Marvel fans that couldn’t get on board with the Wandavision sitcoms and the Falcon and the Winter Soldier will rejoice in all of the God of Mischief’s glory. Loki is the Disney+ series that Marvel fans will rally behind.
After reviewing the first two episodes of Loki, it’s safe to say that the caliber of storytelling and special effects that MCU fans are used to are present in the series. Not only does the Time Variance Authority (TVA) turn much of what we know upside down, it takes audiences into the far reaches of the comic book tautology, the multiverse.
Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has big plans to take the viewer out of their standard mindset and blown the doors wide off to alternate realms and characters. While many fans thought Wandavision would be the natural place for this transition, viewers were left wondering what comes next. I’m here to tell you that Loki is that door, and Miss Minutes is about to rock your world. This won’t take an entire series to do, either. Oh, no, hold on to your seats because it happens in the first ten minutes.
“This series breaks new ground for the Marvel Cinematic Universe before it, and lays the groundwork for things to come.”
Kevin Feige, President, Marvel
Studios and Chief Creative Officer, Marvel
Everything Loki (and MCU fans) thought he knew about the universe is shattered. He is faced with the fact that he now needs to adapt and learn everything he can from the TVA. The TVA has other plans for him, though. Enter in another term comic lovers will understand, the Variant. I’m not talking about the variant covers, but the characters that vary from multiverses. Get ready to plunge into all the Gods of Mischief from across the multiverse.
Loki Review
We all know that Tom Hiddleston embodies Loki, the God of Mischief, like no other, but Loki allows Hiddleston to stretch his character to the max. The show starts the moment Loki disappears from Avengers Tower during the battle of New York with the Tesseract from Avengers: Endgame. This is a time for Loki when he is ‘burdened with glorious purpose’ and has plans of ruling Midgard (Earth) and soon the Nine Realms. We see him before Ragnarok and learning about his sense of self.
If there is one thing Marvel has always done right, it’s to make villains that you can empathize with. In the back of your mind, you think, ‘I can see why they are upset .’ It allows you to enjoy the character more than you would have if you were made to hate them flat out. Loki is a character you love to hate. One minute he’s invading New York and making people kneel to him, and the next, he is helping Asgard in the battle of Ragnarok. He has redeeming qualities that Hiddleston plays so well. Especially that mischievous smile.
“I’ve always felt an affection for Loki and for his vulnerability,” says Tom Hiddleston. “But I’ve been aware through the course of my experience in the Marvel Studios’ movies in the first ten years that Loki has a role to play and that as Loki, I had to play the villain. Then I had to play the antihero. And this time around is the first chance, perhaps for a while, that I’ve had to see if we can really break the mold and change him and retain all the best aspects of him.”
Pair Loki’s demeanor with Hunter B-15, played by Wunmi Mosaku, and Mobius M. Mobius, played by Owen Wilson, who know more about Loki than even he does, and you have an ensemble cast that is quick with wit and brilliant together. Wilson and Hiddleston are a match made in the MCU heavens. Wilson has this ability to “Wilson,” a character in such a way that adds a layer of comedy you can expect in all his roles.
Loki feels more like a Marvel movie that was broken into a series but also has the relevant cliffhangers that will have fans begging to binge by the end of the season. It’s visually striking but still has a retro style stuck in the ’70s.
With each scene and revelation, I was left with my mouth hanging open. When you think back about The Infinity Saga, a collection of 22 movies that all led up to such an epic finally and then in the first episode of Loki that ‘end-all, be all’ mentality is thrown out the window, you’re left hitting the repeat button and wondering what Phase Four has in store for fans.
Loki is the kick-off to an epic new phase of Marvel. The doors have been blasted open, and we can’t wait to see how far the multiverse rabbit hole is going to go.
Loki is streaming on Disney+ starting Wednesday, June 9th.
