Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Marvel Studios

  • ‘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

  • ‘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.”

     

  • New ‘What If’ Funko Pop Teases King Killmonger vs. Ultron

    New ‘What If’ Funko Pop Teases King Killmonger vs. Ultron

    Marvel Studios is set to begin its first foray into animation with What if. It’ll be an animated anthology series that follows multiple alternate outcomes of important events within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We’ve heard about just a few episodes that will feature the return of Ultron, a Gamora who never joined the Guardians of the Galaxy, and even an interesting alliance between Tony Stark and Erik Killmonger. Now, a new Funko Pop from the upcoming series featuring Michael B. Jordan‘s character may offer a closer look at the events of one of two episodes.

    The Funko gives him the title King Killmonger, as he is wearing the golden jaguar suit once again. What’s most interesting is him holding what looks to be a decapitated Ultron head. It’s unclear just what is happening here but it looks like it could have something to do with an episode in which Ultron won or the episode in which Killmonger and Stark will work together. The former will feature a post-apocalyptic wasteland in which the Avengers lost to Ultron. He succeeds and drops Sokovia to turn Earth to dust. That episode is set to be led by Black Widow, and no other characters have been confirmed to join her in the aftermath.

     

     

    What If? currently has no set release date but will exclusively release on Disney+. The series will feature the return of many notable actors and actresses from the MCU like Mark Ruffalo, Josh Brolin, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L Jackson, Natalie Portman, and of course Michael B. Jordan. The series will also feature the debut of Jeffrey Wright as Uatu the Watcher in the MCU.

    Source: Instagram

     

  • ‘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!

  • Theory Tuesday: Vision’s Avengers Fail-Safe Program

    Theory Tuesday: Vision’s Avengers Fail-Safe Program

    A few months have passed since WandaVision concluded its heartwrenching story. Yet, to this day, there are still a few questions on everyone’s mind regarding the future of its characters. The biggest question mark surrounds the Vision. In the final two episodes, we learned that Vision’s body was recovered by S.W.O.R.D. and was turned into a weapon. Now, this “White Vision” had no memories of his past and lacked any empathy. Yet, the Vision in Westview managed to unlock that final piece before saving Wanda. After his memory got unlocked, the newly reformed Vision flew off and was never seen again. So what exactly has the Vision been up to since his memory’s been unlocked? Our very own, Joseph Aberl, already explored his story post-WandaVision with a Vision Quest adaptation pitch. My theory expands on this vision and what it could imply for the future of the MCU.

     

     

    The Vision is bound to be riddled with hundreds of protocols in case of a specific scenario sets in. In the comics, Vision had developed a contingency program called “The Avengers Fail-Safe Program”. It was made to activate if the Avengers were ever destroyed by a potential threat or disbanded due to unforeseen circumstances. If we base ourselves on Joseph’s VisionQuest pitch, following the events of WandaVision, The Vision sets out to retrace his steps to fill in the gaps between the moment he died in Infinity War and the moment he came back online. And as he finds out that most of the Avengers have either died or gone their own paths, it is possible that Vision could activate his fail-safe program. It could even be a modified version of Zola’s Algorithm from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but rather than use it to eliminate potential targets, Vision utilizes the protocol to search for the next generation of heroes to take up the mantle of the Avengers.

     

     

    Marvel Studios is setting up the Young Avengers to join forces at some point in Phase 4 or beyond. We’ve already been introduced to Billy and Tommy Maximoff in WandaVision. Elijah Bradley had a few appearances in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Cassie Lang has already reached her teenage years in Avengers: Endgame. It doesn’t end there, as we’re also bound to see the introduction of Kate Bishop, Riri Williams, and America Chavez to the MCU in future projects. With the Avengers gone and almost no heroes to help save the world, it seems pretty opportune for this band of heroes to step up to the challenge and take on the mantle as the Young Avengers. It would seem fitting for the Vision, who is trying to uncover his own identity, to help guide a new generation of heroes while re-learning his humanity. Little does he know, two members of his new team are closer to him than he might not realize.

  • 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

  • ‘Black Widow’ Special on Stuntwoman Heidi Moneymaker Heading to ESPN+

    ‘Black Widow’ Special on Stuntwoman Heidi Moneymaker Heading to ESPN+

    Black Widow is so close to releasing in theaters. It looks like Marvel Studios has some plans to put a focus on an essential member of the film’s team, Scarlett Johanssons‘ stunt double, Heidi Moneymaker. She has been a part of the Marvel family for almost ten years. She was along for the ride since she first pulled off the amazing stunts in 2010’s Iron Man 2. To celebrate her work, ESPN+ will release an exclusive special that takes a closer look at her time and work in bringing the character to life in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The E60 Presents special titled Moneymaker: Behind the Black Widow will explore her origin story and her journey to bringing the Marvel icon to life as narrated by Scarlett Johansson.

     

     

    There’s not enough focus on the stunt industry that is an integral part of modern Hollywood. It is long overdue that the Oscars include a nomination for stunt work. So, it’s great that they are adding a documentary to focus on her work. It’ll follower her story as a national champion gymnast to joining Marvel Studios. She isn’t the only Moneymaker helping the company bring their iconic heroes to life. Her sister Renae doubles for Evangeline Lilly and Brie Larson.

    Hopefully, this move also means that other iconic stunt woman and men that brought the other heroes to life get their time to shine in future additions of the E60 Presents line-up, as we wouldn’t have our iconic heroes without them. It’s uncertain if it remains an ESPN+ exclusive. Not every country has access to the streaming service. So, some markets might get it through Disney+. Of course, we hopefully will also get a Black Widow episode on the Marvel Studios: Assemble documentary series to go alongside this special. 

    Source: Marvel, YouTube

  • RUMOR: Working Titles for Marvel Studios’ ‘Ironheart’ and ‘Echo’ Disney+ Series

    RUMOR: Working Titles for Marvel Studios’ ‘Ironheart’ and ‘Echo’ Disney+ Series

    We have a lot of Marvel Studios projects to look forward to. We are this close to the release of Black Widow. Loki has two more episodes to go before What If premieres sometime this summer. That isn’t all, as it looks like two Disney+ projects are picking up speed over at Marvel Studios. It’s a common practice for their films to work under a pseudonym. Around three months ago, we found out that the Captain Marvel sequel, which now is titled The Marvels, entered production as Goat Rodeo. Now, it seems that Cosmic Circus might have gotten their hands on the working titles for Ironheart and the upcoming Echo spin-off.

    The first on the list is the upcoming series that will introduce moviegoers to the character of Riri Williams. The genius MIT student ends up creating the most advanced suit since Tony Stark. With a confirmed War Machine-focused Armor Wars series around the corner, it seems clear she might also be involved in the project to some capacity. According to Cosmic Circus, the Ironheart Disney+ series got the working title “Wise Guy,” which is an odd choice. The titles don’t always give away what the project is about and sometimes also act as a way to get you off their scent.

    Echo’s working title “Whole Branzino” is another case that opens up more questions than answers. The Branzino is the Italian name for the European bass, which might play into her close ties to the mafia in the comics. The character will be portrayed by Alaqua Cox in the upcoming Hawkeye series before she branches off into her own adventure. We know the Tracksuit Mafia will be involved. So, it might be a play on her connection to them. It’s always fun o speculate with working titles what they could mean, but each new project shows that Marvel Studios is no sopping anytime soon to find creative working titles.

    Source: Cosmic Circus (Ironheart), Cosmic Circus (Echo)

  • ‘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.