WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Episode 2 of Loki
Marvel Studios' Loki got off to a quick start at the beginning of June, throwing the God of Mischief for quite the loop as he was arrested by the TVA for his crimes against the Sacred Timeline.
What makes this new Disney+ series so interesting is that Owen Wilson's TVA Agent Mobius M. Mobius thinks he can use Loki for a greater purpose than to just delete him from existence; he wants Loki to help him catch yet another variation of the trickster that is laying waste to the TVA's dictations.
The tail-end of Episode 2 revealed that this devious Loki Variant is played by Sophia Di Martino, which introduced Sylvie Laufeydottir to the MCU. But while this "Lady Loki" may seem similar to her comic book counterpart, there are also some big differences between the two iterations of the character that shouldn't go unnoticed.
IS THIS THE LADY LOKI FROM MARVEL COMICS?
There were a couple of more obvious similarities between this new Lady Loki and her comic book counterpart, such as the iconic green-and-gold Asgardian garb and the horned crown. Anyone would be assumed a Loki variant if they were dressed as such. Her crown is even party damaged, much like the Lady Loki that appears on the comic book pages of "Loki: Agent of Asgard."
Lady Loki also seems to wield a pair of knives with which she slays a multitude of TVA agents; although, Mobius said that their wounds indicated that they didn't know who attacked them. This doesn't exactly align with how Loki said he prefers to attack people, calling it boring. Nevertheless, the close-quarters combat and choosing a variety of methods to throw the TVA off their game certainly resembles the God of Mischief that everyone knows and loves.
WHAT MAKES A LOKI TICK?
It must be considered that, despite Mobius' disagreement, perhaps Loki is right — he may very well be the superior Loki Variant. But that doesn't help much if the threat that they're up against isn't a variation of Loki at all.
First, Sophia Di Martino's Sylvie has blonde hair, which no variation of Loki has had in Marvel Comics for quite some time now. This could be because the actress simply didn't want to wear a wig, but that seems unlikely.
The reason to take issue with this is not simply because "Lady Loki" was not a blonde in the comics, but because the body that Loki took over in order to become "Lady Loki" was not a blonde.
When Loki was transferred into the body of a woman, the body itself was intended for none other than Lady Sif of Asgard — a character not seen in the MCU since 2014's Thor: The Dark World. The fact that Sif is not at all involved in this development presents reason to believe that this "Lady Loki" in the MCU will deviate greatly from her comic book roots.
Furthermore, "Lady Loki" doesn't appear to be particularly mischievous so far. Sure, she seems fairly menacing and has no shortage of death to deal out to her victims, but her plan seems to have gone off without a hitch regardless of the TVA's interference. If there was no need for trickery, then where's the fun in that for Marvel's Trickster?
AN ENCHANTING TWIST
There's reason to believe that this new character may be a rather clever misdirect as the hit Disney+ series gears up for its halfway point.
Speaking of winning, Mobius made it clear during Loki's debut episode that it was "almost in (Loki's) nature" to lose. And he's right; despite Loki's best efforts, he's constantly being beaten. So how does Sophia Di Martino's character get past that awful character trait that's tied to Loki's role in the Sacred Timeline?
Loki also made the distinction that he can cast a "duplication" spell and specified that he cannot cast illusions outside of himself as Mobius claimed. But apparently, this "Lady Loki" can full-on possess a chain of people as long as she touches the first person.
If Loki could do that, he wouldn't have needed his scepter hardly at all in The Avengers. But despite Mobius' claim that Loki variants can come with their own unique power, this ability to possess an individual and control them from afar is not a trait that "Lady Loki" has ever had at her disposal either. However, this unique ability does line up rather well with someone else from the pages of Marvel Comics.
Since all signs point to "Lady Loki's" name in the show being Sylvie, she could actually be Marvel's Enchantress in disguise. After all, she was quick to correct being called "Loki" in the first place.
In fact, a version of Enchantress in Marvel Comics named Sylvie gained her powers from none other than Loki and is widely believed to be created entirely by him. And when he perished, she began to fall ill as well. If there is a Loki that created her, and now he is in danger, it would make sense that Enchantress would try to help him survive as her life could also depend on it.
Conveniently enough, there's a big name on the cast list for Loki that has yet to make an appearance. Richard E. Grant was announced to be starring in the hit Disney+ series but was curiously absent from the first two episodes, making his involvement even more of a mystery.
Sure, he could be playing one of the Time-Keepers or possibly just a yet-to-be-revealed variant of one of the audience's many favorite Marvel characters. But fans have asked how Sylvie could carry Loki's temporal aura if she is not a Loki Variant, and a possible explanation is that it was given to her by a Loki Variant to keep the TVA off of his tracks. It would be a clever move indeed, and one that could definitely affirm that he is, in fact, the superior Loki.
It seemed strange that the big bad of Loki would be revealed only a third of the way into the show's debut season on Disney+, but that may not be the case after all as Sophia Di Martino's "Lady Loki" may not be who she appears to be at all.
Hopefully, fans will find out more when Episode 3 of Loki hits Disney+ on Wednesday, June 23.
