Marvel Retcons Loki’s Past in Avengers
Disney and Marvel Studios have already taken steps in retconning the deeds of Loki, if only slightly. This change appears to have been made to fit him in better for his upcoming stint as the protagonist of his own show that will soon be debuting on the upcoming Disney+ streaming service.
Marvel took the liberty of changing a bit of his backstory from the original Avengers movie to ease the transition of Loki from supervillain attempting to enslave the human race, to somewhat less than that.
The Less Villainous Loki
In a biography update on Marvel.com, Loki is no longer the super mastermind behind the invasion of Earth. It was Thanos all along. We know that Thanos gave Loki the scepter that would allow him to begin his conquest of Earth, however; Thanos was also manipulating Loki through the scepter. It appears Thanos was somehow manipulating the Mind Stone even from afar!
Here’s the official word from Marvel.com on Loki’s profile:
“Arriving at the Sanctuary through a wormhole caused by the Bifrost, Loki met the Other, ruler of the ancient race of extra-terrestrials, the Chitauri, and Thanos offering the god of mischief dominion over his brother’s favorite realm, Earth. Thanos requested the Tesseract in return. Gifted with a scepter that acted as a mind control device, Loki would be able to influence others. Unbeknownst to him, the scepter was also influencing him, fueling his hatred over his brother Thor and the inhabitants of Earth.”
This little excerpt from the official site might be Marvel’s way of lessening the impact of Loki’s actions. “Oh, he was under the influence, so it’s okay.” Keeping in mind that these actions caused widespread damage to New York, who knows how many lives lost, and the breeding ground for criminal activity looking to cash in on the rebuilding of sections of New York, like Wilson Fisk and the Hand. Also, it brought about the vigilantism of others in the New York area, like Spider-Man in Queens, Luke Cage in Harlem, and Daredevil in Hell’s Kitchen.
This change comes on the heels of Tom Hiddleston getting his own television show on the Disney+ streaming service sometime in the next year or so. So we’ll be seeing Loki again after Avengers: Endgame. He was clearly a favorite villain from the picks out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe baddies. It’s like the comics killing Wolverine only to have 5-6 more sprout up in other comic book titles.
The only other character rumored to be getting a show as well on the Disney+ service is Elizabeth Olsen, reprising her role as Scarlet Witch. This might be the chance to see House of M, but another article for another day for that one.
Dead Men Tell No Tales
But, Loki is dead, right? It definitely appeared that Loki perished at the hands of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity. Thanos choked the life out of him. In fact, Loki almost turned just as purple as the Mad Titan for the lack of oxygen. And up to that point, he was a villain for the most part. He had some heroic moments in the films, but only sparingly.
It’ll be interesting to see if Loki turns full heroic after he somehow makes his return in Avengers: Endgame. In the comics, he is a villain looking to advance his own self. Even at the expense of others, including his brother.
This recent retcon by Marvel seems to at least make us understand what made him go to such depths.
This seems to be setting up a different kind of Loki for the Disney+ series. Perhaps the hero of his own story?
However, the little matter of his death still needs to be addressed. But I’m sure the next Avengers: Endgame will answer some of that. Plus, this is the god of mischief we’re talking about. He’s already been “dead” a few times already, only to show back up in another movie later on.
Disney’s streaming service will launch late in 2019.
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