It’s strange how it seems like forever ago and yet also just yesterday that the original Avengers movie debuted in theaters and took over the box office as well as the world’s collective consciousness. That movie did the unthinkable at the time, weaving together multiple movie plot threads into a single narrative of heroes fighting against trickster god, Loki, while also serving as a conclusion to the first phase of the MCU. This simply had never been done before, and yet here Disney is now, with three phases under its belt and now progressing through the fourth. WandaVision marks their jump into the impossible once again, as Marvel takes its winning formula and forages into the realm of televised spectacle.
It’s an incredibly strong first foray into television, managing to have started with such a unique premise while also translating their hallmark action set pieces and special effects to the small screen. But the shows that lay ahead in the MCU’s future are just as exciting, if not more so. Shows like The Falcon and The Winter Soldier look to have non-stop action on par with the best of Marvel’s feature-length films, but there’s still one show that looks more promising than the rest. Loki promises to bring back the conflicted brother of the god of thunder, capitalizing on the altered timeline of the original Avengers that we saw created in the latter half of Avengers: Endgame. One thing though has become abundantly clear: The world is going to want to tune in to this one.
Taking things back a bit, it’s important to remember the events that unfolded within both Avengers and Avengers: Endgame. In Avengers, Loki served as the first major villain that the earth’s mightiest heroes had to unite against. His main goal within that film is to use the Tesseract to open a portal to Earth in which the alien race known as the Chitauri can invade and enslave the planet. He comes close to succeeding but is ultimately captured and the invading army is fended off by the Avengers.
Avengers: Endgame revisits this plot thread during the time heist portion of the film. As Captain America and Iron Man attempt to retrieve the Tesseract from the climax of the original Avengers timeline, they cross paths with the captured Loki who is in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. They make an error that causes the briefcase containing this then-unknown infinity stone to slide across the floor. This is when Loki uses the Tesseract to vanish from the premises, and here is where the new Loki series will pick up from. The trailer shows Loki appearing in the desert in a shot that looks similar to that of Tony Stark in the pieces of his first Iron Man suit from the original Iron Man. So what does all of this mean for the viewers at home and why should the world be so excited to see what Loki has stored in its bag of tricks?
First, it’s important to remember how much the original version of Loki had grown throughout the original Marvel timeline of events. Through the events of Thor: The Dark World, as well as Thor: Ragnarok, audiences saw the many facets of this character and the ways in which his relationship with his brother changed over time. He had a very thorough and complete arc, transforming from a bitter, opportunistic, and jealous villain into a hero that eventually valued his brother Thor over his quest for power. This metamorphosis was fully cemented in his character’s self-sacrifice in Avengers: Infinity War, where he gives his own life to save his brother’s and dies at the hands of Thanos.
But this version of Loki that audiences grew to love and watched grow over time is still very much dead and gone. The show Loki will instead follow the version that escaped from the original Avengers due to the events of Avengers: Endgame. This is interesting for a multitude of reasons. The first is that this version of the character is picked up by a new organization heretofore not introduced in the MCU, the Time Variance Authority. He’s their prisoner, and this will likely set in motion some unique, time-traveling shenanigans for our anti-hero to deal with.
The most appealing aspect of this series will be that the viewer will see a character who is known to have emotional complexity and depth embarking on a journey in which he is allowed to act upon his worst impulses. This Loki may have the capacity for change, but he hasn’t lived through the events to earn it yet. He’s still the self-serving force of mayhem that tried to help take over the Earth. This Loki also never had to face any of the consequences of his past actions, and as it doesn’t appear he’ll be running into any of the Avengers this time around it’s more than likely that he’ll continue to choose the wrong path. The excitement comes from the first story of villain vs. evil organization, a story type that has never been seen within the Marvel Universe of heroes.
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