Marvel May - Loki (2021)

        Hey guys, Chuck here, and that's right. Marvel May is back. We've pretty much covered every film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe up to this point, and yes I do plan to include my review of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as part of this year's Marvel May. So to fill out the month, aside from Disney+ series I will be reviewing, I plan to look at films that exist outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe continuity. What will those be? Well, we'll get to that when the time comes. So, let's kick off this year's Marvel May with the Disney+ series Loki. 

       So, the series focuses on Loki, or rather the version of Loki from 2012 who escaped with the Tesseract during the events of Avengers: Endgame. So, after making his escape, Loki finds himself in the middle of a desert, only to be captured by agents of the Time Variance Authority, or TVA for short. The TVA makes it their mission to capture any variants that could cause a disruption to the flow of what they refer to as the Sacred Timeline, as too many unchecked variants could potentially lead to the outbreak of branches in the Sacred Timeline, causing a multiverse in the process. For the record, that's NOT how the multiverse thesis actually works, but let's just go with it. 

       Loki is brought before Judge Renslayer, who pretty much throws the book at him for escaping from his capture. However, when Loki mentions the Avengers hopping across the timeline to recover the six Infinity Stones, she replies by saying that that was a predetermined event, but his escape was not. After this meeting, Loki is given an opportunity by TVA agent Mobius M. Mobius. Apparently, another Loki variant has been causing problems, but has somehow evaded capture, and Mobius thinks that Loki himself can figure out how this variant is evading capture. Loki does eventually figure out the pattern, and uses this knowledge to go after the variant. Where he comes across this alternate version of himself, he learns that it's a woman. Yep, Loki has a female alternate variant, and she goes by the name Sylvie. 

         Apparently, Sylvie is a Loki variant whose only crime against the Sacred Timeline is that she exists. Sylvie and Loki eventually get away, and the two of them spend a lot of time getting to know one another, and grow very close as a result. As time goes on, no pun intended, the two are eventually recaptured, and Sylvie is sent to a place where those who aren't meant to be are exiled, now existing outside of the Sacred Timeline. Eventually, Loki himself goes there, where he comes across MORE variants of himself, including Kid Loki, Classic Loki, and even Alligator Loki. Heck, a good friend of mine, Kevin, even made a cosplay he calls Cat Loki. Not relevant to this review, but I just thought I'd throw that in there. 

       Anyway, it's revealed that the home of the individual who created the TVA is in this place, but his fortress is protected by an unpassable monster. Loki, who has finally reunited with Sylvie as well as Mobius, decides to go after the fortress, and gets help from Classic Loki to bypass the monster. Arriving in the fortress, Loki and Sylvie meet He Who Remains, who created the TVA to stop his OWN variants from wreaking havoc across the Sacred Timeline. Sylvie, who only goal is just to exist, want to kill He Who Remains, but is stopped by Loki, who fights her, and the two eventually share a kiss. Sylvie sends him back to the TVA, kills He Who Remains, and a multiverse breaks out, causing havoc across the Sacred Timeline. Loki then turns to Mobius and another TVA agent, but neither of them know who he is, ending the season. Yeah, evidently, we're getting a second season of this series, but no word yet on when it will be coming. 

     Okay, so obviously Tom Hiddleston is terrific as Loki. But when isn't he, am I right? I also want to give credit to the actors playing his many variants, including Richard E. Grant as Classic Loki, DeObia Oparei as Boastful Loki, Jack Veal as Kid Loki, and finally Sophia Di Martino as Sylvie. The chemistry between Tom and Sophia is easily a highlight of the series for me, and I definitely want to see more of it when we eventually get the second season. I thoroughly enjoyed the performances of Gugu M'batha-Raw as Judge Renslayer, Tara Strong as the voice of a holographic character called Miss Minutes, and Owen Wilson as Mobius M. Mobius. 

        One major casting shout-out, again no pun intended, is to Jonathan Majors, who portrayed He Who Remains. Now, it had been announced that Jonathan is set to be the main antagonist, Kang the Conqueror, in next February's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, so to see him here, obviously hinting that Kang is a variant of He Who Remains, is a stroke of genius. I, for one, enjoyed the character of He Who Remains, and look forward to seeing Jonathan Majors as Kang in the next Ant-Man movie. 

       The story, which again deals with the timeline, may get a bit jumpy and hard to keep up with, I will say that the character interactions and dialogue more than make up for it. Also, the visual storytelling was really good here. The team that show runner Michael Waldron put together did a really stellar job with this series. However, I do have to give Loki a rating of 4/5, only because the cliffhanger ending left quite a few things unresolved, and no hints as to whether or not this series will tie into the upcoming movie Thor: Love and Thunder. 

          But anyway, Marvel May is just getting started, and we'll be taking a look at the first ever animated MCU series: What If...? This is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys next time.