Loki's Timeline In The MCU Explained

First introduced in 2011's "Thor," the role of the villainous Loki went to little-known British actor Tom Hiddleston, who had previously worked with director Kenneth Branagh on the crime drama "Wallander." Hiddleston proved to be a stand-out star and a fan favorite, bringing effortless charm and sympathetic soul to what might otherwise have been a one-note baddie. His 2013 appearance at San Diego Comic-Con in full regalia as the god of mischief, as reported by BuzzFeed, certainly endeared him to fans, but his performances alone have always been enough to make him — and Loki — an integral part of the MCU.

Loki returns in "The Avengers" and every subsequent "Thor" film, as well as "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame." Though he eventually dies at Thanos' hands, this is not the end: "Loki," his very own series on Disney+, stars a Loki "variant" from an alternate timeline. As this long and complicated history can be a bit hard to keep up with, we've created this handy guide, which breaks down the Asgardian prince's story in its entirety. From his birth in Jotunheim to his variant's adventures at the end of time, this is Loki's timeline in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, explained.

Though we've not seen much of Loki's youth on Asgard, we do know he and his brother had a contentious relationship. Loki's penchant for mischief emerged early on: In the madcap "Thor: Ragnarok," we learn of several of his childhood antics, including the time he turned himself into a snake to bait his brother into a vicious stabbing. Thor wasn't without his own wicked sense of humor, though — he often used Loki as bait himself as part of their "get help" ruse, in which they feigned distress to escape trouble. 

The brothers truly loved each other, but Loki believed their father favored Thor, which caused bitter jealousy and resentment. Loki's feelings were seemingly confirmed when Odin told them, "Only one of you can ascend to the throne, but both of you were born to be kings." Loki knew full well Odin intended Thor to succeed him on that throne. Still, Loki remained close to his family — particularly his mother, Frigga. He shared a deep love and bond with her, especially as it was she who taught him sorcery. His respect and devotion to her didn't stop him from engaging in troublesome pranks, though, like when he visited Midgard as D.B. Cooper, turned Thor into a frog, and cut off a lock of Sif's hair.

After being cast off Asgard, Loki finds himself in the presence of Thanos, who has begun a quest to collect the six legendary Infinity Stones. He gives Loki a scepter powered by the Mind Stone and tasks him with collecting the Tesseract, a cosmic cube that contains the Space Stone. In exchange, Loki will get to rule Earth with the help of the Chitauri army. After Loki steals the Tesseract, however, Thor tracks him down. With the help of Captain America and Iron Man, he apprehends Loki and brings him into the custody of Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. 

A new team is assembled to stop Loki, including the three aforementioned heroes and Bruce Banner, Clint Barton, and Natasha Romanoff. But the God of Mischief is prepared, and devises a plan to turn them against one another. It almost works, but not quite –  the newly-minted Avengers are too mighty even for Loki, and ultimately prevail. In the end, Loki is taken into custody by Thor, and returned to his own realm to face Asgardian justice. He not only fails Thanos — he allows two Infinity Stones to fall into human hands.

With Malekith and the Dark Elves defeated and the Aether removed from Jane Foster, Loki finds himself a free man on Asgard. Unwilling to risk losing his newfound liberty and seeing a unique opportunity in his present circumstances, the god of mischief confuses Odin with a spell and sends him to Midgard. In Odin's form, Loki finally takes what he believes is his rightful place as king of Asgard. When Thor comes to him, even he is fooled by the deception, allowing Loki to grant him freedom to explore the Nine Realms. He knows Thor's love of adventure will keep him far from Asgard.

Unfortunately, after Thor defeats the demon Surtur and brings his crown back to Asgard, he becomes suspicious of "Odin," who rules their ancestral home with casual decadence. Exposed, Loki takes Thor to Midgard to see their father, who is near death. After Odin's last breath is exhaled, Hela, the goddess of death and the brothers' hidden sister, is unleashed. Thor and Loki attempt a getaway through Heimdall's rainbow bridge, but Hela manages to throw Loki off-course, which lands him on a far-off planet called Sakaar.

During Thor's escape from Sakaar, the rebellion he starts proves successful: The rag-tag band of fighters led by the Kronan named Korg manages to overthrow the Grandmaster. Looking to escape Sakaar at long last, they board a massive starship — but not before Loki offers to join them as their leader. Though he's initially seeking a simple escape, Loki goes on to have a change of heart, and convinces the rebels to travel to Asgard. With their help, he hopes to join Thor and Valkyrie in their attempt to defeat Hela and save their realm from total annihilation. 

When they arrive, Thor is losing a brutal fight with Hela, and the Asgardian people are at the mercy of her undead army. Announcing himself proudly as savior, Loki shepherds the fleeing Asgardians to safety aboard their ship while Thor, Valkyrie, the Hulk, Heimdall, and Korg battle the enemy soldiers. Though the group fights valiantly, it becomes clear that defeating Hela means destroying Asgard. The decision is made to abandon the glittering realm and take the Asgardians into the stars, to search for a new home.

Let's back up a bit to the events of 2012's "The Avengers," when Loki attempts to use the Mind Stone and a Chitauri army to conquer Earth. There, a group of Avengers from some 10 years in the future arrive via a time machine devised by Tony Stark using Hank Pym's quantum technology. In their timeline, that of "Avengers: Endgame," Thanos has eliminated half of all life in the universe. They're embarking on a risky plan to steal the Infinity Stones from the past to undo the damage of their future. While the original plan is to pluck the Stones from the timeline and return them without anyone ever noticing, things go quickly awry, which creates an entirely new timeline. 

While they attempt to steal the Tesseract after Loki's defeat in New York, an ill-timed interruption by the Hulk comically fumbles the cube, leaving it at the god of mischief's feet. Creating a new branching timeline, Loki grabs the cube and uses its portal powers to escape Thor's custody. In the "prime" timeline, Thor takes him back to Asgard to stand before Odin's judgement. In this new one, the future is unwritten.

After a complicated hunt through history, Loki discovers his troublesome variant is a woman named Sylvie, who is, like him, the adopted child of Odin and Frigga in another reality. But Sylvie became the target of the Time Variance Authority in her youth, and was accordingly captured and scheduled for pruning. Sylvie managed to steal a TVA TemPad device and get away, however. She's remained on the run ever since. Over the course of her long existence, she has learned that the TVA isn't exactly what it appears to be, and neither are the so-called Time Keepers. 

Loki is fascinated and even charmed by Sylvie. Curious what secrets she knows, desperate to escape the TVA, and experiencing sheer affection, he joins her on her quest. Initially, Sylvie does not want Loki's help, and even attempts to kill him — on more than one occasion, no less. But the pair are eventually stuck together on a doomed world, and bond over their shared experiences. Now true allies, they set out to reach the realm at the end of time, in the hopes of uncovering the TVA's deepest, darkest secret.