The Loki season 2 trailer reveals a new problem for our favorite trickster: time slipping, in which Loki is randomly yanked to different points on the timeline. He can’t control it, and the process looks painful, shredding his body to ribbons before reconstituting it somewhere else. Mobius takes Loki to see Time Variance Authority tech wizard O.B. (Ke Huy Quan), who declares that time slipping shouldn’t even be possible in the TVA.
Of course, we know that Marvel trailers only show us a tiny sliver of the story—especially when it comes to the studio’s Disney+ series, whose trailers often only use footage from the first couple of episodes.
Now, one Reddit user, TheMediocreCritic, has theory about what where Loki’s time slipping might be going.
In a post on the subreddit r/marvelstudios, TheMediocreCritic writes, “Loki is no longer subject to the rules of time after visiting the citadel at the end of time. he has essentially become a tempad, able to jump between points without any external portals or devices. He obviously can not control it at the moment, but if he can learn to harness this power, then he may become one of the most powerful characters in the MCU.”
You can read the full theory here. Will Loki actually learn to harness this new ability? It’s hard to say, but TheMediocreCritic points out that a curse becoming a superpower is a common storytelling trope, so it’s certainly possible. Fans have already connected time slipping to the glitching that happens in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, so it has lots of potential.
And time traveling powers wouldn’t just be a huge leveling up for Loki. It would solve a problem that many fans noticed in Loki season 1.
Loki’s time traveling powers could be an anti-nerf
After Loki season 1 came out (and, to an extent, even before that), fans complained that Loki had been nerfed—that is, he’d been powered down for the sake of plot convenience.
And it’s true. In season 1, he only uses magic occasionally, even outside of the TVA. At one point he lifts an entire building using telekinesis, but the moment is startling because he doesn’t have any hint of that power beforehand or afterwards.
Fans rightly pointed out that powering him down didn’t really do anything useful for the character or the plot. Part of the reason we love superhero media is because superpowers are awesome. Many of us wanted to see more of his powers when he finally took center stage in his own series, and were disappointed when it didn’t happen.
But if Loki gains a new power that isn’t just badass, but crucial to the storyline of the Multiverse Saga? Hell yes. Avenger Prime, here we come.
(featured image: Disney+)
