Loki Turns The God Of Mischief Into Phase 4's Most Important Hero
Warning: SPOILERS for Loki finale, "For All Time. Always.”
After the Loki finale, the God of Mischief has just become the most important hero in the MCU Phase 4 moving forward. Tom Hiddleston has been in the franchise since 2011's Thor by Kenneth Branagh. Since then, he has appeared in three Thor movies and three Avengers films, with his story mostly tied to the God of Thunder's (Chris Hemsworth) own arc. Now, he's on a path separate from his brother and burdened with a clear purpose.
The Loki show focused on the God of Mischief as he grappled with his real identity. Throughout the course of its narrative, he was met with other versions of himself. In episode 2, he encountered a female variant named Sylvie (Sophia di Martino), whom he had spent the most time with as they dug deeper into the mystery surrounding the Time Variance Authority/TVA. By episode 5, several more variants were introduced such as Classic Loki (Richard E. Grant), Kid Loki (Jack Veal), and Alligator Loki among others — each with their own backstories, struggles, and triumphs. Meeting them played a part in the Asgardian Prince's redemption arc that by the time he was offered a chance to amass power and have his own throne be He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors), he refused.
From there, it's clear that this is a fully redeemed Loki. Unlike Sylvie who was blinded by anger, the God of Mischief was able to step back and separate his personal feelings from what He Who Remains revealed. Without the TVA and its creator, another multiversal war can take place. Unfortunately, Sylvie, ultimately, bested Loki by forcing him back into the TVA, pushing through with her plans to kill Kang the Conqueror's variant. At the end of Loki, it's revealed that the God of Mischief was instead sent to an alternate iteration of the organization where Agent Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson) has no idea who he is. Now, he's one of the only two people who know about the looming threat that He Who Remains talked about. With Sylvie's whereabouts currently unknown, the Asgardian Prince has to start from scratch and convince people that chaos is on the horizon now that the multiverse has been finally unleashed.
Loki's work is cut out for him. For starters, he's alone, and as an established trickster, he should work doubly hard to prove that he's telling the truth. Beyond the TVA, he needs to reach out to Doctor Strange who will directly be involved in the matters of the multiverse in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The God of Mischief is reportedly appearing in the Sam Raimi-directed sequel backing up this notion, but since the future MCU Sorcerer Supreme doesn't know of his recent experiences, Loki needs to convince Doctor Strange that he can be trusted. Secondly, he will have to do that under the watchful eye of Kang the Conqueror. It's uncertain what version of the TVA he ended up being transported to. However, the massive statue of the time-traveling villain at the center of the organization's office implies that he's more hands-on in managing its operations that the Time-Keepers are no longer useful.
There's no scarcity of heroes in the MCU; they come from all over the universe with various backgrounds and traits but are brought together by a common principle — do good for others. However, Loki is shaping to be a special kind of hero, not just because he started as a villain. As revealed in the recently-concluded Disney+ show, everything in the Infinity Saga has been pre-determined — that includes Iron Man's (Robert Downey Jr.) heroic sacrifice and Captain America's (Steve Rogers) dedication to his work. Both of them and all the heroes in the MCU were also destined to do their good deeds. Now, however, whatever the God of Mischief does moving forward is entirely up to him.