Posted in: Disney+, Marvel, Opinion, streaming, TV, TV | Tagged: death, disney, loki, Marvel Studios, mcu, opinion, owen wilson, tom hiddleston
Did Loki Rewrite MCU's Laws of Death & What Could That Mean?
The latest twisted events from the fourth episode of Marvel Studios and Disney+ limited series Loki raises some significant questions regarding how the Marvel Cinematic Universe handles death. Sure, the context of the series is isolated within the Time Variance Authority, but if the MCU is already embracing the idea of the multiverse and given the events of "The Nexus Event", this can only mean some possibilities that we haven't really explored before.
Loki: Does Death Work Differently in the Realm of the TVA?
So TVA agents have batons that incinerate their target the moment contact is made with its tip in an act calling "pruning." Prior to the episode, it's assumed those who have been pruned are dead, dead. With the after-credits scene, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) encountered other variants who attempt to recruit him for his survival following his own pruning. So obviously, that means alpha Loki has a way back in the context of the TVA, which might also mean he could have a foothold back into the real world should events play out. This also means his TVA agent friend Mobius (Owen Wilson) might also not be "dead" if he's just pruned. There are also countless others who went through the same place who may also have a way back in.
Can Other Dead Characters Come Back?
The introduction of variants via the multiverse means we can see past MCU characters once dead could return. Yes, that's literally the window where we can see Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) and the bulk of the cast of Thor return somehow. Since we know RDJ isn't returning anytime soon and we don't know when Chris Evans' Steve Rogers return, I would say it's not too far-fetched to see other Thor favorites return that were lost in Ragnarok (2017) like Heimdall (Idris Elba), Volstagg (Ray Stevenson), Fandral (Zachary Levi), and Hogun (Tadanobu Asano) either in the finale or in future Marvel canon.
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