It’s not for nothing that Loki’s historically seen as the best villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The God of Mischief has had quite the ride over the franchise’s first decade, going from scheming trickster to would-be world conqueror to unlikely ally at his brother Thor’s side. And according to star Tom Hiddleston, Loki has come out the other end as a redeemed figure, thanks to his selfless actions in Avengers: Infinity War.
While attending ACE Comic-Con in Arizona over the weekend, Hiddleston spoke about how he believes that the audience’s empathy and understanding of Loki’s troubled inner life is what makes him such a compelling character, something that’s been true of his journey across the MCU so far.
“It goes back to that first film. He finds out too late that he was adopted and that his real father was his father’s mortal sworn enemy and that is incredibly, emotionally destabilizing.”
For Hiddleston, that all-important scene from 2011’s Thor is what fuels the audience’s sympathy for the anti-villain from then on.
“It is a great scene to play and I think people always understand that Loki is a troubled soul and that he is evacuating his pain onto other people. But they understand where the pain is coming from so there’s empathy there.”
Though he may have done a lot wrong since then, Hiddleston firmly believes that Loki’s brave sacrifice to protect his brother in Infinity War, leading to his death at the hands of Thanos, is enough to redeem him for his past mistakes.
“I think the first film really humanizes him and I think makes the rest of the journey interesting. It makes you always think that he could be pulled back and redeemed. And in my opinion, he is redeemed in Infinity War.”
Hiddleston’s view is interesting, as most fans aren’t convinced that the trickster god actually is dead – he’s died before, of course, and that turned out to be a ruse. Numerous theories out there have come up with ways that Loki could still be alive and we initially thought that the character’s TV series coming to Disney Plus confirmed this, but the latest intel says it’s a prequel with another actor set to play a younger version of the trickster and Hiddleston on narration duties.
What do you think of Tom’s comments here, though? Was Loki redeemed in Avengers: Infinity War? And is he really dead? Sound off in the usual place below.
