The penultimate episode of Disney+’s Loki was a wonderful ride for fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel comics alike. Not only did the 50-minute episode, titled “Journey Into Mystery,” catapult the plot to an unbelievable cliffhanger, but it was chockfull of easter eggs pulled from distant comic lore. One of the biggest surprises was the ridiculously classic appearance of a one-off vehicle.
*SPOILERS FOR EPISODE FIVE AHEAD*
In case you may have missed it, Comicbook.com documented the appearance of the Thanos-Copter, a yellow atrocity that resides in the Void. The Void is the dimension near the end of time that is littered with beings and things the Time Variance Authority has purged from the Sacred Timeline. And it is where our heroes, Loki and Sylvie, find themselves after separate tussles with the TVA.
According to Comicbook.com, the Thanos-Copter is a relic from the Spider-Man comics of the 1970s. The purple Titan himself came to Earth in search of a Cosmic Cube, not too different from his pursuit of the Infinity Stones in the MCU. The item he seeks is in the possession of Hellcat, a hero from the Spider-Man universe. Thanos creates the helicopter in his own image to retrieve what he feels was stolen from him. While the copter itself is of little significance in the grander plot, it has become a running bit throughout Marvel comics’ history.
Fans across Twitter were elated in seeing the copter become MCU canon, according to Comicbook.com. Many posted side-by-side comparisons of the now-crashed vehicle along with its original comic look.
One fan even posted an accompanying photo of an action figurine of Thanos inside the one-man helicopter.
This was only one of the many slices of comic delight that appeared in this week’s episode of Loki. Hopefully, there will be more to come as the season finale of the Disney+ series airs next Wednesday at 12 a.m. PT/3 a.m. ET.