He's the God of Mischief, he's got parent issues, he's Thor's brother, and he's dead… again. There's no doubt that the cinematic representation of Loki, brought to you by the talented Tom Hiddleston, has made an indelible mark across the MCU over the years. From sibling squabbles to bids for world domination, the villain — or hero, or antihero, or whatever role he's filling at any given moment — was a regular presence around the galaxy, until he was suddenly and unexpectedly swept away in the opening moments of Infinity War.
As the troublemaker would have wished, though, that wasn't the end of his impact on the greater MCU storyline, on or off the screen. Ever since the trickster's untimely demise, theories and rumors have run rampant regarding whether he was really dead, if he would return, and how his death (or resurrection for the hundredth time) could impact the epic showdown brewing in Avengers: Endgame. Here's our rundown on some of the ways that Loki, dead or alive, could impact the upcoming installment of the Avengers' story in as dramatic a fashion as the Prince of Lies can deliver.
Is he still alive?
First thing's first — is this god still alive or not? It's not a simple answer, for more than one reason. We're talking about Marvel here, a company that is renowned for undoing deaths, retconning and rebooting characters, and generally managing to always find a way to keep someone in the storyline when it suits them. From time travel to parallel universes, if Marvel wants Loki alive, you can be darn sure they'll do it. Add onto that the fact that Loki "died" at the end of Thor, came back and "died" again in Thor: The Dark World, only to circle back around and drop in yet again in Thor: Ragnarok, and it wouldn't be out of the question to assume that the Asgardian prince is still alive and well in a dark corner somewhere, smirking and biding his time.
The question is, do the creative minds of the MCU want him back or not? In November 2018, the Russo brothers were asked in an interview if Loki was masquerading as the Hulk in Infinity War, a popular fan theory that was circulating at the time.
The directors' laconic answer seemed to wrap things up with little room for argument: "Loki is dead." And you know what? We believe them. But that doesn't mean Loki is necessarily done. After all, the Russos have been known to make misleading statements before, which can typically only be excused via strict technicalities, as they did with the Endgame title.
A simple theory
The flat-out declaration of Loki's death by the directors, taken at face value, does dispense with the bulk of the fan theories about whether or not the god was alive throughout Infinity War. And we're not about to go on any deep dives to dredge up a bunch of possible fan theories on how he actually could be living. However, one point that a fan made on Reddit is worth consideration, as it sums up all of the skeptical hype over the issue.
This simple theory makes a few basic points about the setup of Loki's death scene, pointing out that he still is, after all, the God of Mischief. He wouldn't try to stab Thanos directly, nor would he put himself in danger when he could use his established cloning power to both be the hero and survive all at the same time. Add onto that the fact that Thanos very deliberately stated his "no more resurrections" line, in spite of the fact that there's no clear evidence he had any say over life and death at that point — remember, this is before he had all the Infinity Stones — and the whole scene, along with the Russos' confession, reeks of just another round of deception on the part of the wily Asgardian to keep everyone in the dark while he watches from the sidelines.
Avenge him
So, where does all of this leave us, then? Is Loki alive or not? Unfortunately, we simply can't make that call until the movie comes out. But the good news is that there are still plenty of different ways that Loki could affect the Endgame storyline, dead or alive. For instance, there's still the fact that he's Thor's brother, and the God of Thunder is still very much alive and kicking. While Thor's role in Endgame is going to be a big deal regardless, the fact remains that the King of Asgard's brother was killed before his very eyes, and by none other than the same fella that destroyed half of the universe at the end of the film.
While Thor has a laundry list of grievances against Thanos at this point — the mad Titan wiped out his people, killed his brother, slew Heimdall, shamed the Avengers, and so on — you can bet your bottom dollar that Loki's sudden heroic streak, cut short by a death grip from those purple, gauntleted fingers, is going to be quite present in the son of Odin's thoughts as he decides how to avenge his brother when Endgame rolls around.
