While Marvel Studios’ Loki series has finished its first season on Disney+, there is still plenty to talk about when it comes to this show! The third of Marvel Studios’ live-action series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the Disney+ streaming service, Loki is arguably their most impressive as it opened the door to endless possibilities for the rest of the larger MCU proper; the repercussions of which will be felt for years to come in countless other projects.
One of the more popular aspects of the series was the introduction of “Variants” from other alternate timelines within the larger MCU, and as the show is titled Loki, many of the Variants introduced were alternative versions of the God Of Mischief himself. Of all the Loki Variants we met in the course of the series, a handful of them stood out and became immediate fan-favorites!
After making their debut in the stinger for Episode 4, Boastful Loki, Kid Loki, Alligator Loki, and Classic Loki took center stage in Episode 5. The episode, appropriately titled Journey Into Mystery, gave us some history on several of these Variants; further explaining the various Nexus Events that caused them to be pulled from their place in the timeline. The episode provided audiences with more insight into who each version of Loki was deep down and gave us a real feel for who they were in relation to the original Loki.
Perhaps the most tragic of these was Classic Loki, who had been ravaged by the one enemy no one can ever truly defeat: time. Portrayed with gusto by Richard E. Grant, Classic Loki is a Variant of Loki whose Nexus Event was that he survived Thanos’ wrath during the events of Avengers: Infinity War. Rather than dying by Thanos’ hand as Loki did in the Sacred Timeline, Classic Loki instead chose to hide and created a believable illusion that allowed him to fake his death and escape. He went into hiding and self-isolation for many years before he grew tired of his lonely existence. He admitted that he even missed his brother Thor! When he eventually came out of hiding, the TVA stepped in and prevented his reunion with the remaining Asgardians by arresting and “pruning” him.
Loki head writer Michael Waldron recently spoke to Marvel about the origins of Classic Loki and delved into where the idea for this Variant came from. Largely his origins lay in the question “what if Loki had survived?“. Waldron said:
And I thought, ‘Well, what if that did happen?’ And if it did, in fact, how could he have aged up? How could he have lived out his years in a way that the TVA would never come find him? It was that tragic thing where he finally realizes ‘I’m meant to be alone.’” It is just so sad. There’s a real lesson there for our Loki in that he’s going to reject that notion– that this tiger can change his stripes, and he refuses to be alone. [Loki] wants to do the right thing. [He] wants to see if he can have real companionship in his life.
It had been no secret that Grant was cast in Loki, but his role remained under wraps until he appeared on screen at the end of Episode 4. Many people had been speculating that he would be portraying Mephisto after the devilish character failed to make an appearance on WandaVision, or that he was perhaps the person secretly behind the TVA itself! Thankfully, we ended up with his now-iconic Classic Loki; a role he appeared in all too briefly before making the ultimate sacrifice to help Loki and Sylvie defeat the Alioth.
While there is a chance we may see Richard E. Grant returning in his comic-accurate costume (Lokis are known for surviving after all!), his death was likely more permanent than usual considering how he perished with his horned helm left lying on the ground. Then again, Loki is a series about timelines and multiverses, so who knows what Marvel may have up their sleeve for Classic Loki in the future!
The complete first season of Loki is currently available for streaming on Disney+, along with its fellow Marvel live-action series Wandavision and The Falcon And The Winter Soldier. Marvel is currently premiering new episodes of their animated show What If…? every Wednesday on the Disney+ subscription streaming service.
What did you think of Classic Loki? Would you like to see him return in future Marvel projects? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below and be sure to stick around Geek Anything for more Marvel updates!
