Every Time Loki Cheated Death In The MCU (& How)
James Austin Tom Hiddleston's trickster god faked his demise multiple times in the MCU, but Loki couldn't stop cheating death, even if he wanted to.
As the Asgardian God of Mischief, Loki has hundreds of years of experience in deceiving everyone around him, but one of his most impressive achievements might be cheating death itself. Loki's propensity to play for both sides in every conflict usually gives him an advantage over all parties involved, which also entails twice the danger if his hidden motivations get uncovered. Luckily for him, Loki's catalog of powerful illusions - besides his outstanding talent for deceit and his deranged charisma - often serve as his gateway to cheating death.
Loki's multiple appearances in the MCU prove that he's naturally drawn to chaos. In the first Thor movie, Loki shows his true colors when he finds out that he's a Frost Giant, which drives him to betray his family and leave Asgard. Once he comes to Earth in The Avengers, Loki becomes a full-fledged villain and incites the Earth's Mightiest Heroes to assemble for the first time to stop an extraterrestrial invasion. However, Loki quickly transforms into an anti-hero during his adventure alongside Thor in Thor: The Dark World. After his attempt to impersonate Odin in order to rule Asgard falls short, Loki joins the battle against his estranged sister Hela in Thor: Ragnarok and sacrifices himself in an attempt to kill Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War.
Few other characters would have survived such a wild journey. In fact, Loki seemed to bite the dust more than once, only to return unscathed. But for a long time, death wasn't a common element for characters that weren't completely villainous in the MCU. Although Quicksilver's death in Avengers: Age of Ultron was the first instance of a hero dying for good, it wasn't until Loki's death at the hands of Thanos during the opening sequence of Avengers: Infinity War that the MCU finally committed to saying goodbye to popular characters. But now, with the Loki Disney+ series bringing back a variant of the God of Mischief, it seems that Loki can't stop cheating death even if he wanted to.
Loki First Cheated Death As A Baby
Before Loki was part of the Asgardian royal family, he was a Frost Giant - and a miniature one at that. His real father, the Frost Giant King Laufey, left him to die in a temple shortly after his birth. But Loki was destined to live a long and cosmically influential life full of encounters with death that started with this first instance. Soon after the war between Jotunheim and Asgard ended, a freshly-wounded Odin adopts Loki and uses his magic to alter the child's appearance so he can pass as an Asgardian. The Asgardian King then takes him as his own son and raises him alongside the rightful heir to the throne, Thor.
Although Odin's decision to save the abandoned child of his enemy seems like a sign of complete selflessness at first, the Allfather himself later reveals to Loki that it was all a strategic move to bring peace to the Nine Realms. This is a painful revelation that shakes Loki to his core and motivates him to wreak as much havoc as possible later down the line. Hurt and scared of being alone, Loki despises living under the brother's shadow and hates the thought of not being enough. However, when the death of Odin comes in Thor: Ragnarok, Loki understands that his adoptive father actually considers him his son, which results in Loki's ultimate test of loyalty to his brother and his kingdom at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War.
Loki's False Death At The End Of Thor
The first time Loki willingly cheats death in the MCU happens at the end of 2011's Thor. After Loki betrays Laufey to protect Odin, Thor confronts Loki and tries to make him realize that wiping out an entire race doesn't make up for their father's mistake, but Loki is hellbent on his revenge. Thor realizes the only alternative left is to break the rainbow bridge, even if that means not being able to see Jane Foster again. Odin arrives and saves his sons from falling into the black hole they created, and Loki explains to him that everything he did was intended to make him proud, but the Allfather still disapproves of it. Loki lets go and falls into the abyss.
Not only does the trickster god survive the trip through the wormhole, but he also winds up in the Sanctuary, where he meets Thanos and The Other, who offer him the chance to rule over Earth in exchange for retrieving the Tesseract. To achieve this mission, Thanos grants Loki the Mind Stone, but Loki is beaten by the Avengers and taken back to Asgard to be put on trial.
Loki Faked His Death In Thor: The Dark World
When Malekith and the Dark Elves invade Asgard in Thor: The Dark World (and kill Frigga in the process), Thor sees no other alternative but to free Loki, who knows the location of a secret portal that can let them escape. However, Malekith still catches up to them. In an attempt to distract him, Loki appears to switch to Malekith's side, but it's actually a distraction to help Thor destroy the Aether. Malekith's minion, Kurse, then attacks Thor. Loki jumps into action and sacrifices himself to protect his brother. He stabs Kurse to no avail, and the monster stabs him back, but Loki sets off one of Kurse's bombs and defeats him before dying in his brother's arms. Of course, Loki is always one step ahead, and it's revealed at the end of the film that he faked his death to return to Asgard, cast a spell on Odin, and impersonate him in order to become king.
Loki Unwittingly Cheated Death In Avengers: Endgame
It seems Loki maintains his tendency to evade death even after his actual death. Unfortunately for the reformed Loki in Thor: Ragnarok, the film ends when a very familiar ship comes into frame. Avengers: Infinity War begins with the big reveal of Thanos, now accompanied by the Black Order, ready to collect his due. Among the wreckage, Loki tries to distract the Mad Titan and unleash the Hulk. When this doesn't work out, Loki swears loyalty to him and then tries to stab him in the throat, but Thanos already knows all of his tricks. He chokes the god to death in front of Thor saying, "No resurrections this time."
For all intents and purposes, Loki's tragic death at the hands of Thanos is permanent. He has no chance to come up with any sort of illusion or contrived plan to fake his death once again. However, the Time Heist from Avengers: Endgame manages to give a variant of the god another chance at life when main-timeline Tony Stark drops the Tesseract by Loki's feet, putting the events of the Loki Disney+ show in motion.
Loki and Sylvie Survive An Apocalypse at Lamentis-1
After being forcefully hired by the TVA and being shown his eventual death in the Sacred Timeline, Loki chases the time-hopping Sylvie, a variant of himself. Together they end up at the dying planet Lamentis-1, which is about to be obliterated by a falling moon. Despite their best efforts, both Lokis fail to make it out of the planet, and with the moon falling towards them, they find solace in accepting their fate.
This time, the main Loki is at peace with the thought of actually dying. His serenity soothes Sylvie, who has lived most of her life jumping from one cataclysmic event to the next, but isn't prepared to die. Surprisingly, the deep connection they form at the last possible moment causes a drastic Nexus event. What the Time-Keepers consider a positive or negative impact on the Sacred Timeline is up for debate, but it seems Loki and Sylvie weren't supposed to care for each other that much. This helps the TVA find them and rescue them, but also capture them and take them to the Time-Keepers.
Loki Survives Being Pruned By Ravonna Renslayer at the TVA
As unlikely as Loki and Sylvie's escape from Lamentis-1 is, the most shocking twist that follows is the "death" of Mobius and Loki himself. Once Ravonna Renslayer realizes that Loki and Mobius have found out the truth about the TVA — that its employees are abducted instead of created — she proceeds to prune them. The post-credits scene of Loki episode 4 reveals that Laufeyson didn't die. Instead, he was sent to a post-apocalyptic New York, where he's received by four other variants of himself: Boastful Loki, Classic Loki, Kid Loki, and Alligator Loki.
Loki has been a major influence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that simply refuses to die. With the threat of death gone for him, other obstacles arise. His identity, his motivations, and his glorious purpose are all put into question in the Loki Disney+ show, which proves that Loki has survived for a much greater purpose than he ever imagined, as he now has a huge influence on the flow of time itself.
