This article contains spoilers for Loki episode six.
The first season of Loki has come to an end and it has completely changed the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While its Disney Plus counterpart WandaVision launched Phase 4 of the MCU, Loki did most of the groundwork in setting up what’s to come in future Marvel projects. The highly anticipated finale left fans with a massive cliffhanger that should be able to feed into all MCU projects moving forward.
After Iron Man and Captain America exited the MCU in Phase 3, many fans wondered what direction the universe would take in the future. The Multiverse seemed like an obvious answer, with several theories running wild about how Doctor Strange would be responsible for setting it up - considering the title of his next standalone film. However, the Loki finale perfectly sets it up, almost as if filling The Void (pun intended) in the MCU.
In order to save the world from Thanos’ wrath, Tony Stark sacrificed his own life. At the end of Avengers: Endgame, he obtains all the Infinity Stones during the final battle with Thanos (or as the Loki series would describe him, a Thanos Variant) and uses them to disintegrate the Mad Titan and his evil minions. His death left many fans completely heartbroken, especially as he was the one responsible for setting up the MCU more than a decade ago. Some assumed Spider-Man would be taking on the responsibility of filling his shoes, but 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home put Spidey on the run after his secret identity was revealed.
Following his death, Steve Rogers also took a decision that guaranteed him a one-way ticket exiting the MCU. He decides to return the Stones to their proper time periods and then ends up living his years in one of those timelines with the love of his life. Fans get to meet an elderly Rogers towards the end of the film as he passes on the iconic Cap shield onto Sam Wilson. Nobody knows what happens to him after that. Of course, at this point fans are aware that Wilson goes on to become the next Captain America, as shown in the second Disney Plus series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. But, he’s still not ready to lead The Avengers into battle when the need arises, is he?
With two of the main characters in The Avengers gone, and some of the other major heroes going on their own path, for example, Thor taking off with the Guardians, the MCU seemed to be in a lurch as to who would lead the next phase and what (or who) he or she would be fighting against. When WandaVision first premiered, Marvel fans were convinced that Mephisto would be the next big bad villain. There were multiple theories of the villain from the comics finally making his MCU debut. The same fans were extremely disappointed when it was revealed that it was in fact Agatha all along.
By this point, fans had lost hope. Phase 4 includes a number of television series and films and this was just the beginning. The first three phases were focused around the Infinity Saga from the comics and yet it took the MCU six years to first introduce Thanos in the movies. Perhaps it was taking the same route again and would only bring forth the supervillain of the next phase much later. But, that’s when things suddenly changed.
Jonathan Majors was cast as Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and the conspiracy theories went on overdrive. Even though the film isn’t scheduled to premiere until 2023, fans had found a new villain (or a new purpose). When Loki premiered, the rumor mills started churning stories about Majors’ appearance in the third Disney Plus series. The actor denied the rumors and confirmed that he would not be appearing as Kang in Loki. Some might say it was a lie, but technically, he wasn’t wrong.
The season finale of Loki has finally introduced the big bad of Phase 4, and yes it is going to be Kang the Conqueror (the hints were there all along). But, in Majors’ defense, his appearance in the series was for a different glorious purpose. In the finale, he is never referred to as Kang, but instead as He Who Remains, a Variant of Kang who ended the Multiversal war and created the Time Keepers to ensure that no further branched realities are created. While he may seem like a sociopath (albeit a charismatic one), the “Kang” that fans meet in the Loki finale doesn’t seem all that bad. Is he truly the villain?
The Loki Variants have all done terrible things in their timelines and are villains of some sort. But, what He Who Remains has been doing, that is managing the sacred timeline, could be for a good reason after all. Sylvie doesn't seem to care, though, and finally gets the revenge she has been waiting for by killing the man behind the curtain. His death and the creation of branched realities at the end of the season hints at the arrival of the real Kang who is bound to stir things up in the MCU (perhaps it should be referred to as the MCM, aka Marvel Cinematic Multiverse, moving forward.)
Not only did the sixth episode introduce Kang, or confirmed his arrival in the MCU’s future, it has officially launched the Multiverse, a concept fans know will spill across various MCU titles in Phase 4. During his extended monologue, He Who Remains tells Sylvie how killing him would just bring back an “infinite amount” of his Variants into the sacred timeline and lead to another Multiversal war. “And I just end up right back here anyways. Reincarnation, baby,” he is heard saying, which hints at a twisted loop that the Multiverse could potentially set off.
The episode has changed the entire landscape of the MCU and the void that Iron Man and Captain America left behind has been filled. The last time something so significant happened was when Thanos snapped his fingers and wiped out half the population of the universe. At one point in Avengers: Endgame, Stark is heard saying, “If you mess with time, it tends to mess back.”
With multiple universes set up in the Loki finale, who knows what other characters would be entering the MCU? This one episode has officially marked the beginning of Phase 4. It remains to be seen how much chaos Loki will cause in the MCU and how all the heroes will be dealing with things hereon. One thing is for sure, Doctor Strange is bound to have his hands full by the time Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness rolls around in theaters.
Loki is now streaming on Disney Plus.