Loki Episode 2 Easter Egg Pays Tribute to Marvel Comics’ History

There has been a lot to process in the sophomore season of Loki, as the adventures of Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and the TVA send shockwaves throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Although only two episodes of the season have aired thus far, those installments have been jam-packed with surprising moments and pieces of Marvel lore. That includes one blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Easter egg in the show’s second episode, which has ties to the larger history of Marvel Comics itself. Spoilers for the second episode of Loki Season 2 below! Only look if you want to know!

The episode opens with Loki and Mobius (Owen Wilson) traveling to the 1980s to find Hunter X-5 (Rafael Casal), who has gone off-mission and is operating as an actor named Brad Wolfe. Loki and Mobius track down X-5/Brad at the premiere of his latest movie, Zaniac — and a brief glimpse at the film’s poster drops a surprising Easter egg. Zaniac, as well as the Phone Ranger film also advertised nearby, are both produced by Goodman Productions, which is a nod to original Timely Comics publisher Martin Goodman.

Who Is Marvel’s Martin Goodman?

The real-life Martin Goodman was instrumental in the Golden Age of comics and pulp magazines, working on the distribution side. In 1939, he formed Timely Publications, which ultimately led to him commissioning Marvel Comics #1, the very first story involving Human Torch and Namor the Sub-Mariner. By the early 1940s, Goodman created Timely Comics, Inc., which eventually became renamed Marvel Comics. In the decades that followed, he also worked on Red Circle Comics (which would later become Archie’s Dark Circle Comics), as well as a number of magazines.

Goodman also had a personal connection to Stan Lee, who was the cousin of his wife, Jean Davis. Lee initially got hired to Timely as an editorial assistant, before being promoted to editor and becoming a mainstay at Marvel.

What Is Loki Season 2 About?

Marvel Studios fan-favorite Tom Hiddleston stars in Loki Season 2, returning as the titular God of Mischief for another round of time-traveling hijinx on Disney+ on October 6th. Loki is once again joined by Mobius (Owen Wilson) as the two attempt to keep the timelines intact. After the events of Season 1 saw his variant Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) kill He Who Remains and unleash the wrath of Kang the Conqueror upon the Multiverse, Loki must once again embark on an adventure to keep reality from collapsing. Loki was last seen in the post-credits scene of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, where he and Mobius were keeping tabs on one of Kang’s mysterious variants. Loki Season 2 will continue the story of the Multiverse Saga in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

ComicBook.com‘s podcast Phase Zero will be recording live episodes every week following Loki season 2’s new episodes on Disney+. Each week we will review, breakdown, and discuss the latest installment of the new Marvel series immediately after the episode’s conclusion! The new episodes will be broadcast live on the Phase Zero channel on YouTube before being made available on all major podcast platforms. Phase Zero will begin its 5-minute timer to start the live show at 9:45pm ET on Thursday, October 5. You can subscribe to the Phase Zero channel now and turn on notifications to make sure you don’t miss the Loki Season 2 bonus episodes!