WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Loki, Episode 2, “The Variant,” streaming now on Disney+.
Loki, or at least versions of him, have clearly plagued Time Variance Authority agents long before the events of the Loki series on Disney+. In one of the show’s Easter eggs, Mobius flashes a brief look at some of the other Lokis the TVA has hunted down. They’re a wild bunch, and their very existence suggests that the TVA has been chasing Loki variants for some time.
Mobius’ holographic projections only showed a brief look at the variants, but their appearances were designed to convey the extremities of variation. There are seven when including the two “main” variants. A brief breakdown of each one follows. Although, more variants are sure to come.
Main Loki (L1130)
The “main variant” Loki is the show’s protagonist: the one that viewers know the most about because of his active participation in the Marvel Cinematic Universe up until this point. He used the Tesseract to escape captivity during the events of Avengers: Endgame, creating a branching timeline that the TVA pruned. The variant was brought back to TVA headquarters to help track down Lady Loki, whom he followed through a time door after breaking away from his captors at the end of Season 1, Episode 2, “The Variant.” His current motives are unknown, though he’s presumed to be a little harsher and more self-serving than the “prime” Loki, who died during the events of Avengers: Infinity War.
Frost Giant Loki (L6792)
This version of the God of Mischief actually comes closest to the Prime Loki, with his trademark Asgardian outfit and appearance. There’s just one difference: his skin is pale blue, reflecting his Frost Giant heritage. This variant clearly embraces his bloodline more openly than the main variant. Perhaps because his version of Odin was more honest with him about where he came from or because he chose to flaunt his status as a Frost Giant for his own reasons.
Cyclist Loki (L1247)
Also known as “Tour de France” Loki, this variant appears to have given up on ruling Asgard and embraced the world of championship cycling. He appears dressed in a cyclist’s uniform, including the famous yellow jersey the Tour de France uses to denote its current leader. He’s holding the race’s Coupe Omnisports trophy in his left hand and apparently waving to a crowd with his right. The actual trophy was stolen in 2018 and never recovered, and a replacement was issued to winner Geraint Thomas. That suggests that this variant Loki stole the trophy in a move similar to his D.B. Cooper stunt from Loki Season 1, Episode 1, “Glorious Purpose.”
Troll Loki (L6792)
There’s some debate as to the origins of this Loki’s differences. He appears to have an overly muscled, possibly misshapen form, along with horns growing naturally out of his head. His pants are torn, and there seem to be clumps of moss growing from sections of his arms and shoulders. The torn clothing and large muscles suggest that he is some variation of the Hulk. However, others have noted the resemblance to Asgardian trolls such as Ulik in the Marvel comics. In that case, this Loki may have hailed from a completely different species.
Pan Loki (L8914)
This might be the strangest Loki of the lot and seems to possess the traits of an entirely different God of Mischief. He’s dressed in green with a series of elaborate necklaces around his neck. His horns appear natural, and he has cloven hooves, along with a thick beard and eyebrows. The visage suggests Pan, the Greek god of wild lust and abandon, in which case the necklaces might refer to some kind of festival. Then again, this Loki may simply hail from a world where everyone looks that way.
Viking Loki (L7803)
This Loki is closest to the original myths, appearing in traditional Viking garb that includes a large helmet with his trademark horns extending from it. His shoulders are covered in moss, a reference to the cover of The Mighty Thor #6. The outfit suggests that this variant might have diverged back in the Middle Ages when the Norse actively worshipped the Asgardians as gods. It also implies that this Loki is more of a warrior than the main variant and perhaps more ready to fight with his brother Thor on the front lines.
Sylvie
Sylvie currently lacks a variant number, though the TVA seems to consider her a Loki variant. Whether or not that turns out to be the case has yet to be seen, and evidence suggests she may be a version of the Enchantress. Regardless of her final origins, she likely has a number of tricks up her sleeve to cast doubt on her identity. She certainly dresses the part of a Loki variant: wearing a cut of his Asgardian leather and a metal headband fitted with smaller versions of his horns.
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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