As we all eagerly await the premiere of the Loki TV show on Disney+, now is the perfect time to take a step back and look at all of the times Tom Hiddleston appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From 2011’s Thor all the way to 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, there’s a great deal to cover in terms of Loki in the Marvel movies. In the past decade we’ve watched the adopted son of Odin play the role of jealous sibling to Thor, the harbinger of death for Thanos, and a reluctant anti-hero, and finally start new adventures in Avengers: Endgame.
This retrospective is going to be heavy on spoilers so if you haven’t yet watched any of the MCU movies featuring Loki, you will probably want to stop and go watch all of those, a feat that can be accomplished on Disney+. If you don’t mind spoilers or just want a quick refresher, stick around, because we’re going on a quite a journey through the history of one of Marvel’s most beloved characters.
Thor (2011)
We first meet Loki in Thor in 2011, he seeks to betray his biological father, Laufey (Colm Feore) of the Frost Giants, and his adopted father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), in the hope of taking control of Asgard in his seemingly endless quest for power and control. As his intentions are slowly revealed throughout the fourth film in the MCU, Loki becomes the movie’s villain, one hellbent on taking out everyone that stands between him and his goal of ruling Asgard and perhaps beyond, even if that means killing his brother, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) in the process.
Even after Loki’s plan fails and he is sent off into the vacuum of space, following the destruction of the Bifrost Bridge, he is seen still getting up to his old tricks, toying with Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) in the film’s post-credits scene.
Great Loki Scene: Loki discovers he’s a frost giant.
The Avengers (2012)
When we see Loki again in The Avengers, he is brokering a deal with the Other, who agrees to give the Asgardian a private army of Chitauri to take control of Earth in exchange for the Tesseract (the Space Stone), which was being held by S.H.I.E.L.D. Using the scepter (which houses the Mind Stone) to take control of Erik Selvig, Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) and other members of the the intelligence agency, Loki steals the Tesseract and sets his plan in motion of opening a wormhole to allow the Chitarui forces to begin the invasion of Earth.
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Not to be outdone, Loki allows himself to be trapped and uses the scepter to manipulate the newly formed Avengers. His plan, while initially a success, backfires and brings the Avengers closer than ever and is defeated before he can fulfill his part of the bargain and put his plan into motion.
Great Loki Scene: Loki uses the Mind Stone to turn the Avengers against each other.
Watch The Avengers on Disney+.
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Despite being one of the least talked about MCU movies, Thor: The Dark World features some of Loki’s best moments in the franchise and develops his character better than most other entries in the saga. Following his imprisonment on Asgard after his plot in The Avengers, Loki is reluctantly enlisted to help Thor to defeat Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), the ruler of the Dark Elves, and avenge the death of the their mother, Frigga (Rene Russo).
When attempting to defeat the Dark Elf and take back the Aether (the Reality Stone), Loki sacrifices himself and dies in Thor's arms. Once Malekith is defeated and Thor returns to Asgard, he tells Odin of Loki’s heroics, but when Thor leaves, Odin transforms into Loki, who had faked his death and taken control of Asgard.
Great Loki Scene: Loki “dies” in Thor’s arms.
Watch Thor: The Dark World on Disney+.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
In the beginning of Thor: Ragnarok, Loki is still impersonating Odin, a charade that is quickly brought to an end upon the return of Thor who forces his brother to take him to their father's location. With his two sons by his side, Odin passes away, lifting the curse laid upon their never-before-mentioned sister, Hela (Cate Blanchett). Following a quick battle, the vengeful Hela sends her brothers flying off into space after forcing them off the Bifrost Bridge.
Thor eventually finds his brother in the Grandmaster’s (Jeff Goldblum) tower and that’s where the story really picks up. After running into Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) in the gladiator arena and enlisting the help of Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) following some trickery, the brothers set off for Asgard to take out their sister. Once there, they summon Surtur, who destroys Asgard and Hela but not before Loki steals the Tesseract once more.
Great Loki Scene: Loki spots Thor at the Grandmaster’s party.
Watch Thor: Ragnarok on Disney+.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
We only briefly see Loki in the opening minutes of Avengers: Infinity War as he reluctantly hands over the Tesseract to Thanos (Josh Brolin), while Thor watches helplessly on the decimated Asgardian ship. Although he’s in the movie for all of a few minutes, we see perhaps the most fulfilling scene of his run in the MCU, as he attempts to use his power of mischief one final time to try and stop the Mad Titan from carrying out his plan. The look of fear in his eyes says it all, as he looks over at a restrained Thor, and Loki gets one final shot at redemption by attempting to kill the villain before Thanos chokes the son of Odin to death.
Great Loki Scene: Loki tries to betray Thanos after handing over the Space Stone.
Watch Avengers: Infinity War on Disney+.
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
It initially looked like Infinity War would be the final appearance of Loki, but the god of mischief returned once more (well, at least the 2012 version of Loki, anyway) when the Avengers travel back in time to the Battle of the New York in Avengers: Endgame. This is a different version of the character from the one who was snuffed out by Thanos, so he’s still up to his old tricks and makes the most of an opportunity to steal the Tesseract once again.
Great Loki Scene: 2012 Loki steals the Tesseract again.
Watch Avengers: Endgame on Disney+.
We don’t fully know (not yet, at least) how stealing the Space Stone will come into play in Loki, but it’s safe to say Owen Wilson’s Mobius M. Mobius will better explain things when the show makes its debut June 11. If you want to know more about the MCU’s future outside of the upcoming Marvel TV shows on Disney+ go ahead and check out CinemaBlend’s breakdown of all the upcoming Marvel Phase 4 movies.
Up next:
Loki's Tom Hiddleston Explains How Disney+ TV Logo Is A Big Clue
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Philip Sledge
Content Writer
Philip grew up in Louisiana (not New Orleans) before moving to St. Louis after graduating from Louisiana State University-Shreveport. When he's not writing about movies or television, Philip can be found being chased by his three kids, telling his dogs to stop barking at the mailman, or chatting about professional wrestling to his wife. Writing gigs with school newspapers, multiple daily newspapers, and other varied job experiences led him to this point where he actually gets to write about movies, shows, wrestling, and documentaries (which is a huge win in his eyes). If the stars properly align, he will talk about For Love Of The Game being the best baseball movie of all time.
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