honorable traditions of the United States of America. This cannot go on the way it is.”

You can watch Gore’s segment in the video above.

(Via CNN)

Basketball is a sport that’s practically built for the drama of movies. The fast-paced action is perfect for montages, and the tension of last second-heroics punctuated by the sound of a buzzer are all the makings of cinematic greatness. But not all hoops films are made equal. Some, in fact, are downright mediocre and others, while originally praised as brilliant, have fared worse over time than others.

There are plenty of basketball movies — whether they follow a team’s journey or use the game as the backdrop for the larger thrust of the film. But a good basketball movie needs to be well cast with a strong story, some realistic-looking game-play and maybe some classic moments and quotes that stand out to fans years later.

Having trouble sorting it all out? We’ve got you covered.

13) Semi Pro (2008)

There has to be a straight-up comedy on here with zero appetite for drama or anything but laughs, and Semi-Pro is it. The heyday of struggling basketball teams is ripe with comedy, and this Will Ferrell movie is criminally underrated in his overall comedic cannon. Ferrell as a player/coach/owner of an American Basketball Association team is a gem. This movie is not realistic in any way — Andre Benjamin of Outkast plays a prominent role — but it doesn’t have to be. Basketball in Flint, Michigan looks like a hell of a lot of fun in this one, and its enduring legacy is the occasional Tropics jersey you’ll see at an NBA game.

12) Hoosiers (1986)

Hoosiers needs to be on this list because it is regarded as a classic basketball movie. The Indiana Pacers have a Hickory High jersey that looks very cool. And Gene Hackman in a coaching role is always something to appreciate. But there is not a movie on this list that has aged worse than Hoosiers, a film made in 1986 and a film about an all-white small-town basketball team triumphing because they got one good player. In this particular movie, they are the good guys. But three decades later, it’s hard not to view the team they beat as the far more interesting story.

11) Coach Carter (2005)

High school basketball is ripe with stories that make for good movies. And making your entire team because they violated your academic agreement is a pretty compelling way to draw an audience in, right? This is one of those basketball movies where the team grows and changes as it gets better on the floor, teaching a lesson along the way. It’s fairly formulaic, but it tells a nice story. A sneaky highlight of this film is an appearance from a very young, extremely bald Channing Tatum. Another early highlight is Samuel L. Jackson, a high school basketball coach, getting challenged by one of the team’s better players to a fight. You can imagine how that goes, but that alone is worth a look, right?

10) Glory Road (2006)

Speaking of more interesting basketball stories, there is Glory Road, a Disney-fied version of Texas Western’s run to the men’s NCAA Championship Game in 1966. The 2006 film doesn’t nearly have the cult following of Hoosiers, but the true story is far more compelling and highlights an issue that basketball in that era certainly suffered from: racism. Texas Western’s run to the title game against Kentucky is given the proper weight it should, and Josh Lucas’ turn as The Bear, coach Don Haskins, is a worthy center for this underrated film.

9) The Way Back (2020)

A heavy film whose box office fortunes were impacted by COVID shutdowns that happened right as it was coming out, The Way Back demands a lot from its lead as Ben Affleck leans on some of his own experiences with the bottle to play a damaged alcoholic trying to find a rope in the dark and a way out of the hole that his life has become after being pummeled by loss. Basketball factors in as that rope, with Affleck’s former high school standout character finding renewed purpose as a fiery and sometimes unorthodox leader of young men.

8) Teen Wolf (1985)

Michael J. Fox is a teen who is also a wolf. I’m not sure what’s not to like here. His character, Scott Howard, turns into an extremely athletic mythical beast. This is a harmless, if not ridiculous classic. And there’s something to be said for that kind of movie getting made in 1985 and still being true today. This is definitely the most “cult classic” of the films listed here, but there’s a particular affection for this movie, which actually sparked an equally-ridiculous MTV show in 2011.

7) Space Jam (1996)

Listen: Space Jam is not really a great movie. When you take away the nostalgia for it and a banger of a soundtrack, much like The Mighty Ducks, the bones of the plot are a bit bare. But it’s hard to hate a movie that puts Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny with equal billing on a movie poster. There’s a reason LeBron James was hounded for years to make a sequel to this 1996 blockbuster (with the new one finally coming out this year): people love the idea of the best player in the game getting sucked into a cartoon vortex. If anything, it’s still the only logical explanation for Jordan deciding to play baseball for a few years.

6) Above The Rim (1994)

Above The Rim plays out as a battle for one young man’s soul, standing out as an excellent showcase for the acting talents of Tupac Shakur, whose character, Birdie, does his best to steer the film’s protagonist, Kyle (Duane Martin) off his course as a basketball prodigy with college ball in his future. The film is also a tremendous showcase for ‘90s hip-hop (due to its iconic soundtrack) and a film that aimed for authenticity when showcasing streetball culture.

5) He Got Game (1998)

Spike Lee’s ode to basketball is a classic. Denzel Washington’s turn as Jake Shuttlesworth is a great performance and a dynamic role, and an appearance from Ray Allen as his son, Jesus, is a fun surprise for those coming to the film for the first time. This is another movie that settles on a plot involving a five-star high school recruit, but the tale of Shuttlesworth coming to grips with his father’s incarceration for killing his mother is compelling and well-executed here. It’s not the apex of Lee’s or Washington’s career in cinema, but it’s certainly worthy of this list.

4) Blue Chips (1994)

Nick Nolte is a conflicted college basketball coach in this 1994 film that has some legendary performances from actual NBA players. Shaq and Penny Hardaway appear as players here, while Rick Pitino and Larry Bird pop up as well. Compared to the kind of scandals that have engulfed college athletics these days, getting a tractor pales in comparison. But the story here is strong, and it’s got some of the best actual basketball scenes out of any movie on this list.

3) Love And Basketball (2000)

Basketball is the thing that brings Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps’ characters together and the thing that tears them apart in this smartly-executed, years-spanning love story from writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood. Impeccably cast with familiar faces sprinkled in throughout, the film is careful to really examine the strains and isolation of both being a heralded athlete and someone who feels like no one else believes in their dreams. The pressures of living up to both your parent’s expectations and legacies is also explored, but while it sounds like a lot is going on, Love And Basketball doesn’t get bogged down, injecting enough gentle and intimate moments of connection that you never lose sight of the point or find yourself not rooting for the pair at the center of this story to get out of their own way and into each other’s arms.

2) Hoop Dreams (1994)

Maybe the best basketball documentary ever, filmmaker Steve James tells the story of two basketball prospects — William Gates and Arthur Agee — trying to launch basketball careers to get themselves out of inner-city Chicago. The movie follows both players for four years as they go through high school hoops, recruiting and school issues and try to stay on track despite the outside pressures of their lives. This film got an Oscar nod for best film editing, and pouring over all the footage of their stories to weave this one together into a cohesive picture certainly seems worthy. This is a must-see.

1) White Men Can’t Jump (1992)

This is a great basketball film that happens to be a lot of fun, playing around in the worlds of trash talk and pick-up ball while leaning heavily on the strength of the uneasy partnership between Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson’s characters (with Rosie Perez thrown into the mix to steal every scene she’s in, as per her usual) and the grift at the heart of that partnership. Everyone loves a film about a good grift and White Men Can’t Jump certainly delivers. Written and directed by sports movie master Ron Shelton, White Men Can’t Jump furthers the truth he also highlights in Bull Durham: that sports can be the foundation for truly great relationships, but the trick is in making those relationships interesting and entertaining.

There are a lot of people in the fourth Matrix. Even Christina Ricci’s in it! But while a good chunk of the old gang is getting back together, not all of them will be there. Laurence Fishburne, who played rebel leader Morpheus, not only won’t appear. He wasn’t even invited to the party. He’s talked about it before, and in a new interview about something he is in — namely the latest Liam Neeson thriller The Ice Road — he says he’s cool with people asking about it. He just doesn’t have a good answer.

In a new interview with Collider (in a bit picked up by IndieWire), the Oscar-nominated actor was asked about not getting to reunite with the likes of Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Lambert Wilson. Specifically he was asked if he didn’t mind people bugging him with that question.

“No, I completely understand that. That makes sense. It would make sense that people would ask me that, so it doesn’t get old,” Fishburne said, offering a good-natured chuckle. “I am not in the next Matrix movie, and you’d have to ask [director] Lana Wachowski why, because I don’t have an answer for that.”

In the past, as in an interview with Vulture late last summer, Fishburne said he was “fine” with not being asked back, while saying that maybe, with the free time, he’ll “write another play.” He then wished them well, adding, “I hope it’s great.”

Mind you, a lot of people from the original Matrix trilogy aren’t coming back. Hugo Weaving, aka fearsome Agent Smith, is AWOL, as is Monica Bellucci, Harold Perrineau, Harry Lennix, as well as philosopher/professor Cornel West, who semi-randomly popped up in Reloaded. In other words, he’s in august company.

The as-yet-untitled fourquel is set to be released on Dec. 16.

(Via Collider and IndieWire)

After Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed Black man, was pursued and shot by three white residents while jogging through a Georgia suburb, Ellen and Patrick Miller* of San Diego hung a Black Lives Matter flag in front of their house. It was a small gesture, but something tangible they could do.

Like many people, they wanted to both support the BLM movement and bring awareness about racism to members of their community. Despite residing in a part of the county notoriously rumored to be marred by white supremacists and their beliefs, their neighbors didn’t say much about it—at first.

Recently, though, during a short window when both Ellen and Patrick were out of the house, someone sliced the flag in two and left the remains in their yard.

via Paula Fitzgibbons

They were upset, but not surprised.

---

“Nobody prior to May of 2020 said a word about our BLM flag,” Ellen explains. “After George Floyd and the protesting started, we had about 50% positive interactions with our neighbors, quietly offering solidarity as they passed by on their morning and evening walks. Then 25% of interactions were a lot of older busybodies ‘pearl clutching’ and hoping that ‘nobody takes this the wrong way and commits vandalism’ against us.” Then there were the men who would drive past and scream obscenities at Ellen while she unpacked groceries with her young child.

Instead of backing down, Ellen and Patrick grew more involved. They worked to educate themselves about racism. They attended and planned local BLM rallies—including a particularly turbulent one in the middle of their intolerant suburb where members of extremist groups suddenly appeared across the street to counter-protest. They donated to BLM and joined a leadership club that Ellen says “helps students of color with special needs navigate current society.”

By the time Ellen and Patrick’s flag was vandalized, they had already collected some back-ups. Undeterred, they replaced the flag with one that supports a broader mix of voices including the LGBTQ+ community, which they’d planned to hang for Pride Month in June.

via Paula Fitzgibbons

Though they felt the sting of violation, they understood there was no comparison to the indignities Black people in their area experience. As Ellen shares, it was mostly “a sad confirmation of the reputation of our town.”

If the simple act of hanging a flag propelled Ellen and Patrick to lend greater support to the BLM movement, what happened next confirmed the need to continue working hard toward effective allyship.

Ellen explains that a couple of days after their BLM flag was vandalized, Patrick rushed into the house with tears in his eyes and handed her the typed note that was left at their front door along with two wrapped packages.

“I busted into an ugly cry as well,” Ellen adds.

The note read:

“I saw your ripped BLM flag on Tuesday morning. I realize it could’ve been ‘just the wind’ but there are a fair number of other flags I see flying high in this neighborhood without tattering so suddenly…

So, just in case somebody vandalized it on purpose, I went ahead and made a $ donation to BLM on your behalf!

I also wanted to order you a replacement BLM flag in case you still wanted to fly it, then in a fit of passion I ordered two, so that there’s another back-up, or a gift for another good person with a flag pole.

Also quick sidenote, I love your LGBTQ+ Ally flag too! As a “B,” it gives me a sense of camaradery [sic]!

Do with these new flags as you will. It was simply my wish to ‘fix’ the torn flags the same way I wish to ‘fix’ some of the unkind acts against our fellow human beings. I saw it as a chance to remind you, remind myself, remind vandals and kind people alike that you can’t tear away someone’s humanity, you can’t tear away their pride, you can’t tear up love and compassion and good hearts the way you can tear up the fabric.

We’ll continue to fly high!”

via Paula Fitzgibbons

The note confirmed Ellen and Patrick’s hope that flying a simple flag might help people feel more welcome in their neighborhood.

“We no longer felt indignant, but happy that our flag symbol made another neighbor feel safe,” Ellen says.

Flying a BLM flag in a neighborhood with ties to white supremacy allowed the Millers to make a statement against the prevailing racist attitudes in their town. It also moved them to act intentionally in support of BLM. They never imagined the vandalism of that same flag might someday invite more neighbors into solidarity as well.

As another resident of their town commented, “It’s nice to know you aren’t an island when it comes to compassion in your neighborhood.”

*Names have been changed at their request.

When it comes down to which Marvel characters boast the most unusual stories, you gotta admit Loki is pretty dang high on the list. The mischievous Asgardian is an absolute agent of chaos, known for playing various sides, characters, and creatures as he sees fit. Hell, so far the Loki series is all about the God facing the consequences of messing around with the fabric of time. However, for all his antics in the comics and MCU, comic Loki isn’t nearly as troublesome as the Loki found in traditional Norse mythology. Here are five of the Norse Loki’s wildest fun facts.

1. There’s a theory that Loki was originally the Norse God of Fire.

For as much as we talk about all of Loki’s illusions, trickery, mischief, and mayhem, it might surprise some folks to know some scholars believe him to first and foremost be a god of fire. While it’s all speculation, this theory is backed up by the etymology of Loki’s parents’ names. Farbauti, his father’s name, means “fierce strike” and represents lightning. Furthermore, Laufey, his mother’s name, means “leaves.” When lighting strikes leaves, fire is born, and thus this does make some sense. Those who contest the theory state they believe records could be mentioning Logi rather than Loki, who is a giant (or Jötunn) that serves as the personification of fire in Norse mythology.

2. Loki is responsible for the death of one of Norse mythology’s most beloved God, Baldur.

While Loki was already a thorn in nearly every Asgardian side, his work in killing off one of their most beloved Gods — Baldur — certainly earned him outright hatred from the entire Norse pantheon. According to the tale of The Death of Baldur, after hearing Baldur was fated to die, his mother Frigg went to every living creature and made them swear they would never harm her son. However, assuming mistletoe was too small a thing to harm Baldur, she did not acquire its oath. Using this knowledge, Loki armed the blind god Hod with a spear tipped with mistletoe and commanded him to throw it at where Baldur was standing. Hod, unaware of Baldur or the mistletoe’s presence, thus threw it and struck down the son of Frigg and Odin. When Odin visited the goddess Hel to retrieve his son, Hel told him she would return Baldur to the land of the living if every creature on earth shed tears for him. While every creature on earth wept in morning, Loki, disguised as a giantess, refused to cry, thus resigning Baldur to his fate.

3. Loki suffered a pretty grisly punishment for all his insults and bad behavior.

While Loki’s actions don’t have the best of consequences for him in the MCU, they’re nothing compared to what happens to him in Norse mythology. According to a Norse Mythology organization:

For his many crimes against them, the gods eventually forge a chain from the entrails of Loki’s son Narfi and tie him down to three rocks inside a cave. A venomous serpent sits above him, dripping poison onto him. Loki’s apparently very faithful and loving wife, Sigyn, sits at his side with a bowl to catch the venom. But when the bowl becomes full, of course, she has to leave her husband’s side to pour it out. When this happens, the drops of venom that fall onto him cause him to writhe in agony, and these convulsions create earthquakes. And in this state he lies until breaking free at Ragnarok.

4. Loki fathered — and mothered — some pretty interesting children.

On top of Narfi and his entrails, Loki fathered — and mothered! — some other interesting and important children. While goddess of the underworld Hela is Loki’s sister in the MCU, in traditional Norse mythology she is none other than his daughter, Hel. He is also the father of Jormungand, the world serpent, and Fenrir, a monstrously large wolf. Last but certainly not least, Loki turns into a mare, mates with the stallion Svathlifari, and becomes the mother of Sleipnir, an eight-legged horse considered the greatest and fastest in all the realms who is later ridden by Odin.

5. These children are ultimately responsible for unleashing Ragnarok.

So far we’ve covered Loki killing Baldur, being bound, and who his children are, and all of previous these facts come into play in this last one. After Loki’s imprisonment and the binding of his son, Fenrir, the world enters Fimbulvetr, a year-long and brutally cold winter. Following this occurrence, the serpent Jormungand causes monstrous tidal waves, Fenrir breaks his mythic binding, and Loki is freed from his boulders. Ultimately, this starts Ragnarok or the “twilight of the Gods,” an event in which many of the most prominent members of the Norse pantheon are slain and the world sinks into the ocean. Among those killed are Thor, who is poisoned by Loki’s serpent son, and Odin, who is bested by Loki’s wolf son Fenrir.