Warning: The following contains spoilers for Captain America Annual #1, by Gerry Duggan, Marco Castiello, Vincenzo Acunzo, Ruth Redmond and VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
Loki has concocted some clever schemes over the years. During these godly shenanigans, Loki has often created rather convincing illusions. When Loki tried to steal an Infinity Stone, his illusions reached another level by seemingly summoning the Time Variance Authority.
Specifically, Loki was trying to retrieve the Time Stone. This Infinity Stone made its way to Hector Bautista during 2019's Infinity Wars: Infinity #1, by Gerry Duggan and Mark Bagley. Hector was imprisoned for armed robbery and murder, sentenced to death right before the Time Stone found him.
This was immediately after 2019's Infinity Wars #6, by Gerry Duggan and Mike Deodato, Jr., when Adam Warlock gave the Infinity Stones sentience, allowing them to merge with other lifeforms. On its specific journey, the Time Stone chose Hector, who used its power to escape prison.
Not far behind was the odd pairing of Loki and Wolverine. Loki enlisted Wolverine's help, realizing that the Time Stone would be pursued by deadly forces across the universe. Moreover, if the power of the Infinity Stones was reassembled, the universe would fall under the control of their masters.
Loki was right to get help, considering Hector was pursued by the Chitauri warrior known as Warbringer, along with the Fraternity of Raptors. In 2019's Wolverine: Infinity Watch #4, by Gerry Duggan and Andy MacDonald, the conflict over the Time Stone reached its peak. Hector was held captive by the Fraternity of Raptors, while Loki and Wolverine arrived to rescue him.
Suddenly, the Time Variance Authority arrived, claiming they'd come to arrest everyone for altering the timeline for their own gain. The TVA mentioned that, while no one had committed any crimes yet, they eventually would. Of course, at the beginning of the next issue, it was revealed that the TVA were another illusion created by Loki to throw the Fraternity of Raptors off guard.
This was only one of several tricks that Loki performed during this mini-series, including impersonating an officer of the Nova Corps. These illusions don't just demonstrate how crafty Loki is, they also show how elaborate and convincing his tricks can be. Authority figures like the TVA or Nova Corps are serious threats, making Loki a formidable trickster for impersonating them so well.
The TVA trick is especially noteworthy, however, due to its connection to the current Loki series in which the TVA plays a very important important role. Additionally, Loki was trying to attain an Infinity Stone, a goal which he's previously pursued in the MCU. Seeing two important aspects of Loki's MCU journey collide in the comics is very interesting, if only for a moment.
Eventually, Hector found his way to freedom, returning in the recent Captain America Annual #1, by Gerry Duggan and Marco Castiello. Nowadays, Hector has gained more control over the Time Stone's power, going by the codename "Overtime." As Overtime, Hector has been trying to go back in time to stop himself from committing robbery and murder, which set him on a criminal path.
This ambition got Hector into trouble with Captain America and the Black Widow, who went after him. Even though he hasn't been successful yet, Hector has decided to find others who are merged with the remaining Infinity Stones.
Seeking the combined power of the stones, Hector remains dead-set on his goals. Going forward, this makes Overtime more dangerous than the threats originally pursuing him. Even after all of the tricks he performed, it seems that Loki couldn't prevent Hector from becoming his own worst enemy.