Every Loki Variant Who Could Appear in MCU’s New Show

Fans were full of questions after the second Loki trailer suggested multiple Loki “variants” could appear in the MCU, but the Marvel Comics could hold answers, revealing six alternate versions of the trickster. Marvel’s Disney+ show Loki follows the adventures of the titular God of Mischief as he travels through the multiverse. Having been captured by the Time Variance Authority, Loki is recruited to help fix reality, which he has fractured.

Presumably, Loki broke reality when he escaped with the Tesseract in Avengers:Endgame, creating a timeline that branched off from the original. With that act, he became a “variant” of the original MCU Loki, who was killed by Thanos. As Loki explores alternate timelines during the show, it’s possible he will run into other versions of himself. The trailer hints at this when a Time-Keeper asks Mobius M. Mobius if he believes in “this Loki variant,” suggesting there could be more than one.

This isn’t the first time alternate versions of Loki have appeared in Marvel. Since Loki’s first comic book appearance in 1962, he’s taken many different forms. In addition to shapeshifting, Loki’s character has changed because of time travel, supernatural spells, and the actions of other Asgardians. Here are six Loki variants who could appear in the show.

Lady Loki

A female version of Loki dubbed “Lady Loki” first appeared in Marvel Comics in 2004, when the trickster god stole a body intended for Lady Sif during the events of Avengers: Disassembled. Lady Loki went on to perform traditional Loki mischief, attempting to manipulate Thor and the Avengers. She eventually reverted to Loki’s original male form, only to be killed in 2009’s Siege. Later, Loki further blurred gender lines when he shapeshifted into a woman during 2014’s Loki: Agent of Asgard. The trickster god was still tricky, just in a different form. Some fans have theorized that Sophia Di Martino will play Lady Loki in the series after she was spotted on set wearing what appeared to be a version of the god’s green and gold costume. One thing’s for sure — Lady Loki would be a mind- and gender-bending addition to the MCU.

President Loki

Loki trailers confirm the show will include a version of Loki who runs for President, inspired by a popular Marvel Comics miniseries “Vote Loki.” But is this Loki the one who escaped from the Avengers or another variant? The second trailer appears to show President Loki being threatened by Sakaarian scrappers, perhaps suggesting he’s from an alternate timeline in which Loki travels to Sakaar, as he did in Thor: Ragnarok. President Loki was a popular addition to the Marvel comics, allowing writers to whip up biting political commentary around Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential run. President Loki in the MCU is likely to be as charismatic, ambitious and hypocritical as he was in the comics, with the added bonus of Tom Hiddleston’s charm.

Kid Loki

Loki wouldn’t be much of a trickster god if he couldn’t cheat death — and that’s exactly what he does in 2010’s Seige, when he manipulates Hela into removing his name from her book. Following Loki’s apparent death, he’s reborn as Kid Loki, an innocent child who has no memories of his former life. Kid Loki isn’t trusted by his fellow Asgardians but strives to do good. Although he is still mischievous, he uses trickery for the benefit of others. Eventually, Kid Loki is tragically taken over by the ghost of his former self, Ikol, and goes back to the dark side.

King Loki

King Loki is a version of the trickster god whose evil plans all come to fruition. First introduced in 2014’s Loki: Agent of Asgard, the ruthless ruler is an extreme version of Loki, driven to the edge of madness by his own rage and bitterness. In King Loki’s timeline, he annihilated Earth and is responsible for the extinction of humanity. He then travels to the past in an attempt to kill Odin and defeat Thor, where he encounters his younger self. Loki: Agent of Asgard is a critically-acclaimed storyline that involves some serious time-traveling shenanigans, including a scene where Loki becomes a prisoner of himself. With the series looking to be very loosely adapting that run with its time-travel missions plot, it’s possible that other elements of that story — such as King Loki or the young Loki’s friend Verity Willis — will appear in MCU’s new show. 

Loki, God Of Heroism And Truth

One of the most surreal versions of Loki appeared in Loki: Agent of Asgard when the God of Mischief’s basic morality was inverted, transforming him into Loki, God of Heroism of Truth. During the AXIS storyline, a spell cast by Scarlet Witch and Doctor Doom caused chaos among the Avengers when magic was inverted and heroes turned bad and villains turned good. During this time, Loki was even able to pick up Thor’s hammer Mjolnir, having become worthy of it.

Loki, however, was just as complex a good guy as he is a bad guy. The trickster god traditionally works in the grey areas of morality, walking the line between good and evil. For example, Loki sometimes uses trickery to benefit others and truth to benefit himself. Since Loki was working toward redemption before the spell, his actions, while inverted, weren’t all heroic and truthful. He was still able to lie and betray others, putting him in the category of “chaotic good.” In a world suddenly turned to complete chaos, only Loki was essentially the same as he’s the embodiment of chaos to begin with.

Human Loki

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the first Thor movie saw the God of Thunder stripped of his powers and exiled to Earth by Odin, who wanted to teach him a lesson about humility. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that Odin later does the same to Loki at one point in the comics, stripping him of his godhood and leaving him with a fraction of his Asgardian strength. As a sorcerer, Loki is less dependent on his god-granted abilities than Thor. Unlike Thor, Loki doesn’t have a godly weapon like Mjolnir to channel his abilities, and he has significant powers that are outside Odin’s control. Still, is it possible MCU’s Loki could introduce a version of the character condemned to live a human life on Earth? It would be a bit of cosmic justice for Loki, who looks down on the humans of Midgard and is constantly trying to gain power by displacing others from the throne of Asgard.

About The Author

Jasmine Gallup
(115 Articles Published)

Jasmine Gallup is a writer for ScreenRant, covering fantasy, science fiction and superheroes. She’s worked as a freelance reporter since 2018.

By day, Jasmine writes for a small North Carolina newspaper near her hometown of Cary. By night, she explores the depths of film and television alongside her twin sister.

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