Warning - This article contains spoilers for the season finale of Loki.
Just over halfway through 2021, Marvel Studios completed its run on the fourth of ten projects this year with the season 1 finale of Tom Hiddleston's Loki premiering on Disney+.
Taking an unpredictable ride from start to finish, the God of Mischief was put through the wringer as he learned the secrets of the Time Variance Authority while finding his true identity along the way. During this journey through space and time, the ten-year MCU veteran found himself facing challenges and personalities the likes of which he'd never seen before.
From teaming up with Owen Wilson's Mobius to a semi-reluctant partnership with Sophia Di Martino's Sylvie, Loki was constantly adapting to work out the ideal situation for himself in this new reality. This, of course, all came before a face-to-face meeting with Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror, who terrified Loki more than almost anyone had ever scared him in six previous movies.
Kang's introduction was clearly a milestone moment for the MCU in Phase 4. This is proven once again by the first photo of Majors taken on the show's set.
THE RISE OF KANG THE CONQUEROR
Loki producer Eric Martin took to Twitter to share the first on-set look at Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror. Martin described Majors as "physical" while the actor was "running all around the set," even "between takes:"
"Jonathan is so physical too. He was running all around the set (and all around it between takes)."
Martin continued to explain how the crew wanted the character "to be odd, but bold and brash" upon his introduction. He compared the villain to "a young tech CEO," who can be "as much a genius as they are charlatan:"
"We wanted He Who Remains had to be odd, but bold and brash. Almost like a young tech CEO. As much a genius as they are charlatan."
The producer also revealed that even through talking "a lot about how this confrontation with He Who Remains should go," every take of it found its way "back to a simple conversation presenting a difficult dilemma:"
"We talked a lot about how this confrontation with He Who Remains should go, but all versions came back to a simple conversation presenting a difficult dilemma."
A NEW MCU VILLAIN ARISES
Kang the Conqueror has been spoken of as possibly the next Thanos-level villain in the MCU for Phase 4 and beyond. Known as one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe, his arrival was one which fans talked about almost daily when rumors of his debut started to arise from the ashes of Phase 3.
It even comes as more of an accomplishment than anyone could have expected considering a villain this big made his debut appearance in the final episode of the Loki Disney+ series.
While this version of Kang was quite tame compared to his final form, the story in Episode 6 teased that there are already numerous variants of the character hiding in the shadows. Give any one of them an opening, especially the big one, and it's an absolute certainty that Kang will be ready to cause pure chaos when the time comes.
Seeing Jonathan Majors in character for the first time was a thrilling moment for fans of Loki and the crew that brought the show together, and this is only the first small step. It's unclear if he will return in any other projects before his expected movie debut in 2023's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, but the stage is set for something massive to wreak havoc in the MCU.
On top of the major reveal in-universe, it's a heartwarming moment to see and hear how much Majors enjoyed bringing this iconic Marvel character to life for the first time. His enthusiasm appears to be contagious, and it should only mean good things as he continues portraying Kang for the foreseeable future.
All six episodes of Loki are available to stream on Disney+.
