Marvel Update to Loki's Bio

[lynnenne]

Hello, friends! Welcome to your Sunday discussion post. This week's topic:

About a month ago, Marvel updated their official character bio for Loki to include this retcon:

Arriving at the Sanctuary through a wormhole caused by the Bifrost, Loki met the Other, ruler of the ancient race of extraterrestrials the Chitauri, and Thanos. Offering the God of Mischief dominion over his brother’s favorite realm Earth, Thanos requested the Tesseract in return. Gifted with a Scepter that acted as a mind control device, Loki would be able to influence others. Unbeknownst to him, the Scepter was also influencing him, fueling his hatred over his brother Thor and the inhabitants of Earth. [my emphasis]

What's your opinion on this "official" statement? How do you interpret it? Was Loki mind-controlled or merely made crankier than usual, the way Bruce was when he was holding the scepter during the big argument scene in The Avengers?

Does this change your view on Loki's character or his behavior? Is Marvel's "official" statement different from your head canon?

And why do you think they felt the need to update his MCU bio now, seven years after The Avengers was released in theatres?

Comments

[glitteryv]

I saw it as a weak retcon to sort of nullify the general characterization of Loki as a villain that most people (both in and outside of the fandom) have. Mostly because I saw a flurry of Loki's uber fans saying "See? He was a victim!!!!!1111!!" which made me eyeroll. FTR, I don't mind a Loki whose loyalties and ability to be "good" are mutable.

Thankfully, I often see canon as a suggestion so this 'explanation' to Loki's role in the first Avengers movie doesn't handwave my own headcanon. Which, again, it's more of a Loki who is morally grey (though probably good if it's really beneficial to him.)

No idea why they opted to retcon the F out of him update his bio. Maybe to pave the way for the upcoming Loki miniseries in the Disney+? No idea if it has anything to do with Endgame (I'm trying to steer clear of most spoilers/spoiler-y discussions about that movie). But, in the end, it felt like an unnecessary movie from Marvel (imo, at least)

[lynnenne]

FTR, I don't mind a Loki whose loyalties and ability to be "good" are mutable.

Same, I prefer him that way. I like my antagonists the way I like my protagonists: conflicted.