What If Loki Had Taken Over Earth? How Thanos’ Plan Would Change

The course of the MCU, especially Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) quest to wipe out half of the universe’s population, would have been fundamentally different had Loki (Tom Hiddleston) succeeded in taking over the Earth in 2012’s The Avengers like Miss Minutes suggested in the Loki finale. The first Avengers film saw the heroes come together for the first time to thwart Loki’s plan to rule Earth as vengeance for his mistreatment on Asgard. The same film revealed that Loki was serving another purpose; acquiring an Infinity Stone for Thanos, the overarching villain of the first three phases of the MCU. Fortunately, the Avengers were able to defeat Loki, and the Tesseract (which housed the space stone) was taken back to Asgard, while the mind stone was acquired by Hydra.

The MCU’s Phase 4 opened up the multiverse, with releases like Loki and What If…? proving that there are infinite universes with infinite variations of MCU events. Therefore, it stands to reason that there is a universe where Loki managed to defeat the Avengers during the Battle of New York, and successfully claimed Earth as his own, which was confirmed as a possibility in the last episode of his Disney+ show. Had that happened in the main MCU timeline, it would have drastically changed the way the events of the MCU unfolded, specifically Thanos’ plan to acquire all six Infinity Stones, which he carried out in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

While most would assume that Loki would have helped Thanos achieve his goals, his MCU history suggests otherwise. Loki’s actions in the MCU following The Avengers prove that had he taken over the Earth, he would have never given up either Infinity Stone to Thanos. Audiences might never get to see this alternate MCU history unless it is covered in one of What if…? season 2’s episodes. However, Loki’s history with Thanos, as well as what was revealed about both characters throughout the infinity saga, create a good basis for speculation regarding certain elements of this hypothetical scenario.

What Would Happen After Loki’s Earth Invasion?

If Loki’s invasion of Earth was successful, the planet would be unrecognizable from how the MCU portrays it today. The Avengers contained a few scenes that hint towards what type of ruler Loki would be. The god of mischief believes that humans were meant to kneel in front of those with more power and that they crave subjugation, and plans to step on humans the way a boot would squash an ant. This all indicates that Loki’s rule of Earth would have been a disastrous dictatorship, under which the earth would transform into a bleak dystopia governed by an alien god and his army of alien soldiers.

Interestingly enough, 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok suggests otherwise. When Thor (Chris Hemsworth) first visits Asgard in his third solo outing, he learns that Loki has been impersonating Odin (Sir Anthony Hopkins) and ruling Asgard in his stead. The few glimpses that audiences caught of Asgard under Loki’s rule suggest that Loki was a benevolent, albeit egotistical, ruler. This could be due to him being more mature, and no longer the villain he was in the first Avengers because he could not rule the Asgardians the same way he planned to rule over humanity. Nevertheless, had Loki succeeded in taking over Earth in 2012, he would have approached his monarchy from a vengeful mind state and would have set the earth on a path towards a dark, dystopian future.

Would Loki Have Defied Thanos Like Ronan?

Loki was sent to Earth by Thanos to recover the Space Stone, who armed him with his iconic scepter which contained the Mind Stone. It was a risky wager on Thanos’ part, giving up one Infinity Stone with the hope of receiving two in return later on. However, had Loki succeeded in defeating the Avengers in the Battle of New York, he would have probably defied Thanos in a similar manner to how Ronan (Lee Pace) did in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy.

Loki came to earth with the intention of being a King, and the idea of Thanos using the stones to kill half of Loki’s subjects would probably go against his intentions. Additionally, Loki was armed with two Infinity Stones, while Thanos had none, which would lead Loki to believe that he can overpower the Mad Titan. Moreover, Loki’s MCU history shows that eventually, he would stand against Thanos rather than aid him, as indicated by his attempt to kill Thanos in Infinity War.

Why Thanos’ Earth Battle Would Have Been Harder Against Loki

Thanos’ battle on Earth to acquire the Mind Stone might have been harder had Loki been the ruler of the planet. While Loki’s Chitauri army would have probably turned on him and rejoined Thanos, Loki would still be in possession of two Infinity Stones, and could potentially call on the armies of Asgard for help. The Avengers tried their best to hold Thanos back in Wakanda but ultimately failed to match the power of 5 Infinity Stones. Loki, on the other hand, would be able to utilize two Infinity Stones in his fight against Thanos, possibly making him a more formidable foe to Thanos than a divided Avengers team.

Why Loki Would Fail

Ultimately, even with two Infinity Stones at his disposal, Loki would probably fail at stopping Thanos as well. Thanos would already be aware of the two Infinity Stones in Loki’s possession and therefore would probably avoid going up against him until he has secured the other four. Even though Loki would be extremely powerful with two Infinity Stones, he would still be no match for Thanos with four, especially when he possesses the more powerful stones such as the Power, Reality, and Time Stones. Additionally, since Loki won against the Avengers in 2012, he would have no one to call upon for help when Thanos invades, which puts him at a great disadvantage.

Unfortunately, unless this alternate history is considered as a premise for one of What If…? season 2’s episodes, audiences will probably never get a chance to see what Earth would look like under Loki’s Rule. Perhaps the throwaway line in Loki’s finale was a hint towards an alternate reality that could be explored in the now-confirmed second season. With the multiverse kicking into full gear in Phase 4 of the MCU, there’s no telling what’s in store in terms of alternate realities and parallel universes, because if Spider-Man: No Way Home proved anything, it’s that anything is possible.