Loki’s journey has been long and varied even though we technically saw him be slain at the hands of Thanos almost five years ago. Since then, the 2012 version of the adopted god has been transported to the TVA, to Ancient Rome, and to the End of Time. In Loki Season 2, he goes after what he’s been seeking for as long as he’s appeared in the MCU: the “glorious purpose” he is burdened with.
In the Season 2 finale, we see him take on an entirely new role. He replaces the Temporal Loom, creating a “Temporal Tree” that weaves raw time into a workable timeline that still allows branches and variants without the entire timeline breaking down. But is there something more to this scene than just the end of Loki’s story? A fan theory — and a wild rumor — suggests this scene is only the beginning.
The “Infinity Saga” may be over, but the Infinity Stones’ legacy still rings out throughout the MCU. Vision, once the keeper of the Mind Stone, was revived in WandaVision, and in Loki Season 1, we see Casey with a drawer full of variant stones (alluding to his past life as a thief in Alcatraz, possibly.)
In becoming the arbiter of time, Loki changes the branches to all glow a green color, alluding to his green-tinged magic. But fans also saw another parallel in this scene: green is also the color of the Time Stone, the Infinity Stone we were introduced to in Doctor Strange. Is Loki taking the place of the Time Stone, essentially making him part of a future Gauntlet?
This theory only goes deeper when you compare it to another transformed MCU TV character: Wanda Maximoff, in trying to find a way to be reunited with the children she materialized in WandaVision, used the powers of the Darkhold to manipulate reality. We see her corrupted with red magic, which just happens to be the color of the Reality Stone.
Two may be a coincidence, but three is a pattern. In The Marvels, we see Monica Rambeau manipulate space through her powers, which eventually leads her into another universe entirely. Could she be the manifestation of the Space Stone, especially considering how her powers manifest as blue energy?
All these returning stone motifs may be alluding to something big. A recent Variety article claimed that Marvel executives were looking into reviving the original Avengers, including the ones who had canonically passed away. Though Kevin Feige dismissed those rumors, Scarlett Johansson told Today that while returning would require a “Marvel miracle,” she’s not denying anything, instead saying “who knows?” Could Natasha Romanoff, the character sacrificed in order to secure the Soul Stone, return as the manifestation of the stone itself?
It would be a huge swing for the MCU to go back and revisit the Infinity Saga in a new light, but it would be an entirely new take on them, now focusing on the human elements behind these concepts instead of just the power of the Stones themselves. If it ain’t broke, why fix it? Just find a way to remix it and we could just see a new Marvel Golden Age.
