Lady Loki’s Mind Control Is Already Stronger Than The Original

WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for Loki episode 2.

While the Disney+ series Loki jests that the Variant of the original Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is the superior version of himself, episode 2 essentially proves the assumption correct by depicting Lady Loki’s (Sophia Di Martino) own version of mind control as stronger than Loki’s, which was previously featured in The Avengers. When Mobius (Owen Wilson) is briefing the TVA Minutemen on the Variant’s potential powers, he explains that the variations of Loki they’ve encountered before possess similar powers like shape-shifting or illusion-projection, and the exclusion of mind control from Mobius’ list suggests that it’s a special skill belonging to Lady Loki alone.

Throughout the MCU, Loki exhibits all of the powers that Mobius ascribes to most Loki Variants. While Loki describes Lady Loki’s enchantment as “cowardly, a bit amateurish, but clever,” Loki himself has never exhibited a power quite like it onscreen since his own magic abilities usually involve manipulating someone else’s perception. Possibly the closest equivalent to Lady Loki’s mind control is featured in Thor: Ragnarok, when Loki casts a spell that temporarily muddles Odin’s mental faculties during his stay at Shady Acres Care Home on Earth. While Loki uses mind control to recruit Clint Barton and Erik Selvig to help him take over Earth in The Avengers, the mind control power originates within the Scepter, a staff containing the Mind Stone, not from Loki's own magic. In comparison, Lady Loki’s enchantment in Loki is not only the result of her own magical power but is a stronger iteration of the ability.

Unlike Loki’s mind control depicted within The Avengers, Lady Loki’s enchantment is transferable and can be passed from one person to another through a single “infected” target. In “The Variant,” Loki and Hunter B-15 happen upon a shopper in Roxxcart suspiciously browsing for Azaleas during the hurricane. Suspecting that the man is the Loki Variant, B-15 approaches him, unaware that he is possessed by Lady Loki’s mind control, which he transfers to her when he grabs her arm. Hopping from B-15 to Roxxcart employee Randy, Lady Loki reveals that her enchantment gives her the ability to be in two places at once, conversing with Loki through her victims whilst physically rigging the reset charges in the aisles throughout the store. While Loki could control multiple targets at a time in Avengers, his version of mind control was more limited because he personally had to be in close proximity to his targets and physically touch them with the point of the Scepter to control them.

Lady Loki’s enchantment also appears to give her absolute control over her targets. In Avengers, the mind control incurred by Loki’s Scepter allowed him to bring Barton and Selvig over to his cause as instant allies, but his targets still retained a bit of themselves while they were under Loki’s control. Barton refers to his training as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to infiltrate a vault containing Iridium that Selvig needs to stabilize the Tesseract. Selvig uses his expertise in Theoretical Astrophysics to successfully open a portal in space with the Tesseract during the Battle of New York, but was still cognizant enough under the Scepter’s spell to build in a safety protocol that would cut the power source and close the portal. In comparison, Lady Loki is able to speak directly through her targets in her own words and controls their movements according to her own will, essentially duplicating her consciousness in someone else’s body rather than recruiting soldiers for her cause.

Alternatively, Lady Loki’s mind control depicted in Loki might also come with some drawbacks. When Hunter C-20 and B-15 awaken after being possessed, both of them appear to be visibly shaken by the experience. Since Lady Loki’s enchantment transports her into other people’s bodies, it’s possible that the process gives her targets a glimpse inside of her head as well, which may explain why she kidnapped C-20 so the TVA soldier wouldn’t reveal her plan to simultaneously create multiple branches using the stolen reset charges. If B-15 received a brief look inside of Lady Loki's mind, she might've already uncovered a clue that will lead them to Loki and Lady Loki's location.

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Loki releases new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.