Keen-eyed Marvel fans took notice of a seemingly throwaway piece of marketing text on a new collectible to draw an intriguing theory about the upcoming Loki series on Disney+. It uses the term "sacred timeline," which has a very specific connection to a short X-Men comic book arc in the 1990s, and this connection might hold clues not only to Loki, but to the entry of the X-Men into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The text in question comes from a new Loki figure from Hasbro’s Marvel Legends collection, depicting his MCU incarnation wearing an outfit from the Time Variance Authority (TVA). Their presence in the upcoming series is no surprise, as the trailer shows them taking custody of Loki shortly after his escape in the middle of Avengers: Endgame. The collectible’s outfit is less intriguing than the text that accompanies its packaging, which reads, "Mere moments after his escape during the events of Avengers: Endgame, Loki is apprehended by the TIME VARIANCE AUTHORITY (TVA) and arrested for his crimes against the 'sacred timeline.'"
Popular opinion holds that the sacred timeline is the MCU’s official timeline, which makes a great deal of sense. The Avengers threaded a probability needle in Endgame, succeeding against the odds in undoing the Snap and ending Thanos. That alone would make such a timeline sacred, and it gives good reason for the TVA to protect it. Loki’s escape with the Tesseract presumably threatens that, necessitating his involvement in their efforts to repair the damage. However, the text isn’t the first time the term "sacred timeline" has appeared in Marvel. It originally belonged to Clan Askani, the spiritual heirs to the X-Men who fought Apocalypse in the distant future.
Their connection to time travel makes this mention feel more than coincidental, and their first introduction to Marvel merits even more attention. They arrived in X-Factor #67, part of a four-issue arc called "Endgame." The X-Men are no strangers to time travel, most famously with the "Days of Future Past," and Clan Askani were an effort to game out the consequences of changing history. The group operated 30 centuries in the future, battling Apocalypse and upholding the X-Men’s values with religious fervor. They spoke of the need to protect the "pure" timeline and displayed a willingness to travel through time in an attempt to keep it safe.
Their ties to the X-Men and the Summers family ran deep. Scott and Jean’s daughter Rachel Summers founded it and their, son Nathan Summers, as Cable, was a messiah-like figure known as Askani’son. Both figures arose from alternate timelines, indicating the complexities of Marvel’s multiverse and the way figures from one reality crossover and influence any number of others.
That alone makes it strong fodder for Loki, and the Askani's efforts to repair or preserve certain favorable timelines appear to dovetail quite readily into what the upcoming show has in store. However, its position in X-Men mythology adds another dimension to the text quote. With the rights to Marvel’s mutant wing in Disney’s hands, any reference to them merits interest.
While this connection is likely too obscure to be the formal introduction of the X-Men to the MCU, it does suggest that the TVA or the multiverse in general may play a part in their arrival. This is supported by what fans already know about Wanda Maximoff, an MCU character who's comic history directly connects to the X-Men and who will likely explore the multiverse with Doctor Strange's sequel.
Loki makes an active fulcrum for all kinds of mayhem, and his show will likely throw the doors of possibility wide open just in time for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. That makes the X-Men nod all the more intriguing, and while it may just be packaging text from a toy tie-in, it might point the way towards something much larger.
Loki stars Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Sophia Di Martino, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Richard E. Grant. The series premieres June 11 on Disney+.