By Brandon T. McClure (@btmcclure @fakenerdpodcast)
The MCU, specifically the Infinity Saga (MCU Phase 1) has meant a great deal to me, as I am sure it has for many people. What first started as a book pitch is now a series of essays of mine that will be (hopefully) published every week. The goal is to pick a specific moment within The Infinity Saga and share with you why I believe it’s a defining moment.
Enjoy the ride as we count down from 50 of the most defining moments and share your thoughts in the comments.
• LOKI’S FINAL DEATH •
MOMENT# 50
MOVIE: Avengers: Infinity War
DIRECTORS: Joe and Anthony Russo
WRITERS: Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely
The hype for Avengers: Infinity War was astronomical. People knew that this was the movie they had been waiting almost a decade for. The creative team behind the last two Captain America films (Captain America: Winter Soldier & Captain America: Civil War) were making the next Avengers movies(?!?!).
It was another world back then (circa 2017-2018).
Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston) in Avengers: Infinity War.
After the ominous post-credit sting of Thor: Ragnarok, the Sanctuary II had arrived at the Asgardian refugee ship and fans were then eager to see where Avengers: Infinity War may begin. With Thanos and his Black Order having already decimated half of Thor’s remaining people, the opening was bleaker than what we were used to. With every turn of the opening sequence, audiences were kept on the edge of their seats.
Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston) with the Tesseract in Avengers: Infinity War.
The scene plays out after Loki delivers the Tesseract to Thanos (we also discover that Loki had stolen the Tesseract from the Asgard vault before its destruction) in order to save his dying brother. He makes one last play to try and convince Thanos that he can take him to Earth to retrieve the remaining Infinity Stones. Thor and the audience are also led to believe this deception up until Loki turns to Thor and calls himself “son of Odin”. Sadly, knowing what’s about to happen, Loki “the trickster” fatefully tries to stab the mad titan with a knife, only to be killed himself.
Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston) attempting to kill Thanos (played by Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Infinity War.
“No resurrections this time.”
- Thanos says to Loki’s limp body in his hand.
Loki’s death by Thanos not only sets the stakes for the movie; that anyone you’ve come to love could die, but also completes Loki’s character journey. Throughout the films, Loki has played villain, both primary and secondary to Thor and the Avengers. Thanks to the events of Thor: The Dark World, audiences weren’t sure what to make of this death. Was this permanent? Did we really just see the death of the god of mischief? Even after the film was released, fans were picking apart his death scene to find clues as to how he could have survived.
The death of Loki (Tom Hiddleston/Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Infinity War.
Woefully, not this time. The writers practically went out of their way to tell audiences this was for real. Loki’s death showed how powerful Thanos could be. Thanos was no longer just the foreboding figure in the background. Now he was a real threat that was coming to kill the characters that fans have grown to love. Loki’s death made it so that us onlookers could see a character like Vision get stabbed and be forced to consider if he may be next.
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) witnessing the death of his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in Avengers: Infinity War.
More than coming to terms with mortality, this death proved that the MCU was willing to let characters meet endings in order to wrap up their character arcs. For many years, fans were wondering what would come next. Long-time comic book readers know that character arcs never end and if they do, it doesn’t last. The MCU was different with the death of Loki and wrapping up his story arc was an arguably satisfactory and tragic way for the creators to show the audience that someday, you’ll have to say goodbye to the characters you love. Loki’s final death signaled not only the end of of his story but also those in the coming movies.