‘Loki’: MCU Fans Are Already Calling the Show a ‘Pleasant Surprise’
The Marvel Cinematic Universe may have had a quiet year in 2020, but they have plenty of exciting shows and films lined up in 2021 to make up for it.
Marvel has a ton of new content set to debut on the horizon. One hotly anticipated show is the Disney+ series Loki, which will follow the villain turned anti-hero on his continuing adventures.
So how excited are Marvel fans? Some are already calling it a “pleasant surprise.” Here’s the lowdown on Loki and why fans are so amped to see it.
Loki’s arc in the MCU
Loki’s character arc in the MCU runs the gamut. He starts as a villain, attempting to win his adopted father Odin’s love. From there, he goes mad with power, claiming the tesseract and becoming an agent of Thanos. He leads the Chitauri in an attempted invasion of New York City.
After Thor takes him back to Asgard for imprisonment, he slowly but surely redeems himself during the events of Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok.
Loki’s arc seemingly culminates with his sacrifice in Avengers: Infinity War. After Thanos stops a ship full of Asgardian refugees, Loki dies at the hands of Thanos after attempting to kill him to defend his brother Thor. He may have begun as a villain, but he dies as a tragic hero.
Where does ‘Loki’ pick up from?
Fans of the MCU may be a bit confused as to Loki appearing in his own Marvel series after his death in the MCU. But this series picks up after the events of Avengers: Endgame.
In that film, Tony Stark, Captain America, and Ant-Man return to an alternate timeline where they attempt to retrieve the tesseract from the Battle of New York. During the ensuing melee, Loki takes advantage of a distraction to grab the tesseract and escape.
From the show’s first teaser released at Disney Investor Day, Loki then appears to be taken into custody by an organization known as the TVA. The trailer doesn’t elaborate on what that stands for, but it likely represents the Time Variance Authority. According to Marvel, this is “an agency concerned with monitoring realities throughout the multiverse and attempting to keep temporal interference to a minimum.”
It’s clear from rumors about the plots of WandaVision and the new Dr. Strange and Spider-Man sequels that Marvel is looking to get into the multiverse business. Loki will seemingly also explore that idea. What’s also interesting is that this version of the character will not be the redeemed one viewers saw in Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War.
This version will be fresh off his attempt to take over Earth.
What MCU fans are saying about ‘Loki’
The release of the Loki trailer was met with generally positive reviews online. Tom Hiddleston is popular in the role of Loki, and Marvel fans seem eager for him to make his return to this universe.
A Marvel fan on Reddit pointed out one interesting statistic that offers evidence of Loki being the MCU’s most anticipated upcoming event. The poster said that of all the recently announced Marvel projects, the one that received the most likes and retweets on Twitter was Loki.
One fan said they participated in that social media blitz and expressed their anticipation:
“the show blew me away in terms of what they’re bringing to the table. extremely pleasant surprise.”
So will Loki be a hit? It’s hard to gauge just how good it will be, but there’s no question it’s something fans want to see. It features a beloved character and looks like it will take the MCU to some interesting new places.
