Top 10 Things You Missed in Loki Episode 5
#10: President Loki & Sylvie Have Similar Musical Tastes
While Loki was exploring the land after time, he came face-to-face with a presidential version of himself. The presence of this god-of-mischief-in-chief alone is a fun callback to the “Vote for Loki” comics. But there’s also a musical link between that political satire and the show. In the comic, Loki plays Bonnie Tyler’s "Holding Out for a Hero" during a rally. Sylvie had the same song playing when she attacked the TVA agents back in episode two. Although she and would-be president Loki had the legendary 80s tune as a soundtrack to their misdeeds, we know they can be good. We’re holding out hope that Sylvie will become as heroic as Classic Loki was in the end.
#9: The Pizza Car’s License Plate
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Mobius made a stunning save when he drove a pizza car to deliver Sylvie away from evil. His cheesy chariot also bears a touching Easter egg. If you look at the license plate, the letters appear to be short for Gruenwald. Mark Gruenwald was a legendary icon at Marvel Comics who wrote many issues and helped keep the continuity of the universe in order. Mobius was created to resemble him to serve as a continuous homage to the creator. The “Loki” series previously gave a shout out to Gruenwald by starting an episode in his hometown of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Having Mobius drive a vehicle with the creator’s name is another great tribute to his legacy.
#8: Kid Loki’s Spooky ‘90s Drink
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After Classic Loki tells his tragic tale, he leads his counterparts in a pessimistic toast. While the adult variants appear to be sipping wine, the young god of mischief drinks Hi-C’s Ecto-Cooler. The appropriately green drink with Slimer’s face was released around the same year “Ghostbusters II” hit theaters. Unfortunately for fans of the franchise, the drink was rebranded to get rid of Slimer’s face in 1997 and eventually discontinued. The Loki variants clearly state that the world they’re stuck in is a dumping ground for any item the TVA didn't want in the timeline. And since Slimer was only on the HI-C drink in the 90s’, it joins Josta as yet another retired 20th century drink that the show has paid homage to.
#7: Alligator Loki Bites Into Many Hand Callbacks
In just two episodes, Alligator Loki has managed to become one of our favorite variants. The reptile definitely cemented his popularity when he bit off his presidential counterpart’s hand. This hilarious scene could be a callback to the MCU’s running trend of characters losing hands or the time Loki pretended to injure one of his brother’s arms in “Thor: The Dark World”. However, this biting incident also calls attention to another Tom Hiddleston role. He voiced James Hook in the 2014 “Pirate Fairy” film. Although the character is famous for losing his hand to a crocodile’s bite, Hiddleston’s Hook avoided that fate in the child friendly film. It looks like it took an alligator to successfully chomp off this actor’s hand.
#6: Loki Variants Own the Dangerous “Polybius” Game
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One of the scariest things that the Loki variants own Was the “Polybius” arcade machine. According to urban legends, this mysterious game caused players to experience symptoms such as amnesia, hallucinations and insomnia when it appeared in 1981. Men in black allegedly used the machines to collect data on how the game affected its players. Around a month after the game showed up, it reportedly disappeared from existence. While the existence of “Polybius” was never proven in the real world, the game has made cameos in fictional tv and internet series. A mysterious game sounds like exactly the kind of thing the TVA would prune from our timeline. If the Lokis ever invite you to play “Polybius”, you should politely decline.
#5: Loki’s Legendary Sword
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Before Loki leaves for his dangerous encounter with Alioth, the kid variant encourages him to take a special sword. While it isn’t officially named in the show, the fiery blade is likely Lævateinn, which is also known by the less intimidating name “damage twig”. Loki’s blade notably appeared in Norse myths as the only object capable of slaying a mystical rooster. Multiple versions of the character have also wielded Lævateinn in the comics. Between Loki’s mythological blade and newly gained enchantment skills, he’s becoming a serious powerhouse. But we hope his cool sword doesn’t lead him to completely abandon his iconic knives.
#4: The Philadelphia Experiment
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The second major urban legend the show hinted at this week centered around what’s known as the Philadelphia Experiment. In the 1940s, the US Navy apparently tried to use special equipment to render a ship called the USS Eldridge invisible. But during one of their experiments, the researchers allegedly teleported the ship from Philadelphia to Virginia by accident. The crew of the USS Eldridge reportedly suffered a variety of horrendous fates thanks to these Navy tests. While there are many versions of this urban legend, “Loki” theorizes that one of them ends with the TVA sending the crew away to fight a losing battle against Alioth. We’d much rather be teleported to Virginia.
#3: A Giant Ant-Man Villain
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We didn’t have time to process the heinous crime Kid Loki committed before we saw hints of what was left of another Marvel villain that ended up in this mysterious land. If you pause around 8 ½ minutes in, you'll spot a giant helmet that looks like it belongs to Yellowjacket. This villain first appeared in 2015 “Ant-Man”. He was defeated when his suit was damaged by Scott Lang during a tense fight. Since Yellowjacket seemed to shrink in the movie, a giant version of helmet suggests there’s a reality where he used one of Pym’s disks to grow into a big threat. Hopefully, Spider-Man, Rhodey and Tony were around to stop Yellowjacket in that reality before the villain stepped on anyone.
#2: The Thanos Copter
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This episode featured several destroyed versions of iconic MCU vehicles. One of S.H.I.E.L.D. 's Helicarriers may come from a timeline where the Avengers failed to stop it from falling. And while we can’t tell where it's from, the presence of Ronan the Accuser’s Dark Aster ship is a bad sign. But the most hilarious vehicle to appear was the Thanos Copter. In the comics, the Mad Titan initially rode a helicopter to fight superheroes. He’s eventually defeated and arrested by normal human police. We somehow doubt Thanos will arrive in that ridiculous vehicle onscreen. The sharp weapon that looks like a helicopter blade that Thanos had in Endgame will probably be the closest we’ll ever get to the Thanos-Copter.
#1: Alioth Has a Big Link To Kang the Conqueror
Fans got the figurative and literal biggest hint that Kang the Conqueror will appear when Alioth showed up. This terrifying entity was able to consume everything it set its eyes on. In the comics, Ravonna Renslayer revived Kang from a coma to combat Alioth. The Conqueror then sent a powerful being named Tempus to fight Alioth. While those two struggled against each other indefinitely, Kang’s futuristic kingdom was kept safe from being consumed. This story mirrors Sylvie’s view that the massive creature is protecting someone in the MCU. Alioth’s appearance, a large fancy building in its void and Ravonna Renslayer’s presence all seem to point to Kang. We’ll get confirmation on whether or not the conqueror is behind the curtain in the finale.
