In a few days, fan-favorite character Loki will be arriving on the small screen in the upcoming Disney Plus series. Tom Hiddleston returns to reprise his role as the God of Mischief as he goes on another exciting, but perhaps forced, adventure. The trailers and clips released so far make it seem like the show will be pushing the boundaries of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to their limits, with the lead character seen jumping between various MCU timelines. But, in order for the show to truly succeed, it has to bring in an important element - moments of heart and emotion.
The MCU films and shows are popular for a lot of reasons. Apart from the obvious fact that they have a collection of epic superheroes, the movies offer fans the right amount of action, witty humor, and a continuous timeline with multiple storylines. But, a key part of Marvel’s success over the years has been the perfect blend of action and emotions. They have succeeded at getting fans emotionally invested in the heroes’ storylines and have earned their loyalty by providing both feel-good moments and heart-wrenching twists.
One of Marvel’s greatest achievements thus far has been its ability to make the heroes seem more human and relatable. All of the significant heroes in the MCU have had massive character development over the past 13 years, which would have been impossible without the emotional moments in their storylines. From Iron Man sacrificing his life to save humanity, Wanda being forced to destroy the Mind Stone, even though it would kill Vision, all the way to the mighty snap by Thanos that wipes out half the population in the universe, the MCU films are loaded with emotional moments that tug at the viewers’ heartstrings.
While fans love watching Marvel films and seeing the heroes defeat the bad guys, it is these emotional moments of heart that have humanized the characters. They are a constant reminder to fans that beneath the layer of armor and superpowers, the heroes are still just people who cry when they lose a loved one and live with regrets and worries, just like the fans themselves. So far, Marvel has succeeded in its storytelling by blending the best of both worlds - action and emotion - and should incorporate a similar strategy for the upcoming series Loki to truly appeal to its audience.
When fans first met Hiddleston’s Loki in 2011’s Thor, he was the God of Thunder’s devious and ill-tempered younger brother. Over the past decade, he has gone on to become one of the most loved villains in the MCU. Despite his deceitful and evil ways, it has been impossible for fans to truly hate him. Every time he shows up, neither fans nor his own brother Thor are certain of where his allegiance lies. He has had a brilliant character arc over the course of the six MCU films that he has made an appearance in, and Hiddleston has done a fantastic job at bringing the titular character to life.
Even though fans have developed a love-hate relationship with Loki over the past decade, watching him die in Avengers: Infinity War was not a pleasant moment. The death of a villain usually results in theater crowds erupting in cheers, but Loki’s death was met with gasps as it left fans shocked. After watching his antics for years, seeing him drop to the ground after he is mercilessly strangled by Thanos is perhaps one of the most emotional moments in MCU history. Thor, who has had a lot of differences with his brother over the years, was also left speechless and then seen mourning over Loki’s body.
This is the perfect setup for the Disney Plus series. Fans are already invested in Loki’s story line and it should be easy for Marvel to pick up where they left off. Loki will follow the journey of the titular character after the events of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, where the Asgardian god is seen stealing the Tesseract. It is essential for the script to retain the emotions from previous events and appeal to the sentiment of the viewers for the show’s success.
While one version of the character dies at the hands of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, the Avengers go back in time to retrieve the Infinity Stones that control the multiverse, which is where the alternate version of Loki is first seen. The purpose of the heroes is to reverse the events set in motion by Thanos that wiped out half the population of the universe. But, amid the chaos in the 2012 timeline, Loki manages to steal the Tesseract and uses its powers to escape captivity. This version of the character is who fans will meet in the upcoming Disney Plus series after he is captured by the Time Variance Authority, a team compiled to ensure the MCU timeline remains unaffected.
Loki’s actions obviously disrupt this sacred timeline, which is bound to land him in trouble with the authorities. In the multiple trailers and most of the released clips so far, fans have seen Loki in a prison jumpsuit with some kind of inhibitor collar around his neck. The videos also confirm that the TVA will be using the God of Mischief to fix the timeline that he mischievously broke. He has been seen jumping between various timelines in an attempt to perhaps close them off completely. But, considering it's Loki, there is obviously a chance of him breaking away from the TVA and going on a mission of his own.
Irrespective of where the show takes him, it would be a shame if it breaks away from Marvel’s traditional approach of humanizing its characters. It is important to note that the two previous Marvel shows that aired on Disney Plus, WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, beautifully incorporated moments of heart into their episodes and cast the heroes in a light that instantly made them seem more human. They were in line with the MCU films that have released thus far, which gives fans hope that Loki won't be too far off either.
With WandaVision, Marvel succeeded in attracting even non-Marvel fans to watch the series by taking viewers on a journey into Wanda’s emotional back story, and adding an element of nostalgia by bringing in themes from different sitcoms that appealed to different generations of audiences. It became easy for fans to relate to Wanda's pain after she loses her family and the love of her life, and her reasons for creating an alternate world in Westview. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier reflected on themes of racism and important socio-political messages that made viewers feel more included in the mainstream. Apart from that, watching Sam Wilson and Bucky working together to fix something as normal as Wilson's family boat truly made them seem like they weren't just heroes who could kick butt when the need arises.
It remains to be seen what direction Marvel will take with Loki, but the expectations for the show are already quite high and fans are once again ready for Marvel and Disney Plus’s weekly releases.
Loki premieres on Disney Plus on June 9, 2021.