‘Loki’ Easter Eggs: Ep. 5 ‘Journey Into Mystery’ – Loki, Loki, Loki, and Loki
The penultimate battle of the Lokis arrives in a giant cloud of gnashing teeth and lightning.
Sylvie and Loki made it one giant step forward into finding out who is behind the TVA thanks to some other Lokis. Alligator Loki is the best and there needs to be collectibles of him I can put on my desk asap.
Lots of spoilers below the GIF.
Our four new friends guide Loki to safety within the void, which is being protected by a massive beast called Alioth (who was introduced in the same comic as Ravonna Renslayer). They have holed themselves away in a bowling alley underground. On our way to the hideout, they pass a flying saucer (maybe from The Thing), a pile of cafeteria trays (they’re everywhere), the Thanos Copter from Spider-Man comics, Mjölnir, and frog Thor in a bottle labeled T365. Within the hideout, amongst the bowling pins and holiday decorations, there’s a Polybius pinball machine.
There’s a lot going on in the scenery in this episode. Voids can contain anything they want from any time or place they want.
We meet a bunch of Lokis in the void – it looks like they’re a favorite of the TVA, or at least they have the highest survival rate. In the post-credits last week, we met Kid Loki, Classic Loki, Alligator Loki, and Boastful Loki. All have their own stories of failed plans and complicated relationships with their families.
In this episode we got to meet President Loki (based on Vote Loki by Christopher Hastings), who was the star of a lot of marketing… and he is a jerk. The meeting of the Lokis produces a new level of double-crossing, bad bluffing, and punching that four Lokis manage to escape thanks to Classic Loki.
Back at the TVA Ravonna tries to get a grip on things after discovering that the Time Keepers are fake. She gains and loses Sylvie’s trust in record time while explaining how the end of time works and the void that the other Lokis are currently in. Sylvie finds her way past the void – by erasing herself.
When she lands in the void she is immediately attacked by Alioth and is rescued by Mobius in a beaten-up car. Their trip through the void takes them past the Sphynx, the Parthenon, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Westview from WandaVision. That trip ends with meeting up with the rest of the crew and they hatch a plan (while in a decrepit barbershop). Mobius will return to the TVA and fight for the varients there and the Lokis will try to get Alioth out of the way using enchantment.
Their chosen battlefield is dominated by Ronan the Accuser’s ship, Dark Aster. There’s also the wreck of a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, a 1950s era sign for Burger Chef, an oil drilling platform, and maybe the skeletons of Acantis.
Classic Loki puts all of his power into a recreation of Asgard to distract the monster while Loki and Sylvie manage to enchant the beast. We lose the old man, but Kid Loki and Alligator Loki will live to see another (New Avengers) day. When the smoke clears we see a castle that could be one of two castles.
There are some possibilities here – Castle Doom or Castle Limbo being the big ones. I’m not sold on Doom, so I’m going with a run-down Chronopolis and Castle Limbo, which is Kang’s home sweet home in the Quantum Realm. There have been enough hints that I’m comfortable saying that’s who we’re going to meet in the final episode.
So, who is Kang (aka Nathaniel Richards aka Rama-Tut aka a bunch of other names)? He was born on an alternate earth in their 30th century; accounts list him as a descendant of Reed Richards while others indicate Dr. Doom is in his lineage. Either way, he’s a time traveling tyrant that has fought the Avengers, the Fantastic 4, the Knights of the Round Table, himself, and many others while attempting to take over Earth in the modern age. Due to his abilities he’s shown up all over the Marvel Universe.
There have been rumors about Kang in relation to Ant-Man 3 going around for a bit, along with the movie bringing the Fantastic 4 into the MCU (they are confirmed… it’s just a question of how). It looks like we’re getting the introduction to the conquerer earlier than expected. I think the bigger question for where this is going in the MCU: is Jonathan Majors playing Kang?
He’s also had a thing for Princess Ravonna Renslayer for ages and has threatened her, her father, and her kingdom, as well as kidnapped her to coerce her into marriage. It’s going to be interesting how Ravonna’s story in the show is going to pan out, especially since it’s clear she’s trying to protect the TVA and whoever created it.
The weird option (please don’t do this) is that the castle belongs to a Loki. Again, please no.
Anyway, this week’s quick takes:
- Journey Into Mystery #83 was the first appearance of Thor
- Hi-C Ecto Cooler!
- Was that the Pizza Planet truck?
- We’ve had RoxxiWine and RoxxiMart – Roxxon Energy?
- The USS Eldridge was real, it was rumored to be part of the Philadelphia Experiment
