All hail Loki, God of Mischief! Compulsively watchable, utterly charismatic, and played to perfection by Tom Hiddleston, Loki has been a fan favorite character ever since his introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Thor. He’s a villain-turned-antihero-turned-hero who you just can’t help but root for.
He’s also incredibly dramatic.
Even if you don’t like Loki (and if you don’t, how?), you have to admit that he knows exactly how to make an entrance and milk every moment for maximum drama. So before Loki gets the spotlight all to himself in Loki on Disney+, here’s a ranking of every MCU movie based on Loki’s most dramatic moments.
Disqualified: Any MCU movie without Loki
Tragically, some movies do not feature Loki. And that means there are no dramatic Loki moments to celebrate. Therefore, every Loki-less MCU movie is excluded from this list. This all could have been avoided if every movie added a little more Loki, but sadly we cannot be so fortunate.
6. Avengers: Endgame
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Loki’s least dramatic film appearance is still full of iconic moments, which is a true testament to his commitment to drama. What little we see of Loki in Endgame occurs during the Avengers’ time heist, when they return to the Battle of New York in order to retrieve some of the Infinity Stones.
Their plans are derailed when Loki steals the Tesseract. Classic Loki, foiling plans from the future and causing enough chaos in the timeline to warrant getting his own Disney+ show. On top of Loki’s time-bending escape, we also witness him shapeshifting into Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), which is such a delightful way to make fun of your captors (and steal a scene).
5. Avengers: Infinity War
Unfortunately, we don’t see much of Loki in Infinity War, seeing as Thanos (Josh Brolin) kills him in the opening scene. Loki has faked his death in previous movies, so the most dramatic thing here is that this time, his death sticks. It’s a heavy loss, and it immediately establishes Infinity War‘s heightened stakes.
That being said, Loki goes out like a champion. He protects Thor (Chris Hemsworth), claims his identity as an Odinson, and even makes a callback to a classic Avengers line: “We have a Hulk.” He also pretends to double cross Thor (again, classic Loki) and join up with Thanos, all as a ploy to get close enough to try to kill him. While that doesn’t succeed, it’s still a far cry from the Loki we met in the early stages of the MCU. Many may remember Loki as a villain, but he died a hero.
4. Thor: The Dark World
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Loki is easily the best thing about Thor: The Dark World. From the moment we see him in his prison on Asgard, Loki is full of quips, smirks, and catty remarks. Also, he impersonates Steve Rogers again, making it official: Chris Evans mimicking acting like Loki is the world’s most ambitious crossover.
Loki reaches new dramatic heights in this movie when he fakes his own death and poses as Odin (Anthony Hopkins) in order to rule Asgard. The twist that Odin is actually Loki is nothing short of iconic: as Thor walks away from a heartfelt chat with his father, Odin ripples with green light and turns into — gasp! — Loki himself. You may ask, “why does Loki drop his illusion when anyone, including Thor, could see him?” For the sake of a dramatic reveal, obviously. Good for him.
3. Thor
While Loki’s theatrics in other MCU films add flair to his larger-than-life persona, they’re grounded more than ever in his familial relationships in Thor. That’s because in Thor, Loki finds out his true parentage: he’s the son of Laufey, leader of the Frost Giants. His heartbreaking reaction to the news is enough to send Odin into Odinsleep. That’s the power of family drama.
Also I’d be remiss not to shout out the moment where Loki multiplies himself and just laughs at Thor during their final battle. It’s so perfectly dramatic and one of the first times we see Loki really embrace his villainy.
2. Thor: Ragnarok
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Undoubtedly the funniest movie in the Thor franchise (and arguably the entire MCU), Thor: Ragnarok gives us plenty of iconic Loki drama. There’s the completely black suit he wears to visit Earth. Or how he yells, “I have been FALLING for 30 minutes!” at Doctor Strange. Or how he stages a heroic play about his own (fake) death while pretending to be Odin.
But the standout moment comes in the film’s final battle on Asgard, when Loki emerges from the mist on a spaceship and loudly proclaims, “your savior is here!” It’s a heroic act — Loki is trying to save Asgardians, after all — but there’s no way the God of Mischief would pass up an opportunity to make a dramatic entrance. And who can blame him?
1. The Avengers
“I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose.”
With this line, and throughout The Avengers, Loki reaches the absolute peak of theatricality. As soon as he arrives on Earth, grinning with levels of evil glee previously thought unreachable, he is the perfect image of a villain who revels in his own dramatic exploits. It’s clear that he sees himself as the hero of some great epic, delivering speeches about conquering humanity with gusto. Who can forget him screaming “kneel!” at a crowd, or monologuing about his godly status before the Hulk decisively annihilates him?
All of that doesn’t even touch on the smaller moments of perfectly crafted dramatic flair. Like how Loki oh-so-casually flips his scepter before beating up a museum guard, or how he grabs an arrow out of midair and gives it a disappointed “is that all you’ve got?” look. Add his classic horned helmet to the mix and you’ve got a pitch-perfect villain.
Loki premieres on Disney+ June 9.