Phase 4 Is Finally Fixing Loki's Insulting MCU Power Problem

With the latest trailer for Loki, it appears as though the MCU Phase 4 is finally fixing the longstanding - and more than a little insulting - problem with the God of Mischief's power. Despite being an antagonist, Loki has been around almost as long as the original Avengers in the MCU, first appearing in 2011's Thor. Loki actor Tom Hiddleston immediately emerged as a fan-favorite, injecting the first two admittedly middling Thor movies with much-needed energy and often appearing as though he was having the most fun out of any actor in the MCU.

Loki has had quite a ride in the MCU, going from a vengeful if sympathetic villain to an antihero with genuinely noble moments. Originally supposed to die in 2013's Thor: The Dark World after achieving something close to redemption, test audiences flat-out rejected the idea of his death, prompting Marvel to bring him back for a third Thor movie, an opening scene in Avengers: Infinity War, and now his own spinoff series. Whether he'll be closer to villain or antihero in the Disney+ series is something that remains a question considering the series is set to follow the 2012 Avengers version of Loki before his redemption arc.

Just as hard to predict as Loki's allegiances at any given moment is his characterization, namely his powers and abilities. His adoptive brother, Thor, has had his god-like powers thoroughly explored in the MCU, from the intricacies of the hammer Mjolnir to him massively leveling up in his powers in the third act of Thor: Ragnarok. Loki, however, has always taken a back seat to his big brother, his powers never explored and rarely shown beyond a few illusory tricks. From a logical standpoint, it makes sense: Thor, after all, is the name in the title and so naturally he's the one who should be centered. But just about any longtime Marvel fan, if they're being honest, will agree the Thor movies are just as much Loki's movies as they are Thor's, particularly the first. With the God of Mischief finally getting his own project with his name in the title, it finally gives the MCU the opportunity to fully explore the extent of Loki's powers and abilities and the most recent Loki trailer indicates this will indeed be the case.

Magic Users In The MCU Have Gradually Increased In Power - Except For Loki

There's a term gamers are familiar with called "nerfing." It's when game developers will noticeably reduce the power level or skillset of a character with a new game update in order to keep that character from being too overpowered and breaking the game. Marvel has essentially done the same with its magical and magic-adjacent characters in the MCU; after all, it's hard to make a team or matchup appear reasonably balanced on-screen when one of your characters has a shield and some martial arts skills and another one of your characters can literally rewrite reality at the molecular level.

Now that the MCU is well-established, however, Marvel has slowly been leveling up its magic-based characters. Thor finally figured out how to fully tap into his powers as the God of Thunder and can now wield massive amounts of lightning. Scarlet Witch went from being able to cause individual hallucinations and doing basic midrange telekinesis to almost singlehandedly defeating Thanos before later creating a massive alternate reality bubble and controlling thousands of people simultaneously without even trying. Even no longer possessing the Time Stone, Doctor Strange is well on his way to becoming the all-powerful Sorcerer Supreme. Agatha Harkness entered the MCU in WandaVision already massively powerful in her magical abilities. Loki is the only one whose powers have been relatively consistent and consistently low-level.

The MCU Has Barely Shown Loki's Magical Abilities

Loki holding the Scepter in the opening scene of The Avengers

In the comics, Loki's magical powers and abilities have been just about as important as his silver tongue and gift for deception namely because, without his magic, he often wouldn't be able to pull off his schemes. But while the other magic users of the MCU have seen their powers and abilities increasing movie by movie, if anything, Loki has seen his decreasing. The first Thor, while overall not as well-received, nonetheless did the best job of showcasing both his illusion magic and his ability to manipulate his surroundings both offensively and defensively in a fight. As the movies have progressed, however, Loki has relied on his magic abilities less and less. Save for a few illusions here and there, Loki's magical abilities took a backseat, before becoming absent completely in Ragnarok.

The MCU version of Loki, at least in his powers, has been a far cry from the comic book version of Loki. The Loki of the comics can easily match Doctor Strange and even Scarlet Witch in powers thanks to the fact that, unlike Strange, who has to rely on book learning and spells, and Wanda, who has to tap into chaos magic, Loki's magic is innate, him being both a demi-god and a thousand years old. He has a spread of other impressive powers in the comics that have gone completely unexplored in the MCU, including powerful telekinesis, magical energy blasts and force fields, illusion casting powerful enough to fill entire cities, teleportation between vast distances and between dimensions, psionic and psychic abilities strong enough for him to communicate telepathically with or manipulate people on Earth and other dimensions all the way from Asgard, granting objects temporary powers and imbuing living beings with superpowers, powerful transmutation, and shape-shifting. He's also found multiple ways to cheat death, even once coming back from being beheaded by Baldur. Combined with his manipulative abilities, it's no wonder that the Silver Surfer himself once said in Silver Surfer #4 that "Power such as his can decimate a planet."

The MCU Has Also Kneecapped Loki's Manipulative Abilities

It's not just Loki's magical abilities that have been kneecapped in the MCU, either. His gift for deception and trickery have been, as well. Loki in the comics is a brilliant strategist, a chess master who is always multiple steps ahead of his opponents and with four other plans up his sleeve. Even when bent on revenge, the Loki of the comics takes his time to strategize and formulate schemes that no one sees coming.

The Loki of the MCU, however, is often depicted as little more than a con man and a diva. Make no mistake, Loki is still a fantastically entertaining character, but he's too often reduced to comedic relief and a punchline for the benefit of elevating Thor or the other Avengers. His plans are thwarted relatively easily – that is, if Thor and the others don't figure them out ahead of time – or they have been extremely two-dimensional, such as his frankly insultingly obvious attempt to use a simple illusion spell to stab Thanos.

While there have been moments of his Loki Silvertongue persona, he often comes across as a fast-talking used car salesman or an annoying motormouth rather than the smoothly hypnotic snake in someone's ear he can be. The first Thor movie is the best at showcasing this, with shots of Loki standing just behind Thor and whispering in his ear, or deftly manipulating a situation such as when Loki talked Thor into going to Jotunheim to challenge the Frost Giants while on the surface appearing to talk him out of it. However, these moments are few and far between in the MCU, Loki usually being too consumed with needing attention to bother with subtlety.

How The Loki Series Looks Set To Change This

In the most recent Loki trailer, two important things were established: One, Loki will be wielding magic again, a shot of him throwing a fearsome concussive energy blast at an enemy in his signature green shade confirming this. Two, he's back to being a manipulative mastermind, and it will be a throughline of the series. "It is adorable that you possibly think you could manipulate me," he says to Owen Wilson's Mobius M. Mobius. "I'm ten steps ahead of you." And indeed, it appears to be the case at least once, with a shot of him leaping through one of the Time Variance Authority's portals while on a mission and closing it behind him before Mobius can stop him. While the unspoken implication is that it's a matter of Loki and the TVA manipulating each other, nonetheless, the TVA chose Loki to help them undo the damage he's done to the timeline for a reason. The missions he's being sent on are far-ranging, from a post-apocalyptic NYC hellscape to a Roxxon Corporation lab to Loki apparently being the infamous D.B. Cooper. There's virtually no way he'll be able to successfully accomplish all his missions without utilizing his vast magic and trickery and ability to deceive. It may not have come until Phase 4, but finally, the MCU appears set with Loki to finally break the shackles that have held the God of Mischief back.

Next: Loki Trailer 2 Breakdown: Every New Secret And Reveal