It was one of the more interesting moments in the teasers and trailers for Marvel Studios‘ Loki. Amidst the trailer showing Loki (Tom Hiddleston) being enlisted into the TVA (Time Variance Authority) was a moment that shows a sunglasses-clad figure jumping from a jetliner with a bag of cash in what seems to be a reference to the 1971 plane hijacking carried out by D.B. Cooper. Now with the first episode of Loki now streaming on Disney+, we know what the context for that tease was as well as Marvel’s take on mysterious hijacker’s notorious escape.
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Warning: Spoilers for the first episode of Marvel Studios’ Loki beyond this point. Read on only if you want to know.
After Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is apprehended by the TVA (Time Variance Authority) and is sent to trial for the chaos he’s caused regarding the “sacred timeline”, he ends up in the custody of Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson), a TVA agent who questions Loki and his motivations as well as shows him a bit of a “greatest hits” of his life, particularly escapes. That’s where the D.B. Cooper reference comes in.
It turns out, Loki was actually D.B. Cooper. We see the “flashback” of sorts of him Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 getting his drink, passing a note to a flight attendant, then telling her he has a bomb. The scene is quite accurate to the accounts of the actual hijacking, even down to the fine details such as Cooper’s demeanor and his mid-air exit of the aircraft from the aft airstair.
How Loki “solves” the infamous crime is quite clever. Loki is taken by the Bifrost right after exiting the plane. It allows for some cash to fall from the sky — which would be why cash from the hijacking was found decades later but no other evidence has ever really been located. We also find out why Loki was Cooper in the first place. The God of Mischief explains “I was young and lost a bet with Thor.”
In real life, the hijacking of Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 remains unsolved and is the only unsolved air piracy in commercial aviation history. The actual identity of Cooper has never been determined and while the FBI officially suspended active investigation of the case in July 2016, it remains open.
Loki is now streaming on Disney+. New episodes arrive on Wednesdays.
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