What a time to be a Marvel fan. While the initial season of Loki may have concluded, the seeds for bigger stories and a much larger universe have only been planted. Without further ado, here are 3 things we’ve learned following 6 episodes of Loki! MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!

Before we get started, check out my other ‘Things We Learned’ posts from recent film and shows on Disney Plus!

#1 She gets a Kang, he gets a Kang, EVERYBODY GETS A Kang!

What an incredible debut by King Kong errr Kang the Conqueror. With how Episode 5 had ended, I will 100% eat crow and admit that I didn’t think they’d actually introduce him during the finale. Jonathan Majors’ charisma and horror elements in Kang’s character took it up a major notch. The fact that Kang won even in death shows just how terrifying of a villain he will be in the Marvel Cinematic Universe down the road. Even further, Kang literally tried to save us from himself in the finale. Make no mistake, Kang has entered the building with the new MCU phase officially kicked into high gear.

What does Kang’s presence in the finale mean moving forward?

I’m glad you asked. WandaVision and Falcon and the Winter Soldier were great in their own right. But it was Loki that truly set up the next phase of the MCU. With Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on the horizon, expect Jonathan Majors to have a prominent role moving forward in more ways than you’d expect. With Kang’s variants unleashed following the events of the Loki finale, I expect Kang to have Stan Lee-esque cameos in many of the future MCU films and Disney Plus series. Kang the aerospace engineer. Kang the detective. Kang the news reporter. Kang isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

We all thought that the first three phases of the MCU were incredibly ambitious. You know what Kevin Feige says to that? “Hold my beer.”

We know that Kang has Ravonna running around as his secret weapon. There is no doubt that she is going (well attempt) to ensure that this version of Kang wins the upcoming War of Kangs. We also now know that Kang will be the main baddie for Phase 4. As we discuss below, I foresee Kang playing a huge role in the upcoming Fantastic Four film as he has an extensive history with them. My guess is that Kang’s introduction is the true first step toward an upcoming Avengers film. A journey that will surely have Kang take center stage which will eventually put us head on with Secret Wars (similar to Infinity War and Endgame down the road).

This is going to be a massive story that will involve both the small and big screen. If there was anything to learn about Loki, it’s the fact that Kevin Feige is not afraid to utilize Disney Plus as sources for major events in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is exactly how the finale of Loki felt. Phase 4 will surely center around Kang. However, there is something even bigger coming to the MCU. If you know anything about Secret Wars, then you know one of the biggest villains in all of comics is surely in Kevin Feige’s plans…

#2 Opening the door to villain origin stories

Let’s take a few steps (more than a few) into the future. As a DC Comics truther, it’s incredibly exciting for the fact that Kevin Feige is going to take his time to develop meaningful villains in the MCU. I’ve always been one who has favored stories centering around interesting villains, which is an area where the MCU is a bit weak. There is no question that Thanos was an elite comic book movie villain. After that however, it’s a bit convoluted as Hela and Killmonger were both one-offs. After those three (wait, let me add Adrian Toomes to the top of the list), it’s not a stretch to say that the rest is mediocre at best.

We may be years away from this, but there is no doubt in my mind that the door has officially opened for God Emperor Doom to make his MCU debut.

The Loki finale was literally all about giving a Kang his origin story. One could even say that the entire premise of Loki season one was to unleash Kang (and his variants) across the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I have been pounding the table for Doctor Doom to finally get his moment on the big screen. Before we go further, please don’t bring up those terrible Fantastic Four films. When Kevin Feige announced that F4 would officially join the MCU back in December, my excitement circle around one character: Victor Von Doom.

Kevin Feige knows his audience… and he knows that fans want Doom

The moments in Avengers: Endgame was pure spectacle. How do you top that? Here is one way: watching Doctor Doom rise for the sole purpose to take down Kang. With Kang likely being the main villain for season two of Loki, then why can’t Doom get his own series on Disney Plus? His backstory and subsequent rise to power offers a ton of great source material and would be perfect for the medium. As great as Kang’s debut was in the Loki finale, I cannot stop thinking of the potential for a Doctor Doom origin series moving forward. Doom’s portrayal cannot be mediocre or passable. It has to be executed masterfully like Thanos or Loki, which is exactly why it’d be best suited for Disney Plus.

#3 The scene that changed everything

To wrap it up, let’s circle back to the amazing Loki finale. I would argue that the timelines branching was even more exciting than Thanos’ snap in Avengers: Infinity War. We all knew the contracts for the major players heading into that amazing film. I mean come on, everyone knew that Spider-Man was going to come back. Here, the branching of the multiverse opens the door to so many possibilities for Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios.

We haven’t seen any clues as to how the multiverse will impact Shang-Chi, which hits theaters on September 3rd. While it makes much more sense to have Shang-Chi be a standalone film at this time, you can be sure I’ll be on the lookout for hints at roaming variants in the film. Remember the trailer from Eternals? “Throughout the years we have never interfered…until now.” Could that have been directly referring to the events of Loki’s finale and the upcoming rise of Kang’s variants? If I was a betting man (I’m not), I’d put serious money on the Eternals finally getting involved due to the upcoming War of Kangs.

Everyone knows the impact Loki has on Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange 2, but lets go deeper and further…

How about the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder? Has there even been a Thor movie without Loki? There is no question that Loki’s arc will eventually lead him to an epic confrontation with his brother. What about the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy sequel and the search for Gamora? Could Gamora, heck even Jane Foster, actually be variants? The list goes on and on, including the potential to integrate the universes of Marvel and Sony. For example, at this point Venom has no idea Spider-Man exists. That can very well change very fast and you know that I’ll be here for all of it.

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