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#caption featuring some lore I came up with after taking these screens
abyssalmermaiden · 1 year
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“It’s mending well.”
“In no small part thanks to you.”
Junelezen 16- Magic
A’eris: @epicseagull1
(Endwalker spoilers below the cut)
(if I’m acknowledging the post-trial fight) it did really fuck her up. Aryaille was already pretty worn out and just wanted to go home with her loved ones. On the ship Alphinaud was pumping healing magic into her just to keep her alive and stable, and A’eris had to be restrained from doing lb3 by herself. Back in Sharlayan when they were able to check in detail what her injuries were specifically they found that Aryaille had broken both her arms (among many other wounds). If A’eris and Alphinaud were not such powerful healers she would never have been able to lift a sword again.
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Filmverse!Knuckles is gonna be Tikal’s Little Brother and if he’s not I’m suing Sega
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[ID: Two images; one of clipart of Knuckles the Echidna beside a poster for Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), and another from Sonic X of Knuckles and Tikal together while Tikal is injured. End ID.] 
Thankfully, this might be shorter than my last couple theory posts but unfortunately I am possibly more passionate about it because this could conceivably happen and if it doesn’t I don’t know what I’m gonna do. 
So in this theory, I will endeavor to prove these points:
Knuckles will very soon be present in the filmverse. 
In the Filmverse, Pachacamac (and by extention, Tikal) are no longer four-thousand years gone, but exist at the same time as Sonic.
Knuckles is going to be in this clan not just as any member, but as Tikal’s brother. 
We’re going off the rails and I’m going to tie this all in to the Chaos Emerald Filmverse theory. 
Who’s ready to go? Everything under the cut. 
1. Knuckles is Coming #2k22
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[ID: Another edited photo, placing clipart of Knuckles beside a promotional photo for Sonic the Hedgehog (2020). End ID.] 
This will probably be a short section but... there’s no way Knuckles won’t be in the filmverse very soon. Likely, in the second fucking movie. 
Let’s start with the basics: Knuckles was originally going to be in the first movie, but was cut in order to better establish the Sonic vs Robotnik rivalry. Director Jeff Fowler made the following statement: 
“For this first film, we really were just looking at the 1991 game and just see where it all started and keep it simple…Just really try to nail Sonic and Robotnik and just set up their rivalry because you don’t…I mean, I love…There’s a lot of great characters in Sonic universe, but it’s the most important thing is just to get Sonic set up and just tell a little bit of an origin story with him, and just do it in a way that really makes everyone fall in love with him as a character and just be rooting for more.
And then, if all that goes well, then we can kind of open it up and bring in some of these other characters that fans know and love. And yeah, I mean, no one’s more excited than me to have that opportunity.”
[x]
As well as this, co-writer for the film, Josh Miller, has stated he really wants to bring in Knux. 
“I will only hint that we wanna bring in some of the other characters from the games. But, really, it’s all about Knuckles’ love.” [x]
Second, voice actors have, reportedly, already been considered for Knuckles’s voice, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. [x, x]
And third, Mushroom Hill. 
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[ID: Two photos; one of the Mushroom Planet from Sonic the Hedgehog (2020). The second is a screenshot from Sonic & Knuckles, where Knuckles is running through Mushroom Hill. Both photos feature gigantic mushrooms resembling trees and an orange tint. End iD.]
The “Mushroom Planet” is a direct reference to the first level of Sonic & Knuckles. The first level of.... the game with Knuckles’s name in it. 
So, you wanna hear something funny? What’s the first thing Knuckles does in the game timeline? 
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[ID: Screenshot from Sonic & Knuckles. Sonic is standing on the left side of the screen, beneath a mural of something holding an emerald towards something that looks like SuperSonic. On the right side of the screen is Knuckles, ready to fight Sonic. End ID.]
Well... Robotnik shows up, convinces him that Sonic and Tails are gonna try to steal his emerald, and sends him off to fight them. 
And where’s Robotnik at the end of the 2020 film?
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[ID: Robotnik on the Mushroom Planet in Sonic the Hedgehog (2020). End ID.]
While the Mushroom Planet may not be where Angel Island is in filmverse, the direct reference would definitely generate fan attention. And it implies that Robotnik, wherever he is or is going, is headed towards Knuckles. And with the game inciting incident of Robotnik having Knuckles fight Sonic for him... well, wouldn’t that be a wild introduction? Especially for casual fans who don’t have Sonic Lore memorized and may not know that Knuckles was originally an antagonist/rival to Sonic. 
Oh, and there’s one more piece of evidence that Knuckles is gonna show up... the fact that his tribe already has. 
And among them, by the way, are Pachacamac and Tikal. 
2. Pachacamac and Tikal are no longer 4000 years old
So. Let’s talk about the opening scene of Sonic the Hedgehog (2020). As many of you have probably noticed, Sonic and Longclaw are attacked not just by any masked intruders, but by... the Knuckles Clan of Echidnas. 
And we’re sure they’re not any other clan, because they have the trademark Knuckled Gloves. 
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[ID: Multiple gifs of the echidnas attempt to attack Longclaw and Baby Sonic. They are dressed in vaguely tribal wear, and have gloves featuring pointed knuckles, signifying them as the Knuckles Clan. End ID.] 
Now, that’s not evidence of Pachacamac/Tikal itself; we know the Knuckles Clan lasted at least long enough to spawn our Knuckles. What is evidence, however, is in the specific Echidna who shot Longclaw. 
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[ID: Gif of the Echidna who shot Longclaw, isolated in the frame. End ID.] 
Look familiar?
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[ID: The echdina who shot Longclaw in the 2020 film next to a render of Pachacamac. The mystery echidna’s helmet has the same forehead markings as Pachacamac, along with a design that looks like his mustache. End ID.]
And fun fact: this isn’t me reaching for once. This was confirmed by Tyson Hesse, film character designer and savior of Sonic, on his twitter. 
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[ID: Tweet from Tyson Hesse, showing the pictures of the Echidna and Pachacamac. He says, “Late to the #sonicwatchparty but this is an easter egg I haven’t seen many people catch.” End iD.]
Pachacamac is canonically in Sonic 2020. As director Jeff Fowler has said he believes Sonic as ~13 during the events of the film, we could say he’s about three years old in that intro. And we know this because it is specified specifically that the main timeline takes place ten years after the prologue. 
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[ID: Screenshot from Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), the first shot following the logo. It is a landscape shot of a street in the middle of a green field, and the caption reads, Green Hills Montana: Ten Years Later. End ID.]
Meaning... Pachacamac was alive ten years before the film takes place. Quite the departure from the four-thousand year time jump in the gameverse. Seeing as Pachacamac is alive so close to this timeline, we can reasonably assume that Tikal is, too- she’s his teenaged daughter, canonically ~14 when she is turned into a spirit, which would put her as solidly alive during this timeline. 
...wanna know who else would be alive in this timeline? 
Knuckles, who is only a year older than Sonic. 
And, um, obviously a member of the Knuckles Clan. 
3. Where is Knuckles in this Filmverse Canon?
Okay “Knuckles” is going to stop sounding like a word so can we just call the Knuckles Clan the KC rn? okay? Okay. 
Knuckles is canonically a year older than Sonic- listed as 16 while Sonic is 15. So if Sonic’s alive, Knuckles is alive. Basic logic there. 
In the gameverse, Knuckles’s backstory is as thus, paraphrased from Sonic Wiki:
Knuckles was born and raised alone on Angel Island as the last surviving member of the Knuckles Clan, a long-lost race of echidnas devoted to protecting the Master Emerald from being abused. However, Knuckles’s own past was a mystery to him; he knew nothing how he came to be and believed himself to be the last of his kind entirely. The one thing he did know was that he had always been living on his island, protecting the Master Emerald. Knuckles knew from an innate knowledge that his duty was his fate, and he was content with that.
While we can’t expect his backstory to stay exactly the same, seeing as Sonic now has a dead owl mom and knows how to Fortnite dance, but Knuckles’s backstory does fuel a lot of his character and decisions in the games. Here are what I believe to be the two main points of this backstory:
Knuckles is, or at least believes himself to be, the last member of his race 
Knuckles considers it his sacred duty to guard the Master Emerald 
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[ID: Screencap from Sonic X of Knuckles the Echidna holding the Master Emerald above his head. End ID.]
Now... if Sonic was three during that backstory, the KC was around at least when Knuckles was about four. Most children don’t develop long-term memories til then, but if 3yo Sonic could remember his backstory in Green Hills near-perfectly, then clearly mobians are a bit different. We can reasonably assume that Knuckles would then remember at least part of his tribe or family, so that’s a definite change. 
Thing is, what would be the reason for this change? Even ignoring Pachacamac, it was definitely intentional for the clan attacking Longclaw and Sonic to be the KC, which does change quite a bit of Knuckles’s backstory. Which isn’t a problem, you see- it’s a drastic change, but character changes aren’t bad if there’s a reason behind them. 
So what would be the reason for Knuckles having memories of his tribe? 
Well... how easy would it be, then, to get that Sonic Adventure flashback via Knuckles instead of a glowing ball of Tikal/Navi? 
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[ID: Screencap from Sonic Adventure, showing Knuckles the Echidna staring down Chaos and the glowing ball of light that symbolizes Tikal. They are standing in front of the emerald shards. End ID.]
Would be an easy way to get any chaos emerald/Master Emerald exposition out of the way, as well as establish some basic and early Sonic Lore- Chaos, echidnas, chao. And if Knuckles, um, remembers his entire race being massacred by an elder god?? That would definitely affect him in a way that he’d consider protecting the Master Emerald, the controller of the power Chaos used to do such a thing, a duty for himself. 
And... what would be the best way to get that backstory out? 
4. Knuckles is Tikal’s Baby Brother
Here’s the thing- the KC citizens don’t seem to know much about what’s going on outside of Pachacamac’s orders. From talking to them in Sonic Adventure flashbacks, we can see they’re quite a bit... confused, I think is the best way to put it. 
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[ID: Dialogue screenshots from Sonic Adventure that I had to nab from a Game Grumps video because nobody else had these online. The echidnas say, “The daughter? I saw her in front of the shrine.”, “Well... I.... I just can’t sit still!” and “I think, therefore I am.” End ID.]
So if Knuckles was just an ordinary tribe member, it’d be unlikely for him to know enough to provide the necessary flashback details. And if Knuckles’s past was changed in order to provide an easier connection to the SA lore, he’d need to be very near to the action. Of course, he could just be a curious child, but even then, he’d likely be left out of several conversations surrounding Tikal. 
Most of Tikal’s flashbacks are spent alone- she only has a few arguing with her father, but most of her scenes are spent with the Chao and Chaos themself in the Chao Garden. Considering Tikal seems to be the only echidna frequenting the Chao Garden- the chao are afraid of her when she first approaches, Pachacamac arriving is basically seen as a declaration of war- there’d be no reason for an echidna to be there unless she brought them herself. 
Who would she bring with her? Perhaps... her little brother. 
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[ID: Screencap from Sonic X of Tikal, surrounded by flying Chao while at the Master Emerald Shrine. End ID.]
First off, let’s get over the age thing-- I know you’re gonna say “Knuckles is 16 when Tikal is 14,” HOWEVER, TIkal did not age while inside the Master Emerald. She could go in at any point in Knuckles’s life, which means she could be anywhere from ten years older than him to a twin sister to two years younger. 
There’s no real concrete evidence of how old Knuckles would be in filmverse when the SA events happen, seeing as we have only seen Pachacamac existing and have no idea where this is in his timeline. However, from a writing standpoint, if you want to keep a bit of Knuckles’s backstory of living alone for a good chunk of his life, I’d say the massacre happening when he was ~8 seems likely. Old enough to have clear memories of the SA events but young enough to have his life completely sidetracked and feel like he raised himself. 
It’d be very easy for the flashbacks to feature Tikal taking a baby Knuckles to the Chao Garden, just telling him “don’t tell Dad, he won’t understand,” to talk to him about the grandmother he doesn’t remember who used to teach peace, to explain Chaos and the Master Emerald to him. 
And it’d be very easy angst for Knuckles being dragged along with the rest of the clan to take the emerald(s), watch his father basically doom his sister and his tribe murder innocent chao, and then see everyone he’s ever known murdered by Chaos, with his older sister stopping the rampage only by sealing herself and the destructive god in that emerald, leaving Knuckles completely alone. That’s all severe angst that pretty much no writer would pass up. 
Especially because it means Knuckles guarding the Master Emerald has now turned into Knuckles guarding his sister. 
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[ID: Sonic X screenshot of Knuckles and Tikal looking up, surrounded by fire. End ID.]
So that’s the general theory. But let’s talk about something more fun: how it all ties into the Chaos Emerald Filmverse Theory. 
5. It all ties into our Chaos Emerald theory shh 
If you haven’t read Cori’s manifesto on the Chaos Emerald Filmverse Theory, allow me to summarize: 
Sonic is definitely a living Chaos Emerald, meaning that there are six other living Chaos Emeralds running around that we’re gonna need to track down. At least one of them’s Tails. 
First thing’s first... Robotnik going after Knuckles then makes perfect sense. If Robotnik somehow figured out exactly what Sonic was, he’d want a way to dilute his power. And the Master Emerald literally nullifies the power of the chaos emeralds. So whoever has the Master Emerald can severely nerf Sonic. Imagine Sonic getting within the boundaries of the ME and then immediately losing speed and falling flat on his face. Big oof. 
Second, it’s possible that Knuckles will also know what Sonic is. Because, well... what was Pachacamac after in Sonic Adventure?
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[ID: Pachacamac attempting to talk down Tikal, who is t-posing in front of the Chao Garden in attempt to keep them out. Behind him is an echidna army, ready to attack. Pachacamac is saying, “We need those seven emeralds to give us total power!” End ID.]
The Chaos Emeralds. In order to use their power as weapons. 
And what was he after in Sonic 2020? 
Sonic. 
Interesting, huh.
Conclusion
Knuckles is gonna be the last member of the Knuckles Clan, guarding his older sister’s spirit inside an insanely powerful emerald, and will definitely be manipulated by Robotnik into using his Master Emerald to fuck up Sonic. 
And it’ll be really awesome. 
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[ID: Sonic X screencap of Knuckles giving a thumbs up. End ID.]
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Marvel's Loki: 12 Easter Eggs, Hidden Meanings, & Plot Details From Trailer
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The God of Mischief is up to no good again.
Marvel President Kevin Feige unveiled the first in-depth look into Tom Hiddleston's debut solo series, Loki, which will follow the consequences of the 2012 version of everyone's favorite horned anti-hero as he makes a timeline-disrupting escape. From references to other Asgardians to apocalyptic alternate futures, Loki's trailer is full of hints to the show's mysterious plot.
Without further adieu, let's break it all down. Here are 12 things from the Loki trailer — including Easter eggs and hidden references — that you (probably) missed.
Endgame Effects
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The first 25 seconds of the trailer contextualize where we are, and how we got here.
To recap, Avengers: Endgame's time heist was not a perfect mission. When the team of Tony Stark, Captain America, Hulk, and Ant-Man travel to the events of 2012's The Avengers, they successfully obtain the Soul and Mind Stones without problem, but fail to capture the Space Stone. After being knocked aside by an irate Hulk (stairs!), the Tesseract pops out of its briefcase, landing at Loki's shackled feet. Behaving like a true God of Mischief, Loki picks up the cube and dips through a portal.
From there, our solo series begins.
Iron Man Callback
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Loki crash lands in a desert, located in what appears to be Mongolian-era China, considering the attire of the three people that approach him. Desert crash landings are no stranger to the MCU, as fans will recognize this moment as emulating Tony Stark's crashed escape from the Ten Rings' cave in Mark I of the Iron Man suit.
Owen Wilson
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He may not have looked like him, but he sure sounded like him.
Owen Wilson makes his first appearance as a character that goes unnamed on-screen, but closed captions reveal him to be Mobius M. Mobius. What a name! Mobius does not have a rich comic history, but he has been involved in the prosecution of the Fantastic Four before. Interesting timing, don't you think?
Mobius takes a shackled Loki down an elevator, saying he's bringing him somewhere to talk. Loki, donning a Time Variance Authority prison jumpsuit, claims he doesn't like to talk, but Mobius immediately calls his bluff.
Here, Loki is a prisoner of the TVA for his time crimes. This group of timeline FBI officers are tasked with ensuring that everything operates as planned. When 2012 Loki escaped with the Tesseract, he essentially broke the timeline laws, and is now being remprimanded for it.
The Minutemen Meet Mysterious Figure
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The TVA's cybernetic police force make their first appearance in what looks to be ancient China. Known as the Minutemen, these guys are tasked with carrying out TVA laws and directly deal with individuals that have interfered with the flow of time.
Here, the Minutemen are searching for someone, or something, in a past time period. If it is indeed ancient China, this would put it at the same location Loki crash landed into at the beginning of the trailer.
While the Minutemen execute their search, a mysterious cloaked figure drops a lantern on surrounding grass, and the smoke brings at least one Minuteman to his knees. There's no telling who this mystery man is, but if reports are to be believed, it could be Jonathan Majors's Kang the Conqueror debuting ahead of his lead antagonist role in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Kang has been rumored to be introduced in Loki for months, and there seems to be more tangible evidence of his existence in future frames.
More on that later.
"Glorious."
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The MCU is stacked with notable quotes, but there's no one that delivers a Shakespearean line quite like the God of Mischief.
In just one word, Loki calls back to his character-defining statement from 2012's The Avengers: "I am Loki, of Asgard. And I am burdened with glorious purpose."
Oh, and this line is uttered in Stark Tower. Evident by the particular mirror design, it looks like Loki will return back to the timeline he escaped from.
The Three Faces of the TVA
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Twice in this trailer we see three figures displayed in an area of prominence.
The three faces first appear behind Gugu Mbatha-Raw's high-ranking TVA executive, who is presiding over Loki's trial. The faces appear once again a couple of frames later, this time attached to full-scale bodies in the form of massive statues.
The faces have been speculated to belong to the Time-Keepers, three time-travelers who head the TVA. The trio, and the TVA organisation, have had disputes with none other than Kang the Conqueror, often fighting over temporal territory across the universe. Loki's timeline meddling might have disrupted Chronopolis, Kang's metropolitic city of conquest that combines all eras of the Conqueror's rule. If Kang is indeed an enemy of the TVA and Loki meddled with his city, Loki's may be in for a whole world of hurt.
Flashback Failures
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Wilson's Mobius shows a shackled Loki footage of the God of Mischief's 2012 failed conquest of Earth, to which Loki disapproves. This could begin Loki's identity stuggles, which will be a central theme of the series.
Similar to how General Ross showed the Avengers their past destructions in Captain America: Civil War, it's likely that Mobius is taking Loki on an unpleasant trip down memory lane.
What will be particularly interesting is if Mobius shows Loki future events that he is unaware of. Remember, this Loki has only lived up until 2012's Avengers, so he has not experienced anything from Thor: The Dark World, Avengers: Infinity War, and beyond. What if Mobius shows Loki that he did in fact get the Asgardian throne at the end of The Dark World? How will Loki react to watching Thanos choke the life out of him in Infinity War's opening act?
Roxxcart... Roxxon?
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Loki is seen with the Minutemen embarking on a mission inside a supermarket.
'Roxxcart' is prevalent throughout the aisles and entranceways, making this location all the more intriguing. Fans will recognize the 'Roxx-' prefix as attached to the Roxxon Energy Corporation, a company that is prevalent on the Marvel comic page. Roxxon has been engulfed in some shady business in the comics, and has been teased to appear in live-action before. If this supermarket is under the Roxxon banner, Loki might have just gained a massive conglomerate adversary.
Upon entering Roxxcart, the Minutemen hold a man at taser-point, though it's unclear if he's their target or simply an innocent shopper. All the while this is going on, the cloaked figure from earlier in the trailer watches from security footage.
Mephisto
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Mobius and a Minuteman approach a young boy in a church. The boy offers an object to Mobius, which he accepts. As the two speak, a notable stain-glass window sits behind them. The window depicts a devil-like figure sitting royally, with many speculating this could be the extra-dimensional demon, Mephisto.
Let's start deep diving into speculation.
Considering Loki takes place in a branched timeline and will utilize time travel as an integral plot device, it's fair to assume we will not only visit the past, but also the futures.
Dystopian futures.
We speculated in the WandaVision trailer breakdown that Mephisto would play an integral role to Scarlet Witch's series. Let's run with the idea that Mephisto is not only in WandaVision, but is defeated. Could this tribute-like window indicate this takes place in a future where Mephisto wins?
In the comics, Mephisto spans centuries, popping up in the earliest days of Marvel lore. What if this scene is in the past, when Mephisto was worshipped as some form of god-like figure? There is no telling how Mephisto will factor in to any MCU projects, but if he does indeed debut in WandaVision, this mural becomes a lot more interesting.
Avengers Tower in Ruins
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Remember what I said about exploring dystopian futures? This frame gives us our strongest indication that that is a tangible possibility.
Here, stands alone in what is presumed to be Central Park. Around him are jagged ruins of collapsed skyscrapers, complete with overgrown grass indicating that some time has passed since this destruction occurred. Still standing somewhat upright in the skyline is none other than the Avengers Tower in rough shape.
These ruins likely take place some time after Avengers: Age of Ultron, considering the famous Marvel tower has a closer resemblance to its Avengers' style than its original Stark model. Could this be a future where Thanos wins, and humanity gives up on solving it? Or better yet, what if this is Ultron's success story?
Clean-Cut Loki
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A suit and sunglassed Loki boards an aircraft looking a lot more like Tom Hiddleston than the God of Mischief we're used to.
Loki is likely undercover here, or at least does not want to be recognized. From here, he jumps out of the plane, calling for Heimdall to time the Bifrost just right to prevent him from falling to his death, like Black Widow (too soon?).
His appearance resembles that of D.B. Cooper, a mysterious man that held a plane hostage, took its passengers' money, and leaped from the plane, never to be found. Could Loki be placing himself in key historical moments?
It is unclear if Idris Elba will return as the Bifrost's gatekeeper in the series, but it is worth noting that Elba has expressed interest in portraying Heimdall again.
Vote for Loki
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The final shot of the trailer features a suited up Loki complete with a new horned crown and a 'LOKI FOR PRESIDENT' pin.
The God of Mischief is joined by armed warriors from different time periods, who quickly turn their weapons to the titular character. It is possible that Loki has been gathering some form of an army every instance that he travels through time, and this is the band of misfits he came up with.
Let's talk about that presidential pin!
It remains to be seen whether or not Loki is running a legitimate campaign or if the pin is just for show, but sign me up for an alternate future that sees Loki in the oval office.
While we covered as much as we caught, there's always more information to be found. Speculation has run wild about a possible Black Widow appearance in the trailer, and new findings are surfacing seemingly by the minute.
Loki is set to stream on Disney+ in May 2021.
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