Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Loki

  • ‘Loki’: Chris Hemsworth Recorded Throg’s Grunts

    ‘Loki’: Chris Hemsworth Recorded Throg’s Grunts

    It looks like Chris Hemsworth ended up playing a role in Loki after all, just not the one any of us expected. In a recent interview with the podcast Views from the 616, the series head writer Kate Herron revealed that the Australian actor did, in fact, return to record lines as Throg, the Frog of Thunder. Well, he made grunts to be exact.

    The amphibious Norse God made a surprise cameo appearance during the latest episode of Marvel’s new Disney+ series. He was quickly shown as an inhabitant of the otherworldly Void, desperately trying to escape a glass jar buried beneath the dirt. Herron confirmed on the podcast that Hemsworth actively participated in the show, and old audio was not used for the bit as some may have assumed.

    Throg made his first comic appearance in Thor Vol. 1 #364 back in 1986. A new version got introduced in 2009’s Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers #1. He originated as a man named Simon Walterson, who found himself cursed to live life as a frog after an encounter with a witch. A wild story follows this, but it ends with Walterson wielding a version of Mjolnir that transforms him into Throg, an amphibian with the powers of Thor.

    The character has since been a favorite joke among Marvel fans, so it was nice to see him appear in the show alongside another comical Easter egg, the Thanos Copter. Loki producer Eric Martin recently confirmed the character, presented as a Thor variant on the show, was originally meant for a larger role. Perhaps this means there’s still a chance we’ll one day see Hemsworth give the role some life on a larger stage.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘LOKI’ Originally Contained an Additional and Hilarious Throg Scene

    ‘LOKI’ Originally Contained an Additional and Hilarious Throg Scene

    Episode 5 of Loki, “Journey Into Mystery”, introduced audiences to the Void, a vast wasteland where anyone and anything pruned by the TVA goes to be devoured by Alioth. Given the Void’s purpose, it was no surprise to find it filled with Variants and remnants of their branched timelines, making an Easter egg-rich environment that thrilled fans. Among the many blink and you’ll miss it appearances that got the most attention was Throg, a Thor Variant who was briefly seen trying to get out of his jar prison (labeled T365 in reference to the character’s first comic book appearance in Thor #365) and get hold of a variant Thor’s hammer (probably Frogjolnir).

    It was a great Easter egg and it does establish Throg as MCU canon but according to staff writer Eric Martin, there was originally more planned for the Frog of Thunder, including a scene of him kicking Loki’s ass that sound like it might have been reminded fans of Hulk’s thrashing of the God of Mischeif from Avengers.

    https://twitter.com/MrEricMartin/status/1412987552324145152?s=20

    Throg, first introduced in 1986, has gone through a few retcons but the first story was part of an arc in which Loki turned Thor into a frog (at the end of Thor #363) who found himself on Earth, being attacked by rats and then going on to, of course, meet other frogs before finally transforming into the fully-powered Throg when he found Mjolnir. Simonson had some wild ideas when he was writing Thor, so if nothing else, use this as an excuse to get into the 300s of Thor and do some reading.

    Now that Throg is canon, let’s hope we see him in Season 2 or somewhere else in this multiverse.

  • ‘Loki’ and The Real-Life Mysteries of the Void

    ‘Loki’ and The Real-Life Mysteries of the Void

    There’s a lot to unpack from the latest episode of Loki. We followed up directly where the last left us off, as we learn more about the many Loki Variants that inhabit a strange land known as the Void. We get a lot of creative references to the comics and former Marvel Cinematic Universe films. You get a giant helmet from Ant-Man villain Yellowjacket, the Helicarrier, and even Red Skull’s escape pod from Captain America: The First Avenger.

    Yet, they went one step beyond and gave us even more amazing Easter eggs that reference real-world mysteries. Let’s dive in as Marvel Studios may have solved humanities’ biggest mysteries. We even get some comic references like Throg and the amazing Thanos helicopter. That wasn’t all, as Loki has answered some real-life mysteries in the latest episode, and it’s time to take a closer look.

     

    Oak Island Mystery

     

    I’m cheating with this one a bit, as I want to talk about one detail before we even enter the Void. The episode opens on a sweeping shot through the TVA that gives us a glimpse of their timeline monitor. It states the location of Oak Island in Nova Scotia. That location is of historical value as it has been rumored since the 18th century that various treasures and artifacts got buried there. It included the Ark of the Covenant, long lost Shakesperean manuscript, and even the Holy Gail. Yet, to this day, nothing has been found. That didn’t stop people from digging all over to find treasures and the mysterious money pit.

     

    Lighthouse of Alexandria

     

    When we enter the Void, we get introduced to a strange-looking tower before the camera enters the city-like landscape in ruin. Of course, our eyes instantly get drawn to the Stark Tower, and some even noticed the Sanctum Sanctorum in a corner somewhere. Yet, the biggest mystery is the first building we see hidden within the fog. The design hints that it’s the Lighthouse of Alexandria. It was one of the seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the tallest man-made structure of its epoch. Its ruins were uncovered in the Mediterranean Sea in 1916 alongside the rest of the port of Alexandria.

     

    UFO and the Mary Celeste

     

    One of the first images we see is of an old brigantine alongside a stereotypical UFO. The latter is a pretty obvious nod to long-time conspiracies that got linked to Area 51 for some time, but the boat is a rather curious addition. It’s very likely the mysterious Mary Celeste, which got deserted in 1872. What makes it strange is that the ship still had plenty of supplies on board, and personal belongings were left behind undisturbed. To this day, no one knows what happened to the crew of this ship. What goes against this real-world inspiration is the fact that the entire ship is in the Void. So, it could even be the lost shipwreck of Santa Maria. Still, the Celeste might be the most famous mystery due to the strange disappearance of its crew and captain.

     

    Polybius

     

    This urban legend has been teased in the series since the first trailer dropped, but I wanted to mention it here. In the early 2000s, there was a rumor going around about an arcade game that got planted by the government. The experiment supposedly took place in Portland, Oregon back in 1981, where the government was using these gaming devices to hypnotize people. It even goes as far as referencing men in black suits visiting these devices periodically to data-mine them.

     

    Philadelphia Experiment

    This little history nugget is an interesting one. The moment the DEE-173 USS Eldridge dropped, it brought up many memories of the strange disappearance of a U.S. Navy destroyer escort. There’s a tale of an entire ship disappearing in 1943 as the result of a military experiment. The theory was that they tested out a new cloaking device. Yet, the ship suddenly vanished. To this day, some people believe it was dimensional or even time travel. The story is widely considered a hoax due to the Navy never confirming any experiment of the kind. Yet, it still has caught people’s attention to this day.

  • ‘Loki’s Head Writer Michael Waldron Reveals the Inspiration for Classic Loki’s Backstory

    ‘Loki’s Head Writer Michael Waldron Reveals the Inspiration for Classic Loki’s Backstory

    The latest episode of Loki explored the many sides of the character. It quite literally gave us multiple versions of the God of Mischief that each managed to survive the bizarre Void. We already meet three individuals last week which included Kid Loki, Boisterous Loki, and a comic look-a-like in the form of Robert E. Grant‘s Classic Loki. Luckily, Marvel offered some insight into the inspiration for their characters. What stood out was a comment by head writer Michael Waldron on the backstory of Grant’s character.

    What if Loki did in fact survive the events of Avengers: Infinity War? And I thought, ‘Well, what if that did happen? And if it did, in fact, how could he have aged up? How could he have lived out his years in a way that the TVA would never come find him?

    It’s a simple idea that offered some insight into the character, as we learn that the TVA only found him because he missed his brother and family. There’s a theme that many Lokis get pruned due to their will to change. Even Kid Loki remarks this during the episode after proclaiming earlier he killed his brother. Perhaps it was a prank gone wrong, and he’s been living with that regret all this life.

    This change of heart is at the core of this show and even using a post-Infinity War fan theory as the basis for one Variant is a genius move. It seemed in his nature to dodge the deadly bullet, and luckily, we meet a version that does exactly that. It would’ve been nice to explore the history of Boisterous Loki a bit more, as he gets sidelined in the episode. The man running around with a makeshift hammer has a lot to tell. Perhaps we’ll get a special episode of What If in the future or a different spin-off exploring the multiverse.

    Source: Marvel

  • EXCLUSIVE: Composer Natalie Holt on ‘Loki’s Unique Sound, Ride of the Valkyries, and the Simon Cowell Incident

    EXCLUSIVE: Composer Natalie Holt on ‘Loki’s Unique Sound, Ride of the Valkyries, and the Simon Cowell Incident

    Loki is made up of a lot of incredible things – the writing, acting, world-building, production design, costume, cinematography – but not the least of which is Natalie Holt‘s distinct music. Holt’s kooky take on Marvel’s usually grandiose sonic palette has been the talking point among fans for many weeks now. The score is easily the best of three Marvel Disney+ shows; an alchemic concoction of Norwegian tradition, analog synthesizers, and operatic Wagnerian motifs. I had the privilege of interviewing Holt this week and we got to talk about her process behind the show and her mischievous TV appearance on Britain’s Got Talent.

    Despite the music being so tightly weaved, the production process was anything but as COVID forced Holt to just work remotely on the project alongside everyone else. Even crazier is the fact that she still hasn’t met any of her collaborators to this day. When asked about what the process was like, she had this to say:

    It was sad. I wish I could have been in the room with everyone, especially with the orchestra. I would have loved to sit there, watch, and feel the vibe of the room. We had music meetings every Wednesday for six months. I feel like I got to know the entire Marvel music team yet I’ve never met them until now. It’s weird how Zoom could still facilitate those creative collaborations. 

    Tom Hiddleston‘s unique take on the God of Mischief is so built into the character’s DNA that it’s no surprise Holt looked to the actor to get an understanding of how to approach creating a brand new musical theme for him. Despite having a short window to get it done, the process for Holt seemed fortuitous as she quickly had a grasp on what to do and given how Marvel quickly jumped on board with her ideas.

    I read the script and I had seen all those films anyway so I had an idea of how Tom played the character. I’m very much inspired by his over-the-top grand theatrical performances. I literally came up with that theme for him in the pitch to get the job. So that was there right from the beginning and then all the other themes like the TVA and Mobius theme came later on. 

    I got the job and had a month when Kate Herron got back from filming the show but I hadn’t started working on the show. I had just spent all this time coming up with this suite of themes. But everyone approved that suite fairly quickly. Everyone was on board with the direction I wanted to take.

    As far as external influences go, Holt cites A Clockwork Orange and some classical pieces as being crucial in figuring out which approach to take with the God of Mischief.

    And like I said, the way Tom Hiddleston performs and the theme I made for him is somewhat rooted in the classical tradition like Ride of the Valkyries. I wanted to put something in there that made you think of those big classical works. I was playing around with Mozart-inspired licks.

    The Loki score is rife with an array of sounds, ranging from traditional Norwegian instruments to analog synthesizers. Holt also talked about she came about choosing certain instruments.

    It was instinctive, I guess. I had this sound in my head and it was a matter of finding my way there. I heard those Norwegian folk instruments in a concert a few years ago but I had that sound always in the back of my mind. They’re sort of like a string instrument but they’ve got this magical, mystical sound that seemed to go really well with Loki’s past with his mother and yearning. I also never wanted to play it straight like, “Oh here’s a piece of basic orchestral music.” It had always had to have a twist for me. 

    Like all MCU properties, there’s a hefty amount of callbacks and references to previous films in Loki. Holt shed some light as to how they revisited some of the more familiar musical motifs and how supportive Marvel was with her unique vision.

    There are a couple of scenes like when Loki wakes up in the Ep. 4 credits. That was Alan Silvestri piece that was in the temp. We all liked it very much that we used it as the basis. And then you have the beginning in New York, that’s also Alan Silvestri. It was in the temp and it worked so well. It was so cool to segue from Alan into our world. I had Alan Silvestri stems and I got to blend that into my piece. He’s a legend. 

    But there wasn’t any, “You need to continue the Marvel legacy.” It was just like, “Do whatever you want and make it as unique as you can.” That was really freeing and amazing.

    And lastly, I got to ask her about the incident she was involved in several years ago where she pelted Simon Cowell with eggs on-air during a taping of Britain’s Got Talent. She was gracious enough to humor my question and said this about her initial worry that she would no longer have a career after the incident.

    I don’t what I expected [laughs]. Like Loki, we all do mischievous things while we’re younger. I’m glad it didn’t affect my career and that I’m able to work. I think my career hasn’t been derailed that much.

    Apart from Loki, Holt has an upcoming Netflix film she scored titled Fever Dream, which comes out later this year.

  • ‘LOKI’ Episode 5: The Man in the Castle

    ‘LOKI’ Episode 5: The Man in the Castle

    Episode 5 of Loki, Journey Into Mystery, made its case for being not only the strongest episode of this series so far, but also potentially the best episode of any Marvel Studios Disney Plus series to date. A collection of “moments” came together to make something that felt strange and uncomfortable but still left you feeling hopeful that our Variants can follow the lead of Richard E. Grant’s Loki (what an absolute blast he seemed to be having in this role!) and the advice of Mobius and find a way to change. And in the episode’s final minutes, it sure seems like that’s what they’ve done. Loki gives a long-overdue embrace to his best bro, Mobius, and willingly takes Sylvie’s hand and lets her lead the way in an effort to reveal who the big bad behind the TVA truly is by enchanting Alioth. It seems like there are 2 prevailing hypotheses among fans as to who the man in the castle is going turn out to be: a version of Kang the Conqueror or a sort of old man version of Loki. Let’s lay out the evidence to support those claims and see how it goes.

    King Loki

    Who Is Richard E. Grant's Variant? Classic Loki Explained

    It’s a show named Loki telling a story about Variants of Loki, so it’s no surprise that fans have come to expect to find another version of the character behind the curtain of the TVA. Today’s episode probably brought us to a total of maybe 15-20 different Variants that we’ve seen on screen but fans are holding tight to the idea that we might just see one more in next week’s final episode. But does it make sense for another Loki to be pulling the strings and protecting the Sacred Timeline? Streamlining things to avoid chaos seems like most un-Loki thing I can imagine but we did just see a few Lokis undergo some pretty cathartic moments in Episode 5 (albeit as a result of a bunch of Lokis doing very Loki things), so maybe what we’re dealing with here is another Loki (a superior version) who has done it all and seen it all and made his way through the wasteland, built himself a fancy castle, wrangled up Alioth and created the TVA to keep other Lokis from becoming successful by pruning them from the timeline. If that were the case, would that superior Loki really want to risk bringing all those Variants that close to his castle? Would that be in his best interests? As Grant’s Loki said, Lokis are survivors so, as a Loki, superior Loki would know this about Lokis and might not want to risk it.

    If we’re being objective, there really isn’t any other evidence to support the idea that we’ll see another version of Loki inside the castle. None of the bread crumbs, save the fact that the series is titled Loki give us reason to believe that another Variant is behind this. Additionally, the God of Mischief becoming the shepherd of the Sacred Timeline really doesn’t jibe with the what Loki is all about. It seems like letting all the other Lokis do their thing and cause more chaos would leave him more secure in hanging out in his castle and the end of time.

    Kang, or some version of him

    Kang the Conqueror is Officially Marvel's Most Over the Top Villain

    Before the show even debuted, rumors indicated Loki might feature a potential appearance from Kang. Jonathan Majors was cast as the Master of Men and set to appear in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, but the fact that he was cast 10 months before the start of production on that film but while production on Loki (which filmed under an LLC titled Limbo Productions) really backed up those rumors. Prior to the show’s release, Disney revealed that Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s character to be Ravonna Renslyaer, a Marvel Comics character with DEEP ties to Kang that have extended into other mediums such as Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and the Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 video game. And while today’s episode certainly seemed to indicate that Ravonna has not been in on the con and not in league with whomever is running it, that actually helps make a stronger case for it to be Kang because their relationship started off on very rocky ground after Kang conquered her father’s empire. It’s unclear what’s truly up with Ravonna (is she a Variant that many Kangs have fallen in love with?) but that’s not the point of this exercise. Her presence here, running the TVA in a place outside of time and space, helps steer things towards Kang being the man in the castle.

    Journey Into Mystery introduced fans to Alioth, described as the guard dog to the man in the castle. Alioth doesn’t have anywhere near as long and twisted of a history in the comics as Kang does, but what history does have is closely tied to Kang. We saw Alioth can basically destroy any and everything it touches, which fits with its comic book counterpart, which originated in Temporal Limbo (there’s that word again), a location RULED by Kang. So we have a little bit of an original take on the character here, but it is another character which leads us down a road that ends with Kang standing there, hands on his hips, waving hello like Forrest Gump.

    Alioth’s job is to go around and clean up the Void, a wasteland where Variants who have been pruned and the realities they’ve altered go. The principles of the Void are cool because they follow science (neither energy nor matter can be created or destroyed) and so these beings and objects are transported to a new place where the Variants become food for Alioth. But what about the objects? Alioth doesn’t seem to like concrete and thankfully he didn’t eat one of the episode’s biggest Easter eggs and another neon arrow pointing in the direction of Kang: the Qeng Enterprises Tower. Qeng Tower is honestly a pretty obscure reference and the tower itself made only the briefest of appearances in the episode; however, it’s another BIG hint at Kang. In the comics, Qeng Tower came into play 500 years in the future during the 3 issue Avengers: Ultron Forever series. The tower was overseen by the CEO of Qeng Enterprises, Mr. Gryphon, who was just another one of Kang’s alters. As mentioned above, it’s such an obscure reference and passes so quickly but it’s another great reason to thing the O.K. (Original Kangster) is the man in the castle.

    A final piece of evidence for the man in the castle being Kang is the castle itself. Kang is nothing if not a modest man and ruled Temporal Limbo from a quaint tri-level named Tenebrae, or Castle Limbo. The version of Kang who lived here went by the name Immortus and spent his days shepherding the timeline by pruning Variants (mostly of himself) to make sure it all ended in peace and tranquility. If that sounds vaguely familiar to you, it means you’ve been paying attention to the previous episodes of Loki where they described that as the job of the TVA.

    Once again, if we’re being objective in our analysis of the evidence, we can find all kinds of support for the hypothesis that Kang, or one version of him, is going to be revealed as the man in the castle when Episode 6 streams next week. Strongly sourced rumors, Limbo Productions, Ravonna, Alioth, Qeng Tower and Castle Limbo make a much, much stronger case than “didn’t you learn anything from WandaVision.”

     

  • ‘LOKI’ Episode 5 Primer

    ‘LOKI’ Episode 5 Primer

    After a little bit of lull in episode 3, episode 4- Nexus Event- brought more to the table. It’s a little cringy that Loki fell in love with a version of himself, but it’s also the most Loki-like thing in the show. Seeing he is so self-centered it’s not really a surprise. While the TVA splits up Sylvie and Loki, Mobius gets time to reconnect with his bestie, Loki, and express his disappointment; Loki, on the other hand, tried to convince Mobius that he and everyone else in the TVA are variants and that they have been lied to. Sylvie and Hunter B-15 were having a similar conversation that led to B-15 breaking free of her program. During his conversation with Ravonna, Mobius steals her Tempad, confirms Loki’s story, and hatches a plan to break Loki out and destroy the TVA. Unfortunately, Ravonna catches him and deletes him. Ravonna then takes the two variants to the Time-Keepers, B-15 has another plan and helps them break free which eventually leads to Sylvie decapitating one of the Time-Keepers revealing that they are not the all-powerful time gods they are cracked up to be, they are cheap robots. Sylvie and Loki’s big revolution ends with Ravonna deleting Loki, but a post-credit scene shows Loki waking up to be surrounded by other variant Lokis.

    Marvel Had Concerns About Loki Episode 4 Time-Keepers Twist

    The TVA is just a great big lie, I’ve thought all along that there must be someone running the show other than the Time-Keepers the reveals in this episode seem to prove my theory. In episode 1, Loki believed that the TVA was the greatest power he has ever seen, maybe they still are but we know it’s not the Time-Keepers who wield the power. Kang was the first person who came to mind that might truly be in charge, especially when I saw Ravonna. The other big reveal from the episode is when variants get deleted they don’t die. This gives Loki hope in finding his way back to Sylvie. We know from the trailer the wasteland is filled with other Lokis and it will be exciting to see if they are a help or make it more difficult.

     

    Arlyn’s Assumptions

    We know that Loki is getting out of this wasteland because we see Loki and Sylvie fighting in a location we haven’t seen yet, most likely Kang’s castle. Mobius isn’t dead so there is a chance Loki can get him out of his wasteland. I’m looking forward to this next episode being crazy fun with all of the different Lokis.

    The next episode of Loki streams tomorrow!

  • Leaked ‘What If’ Image Teases an Iconic Loki Scene from ‘Thor’

    Leaked ‘What If’ Image Teases an Iconic Loki Scene from ‘Thor’

    All eyes are on Loki, as the series is slowly nearing its end. This week we’ll finally figure out what happened to our titular character and potentially finally uncover the secret of the multiverse. Speaking of, there’s another series that has yet gotten any focus that tackles the same topic. The What If series, which will be Marvel Studios’ first venture into animation, explores alternative timelines where our titular heroes take on very different futures.

    We’re still waiting for an official release date and a new trailer, but it seems that translations are underway. The voice actor who dubs Tom Hiddleston‘s Loki in Turkey released a still from the series before taking it down. Luckily, Twitter user @simpforhidd was able to grab a screenshot before it got deleted.

    The image might be familiar to fans of the first Thor film, as it’s the same move he pulls while fighting his brother on the rainbow bridge. There’s a good chance this sequence might take place during the Party Thor storyline that was teased some time ago. In it, Thor will throw a party of galactic proportions on Midgard that might destroy the universe as they know it. We did get brief glimpses from the first Thor film during the earlier trailers of the series, which might connect to this storyline. Instead of being deemed unworthy, he manages to pull out the hammer and celebrates while his brother’s plan continues to flourish. Perhaps the story still ends up the same between these two brothers?

    Source: Instagram via Twitter

  • New ‘Loki’ Episode 5 Images Tease Richard E. Grant’s Classic Loki in Action

    New ‘Loki’ Episode 5 Images Tease Richard E. Grant’s Classic Loki in Action

    The last episode of Loki offered us the reveal of four brand new Variants of our titular anti-hero. After getting pruned, he awakens in a strange place he believes might be Hel. Luckily, the credits did confirm that his new friends are Richard E. Grant‘s Classic Loki, Jack Veal‘s Kid Loki, and Deobia Oparei‘s Boastful Loki. The ending left us with quite a few questions and excitement about what these new renditions of the characters might mean for the multiverse. Luckily, @cosmic_marvel shared some images from the upcoming fifth episode. They offer a closer look at Kid and Classic Loki. It also shows the latter using his magic. 

     

    https://twitter.com/cosmic_marvel/status/1412064483132858368

     What is interesting about these images is that Boastful Loki and the Loki Alligator are noticeably absent. There is a good chance that these images take place later in the episode as they start to explore this strange land. One also shows Classic Loki and the Variant we’ve been following since Avengers: Endgame in a green glow. Grant’s Variant might be behind it, as he is trying to pull him out of a fight to continue their main objective. The green glow might also tease a unique vision for his abilities.

    So, this sequence might take place after as we’ve seen Boastful Loki join the battle. It would also imply that the trailer’s Vote Loki might be a new Variant. We most commonly assumed it was Tom Hiddleston‘s current version after a time skip, but it wouldn’t be too surprising that doubles of the actor got pruned at some point in the Time Variance Authority’s long history. We’re only a few days away, and it’ll be exciting to see how these new Variants will play into the story and if Classic Loki might be the version we’ve come to love from the comics.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘LOKI’: The Time-Keepers, the Hourglass and the Man Behind the Curtain

    ‘LOKI’: The Time-Keepers, the Hourglass and the Man Behind the Curtain

    Episode 4 of Marvel Studios latest and greatest Disney Plus streaming series, Loki, exposed the great lie of the TVA when it was revealed that the Time-Keepers were nothing more than some Chuck E Cheese style animatronics instead of the almighty overlords of the Sacred Timeline. Now that we finally know for sure that they’re not in charge (we’ve speculated for a while now that they weren’t all they were cracked up to be), the big question left to answer is who was behind the curtain and making the decisions about what was allowed to go on and what had to be pruned. My money has always been on Kang, or at least one Variant version of him, and it’s possible that this episode may have given us a small, Easter egg-y type of clue that it is him.

    This could easily be a case of someone (me) seeing something and interpreting it to fit their desired outcome; it could also be a case of Marvel Studios sneaking something so subtle that it could easily go undetected. So here’s the plan: I’ll point it out and you decide for yourself.

    After being teased for 3 episodes, we finally find out that the Time-Keepers are just an elevator ride away for Ravonna; however, this doesn’t seem to be the same elevator we’ve seen before in scenes with Loki and Mobius, rather an elevator only Judge Renslayer has access to. And it’s this elevator, adorned with what look to be hundreds of hourglass shapes, that might be hinting at the man truly in charge of the TVA or is simply the kind of symbol you’d place on the doorway to the keepers of time.

    Maybe, long ago the Time-Keepers were real. Maybe, like in the comics, they sought out Kang and made him guardian of the timeline. Maybe the Time-Keepers were never real. Either way, someone built the TVA and someone designed those elevator doors. In following the line of thought that Kang, or one version of him, is behind all this, the hourglass shape becomes more than just a nice nod: it was actually the symbol worn by one version of Kang, the Scarlet Centurion.

    The Scarlet Centurion was one of the more aggressive versions of Nathaniel Richards (and yes it was also a name taken up by one of his sons at one point) who confusingly created another version of himself that found himself up against the Squadron Supreme (rumored to be in Loki) but who also ultimately became the most recognizable version of Kang. I’ve always found it strange that the TVA, a place that exists outside of space and time, has such a 60’s feel to it. Maybe, in this instance, it’s another bread crumb on the trail leading us to Kang, who was introduced in the 60s, or to the Scarlet Centurion version of the character who first appeared in 1967’s Avengers Annual #2. Maybe the version of Kang we’ll see here is the tired version who has literally seen it all and not one who has the edge of his less-experienced self who, maybe, built the TVA as a means to conquer time. Of course, it makes sense that these hourglasses symbols are just there because they are things that keep time and adorn the entrance of the Time-Keepers, but I wouldn’t put it past Marvel Studios to hide a subtle clue in plain sight, either. With only 2 episodes left, we’ll find out soon enough.