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Loki Season 2 Just Referenced a Marvel Hero With Only 3 Comic Appearances

Phone Ranger makes his MCU debut… with a catch… in Loki Season 2 Episode 2.
LOKI, Season 2
LOKI, Season 2, exclusively on Disney+. © 2023 MARVEL.

The second season of Loki is underway, and it is delivering some surprising developments with regards to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars on the horizon, Loki’s new episodes are definitely upping the ante — while also folding in some lesser-known parts of Marvel lore. The season’s second episode is no exception, as it briefly involves a character who has only had a handful of Marvel Comics appearancesSpoilers for Episode 2 of Loki Season 2 below! Only look if you want to know!

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The episode opens with Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Mobius (Owen Wilson) tracking down Hunter X-5 (Rafael Casal), who is revealed to have gone off-mission from the TVA. X-5 is now operating as Brad Wolfe, an actor starring in 80s films like Zaniac. While at the Zaniac movie premiere, a poster can very briefly be seen for Phone Ranger, referencing the obscure Marvel hero of the same name.

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Who Is Marvel’s Phone Ranger?

Created by Kurt Busiek and James Fry in 1985’s Marvel Age Annual #1, Phone Ranger is the superhero name of a mysterious man named only A.G. Bell (a play, of course, on telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell). Bell is initially a phone repairman who accidentally discovers a tiny alien race, the Seltas, in one of the phones he is fixing. Through a series of events, Bell recreates the Selta’s technology, and uses it to interface with any and all communication devices. Donning a costume and the name Phone Ranger, he very briefly fights crime.

Phone Ranger then nearly gets killed in an assassination attempt, carried out in a battle with the Lethal Legion. Unsurprisingly, the giant phone on his costume helps save him. Phone Ranger very briefly gets arrested, but is given amnesty after Captain America is arrested.

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!