2013’s Thor: The Dark World gives the Trickster God Loki (Tom Hiddleston) an opportunity to shine. It’s the movie that sets him on his redemption arc, and his story with Thor in the third movie of the franchise, Thor: Ragnarok.
But how did Loki survive Thor: The Dark World when it looked like he’d been killed?
Throughout his tenure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Loki has made it abundantly clear that he’s always thinking ahead. Whether he’s trying to take over the world or saving Thor’s girlfriend from certain doom, he’s not doing it for altruistic reasons.
When the brothers fought against Malekith and his minions in Thor: The Dark World, it looked like one of Malekith’s men managed to land a fatal blow to the God of Mischief. Thor was devastated and vowed to honor his brother’s memory by telling their father of his bravery. Loki dies in Thor’s arms, but it wasn’t the ending that Thor thought it was.
Loki didn’t die in Thor: The Dark World
Like his mother Frigga, Loki has a great deal of magic at his disposal, and one of the things he’s good at is creating an illusion of himself that can be sent to other locations. At some point during the battle, Loki swaps places with his double, who’s the one who died.
From there, Loki makes more plan. True to his word, Thor tells Odin that his brother died honorably, not realizing that he was talking to Loki the whole time.
Thor returns to Asgard in Ragnarok to find that his brother is actually very much alive. He’s impersonating their father, who was sent to a retirement community on Earth. Loki-Odin even commissioned a play depicting his heroics, which tips off Thor right away.
Later, in Ragnarok, both brothers end up on the garbage planet of Sakaar, and Thor made to compete in gladiatorial fights. Loki shows up in Thor’s cell and Thor thinks he’s an illusion, but it’s very much him this time. Together they make their escape, and ultimately they fight side by side in their quest to rid Asgard of their nefarious sister Hela, who has taken control of Asgard in their absence.
Thanos killed this newly heroic at the top of Avenger: Infinity War, before he snapped away half of existence. Thankfully, the events of Avengers: Endgame offered him a second chance. The Loki who escaped from custody with the Tesseract after the battle in New York is the one fans see in the Loki series on Disney+.
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