This week’s episode of Disney+’s Loki splintered the sacred narrative with multiple reveals. The fourth episode, entitled “The Nexus Event,” not only unearthed our Lady Loki’s origin story, but gave viewers the series’ first mid-credits scene. This further shattered what we have come to believe about the Time Variance Authority (TVA).
*SPOILERS FOR EPISODE FOUR MID-CREDITS SCENE BELOW*
The episode finds our two Lokis – Tom Hiddleston’s (Marvel’s The Avengers, Early Man) variant and Sophia Di Martino’s Sylvie – battling the entire TVA, led by Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s (Beyond the Lights, Fast Color) Ravonna Renslayer. Their alleged crime has surpassed disturbing the Sacred Timeline as Loki reveals the truth about the TVA: that each agent is kidnapped variant. This reveal sets a mutiny within the ranks. To protect the sanctity of the organization, Renslayer prunes Owen Wilson’s (Marley & Me, The Royal Tenenbaums) Mobius. And for retribution for exposing the Time-Keepers are frauds, she finally prunes Loki. Our beloved Asgardian has met his inevitable fate. Or has he?
As the first-set of credits roll, the screen returns with a very-much alive Loki, awakening to what he thinks is Hell. As he questions whether he’s alive or not, a man’s voice instructs him to follow them unless he wants to die. The camera pans to reveal three strangers dressed in what appears to be various Loki-styled outfits. There’s even an alligator sporting the God of Mischief’s horned crown. This proves that variants who are pruned don’t die, which is what we have been led to believe since episode one. But where is Loki and who are these alleged imposters?
According to The Wrap, the possible identities of the new characters are steeped in deep Marvel comic lore. First, the alligator in the room. The reptilian is known as Gator Loki, and could be referencing a character created by Walter Simonson (Thor: Omnibus, The Visionaries) in 1986. In his run with Thor, a normal human was morphed into a frog by magic. He eventually wielded a smaller version of Mjolnir subsequently called Frogjlnir. In 2017, Frog Thor inherited the title of God of Thunder.
The teenager holding the animal is a reference to Kid Loki, a character created in the comics following regular Loki’s death after Ragnarok. Debuting in 2010 by Matt Fraction (Hawkeye, Fear Itself) and artist Pasqual Ferry (Adam Strange, Ultimate Fantastic Four Vol 7: God War), Kid Loki’s existence was a result of manipulation and reincarnation. The child was created to forget the evil deeds from his former life. Unfortunately, Kid Loki would soon return to his wicked ways.
As for Richard E. Grant’s (Can You Ever Forgive Me, Wthnail & I) Loki, The Wrap isn’t too sure of his identity. They detail he could either represent another variant, or be a nod to Ikol, a minion of Kid Loki’s that was created by Kieron Gillen (Die, Once and Future) and Stephanie Hans (Die #1, Die Vol. 3: The Great Game) in 2011. Ikol originally was formed from bits of deceased Loki’s soul, which Kid Loki manifested into a magpie. Later, the two beings merged to form another adult-version of the Asgardian.
Finally, we have the character wearing what looks to be imitation Thor regalia. According to The Wrap, this individual portrayed by Deboia Oparei (Doom, Wrath of Man) could represent a set of heroes known as The Thor Corps. Once upon a multiverse, an array of Marvel Black superheroes with their own versions of Thor’s hammer policed a dimension known as Battleworld. It was a planet villain Doctor Doom conjured during a previous chasm of the multiverse. The war-torn planet could very well be Loki’s current location.
While all these theories could fit the puzzle, there really is no telling what will become of the beloved anti-hero. Continue watching Loki every Wednesday on Disney+.