There has been a lot of discussion about Loki's potential future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, considering both his final moments in Avengers: Endgame and plans for an upcoming series on Disney +, the newest subscription streaming service that is slowly being revealed by the House of Mouse.
With news that Tom Hiddleston will be reprising his role as Loki and the fact that an alternate timeline Loki has the Tesseract/Space Stone, we are left speculating on where this new series might take the God of Mischief. Thankfully, we have years of comics to look at that the Disney + series might adapt, which we'll explore today.
10 ASGARDIAN WARS
Given the recent Disney acquisition of 20th Century Fox's assets, it seems talk of any new MCU property seems to focus on a way to introduce newly available Marvel characters like the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and any other related characters that are now owned by Disney.
Loki featured in the "Asgardian Wars," a crossover between mutant-related teams like the X-Men and the New Mutants, alongside Canadian heroes Alpha Flight. While they were being used in a scheme to invade Asgard and take down Thor, Loki could try to use new heroes, or even alternate reality heroes, to further his goals in the new Disney + series.
9 INFINITY WARS
Yes, we've already seen an Infinity War happen in the MCU, but that's not quite what we're suggesting. While the latest Infinity Wars event did provide the impetus and setting for this potential adaptation, it is not necessarily crucial for the Disney + series to explore the entire event.
During Infinity Wars, Loki sets about finding specific characters in order to create a new team of "Avengers" who are uniquely qualified to wield the various Infinity Stones. This premise would offer the Disney + series a great chance to include some other MCU characters while further exploring the alternate timeline Loki's use of the Tesseract after Endgame.
8 THE WRECKING CREW
One of Loki's most enduring contributions to Marvel's superhuman community (besides his repeated forming of the Avengers, of course) has to be the supervillain known as The Wrecker, and his eventual associates' Bulldozer, Piledriver, and Thunderball, who become known as the Wrecking Crew. The Wrecker's first appearance in Thor #148 was followed by his team's debut in The Defenders #17.
While the actual storyline that introduces the villainous team is spread out over a couple of comic titles, the Disney + series would be able to use the long-form narrative to introduce the Wrecker and his Crew into the MCU properly. This would conceivably prepare the powerful team for further appearances in the next wave of Marvel Studios films and/or Disney + series.
7 THE CABAL
Speculation has grown wildly over the last few years given the lack of information Marvel Studios has released to the public about plans after Endgame, which means fans may have heard rumors of the Illuminati appearing in the MCU. The Illuminati is a group that consists of the elite heads of the various groups of the Marvel universe, like Reed Richards, Tony Stark, Doctor Strange, and more.
Like the Illuminati, the Cabal formed after a huge Marvel event and featured prominently during the Dark Reign storyline. The Cabal roster included Loki (in the stolen body of Lady Sif that could tease the return of Jaimie Alexander) alongside other villains/anti-heroes like Norman Osborn, Doctor Doom, Emma Frost, Namor, and The Hood, all of whom would be great additions to the MCU.
6 MIGHTY AVENGERS
During the Hank Pym-era of the Mighty Avengers title, Loki disguises himself as the deceased Scarlet Witch to manipulate Pym and other Avenger characters into forming a new team that Loki hoped to manipulate against his evil allies in the Cabal.
The Disney + series could see Loki again trying to manipulate either already introduced MCU characters to achieve his goals or better still, introduce new Avengers-related characters that haven't had their chance on the big screen yet. After all, the only thing Loki does more than fight the Avengers is to create the Avengers.
5 JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY
Following the sacrifice of Loki during the climactic battle seen in Siege, the trickster was reborn due to a former deal with Hela, Goddess of Death. He was reborn as Kid Loki, a youthful incarnation of the Asgardian god without the memories or motivations of his former evil self.
While the inclusion of Kid Loki may seem contradictory to the announcement that Tom Hiddleston will be reprising his iconic role for the Disney + series, there are many ways to explore both Hiddleston's Loki and Kid Loki that could be beneficial to the MCU while offering fans a chance to see the fan-favorite version of the classic character.
4 YOUNG AVENGERS
Despite his usual MO, the Young Avengers were not actually formed by Loki. However, as Kid Loki, he did help found a follow-up iteration to the original Young Avengers team that included original members like Hulkling, Wiccan, and Hawkeye (Kate Bishop) with new additions like Noh-Varr/Marvel Boy, Prodigy, and Miss America.
The Young Avengers have been teased and rumored for the next stage of the MCU over the last few years, though rarely with Loki involved. Kid Loki's Young Avengers arc helps showcase some of the best and worst characteristics of Loki and his youthful self, while also exploring the other powerful members of the team, who would help bolster the MCU's new crop of heroes.
3 AGENT OF ASGARD
As is often seen following the success of the films, the comics tend to mirror certain things from the MCU, such as Loki's look and personality. The Agent of Asgard series saw the new MCU-like version of Loki (which is an aged Kid Loki at this point) as he worked for Asgard instead of against his adopted home, and explored his new path as the God of Stories instead of the God of Lies.
Since we don't yet know too much about the Disney + series and what version of Tom Hiddleston's Loki we might see, the Agents of Asgard version stands out among his other incarnations for adaptability due to the series focus on developing a new supporting cast for Loki that didn't include his Asgardian brethren, which might be an avenue Disney chooses to explore.
2 AXIS
During the aforementioned Agent of Asgard series, Loki is involved in the AXIS event, which saw a number of heroes and villains personalities inverted, making the good go bad and vice versa. Despite Loki's more altruistic nature in this series, his inversion produces a truly heroic version of Loki, who proclaims himself to be the God of Heroism and Truth.
The AXIS tie-in issues see the new heroic Loki go up against his inverted brother Thor, the God of Villainy. At this point in the comics, Thor is without his famed hammer Mjolnir as he has proven himself no longer worthy, which opens up the opportunity for the now worthy Loki to use Mjolnir against his inverted brother. It's an incredible scene that we'd love to see explored on the Disney + series.
1 ASGARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
Thor may have quipped about the Asgardians of the Galaxy at the climax of Endgame as he joined the Guardians, but the actual comic team features quite a different lineup. Led by Thor and Loki's half-sister Angela, the Asgardians of the Galaxy also featured Skurge the Executioner and Valkyrie, potentially allowing for the return of Karl Urban and Tessa Thompson, respectively.
While the Asgardians of the Galaxy series features the Kid Loki version of the character, the opportunity exists for Tom Hiddleston's Loki to fill a similar role with the team. As the Disney + series have been teased to impact the developing future of the MCU, introducing new powerful characters like Angela while furthering other previously introduced characters like Valkyrie seems like the perfect job for Loki.