Theory: Loki Has A Timeline Where The Collector Got The Infinity Stones

With Marvel’s upcoming show Loki promising to show Loki going through alternate realities, an intuitive choice would be the reality from which Thanos traveled for the showdown at the end of Avengers: Endgame – a reality strange and dangerous because the Collector would have collected all of the infinity stones instead. The prospective buyer of the power stone in Guardians of the Galaxy, and the protector of the Reality Stone in Thor: The Dark World, the Collector’s ambitions to possess the infinity stones were thwarted by Thanos. With the mad titan defeated in another reality, the Collector would be in an unchallenged position to retain the stones he had acquired, and to seek the remainder.

Every Infinity Stone grants power – and even with just two in his possession, the Collector could work some remarkable tricks. With the Mind Stone in the possession of Hydra, and the Space Stone being held by the Asgardians, the Collector could hire thieves to steal the pieces, or use the reality-warping powers of the reality stone to seize them himself. At the time of Thanos’ departure, the Ancient One would still have the time stone, but with no particular hurry – the only competition gone from his reality – the Collector could bide his time, and wait for the much less experienced Stephen Strange to claim it.

Since the Collector of this reality would have the conceivable ability to take the infinity stones, and has expressed the desire to do so, the question then arises what he would do with the powerful artifacts. Loki’s Mind Stone experience notwithstanding, the god of mischief had little opportunity to make use of the infinity stones for his own benefit – but he might see a dark reflection of what he might have done, in the Collector. Obsessed with his collection, the Collector might view the infinity stones as merely the ultimate collector’s pieces, or he might use them to satisfy his capricious and occasionally cruel whims.

The Collector Wanted All Six Infinity Stones

Although his motives and intentions for the stones was never made specifically clear, the Collector’s line in the post-credit scene of Thor 2, upon being presented with the reality stone and told that the space stone was in the Asgardian vaults was an ominous “One down – five to go“. Given that he had just been presented with one piece from a collection of six, and told the location of a second, it seems fairly obvious that his intent was to complete the set. Offering an array of powers, the Infinity Stones could allow the Collector an unchallenged ability to acquire whatever he desired – his avarice and jealousy for his collection being legendary.

The fact that less than a year later, the Collector put in a considerable bid for the Power Stone to be retrieved from Morag, suggests that he may have been inspired to seek the stones by the acquisition of the one given to him by the Asgardians. Since he did not know of the location of the Tesseract before he was told, and had no reason to suspect that the Reality Stone would come into his possession, the timing of the events suggests that he found a new goal for his collection upon presentation of the Reality Stone. It is also possible that the Collector himself had no end goal apart from merely owning the stones.

The Collector Would Have Retained the Power Stone If Not For Thanos

Although Ronan takes the Power Stone for his hammer after the Collector’s slave Carina causes an explosion with it, the Accuser would not have been in Knowhere were it not for Drax announcing the Guardians’ presence. Drax met up with the other Guardians of the Galaxy in the Kyln prison, where they were being held because Gamora and Quill fought in the middle of a crowded square. With Gamora gone from the timeline – and Thanos not offering Ronan the ships and assistance of his daughters – none of this would have been able to happen. Quill’s sale of the Power Stone would have personally enriched him, and would likely have gone unchallenged, as the stone quietly made its way to the Collector.

In the MCU, the Collector lost the Power Stone to Ronan, and the reality stone to Thanos in a fight that left the Collector ambiguously dead or alive. With no Thanos, the Collector would therefore be up two stones, with no competition on the field apart from the beings and defences innate to the other stones, and decidedly alive. While the Collector (if still alive) may still try to acquire what remains of the Infinity Stones in the mainline MCU, this variant Collector has a considerable head start.

Loki Will Be Dealing With Variant Timelines

The trailer for Loki makes it clear that the God of Mischief will be exploring and dealing with variant timelines on behalf of the Time Variance Authority. Since the universe from which Thanos has been removed is unquestionably a time variance, and a degree of cleverness and cunning may be required to finesse a solution to an out-of-control Collector, this timeline seems like an intuitive place for Loki to be sent. Moreover, if another timeline requires an infinity stone solution, the Collector can usually be bargained or reasoned with, to a point – among Loki’s best character traits for such a position are a pronounced moral flexibility and a charismatic patter second to none.

Loki may not have all of the experiences of the version of himself from the mainline MCU, but the Time Variance Authority seems dedicated to catching him up on the missing memories. To that end, Loki’s experience with finessing the Grandmaster, the Collector’s brother, could grant valuable insight into how the minds of the Elders of the Universe work. Combined with Loki’s experiences with the Mind Stone and the Power Stone, Loki would be a leading candidate for dealing with a variant Collector empowered by all of the Infinity Stones, at least giving him better than average odds of success.

What The Collector Would Do With the Infinity Stones

It has been a through line with the Infinity Stones that all of them come with a considerable cost to use – whether it be the rules of love and sacrifice for the Soul Stone, or the backlash by the Space Stone against people abusing its power. The Collector, clearly knowledgeable about the infinity stones per his lecture in Guardians of the Galaxy, would have some idea of this cost. The fact that he expressed a desire to collect the stones in spite of this suggests that he has a desire to use the stones – after all, if all of his interest was in keeping the stones safe, their existing defences were already daunting.

The Collector is shown in the franchise to be capricious and cruel, keeping sentient beings like Howard the Duck and Cosmo the Spacedog in glass cases, while his slave Carina sacrificed her life in a vain attempt to kill him and escape the servitude that she was enduring. This bodes poorly for the Collector’s intentions in using the Infinity Stones; since the radiation from the stones can give humans superpowers, he might seek to create new ‘pieces’ for his collection. Alternately, with the ability to teleport, create ‘real’ illusions, and read the minds of those around him, he could expand his collection immensely through an unmatched power-set for simple theft.

While only a little bit of the Collector’s character has been shown in the MCU films, what has been revealed implies that his covetous nature and jealous protection of his collection make the Collector a dangerous owner for the Infinity Stones. If Loki does touch on this potential reality as a story line, it would likely be a significant part of a season arc, with the Collector as a recurring antagonist. Even if this is not explored initially, Loki has already been renewed for a second season – with plenty of time to touch on this possibility.

About The Author

Drew Dunlop
(82 Articles Published)

Drew Dunlop is a short story author, and a feature writer for Screen Rant. A former movie review blogger, Drew has spent a great deal of his adult life writing and talking about films and comics. Now, he writes and talks about comic book films – DC Cinematic Universe, and Marvel Cinematic Universe films.

A hobbyist chef, Drew enjoys the company of his partner, his parrot, and his philodendron.

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