Loki Episode 2 Features Major Avengers: Endgame Easter Egg About Black Widow

Marvel fans were treated to the second episode of Loki on Wednesday, which provided a surprising look at new corners of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and the audience make their way through the time-hopping world of the Time Variance Authority, the status quo has been shifted in some major ways. One sequence might have permanently shifted the MCU as we know it — and also called back to one of the most tragic moments the MCU has had yet. Spoilers for the second episode of Loki, titled “The Variant”, below! Only look if you want to know!

The episode saw Loki, Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson), and the Time Variance Authority chasing after a rogue variant version of Loki, who appeared to be kidnapping and killing members of the TVA’s Minutemen. This all culminated in a standoff at a Roxxcorp building during a major storm in the 2050s, which this Loki was using as a hideout to evade detection by the TVA. Ultimately, Hiddleston’s version of the God of Mischief crossed paths with this Loki — a female version (played by Sophia Di Martino). Lady Loki then used the reset charges she’d stolen from the TVA to trigger a temporal attack, spawning new changes to the “Sacred Timeline” throughout space and time. According to the TVA’s recordings, these branches popped up on an array of different planets and locales — including Vormir on April 23rd, 2301. Marvel fans will remember Vormir as the location of the Soul Stone, where Gamora (Zoe Saldana) met her fate in Avengers: Infinity War, and Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) sacrificed herself in Avengers: Endgame.

While the timeline activity on Vormir is occurring centuries after Natasha and Gamora’s deaths, the reference to the planet is sure to tug on Marvel fans’ heartstrings, especially after Johansson’s recently published comments surrounding Natasha’s death.

“In some weird, messed up, backwards way, if any person could be truly altruistic and totally weird, because nobody is obviously, but actually the act that she… Her sacrifice was a truly altruistic offering,” Johansson told ComicBook.com and other outlets on a 2019 set visit. “I think she really sacrifices herself, in a way, no just really out of love, for love, she saves her friend. She saves everyone, but she saves her friend. And I think that just being in that kind of head space and being able to make that decision, that selfless decision, that selfless act, is so incredibly powerful. It’s amazing that she could be in that head space to do that.”

What do you think of Loki’s reference to Vormir? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

New episodes of Loki debut Wednesdays on Disney+. If you haven’t signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

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