Loki has had a great run in the MCU. He has lived and died. He has ruled over Asgard, and lost the throne. Besides rulership, he also got his hands on the Tesseract, and then lost it! Now, he is ready to do more of the same in the upcoming Loki series. But obviously, a lot is going to change as he will step out of Thor’s shadow, and finally be the lovable, mischievous anti-hero that we’ve seen quite a few glimpses of over the years. Before we get to his glorious antics, let’s look at a few fan theories of Loki which are quite believable:
Matt Damon was Hired by Loki
Redditor /u/TruthorTroll believes that Loki hired Matt Damon, an A-List actor from Midgard to enact his big sacrificial moment of Svartalfheim. Well, the Matt Damon cameo did surprise us all, so we’d love for this theory to be true. But, there’s one little problem with this theory. When Thor and Loki went back to Earth during Thor: Ragnarok, Doctor Strange immediately sensed their presence and took evasive actions to contain Loki. So, we’d like to fix the Redditor’s theory by making a good use of Karl Urban’s Skurge (Something that Marvel should have also done with the actor’s talents. I mean the guy is freakin’ diabolical!).
Skurge revealed that he had been to Texas and picked up a few things, including “Des” and “Troy.” So maybe he came across the production of a feature film and liked Matt Damon’s work. Since he served Loki, he could have taken Matt Damon along on his way back to Asgard. So, Damon was a present for Loki (Odin). Hence, he enacted the play and everything. What do you guys think about this?
Why Strange was so Harsh with Loki
Loki wreaked havoc in New York back in 2012. So, it is obvious why Doctor Strange was so harsh with him. But, Redditor /u/cinisxiii believes that “Dr. Strange was so harsh with Loki because he had to treat many of his victims.” So, he saw first-hand what Loki did to the people of Earth.
Loki Made Odin a Better King
According to Redditor /u/Denommus, Loki was the reason why Odin became a much calmer, and wiser King. Hela revealed Asgard’s violent history. She showed us how Odin was initially a conqueror, but changed his motto midway. The redditor wrote that: “The real reason Odin changed was… Loki. When he found the baby abandoned in the battlefield, he finally learned the consequences of his acts. It’s very likely that Thor was already born as well, so he empathized with the baby because he had his own baby. So, he thought about how many babies must have died because of his conquests, and from that point on decided to stop. So, in a certain way, Loki might have saved the Marvel Universe from Odin and Hela.”
Well, we’d love to believe this theory, but its timeline probably doesn’t fit according to what Cate Blanchett said. She revealed that Hela was imprisoned about four thousand years before Loki was born. And, Odin became a pacifist right around the time Hela was imprisoned. So, the timeline of Loki saving the Universe from Hela doesn’t really work. But yes, Odin did become a better king due to Loki. He thought that Loki could be a bridge between Jotunheim and Asgard. Things would have been so much better if only he would have been a better father to Loki as well.
Loki Suggested the Snap
Redditor /u/Engineering_123 believes that Loki was the one to provide Thanos with the knowledge of the snap. Well, this could be true because we didn’t get to see how Loki ended up with Thanos after he fell from Asgard. But what we do know is that he was under the influence of the Mind Stone when he attacked Earth with his Scepter.
So, if Thanos had Loki under his influence, then the Mischievous Asgardian could have provided Thanos with a bit of Asgardian knowledge. He could have told the Mad Titan about the fake Infinity Gauntlet that Odin had in his vault. He could have suggested the idea of a snap with all six Infinity Stones. Since Loki knew how Odin hid the Tesseract on Earth, Thanos’ first move was to employ him to go for the cube. Because of all these details, Thanos trusted Loki to even carry the Mind Stone (Scepter).
Thanos’ Plan for Asgard
Thanos was aware of the power and might that Asgard possessed (thanks to Loki and the achievements of Odin & Thor). So, this aforementioned theory presented by Redditor u/Zentaurion sounds pretty cool, don’t you think?
Left-Handed Illusions
Redditor /u/radkarth presents evidence that Loki is right-handed. He was seen using the Scepter with his right hand. But back when we thought that Loki died in Thor: The Dark World, he held his dagger with his left hand. And, he attacked Thanos with his left hand as well. So maybe there’s a pattern here. Loki has met Thanos in the past. He knew how powerful the Titan truly was. And he is quite potent at scheming and plotting. So maybe his attack at Thanos was another illusion similar to The Dark World. Thanos did say “No Resurrections” this time. But Loki could have outsmarted him and every one of us. Although, it’s funny that Tom Hiddleston admitted that he didn’t notice this “Left-Hand Illusions” pattern.
The True Meaning of Loki’s “Dying” words
Loki’s final move wasn’t for nothing. According to Redditor u/BertitoMio, he did more than just save his brother. His final move was to provide Thor with the means and motivation to defeat Thanos. And, that’s a pretty cool theory!
Eitri the Dwarf was Loki!
As you can see, Redditor u/billiamwerk suggests that after Loki pointed Thor towards Nidavellir and faked his death, he also flew off to Nidavellier. Well, in the new Loki series trailer, Mobius (Owen Wilson) was showing Loki how he would have died in the next six years if he hadn’t run away with the Tesseract. So, the theories of Loki’s survival in the main timeline may have been rendered pointless. But having said that, I’d like to admit that the last 3-4 theories (including Loki’s Eitri replacement) have formed a pretty cool alternate narrative. First, Loki guided Thor to Nidavellier. Then, he faked his death. And finally, he provided Thor with the Stormbreaker on Nidavellir.
Loki Is the Reason for Earth’s Unresolved Mysteries
In the end, I’m going to put in a final theory of my own. The Loki trailer shows how Loki is posing as the mysterious real-world criminal, D.B. Cooper. Cooper stole a bunch of money, hijacked a plane, and then jumped out of it with a parachute… never to be found again. So in the MCU, Loki is creating these unresolved mysteries on Earth, which will not create a new timeline, but leave things as “Unanswered Puzzles”.
You see, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D properly explained the rules of how time works in the MCU. In the very first episode of the last season, Deke Shaw said that time is like a stream of water. If we throw a few sticks into it, a few ripples will be created, but ultimately the water will end up in the same place. But if too many sticks are thrown into the stream, then a dam is created & the water changes its direction. So, in the same way, there are some things that may change a particular timeline, while others may not. Loki stealing the Tesseract would cause multiversal implications, which is why a new timeline gets created. But Loki vanishing as D.B. Cooper would just be “ripples” in a time stream, thus remaining as an unresolved mystery.
In the same way, the Loki trailer also brings in the “Polybius” game. It is a mythical arcade game that tech bloggers have claimed to have existed in the 80s, hypnotized its players, and was part of some government conspiracy to study gamers. But none of this is really verified to be true. And, another detail from the trailer shows how Loki will be responsible for yet another mystery. It goes all the way back to 79 AD. So clearly, the Loki series will show how the God of Mischief be responsible for all these unresolved mysteries of the real world within the MCU.
Which of these theories did you end up loving the most? Do tell!
