What Are Loki's Powers In The MCU & How Are They Different From The Comics?
A time slipping adventure is on the horizon in the "Loki" Season 2 trailer, which follows the God of Mischief as he and his Time Variance Authority pal Mobius (Owen Wilson) work to save the Sacred Timeline. Loki's wit, knowledge, and rebellious use of his powers have been demonstrated throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From his alien invasion in 2012's "The Avengers" to his transformation into Odin (Anthony Hopkins), which is revealed in "Thor: Ragnarok." Throughout the years, Loki has started to learn that his powers could be used to help others, and the "Loki" series is a chance to explore the extent of his abilities. But not all of his on-screen powers mirror his abilities in the Marvel Comics.
While Loki is known for his teleportation, astral projection, and shape-shifting abilities both on the screen and on the page, powers like super-human strength, extreme durability, and flight are unique to the comic book version of Loki. In the MCU, it's Thor (Chris Hemsworth) who showcases super-human strength and durability. But such powers in the comic books could prove that Loki's physical abilities are just as dangerous as his mind, giving him the opportunity to match Thor in strength just as much as he does in his determination to win.
Whether reading a comic or watching the MCU, Loki is not complete without time travel, which is a major theme in the "Loki" TV series.
How Loki's use of time travel is different from the comics
In "Loki," Season 1, Episode 1, "Glorious Purpose," the 2012 version of Loki is arrested by the TVA amid the time heist in "Avengers: Endgame." Loki is caught with the Tesseract and is identified as a Variant who is causing branches in the Sacred Timeline. This is all news to Loki who quickly uncovers their mission to maintain the timeline while uncovering evil inside the TVA. And he digs deeper into time, even heading to the Void.
While on-screen, Loki's goal is to use his abilities to save the Sacred Timeline, the comic book version of Loki uses time for personal gain. This includes traveling back in time to kill Odin's father Bor. But time is bigger than any one person — or god, for that matter — and it's that inability to control things that drew Hiddleston to the series. He told The Playlist, "And that to me was the most exciting aspect of the idea was to explore Loki in a different context. Challenge the character, confront the character with his self-destructive and damaging patterns of behavior, and put him in an environment where he wasn't in control."
There is no control amid the threat of Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) and time slipping. But as Hiddleston pointed out in an interview with Variety, Loki's power to choose may be the greatest power of all. "He realizes, 'Actually, I can choose my path and choose to do the right thing. Or I choose, at least, not to repeat the same old tricks that I repeated over and over in a cycle of trust and betrayal,'" he said.