WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for Loki episode 2.
Marvel's Loki series seems to be heading for a tragic ending, with one scene referencing Iron Man hinting at such a conclusion. The new Disney+ show follows Loki's adventures at the Time Variance Authority, an agency that keeps track of the Sacred Timeline in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tom Hiddleston’s character is immediately tasked with helping the TVA stop an evil Loki variant from another timeline who's been attacking TVA agents. But the TVA also has secrets, and — being the God of Mischief — Hiddleston's Loki has plans of his own.
Loki already went through a full redemption arc in the MCU before Avengers: Endgame erased it. After multiple movies of betrayals, tricks, and shenanigans, Loki surprisingly sacrificed himself to try to kill Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. His plan didn’t work, but the character had a noble death and redeemed himself in the eyes of his brother, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor. Endgame makes all of Loki’s growth irrelevant. After the Avengers botch their time travel trip to retrieve the Tesseract in that film, the 2012 version of Loki — the same one that attacked New York in The Avengers — is able to steal the Tesseract, escape capture and get back into the MCU.
One of the first scenes of Loki is an homage to the MCU film that started it all, but it may be hinting at a devastating turn. Following Loki’s escape with the Tesseract in Endgame, the God of Mischief winds up in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. There, he lies sprawled out in the sand and surrounded by debris. The scene is reminiscent of how Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark looks in 2008's Iron Man after escaping from the notorious terrorist organization the Ten Rings and crashing an early version of his superhero suit. Loki director Kate Herron later confirmed [via Twitter] that was an intentional callback, saying it was a fun way to pay homage and represents “Loki’s new journey ahead.” Does this suggest Loki's story will end similarly to Tony Stark's?
Iron Man sacrifices himself to save the universe in Endgame, so could Loki be headed towards a similar fate? It’s obviously not every day that the universe is on the line and in need of a sacrifice, but — like in Endgame — that’s what the stakes are in Loki. In episode 2, the universe itself is at risk when the rogue Loki variant, Sophia Di Martino's Lady Loki, sends bombs to various places on the Sacred Timeline. Loki seems to be the only character who has any remote idea of what Lady Loki is doing, so he's the only one who can stop her. But how far is he willing to go? For now, it's probably not that far.
Loki isn’t going to sacrifice himself anytime soon. In episode 2, he tells Di Martino’s Lady Loki, “I’m working for me.” Even Tony Stark had to go through a decade of the MCU before he turned from a selfish billionaire into a guy willing to sacrifice everything for others. Hiddleston’s character in Loki is the same one that just recently killed dozens of people in his attack on New York with the Chitauri aliens. He's got a long way to go before being redeemed, and he's not worried about anyone but himself. Plus, the director said the Iron Man homage was done because it was fun. No matter what version of Loki it is, a tragic death is the opposite of his idea of fun.
Loki releases new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.
