Sympathy for the Devil?

[Pitchwife]

Sorry for going far off-topic, but I can't help it.

Originally Posted by Mithadan

Morgoth is Loki; the trickster, the eternal rebel and contrarian.

No, no, and no again! While the trickster certainly is the eternal rebel and contrarian, con-man and deceiver, he is also a beneficial culture-hero (think of Prometheus in Greek mythology); not to forget his humorous side, always making fun of himself and others. Loki contains all these aspects - he even was involved in creating the first human couple (if you accept that Loður in the Voluspa is another name for him), not to mention all the times he helped the Gods out of serious trouble (like getting Thor's hammer back, getting the better of the Giant architect who built Valhall, etc.; true, in some cases he got the Gods into the trouble first, but there's always both sides in him).
None of this in Morgoth, who is simply destructive and power-crazy. The early Melko of BoLT may have had some Loki-like traits: offering to build the pillars for the Lamps of the Valar, only to cheat them by making the pillars of ice that melted once the Lamps were ignited - now, that's something Loki might have done. But as far as I can see, all this was completely lost later; and as for the creative side of the trickster, that's entirely absent in Morgoth.

Sorry again for this off-topic post, but I just couldn't stand by quietly and hear my favourite Norse God wronged. Please proceed.