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Loki has busted the recent Marvel show slump. Among Disney+’s output, Loki belongs comfortably near the top. Hawkeye, She-Hulk, and Secret Invasion were messy experiences that pushed fans away from the larger franchise. We could all pitch reasons those shows didn’t land, but their suffocating blandness must hold most of the blame. Loki isn’t perfect, but is Marvel’s latest example of matching tone and character. They picked the right god to build this show around.
Loki Isn’t a Superhero, but He Gets the Format
Marvel gets a lot of criticism for its hegemony. People argue the franchise has been pumping out identical products since the beginning. I feel that one of Marvel’s most impressive feats is making its trilogies feel appreciably different from the others. The Captain America movies are tense political thrillers. The Iron Man films are snarky action comedy romps. Thor started as a bombastic modern fantasy and developed into chaotic, colorful epic journeys. These movies reflect their hero’s personality. There’s some crossover between series, but the central character’s influence is always felt. Ditto James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, which is as anarchic, poppy, and fun-loving as the titular outlaws. Unfortunately, many Disney+ series have failed to accomplish this feat. Loki is reteaching the Marvel shows that lesson.
Marvel’s Disney+ offerings started strong with WandaVision. The sitcom-inspired horror series about addiction, grief, and the fear of god was almost too engaging to share a franchise with Iron Fist. Falcon and the Winter Soldier dropped most of its predecessor’s best elements. It maintained consistent thematic ties with the Captain America movies instead. Recent Marvel shows employ some personality but can’t match the films. Ms. Marvel‘s best moments played with her teenage fandom and hand-drawn imagination. She-Hulk featured procedural legal comedy and broke the fourth wall frequently. Secret Invasion tried to capture Nick Fury’s paranoia, but it mostly felt indecisive and messy. Unlike most Disney+ shows, Loki is as chaotic, complex, and ambitious as the god it’s named after.
Loki and His Glorious Purpose
Loki has played many roles across the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has been a sympathetic villain, a cartoon villain, a reluctant ally, a devious 3rd party, and a full-fledged hero. Loki tried to take over the world one day and save it the next. He tries out a few new parts in Loki. We see him in over his head. We see him make a friend. Loki joins a buddy cop duo, even if he regularly sneaks off to do something else. Near the end of the series, he gets to set his typical role aside for long enough to serve the greater good for once. When he returns for Season 2, he takes on yet another new performance. Loki is afraid, but he’s also the straight man among the crew. He’s wearing a lot of horn-based hats. It fits him by refusing to pin him down.
When they give Thor a movie, it’s Chariots of the Gods by way of big dumb action fantasy. When Marvel gives Loki a show, it’s Hitchhiker’s Guide, a detective show, a time-hopping comedy, and a deep character study about a guy in every role. The series interrogates Loki as Mobius forces him to examine the stories he tells himself. He gets to do a bit of everything in this series. I think building a show around the character set to star in it is a low bar, but Loki understands its central figure better than most. The show lets him find himself again and again. The writers found dimensions to him that weren’t present in the Thor films. Marvel gave Loki so much that they had to invent several new iterations. Loki is the only Disney+ Marvel series that delivers the best version of its lead character.
I don’t want to oversell either season of Loki. It isn’t a perfect show, and it still struggles under the weight of building the franchise. It is, however, miles ahead of the aimless Disney+ series Marvel has pumped out over the past couple of years. Loki is not a movie chopped up to sell subscriptions or a messy attempt to throw new material into the cinematic universe. The first season built the multiverse and still evaded the monotony of other Marvel shows. Loki is still the driving force behind his series, even when he’s being dragged around by his collar. Leave it up to Loki to take over and remake something in his image.
