WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Loki Episode 4, “The Nexus Event,” now streaming on Disney+.
Loki laid the groundwork for variant Lokis in its first minutes, so the idea of meeting a Loki who’s not the one fans know is not surprising. Yet the mid-credits stinger of “The Nexus Event” still pulled the rug out from under fans with the presence of Kid Loki and Classic Loki in their comic-accurate costumes. Boastful Loki will be delightful to learn more about, but it’s the fourth member of this roaming gang of Lokis that instantly gripped the fandom’s heart. It’s clearly a Loki, but it’s also a reptile.
It’s a good year for memetic side characters. The Mandalorian‘s adorable Frog Lady took over the internet for an enchanting few weeks last November, earning herself a character poster and the online equivalent of a standing ovation when she made it home to her loving partner. Now, Loki has a wiggling reptile in a golden horned hat, wrapped in the arms of Jack Veal’s Journey Into Mystery-themed Loki. From Twitter to Tumblr, the response is a cry of adoration.
Fanart began to spread within hours of the episode’s late-night drop, and good-natured debates about what to call the critter sprang up. Though this new Loki is visibly an alligator — it has a curved snout versus a croc’s pointy snout — it’s hard to not call it Crocki, which just rolls off the tongue. Gatorki is more accurate, Reptile Loki is the safest, but all that’s known for sure is that this is a new God of Mischief with no comics history. The odds that it’s a pet with a funny hat are slim but possible. In all likelihood, however, it’s probably a Loki.
It’s easy to suggest a tie between this Loki and the famous Thor variant, Throg. As a powerful, hammer-wielding frog, Throg’s possible battles against his clever reptilian sibling captivate the imagination. But there are good questions fans are asking about the lineage of this particular Loki. Aside from being a reptile, what was its crime against the Sacred Timeline? Did this Loki, as one Tumblr user asks, have to go through processing? Did it have to wear a little beige jumpsuit? Was its official Time Variance Authority transcript a series of hissing noises, or can it speak telepathically? Was it actually Reptile Loki talking during the stinger, using Richard E. Grant’s stentorian voice?
Fans can hope some of this is answered next week. With previous teasers making it clear that there’s more variant Lokis to discover, there’s room for a few more minutes spent with the internet’s new sensation. Meanwhile, some fans are waiting for Marvel to recognize the fanbase’s desire for more content as quickly as they acknowledged Baron Zemo’s hottest dance moves. Miss Minutes is clocking time until a Reptile Loki character poster comes out, pre-sized to make the perfect cellphone wallpaper until the next great meme comes along.
Loki stars Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, Sophia Di Martino, Richard E. Grant, Sasha Lane and Eugene Cordero. New episodes air Wednesdays on Disney+.
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