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Whenever a new installment of the Marvel movies is on the horizon, that typically means that it is time to review all the Marvel moves in order and make sure you are up to speed with the preceding events. However, with the Wednesday, June 9, premiere of Loki on Disney+ approaching soon, not everyone may have a chance to rewatch all the Marvel movies Loki has appeared in by then. Luckily, for those in need of a quick refresher or even fans of Tom Hiddleston with no prior knowledge of the MCU, we present this convenient guide of all the essential facts and moments to keep in mind when watching the upcoming series, starting with a glimpse into the God of Mischief’s true origins.
Loki Is Not An Asgardian, But Really A Frost Giant
While Loki’s powers of shape-shifting, mental manipulation, and other forms of mystical trickery have earned him the name “God of Mischief,” that title is not entirely truthful. As revealed in the first Thor movie from 2011, Loki is actually the son of the dead ruler of the Frost Giants, Laufey, and was enchanted to appear Asgardian when King Odin (Anthony Hopkins) took him in - a discovery that turned him against his adoptive home and family, driving him onto the path of villainy. When appearing on The Writers Panel podcast, Loki showrunner Michael Waldron explained that what attracted him to the series was the title character’s identity struggle, meaning it will likely be a major focal point of the show.
Loki’s Adoptive Mother And Father Are Both Dead
Despite their non-biological connection, Loki clearly still cared for the Asgardian king and queen who raised him - Odin and Frigga (Rene Russo). The most clear example of his affection was seen in the 2013 sequel Thor: The Dark World when, upon learning of his mother's murder, he telekinetically destroys his holding cell and later attempts to conceal his rage by hiding the mess with his powers of illusion. Loki and his brother, Thor (Chris Hemsworth), were also torn by their father’s, otherwise, peaceful and natural passing in Norway in Thor: Ragnarok after spending years exiled from Asgard… even though that was also Loki’s fault.
Loki Has Faked And Cheated His Own Death Several Times
We learn in the final moments of Thor: The Dark World that Loki actually assumed Odin’s appearance to take over the throne of Asgard, which Thor would not figure out until years later, in Thor: Ragnarok, since he was already convinced that his brother was dead… again. The 2013 sequel saw the God of Mischief impaled by a Kurse (who also killed Frigga), which turned out to be his second successful attempt at faking his own death after allowing himself to fall into the dark abyss of space at the climax of director Kenneth Branagh’s Thor. Instead, he would return with a vengeance, equipped with a powerful scepter, the Tesseract, and a nearly unstoppable alien army, in another shot at universal domination in 2012’s The Avengers… which we will revisit soon.
Loki Seemed To Abandon His Evil Ways In Thor: Ragnarok
Loki has done a lot of terrible things in his life, but he still earns the sympathy of the millions of Marvel fans who, often, cannot help but cheer him on due to Tom Hiddleston’s charismatic performance, which almost makes you hopeful the villain would one day change his tune. That seemed to finally be the case by the end of Thor: Ragnarok, which sees him and Thor join forces against their sister Hela (Cate Blanchett) and lead the Asgardian people together after saving them from the realm’s destruction. Unfortunately, that heroic reign would soon come to an end.
Loki Was Killed By Thanos In Avengers: Infinity War
The cold open of 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War begins just moments after the evacuation of Asgard in Thor: Ragnarok and sees Thanos (Josh Brolin) hijack their ship in search of the Tesseract. Loki reveals that he is hiding the sought after Cosmic Cube in hopes to really get close enough to the purple Titan to kill him, but instead gets choked to death after his plan fails. This was the third and most convincing time that Thor had seen his brother die, although many fans had their doubts that this would truly be the last we saw of the God of Mischief in the MCU. The later announcement of the Loki series proved those theories true, but it was not until the fourth Avengers movie when his forthcoming return began to make more sense.
Loki, Circa 2012, Escaped With The Tesseract In Avengers: Endgame
In order to obtain the Tesseract and reverse Thanos’ decimation once all Infinity Stones are retrieved, Avengers: Endgame saw our heroes travel back to the events of their first crossover event film, The Avengers, which, unfortunately, does not go as planned. Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) causes Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) arc reactor to malfunction, distracting the S.H.I.E.L.D. guards from noticing when the recently captured Loki grabs the discarded Tesseract and escapes into a portal. It has been confirmed that this 2012-era version of the character is the one we will be following in Loki, which sees him imprisoned and enlisted by the Time Variance Authority to help fix a few kinks in the space-time continuum that he caused with his escape.
Based on nearly everything that we already know about Loki, these are the most essential facts and memorable moments from the Marvel Cinematic Universe that should prepare you when the highly anticipated series finally hits Disney+. I should also possibly mention, however, that Loki once had an awkward run-in with Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) in Thor: Ragnarok,since the show is said to be a lead-in to the Sorcerer Supreme’s upcoming sequel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, from director Sam Raimi. Whether or not Doctor Strange will make an appearance on the series is just one of the many questions we have about Loki at this time.
