Loki Proves The MCU Is Best When It Embraces Marvel’s Weirdness

We’re just a matter of days away from the premiere of Loki, the third in a seemingly endless roster of Disney+ shows set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The lead up to Loki‘s debut has been particularly interesting compared to the Disney+ shows that arrived before it, as something has stuck out in a different way from the sitcom-fueled mystery (and the sheer novelty of new MCU content after a lengthy hiatus) of WandaVision, and the action-packed fare of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Yes, Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson’s star power has been at the center of the marketing and fan response thus far, but so has something else — how genuinely, unabashedly bizarre Loki is going to get. While we don’t know the full extent of a lot of the series’ elements yet, the vibe that Loki has been giving thus far has proved an ever-growing argument about the MCU as a whole — that the franchise is at its best when it gets super weird.

Anyone who has even casually paid attention to the marketing for Loki has probably noticed the series’ eccentricities, with the trailers only really providing hints of what the characters’ season-long mission will be. What the trailer has showcased is a definite sense of mood — from the ominous, liminal aesthetic of the Time Variance Authority, to hijinks that include Loki impersonating infamous airplane hijacker DB Cooper and warning ancient civilians of an erupting volcano, to a teaser that prominently features the god of mischief shirtless. While audiences might have a lot of ambiguity going into the series, they definitely know they’re in for something bombastic and otherworldly (described by series director Kate Herron as inspired by both Blade Runner and Teletubbies) — a tone that feels like a far cry from where the MCU was in its early years. While Phase 1 did take what (at the time) were seen as fantastical risks like Captain America’s “frozen in time” storyline and the Dutch angle-filled Shakespearean drama of the first Thor movie, an argument can be made that a lot of the franchise was playing it safe from a visual and narrative standpoint. The start of the MCU took Marvel Comics’ age-old philosophy of being the “world outside your window” a step further, grounding as much as it could in a relatively recognizable reality for casual fans (one that, as MCU legend has previously stated, drew inspiration from the very grounded, often-militaristic lore of Marvel’s Ultimates universe in the comics). Yes, this approach built the foundation for the MCU’s enduring success, but compared to the decades of truly zany and unabashedly entertaining comics that the film’s characters had previously appeared in, it felt like something was missing.

If you ask a dozen MCU fans what the point of no return for the franchise’s weirdness was, you’re bound to get a variety of answers. For some, the ’80s-themed offbeat space opera of Guardians of the Galaxy was the catalyst, with its ability to make general audiences fall in love with a relatively obscure comic team and shed a tear over a talking tree and raccoon. For others, it might be the even zanier Thor: Ragnarok a few years later, with its neon-colored reinvention of the Thor mythos and its improvisational, meme-worthy comedy. Other franchise entries might pop up as well, whether they be the unabashedly ridiculous Ant-Man, the trippy Doctor Strange, or even Avengers: Infinity War, which married the absurdity of Marvel’s cosmic output with the street-level conflicts of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. In their own ways, each of these aforementioned films began to peel away from the grounded tone of most of Phase 1’s entries, as the franchise as a whole became more financially viable. Either way, we’ve crossed the threshold of seeing what levels of weird the MCU is capable of — and given how much weird there is to explore in the comics, there’s no reason why that shouldn’t continue.

Of course, not every entry in the MCU is going to have the ability to pull off an entirely offbeat tone on the surface, especially the shows and movies that deal with serious social issues. But as decades of Marvel Comics have showcased — particularly the comics of the 1960s and 1970s — there are other ways of subverting expectations while still delivering a pivotal message, and based on what we’ve seen of Phase 4 of the MCU thus far, it looks like the franchise might have finally grasped that tone. Look no further than the finales on both WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier — episodes of television that were able to deal with trauma and social inequality in a post-Blip world, but also deliver nearly-perfect Scarlet Witch and Captain America costumes, with a comic-accurate sartorial flair that would have seemed like an impractical sore thumb five years prior. WandaVision‘s pitch-perfect commitment to its sitcom reality of Westview, which easily became one of the most jarring and rewarding aspects of the entire series, also feels like a new status quo in terms of Marvel embracing the absurd.

It feels like, in a post-Avengers: Endgame world, the MCU is unembarrassed to embrace the colorful and comic-accurate parts of Marvel as a whole — and recognizes that those elements only provide more escapism and joy for viewers. Even just looking at what the MCU has planned for the rest of Phase 4, that methodology appears to be continuing. Just look at the giant wolves and other magical creatures that are expected for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, every casting announcement and colorful set photo out of Thor: Love and Thunder, and whatever reality-bending storytelling is in store for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Spider-Man: No Way Home. On the TV side, there’s also a lot of welcomed weirdness going on, from She-Hulk appearing to embrace a “superheroes meet Ally McBeal” concept, Ms. Marvel bringing its titular character’s bizarre-looking stretch powers to live-action, and massive fan-favorite events like Secret Invasion and Armor Wars getting their own in-depth explorations. I mean, come on, we’re at the point where the announcement of a Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special only feels a little out of left field for the MCU.

So yes, the trailers for Loki show its titular character teleporting with the Bifrost while dressed as DB Cooper, running for some sort of public office in his fan-favorite “Vote Loki” costume, and bickering with a cartoon clock. As ridiculous as that all might sound, it’s also a microcosm of just some of the absurdity that has plagued Loki in the comics — and the fact that the MCU now seems unafraid to bring those kinds of stories to life is something worth celebrating.

Loki debuts on Disney+ beginning Wednesday, June 9th.

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