Warning: SPOILERS up to Avengers: Infinity War
It's a good day to be a Loki fan, now that Marvel has officially confirmed Thor's brother was under the influence of the Mind Stone in The Avengers. Which raises the question... was Loki ever really a villain at all?
That will be a controversial debate in itself, since Tom Hiddleston's Loki has been the MCU's best villain to date. So good, in fact, that he racked up more starring roles than some heroes. And to prove how far he had come from his days of evil villainy, Loki was given a hero's death in Avengers: Infinity War. A death made even more tragic now that Marvel has confirmed a fan theory explaining why the Avengers villain wasn't the REAL Loki at all.
- This Page: Marvel Confirms The Loki/Mind Stone Theory
- Next Page: So, Was Loki EVER Really A Villain At All?
The Theory: Loki Fell Prey to The Mind Stone
The theory has been alluded to or proposed a number of times and to varying degrees since The Avengers, so it isn't an excuse meant to pave the way for Loki's Disney TV show (a concise version of the theory can be found here). To keep it short, the theory suggests that the scepter given to Loki by Thanos couldn't just take over the minds of those it touched (Hawkeye, Erik Selvig etc.), but was also able to influence the person holding it. A detail Thanos surprisingly failed to mention.
RELATED: How Thanos May Have Retrieved The Mind Stone For Loki
Thanks to hindsight, we now know that Loki's scepter secretly contained the Mind Stone, one of the Infinity Stones that Thanos had already acquired prior to assigning Loki the job of conquering Earth. And since the Infinity Stones are sentient in the comics, and the Mind Stone can override thought, Loki was just as susceptible to its power as anyone else. Thanos may or may not have known that when giving it to Loki, but either way, the disheveled and sickly appearance of Loki upon his arrival in Avengers is pointed to as major evidence of some kind of corruption.
Marvel Confirms Loki/Mind Stone Theory
Now, fans on Reddit have noted that Marvel's official character page for Loki has been modified. It isn't exactly clear when the changes were made, but without any fanfare whatsoever, the theory that the Mind Stone corrupted Loki has been confirmed as canon. We'll let fans read through the related passage, copied below from Marvel's site:
Arriving at the Sanctuary through a wormhole caused by the Bifrost, Loki met the Other, ruler of the ancient race of extraterrestrials the Chitauri, and Thanos. Offering the God of Mischief dominion over his brother’s favorite realm Earth, Thanos requested the Tesseract in return. Gifted with a Scepter that acted as a mind control device, Loki would be able to influence others. Unbeknownst to him, the Scepter was also influencing him, fueling his hatred over his brother Thor and the inhabitants of Earth.
There you have it: Loki was as much a victim of Thanos and the scepter as anyone else, potentially, since the Mind Stone was driving him to be more evil and hateful than he actually was at heart. That certainly explains the more sadistic moments Loki enjoyed in The Avengers team-up, and why he became far more reasonable in later appearances, once the influence and hatred "fueled" by the Mind Stone was removed. But if Loki can't really be held responsible for all of his villainous actions in the movie... is it possible that Loki was never a villain to begin with?
Page 2 of 2: Loki Was Never an MCU Villain at All
Loki Wasn't Really Evil in Thor
It's easy to forget what Loki's actual motivations were in his first Marvel movie, mainly because it's so easy to forget how much of an idiot Thor was at the beginning of his story. Yes, Loki engaged in a little deception that appeared to be aimed against his father, Odin. And yes, he maneuvered to get Thor banished to Earth so that he could claim the throne as King of Asgard. But neither of those betrayals turned out to be as evil or treasonous as they seemed.
For starters, Thor IS completely unfit to be king when the movie begins, and one could argue that it was Loki's actions to spare Asgard his temper that sparked Thor's growth into a hero. But more importantly, Loki had reasons for everything he did. Having been lied to all his life, Loki sought to kill Asgard's greatest enemy, the Frost Giants - his actual people - to prove his competence to his adopted father, Odin. He was a misguided antagonist and a foil to Thor, yes. But to call Loki a "villain" would be too simple and frankly too uncharitable.
RELATED: The ONE Reason Marvel Movie Villains Are So Boring
After all, Odin denying his approval and instead uttering a simple "No" was all it took for Loki to throw himself into oblivion, eyes filled with tears at having disappointed his adopted father. Unlike the usual 'comic book villains' who want to do evil or take over the world, Loki's goal made sense. The fact that he was willing to do too much to get it made him compelling and tragic, not villainous - which is why he was so popular with fans, and a perfect choice to return as the villain of The Avengers.
Loki Wasn't Evil After Avengers, Either
Taking Loki's actions in Avengers out of the equation to determine how good or evil he was, the Thor sequels continued to give him the kind of writing usually reserved for a Marvel hero. And keeping in mind that Loki's family is a mess to begin with, it's hard to see most of his actions as completely evil at all. He unknowingly sends a Dark Elf assassin to his mother's chambers in Thor: The Dark World, but if that is a sign of villainy, how evil is Peter Parker for failing to stop the criminal who killed his Uncle Ben?
Either way, Loki takes that guilt to heart, and agrees to help Thor get a few steps closer to killing Malekith on behalf of both of them. He then fakes his death to take another crack at Odin's throne, which is what you would expect from a Trickster God who believes he is a king by birthright (he kind of is). And technically, Loki's death in Thor 2 was going to be real until Marvel changed their plans. Which just leaves his antics in Thor: Ragnarok, another installment of Loki playing his old part of a scheming jerk. Until he stands up for his people, and continues to do it into Infinity War until he's killed for it. Unless you believe one of the theories claiming Loki survived Thanos, despite the directors confirming that Loki seriously is dead.
No matter what the future may hold for the Asgardian Trickster (and trust us, we've got some ideas for Loki's return in Thor 4), fans will want to thank these eagle-eyed Redditors for catching what Marvel confirmed in private. It may be a little too late to change his course in the MCU, but it's satisfying to know that Loki is officially off the hook for his Avengers villainy, and can be measured as a true Marvel hero instead.