Loki episode 5 features a funny Marvel Comics Easter egg referencing the infamous Thanos-Copter – something Guardians of the Galaxy director, James Gunn, hilariously predicted in 2015. The reference comes during Loki’s wandering in the Void, a wasteland at the end of the Sacred Timeline rife with little winks and nods to Marvel’s past. The Thanos helicopter is perhaps the oddest and most obscure Easter egg included in the episode, and it’s a funny nod to one of the Mad Titan’s less frightening moments in Marvel lore.
Thanos might have been the arch villain of the MCU’s first three phases, but like most comic book characters, he’s had his sillier moments through the years as well. The Thanos Helicopter – a gaudy yellow contraption with the character’s name printed on the tail in bold lettering – first appeared in 1979’s Spidey Super Stories #39. Thanos used the chopper to try to make a getaway with the Cosmic Cube, leading to a battle with Hellcat. The helicopter later returned in a 2015 Deadpool comic.
Oddly enough, Gunn predicted the Thanos-Copter’s MCU debut many years ago. In a 2015 tweet, recently retweeted by the director, he shared a few comic panels featuring the Thanos-Copter, with a caption that read, “Whoa! Can't wait to see the Thanos-copter in the MCU!” After six years, Gunn’s wish came true, and he took to Twitter again to thank Marvel Studios for bringing the Thanos-Copter to live-action. Check out his full post below:
The MCU has never shied away from meta humor or poking fun at older comics, but more recent additions to the franchise have ramped up the potential for those kinds of Easter eggs. Loki, in particular, has opened up a ton of weird and exciting opportunities with its time travel and reintroduction of the Marvel multiverse. With Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness set to continue that storyline in 2022, the Thanos-Copter may be far from the weirdest reference in Phase 4.
Gunn himself has been responsible for some of the MCU’s strangest moments and storylines, as his Guardians of the Galaxy films have brought in a ton of more obscure characters from the far corners of the Marvel universe. The director is looking to do similar things in the DCEU with the release of The Suicide Squad, and he’ll be back in the MCU with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which is set to release in 2023. With one episode of Loki left, there could be lots more fun Easter eggs in store for eagle-eyed Marvel Comics fans.
Source: James Gunn
