SPOILERS! Discussion/reaction thread for Loki streaming Marvel series on Disney+ - new episodes begin June 9th!

[MisterPenguin]

No one needs to know who Kang is from the comics.

And that is because the last episode was a Kang origin story. No backstory from the comic books needed.

Short version: The guy was a Tony Stark like super scientist (in our future) who discovered parallel dimensions. His counterparts from other parallel dimenssions discovered it at the same time (thus... being parallel). They worked with each other until some of the dimensional counterparts (aka 'variants') decided to not be cooperative. A war ensued between parallel dimensions until The One Who Remained was the one who remained. He then pruned all the other timelines so that there were no other variants of himself.

He warned the Lokii that if he was killed, the timeline would rebranch leading to all his variants resurfacing, and some of them being quite belligerent.

He was killed, and when our Loki returned to the TVA, there was a statue of one of the variants of The One Who Remained.

We will learn later in another show/move, that he is called Kang. But for now, we got his origin without any reference to the comics.

 

[MisterPenguin]

What was with the bad (obvious) audio dubbing for Kang? Did anyone else catch that?

I didn't notice it. Maybe a problem with your streamer?

 

[MisterPenguin]

 

[BrianLo]

I can actually see hopemax's point...I am actually worried for the next Phase of the MCU. The brilliance of the MCU was one never needed to watch every movie as each story was self contained for those who picked and chose, but it also worked on another level for the comic book enthusiasts who see every movie and saw how everything was linked together...this next phase feels like it is going to require people to watch everything to understand what is going on...MCU can not survive on comic people alone they have been successful because of the every day people

I see what you mean. I think the largest thing driving this sentiment was that Loki was inherently not self contained and has an obvious second season.

The movies have been snowballing for a while though. We’ll still get self contained first run movies (it looks like things like Shang Chi or Eternals are pretty separate entities), but once it’s a second or third movie you know they are made for the fans at that point.

It’s hard to argue at this point their model cannot work.

 

[Phicinfan]

I really think this is going to be the most pivotal D+ series. It's seems like the foundation of the entire Phase 4.

Falcon and the Winter Soldier feels markedly inconsequential, by comparison.

Don't totally disagree, but it did establish who the new Captain America is and will be, so assuming future Avengers movies it is pretty significant.

 

[Phicinfan]

No one needs to know who Kang is from the comics.

And that is because the last episode was a Kang origin story. No backstory from the comic books needed.

Short version: The guy was a Tony Stark like super scientist (in our future) who discovered parallel dimensions. His counterparts from other parallel dimenssions discovered it at the same time (thus... being parallel). They worked with each other until some of the dimensional counterparts (aka 'variants') decided to not be cooperative. A war ensued between parallel dimensions until The One Who Remained was the one who remained. He then pruned all the other timelines so that there were no other variants of himself.

He warned the Lokii that if he was killed, the timeline would rebranch leading to all his variants resurfacing, and some of them being quite belligerent.

He was killed, and when our Loki returned to the TVA, there was a statue of one of the variants of The One Who Remained.

We will learn later in another show/move, that he is called Kang. But for now, we got his origin without any reference to the comics.

Is that the true cannon version of the plural for Loki???? Or did you just make up a word

I have to agree somewhat with the other poster(sorry forgot to grab the tag) - had I not known the actor, and that he had already been cast as Kang for Antman 3 - this could have been confusing. So to that poster just comic information may not be the only best source.

As for your point.... Yes this established the history for this character - but you forgot to mention in comics he is a blood relative of Reed Richards - so maybe this ties in Fantastic Four?

 

[LSLS]

Eh, for what its worth, my kid has no clue who kang is or where he fits in. She thought it was some powerful being who's bad variant now runs the tva, and that it's all a setup for loki season 2. Just because she doesn't know the tie ins to the movies yet doesn't make her lost. Even without knowing who kang is, or how he connects to Ant man, I still think you can follow it fine. Ant man may take some more setup, but marvel has done such a good job doing that, I dont doubt they will.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Is that the true cannon version of the plural for Loki???? Or did you just make up a word

I have to agree somewhat with the other poster(sorry forgot to grab the tag) - had I not known the actor, and that he had already been cast as Kang for Antman 3 - this could have been confusing. So to that poster just comic information may not be the only best source.

As for your point.... Yes this established the history for this character - but you forgot to mention in comics he is a blood relative of Reed Richards - so maybe this ties in Fantastic Four?

I think it would be helpful to forget the comics canon (as often as it changes and is retconned in and of itself). Sylvie, Taskmaster, Agatha, Civil War, etc... all showed that the MCU has no problems with not adhering to the comics.

This is especially true in killing off villains, which DC does, too. With the movies, there is no room to keep big bads alive to use them over and over again like with the comics. So, Zod and Thanos are dead.

Marvel has no problem with not following the comics but only drawing inspiration from them.

For anyone who wan't aware of Kang, all they need to know is that The One Who Remains warned the Lokii (that's the official plural to me!) that they would wind up with horrific variants of himself... and behold the new statue in the TVA. A season two and the following movies will carry on what that means.

Trying to match the MCU with the comics only leads to Mephisto Derangement Syndrome!

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I really think this is going to be the most pivotal D+ series. It's seems like the foundation of the entire Phase 4.

Falcon and the Winter Soldier feels markedly inconsequential, by comparison.

Falcon and Winter Soldier was more satisfying as a standalone story. Antagonists and things to deal with were developed early on so the show felt like it had its' own purpose.

It dealt with issues (what is it like for a black man to take up the mantle of Captain America?) that there isn't always time for in a movie. Sam getting the shield in Endgame was a great moment, but the show allowed them to give that story element the time it deserves.

The show developed characters and relationships that will make the next Captain America movie more effective, but that wasn't the only reason for the show to exist.

I just didn't feel that with Loki. I felt like the show is there to set up a villain and a multiverse concept, but it didn't land for me as a standalone series.

 

[BrianLo]

Don't totally disagree, but it did establish who the new Captain America is and will be, so assuming future Avengers movies it is pretty significant.

Steve gives him the shield during Endgame. General audiences shouldn’t be confused if they skipped that series. That’s more what I mean, one won’t be terribly confused bypassing it.

Falcon and Winter Soldier was more satisfying as a standalone story. Antagonists and things to deal with were developed early on so the show felt like it had its' own purpose.

It dealt with issues (what is it like for a black man to take up the mantle of Captain America?) that there isn't always time for in a movie. Sam getting the shield in Endgame was a great moment, but the show allowed them to give that story element the time it deserves.

The show developed characters and relationships that will make the next Captain America movie more effective, but that wasn't the only reason for the show to exist.

I just didn't feel that with Loki. I felt like the show is there to set up a villain and a multiverse concept, but it didn't land for me as a standalone series.

Yes I think the character development will be missed, certainly. Bucky was kind of thin. WandaVision I think gets the best character development for Wanda at least.

FATWS just wasn’t my cup of tea, I don’t think it is bad by any means! It’s just not my preferred genre. I think my point is also that FATWS is a good stand alone and Loki isn’t - it’s very much a chapter.

 

[doctornick]

I just didn't feel that with Loki. I felt like the show is there to set up a villain and a multiverse concept, but it didn't land for me as a standalone series.

One thing is that we already kind of had a Loki redemption arc in the movie via Ragnorak and then Infinity War. I think the show allowed for a similar redemption for the character (though in a different pathway) but seemed like old hat when we've seen it before.

 

[Bairstow]

One thing is that we already kind of had a Loki redemption arc in the movie via Ragnorak and then Infinity War. I think the show allowed for a similar redemption for the character (though in a different pathway) but seemed like old hat when we've seen it before.

I don't know if I'd call Loki's behavior in the movies particularly redemptive- his motivations are still ultimately self-preservation and greed- he just miscalculates all the time.

The show's path for the character was totally different, which is why the ending is so dissatisfying- there needed to be some more time spent on his immediate reaction to his clone rejecting him. Completing that arc would have made it feel more like a season finale and less like just another end-of-episode cliffhanger.

If they're going to do the whole "you never existed" trope it would have been way better for the ending of the season to have been Loki waking up back on Asgard and having his mother or brother not recognize him.

 

[Lucky Rabbit]

I don't know if I'd call Loki's behavior in the movies particularly redemptive- his motivations are still ultimately self-preservation and greed- he just miscalculates all the time.

The show's path for the character was totally different, which is why the ending is so dissatisfying- there needed to be some more time spent on his immediate reaction to his clone rejecting him. Completing that arc would have made it feel more like a season finale and less like just another end-of-episode cliffhanger.

Self-preservation and greed? He was offered everything he ever wanted by Miss Minutes and turned it down. His main concern during that whole end scene was for Sylvie. He's changed completely.

If they're going to do the whole "you never existed" trope it would have been way better for the ending of the season to have been Loki waking up back on Asgard and having his mother or brother not recognize him.

That may have happened if he wasn't sent to the TVA. I actually like that he was sent to the TVA, a place existing outside of time, and even Mobius has no idea who he is.

 

[Bairstow]

Self-preservation and greed? He was offered everything he ever wanted by Miss Minutes and turned it down. His main concern during that whole end scene was for Sylvie. He's changed completely.

That's in the TV show, not the movies.

 

[Lucky Rabbit]

That's in the TV show, not the movies.

I misread the post big time! My apologies Bairstow. Overall I think this Loki got to the same point Ragnorak Loki achieved and maybe even evolved a little further.

 

[DCLcruiser]

I misread the post big time! My apologies Bairstow. Overall I think this Loki got to the same point Ragnorak Loki achieved and maybe even evolved a little further.

We'll see if they ever meet as they are entirely different people.

 

[waltography]

I see what you mean. I think the largest thing driving this sentiment was that Loki was inherently not self contained and has an obvious second season.

The movies have been snowballing for a while though. We’ll still get self contained first run movies (it looks like things like Shang Chi or Eternals are pretty separate entities), but once it’s a second or third movie you know they are made for the fans at that point.

It’s hard to argue at this point their model cannot work.

I'd also argue now more than ever's a great time for new Marvel fans to join. I was completely disinterested in the entirety of the Infinity saga, so WandaVision was my first foray into the MCU and I've been along for the ride since. I'm slowly making my way through the Infinity saga now to catch up, but I've had no problems watching Phase 4 on a need to know basis.

 

[danlb_2000]

I really liked the series up until the final episode which really ruined it for me. It feels like the series had no other purpose then to set things up for the next phase of the MCU. I don't mind using the series to set things up, but they need to tell their own standalone story at the same time. I also think this series catered to the comic books fans at the expense of the non-comic fans.

 

[LSLS]

I really liked the series up until the final episode which really ruined it for me. It feels like the series had no other purpose then to set things up for the next phase of the MCU. I don't mind using the series to set things up, but they need to tell their own standalone story at the same time. I also think this series catered to the comic books fans at the expense of the non-comic fans.

Haha, I was the exact opposite. I really didn't like this series til the finale. For me it lived up to the promises of the season. It mattered for the MCU. It was the opposite for me with wandavision.

 

[Bairstow]

I really liked the series up until the final episode which really ruined it for me. It feels like the series had no other purpose then to set things up for the next phase of the MCU.

Not even that.
All it did was build up the introduction of a dude who isn't the new Big Bad.