THE WASHINGTON POST – Marvel’s Loki, the God of Mischief and once a notorious Avengers antagonist, returns as a hero in the Disney Plus show’s second season.
Joined by his friend, a disillusioned time cop and Jet Ski enthusiast, Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson), the Asgradian trickster Loki Laufeyson (Tom Hiddleston) ventures through time, navigating multiple timelines, the multiverse and facing characters like Kang the Conqueror.
With the show’s new six episodes, here’s your quick guide before delving into the Loki sequel.
Loki is the God of Mischief
Just like his brother Thor, Loki is based on a figure from Norse mythology. He was originally born among the Frost Giants but raised by Odin in the realm of Asgard. He uses deception and mockery to get his way.
The modern-era version of Loki formally debuted in 1962 in the 85th issue of “Journey Into Mystery,” a collection of science fiction stories.
Since his debut, Loki has been a constant thorn in the side of Marvel heroes, often battling head-to-head with the Avengers (especially Thor). But he’s also earned his own comic series, fallen in love with the Scarlet Witch and run for president.
He has a complicated relationship with his brother Thor and the Avengers
It hasn’t been an easy road for Loki in the MCU, either, as he’s either trying to trick or kill his brother and the Avengers.
The character first appeared in the MCU in 2011’s “Thor,” serving as the main villain trying to overtake the throne of Asgard. After that didn’t work out, he attempted to become ruler of Earth in 2012’s “The Avengers” in the Battle of New York.
He failed (again) and was locked up on Asgard by Thor. But the God of Thunder eventually needed his help and freed him from his jail cell in “Thor: The Dark World.” Loki ended up tricking his brother (again) by faking his death.
He then went on to impersonate his father Odin as ruler of Asgard. When Thor discovered this, Loki escaped briefly to Earth and then to the planet Sakaar, where he tried to have Thor killed in combat (by the Hulk, no less) in “Thor: Ragnarok.”
Eventually, the two brothers united to take on their sister, Hela, who then destroyed Asgard. So, yes, Loki’s had a bit of a complicated run in the Marvel movies, especially with his brother. None of this gave him a happy ending, either.
Loki already died
The Loki we see in “Loki” is not the same God of Mischief we see in the majority of the MCU – he’s actually another version of him from a separate timeline.
Just as Loki and Thor teamed up and all seemed well at the end of “Thor: Ragnarok,” their home was destroyed. Then Thanos (Josh Brolin) attacked the surviving Asgardians on their refuge ship at the beginning of 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War.”
When Loki attempted to negotiate with the Mad Titan (and tried to stab him), Thanos choked him to death, promising “no resurrections this time.”
So, yes, the original version Loki is dead. But his variant is still kicking thanks to a time travel blunder by the Avengers, as shown in “Avengers: Endgame.”
They allowed the 2012 version of Loki to escape to Mongolia. But upon arrival, hunters for the Time Variance Authority (TVA) – which exists to stop alternate timelines from happening – showed up to capture this new variant Loki. He was arrested and brought to the TVA headquarters.
This is the Loki we know now. While he has characteristics of the MCU’s original Loki, he is technically a different version that is maturing and seemingly has a conscience.
He loves another Loki variant named Sylvie
In the first season of “Loki,” the variant God of Mischief falls in love with another variant of himself known as Sylvie.
They met after Mobius, the TVA agent, recruited Loki to help him capture Sylvie, who, much like Loki, has a number of magic abilities. Originally meant to be killed by the TVA, she went on the run at a young age and made it her goal to burn the TVA to the ground.
With Loki’s help, the two end up exposing the TVA as a facade and travel to the end of time to discover its creator. It was there that the pair split up, leaving Sylvie’s whereabouts unknown heading into the new season.
Loki met Kang the Conqueror (kind of) and helped start the multiverse (kind of)
In the “Loki” Season 1 finale, Loki and Sylvie met He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors), an eccentric scientist-turned-time traveller who has found a way to merge all timelines into one Sacred Timeline.
However, his version of planned events (which includes everything that happened in the MCU up until that point) had come to an end.
He gave Loki and Sylvie a choice – kill him, open up infinite timelines and unleash his variants, or take over the throne and build their own dream lives together.
Loki wanted the throne (because of course he did), hoping that it would push away any devilish variants of He Who Remains.
But Sylvie didn’t trust the idea and decided to kill He Who Remains instead, opening up multiple timelines and causing chaos for Loki and the TVA. This was the first glimpse of the multiverse within the MCU.
It was later revealed through “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” that He Who Remains is a variant of Kang the Conqueror.
Kang is set to be the next big bad MCU villain for the Avengers, though Majors’s long-term participation has been uncertain amid his pending domestic violence trial. He remains part of “Loki” Season 2.
Loki’s actions could impact the Avengers
So far, Loki has been running through the TVA and across timelines without directly interacting with the Avengers or anyone of significance in the MCU.
But that could change now that we know more about Kang the Conqueror and He Who Remains. In a post-credit scene for “Quantumania,” it was revealed that a host of Kang variants are prepping to take over the multiverse unless something, such as the Avengers, stops them.
We know Loki will tangle with another Kang variant named Victor Timely in Loki Season 2. So it’s entirely possible that what happens next for Loki could impact what happens to the Avengers and shapes the MCU’s story moving forward. – Herb Scribner
