Mild spoilers for episode three of Loki below
Disney+ has been giving me life with their limited Marvelverse series WandaVision, Falcon and the Winter Soldier and now Loki have given us an in-depth look into the characters we love from the Avengers and Captain America franchises. Three episodes of Loki have aired so far and it is not disappointing. And as we are closing out Pride Month, Marvel has come out to declare that Loki is the first openly bisexual character in the MCU. This shouldn’t come as a surprise as trickster gods like Loki are often pansexual, bisexual, gender fluid, or all of the above. In fact in the comics, Loki is written as pansexual and gender fluid.
While having a conversation with Lady Loki in episode three, Loki let it be known that he has had a few dalliances with both sexes. Loki director, Kate Herron, confirmed this revelation with a post on Twitter. Below are a few more highlights from People:
In episode three of Disney+’s Loki, Tom Hiddleston’s titular character reveals his sexuality during a conversation with a female timeline-hopping variant named Sylvie. While discussing romantic partners, Sylvie asks Loki: “How about you? You’re a prince. Must’ve been would-be princesses. Or perhaps another prince.”
“A bit of both. I suspect the same as you,” Loki replies.
Following the episode’s release, series director Kate Herron confirmed on Twitter that the scene had established Loki as the MCU’s first openly bisexual character.
“From the moment I joined @LokiOfficial it was very important to me, and my goal, to acknowledge Loki was bisexual,” she wrote. “It is a part of who he is and who I am too. I know this is a small step but I’m happy, and heart is so full, to say that this is now Canon in #mcu.”
Retweeting Herron’s message, actress Sophia Di Martino, who plays Sylvie, wrote: “And look at that beautiful lighting,” referring to the hues of pink, purple and blue that light the scene, which match those of the bisexual pride flag.
Loki coming out is yet another highlight of Pride Month 2021. It looks like Marvel is making sure that they have representation in their characters and I am here for this. Marvel also confirmed that Valkyrie is the first LGBTQIA character of the MCU and will have a LGBTQIA storyline in the upcoming Thor movie. This is why I will always stan the MCU. While the DCEU has been having all the issues with racism and misogyny, Marvel is over here winning.
I am excited to learn more about Loki as the story develops. I hope that Disney and Marvel make a Loki movie (the last I googled there is no rumor of one yet) and/or extend the Loki series to a season two. Having hours of sexy AF Tom Hiddleston on my screen would just be a dream. And knowing that Loki is representation of a marginalized community would make a movie icing on the cake.
From the moment I joined @LokiOfficial it was very important to me, and my goal, to acknowledge Loki was bisexual. It is a part of who he is and who I am too. I know this is a small step but I’m happy, and heart is so full, to say that this is now Canon in #mcu #Loki 💗💜💙 pic.twitter.com/lz3KJbewx8
— Kate Herron (@iamkateherron) June 23, 2021
Suuuuuure he is. 🙄 Call me when this is ever made apparent apart from a few snippets of dialogue easily edited out in international markets. Loki has never shown sexual or romantic interest in anyone onscreen to date (male or female), so it’s an easy avoid for them. Anyway, here’s your cookie and a pat on the head MCU.
Exactly. Let’s have a storyline with a male romantic partner.
Yeah…. I love that this step has been taken, but make it a major storyline. They keep trying to get bonus points for this, but I want an epic romance for him. Not some throw away comment.
I realize this is fanfiction, but I would die of happiness if the partner was Owen Wilson’s character.
I’m not going to rewatch the scene to confirm but I swear the question was whether he was courted by princes and princesses. That’s a stretch from being responsive to such courtship and thus “openly bisexual”. So as you say “nice try”.
Now if you want an example of an openly bisexual character in fantasy/sci-fi may I suggest Captain Jack Harkness.
Personally, I feel kinda weird labeling Loki as gender fluid or bisexual or anything else relating to how humans in real life define gender and sexuality. He’s a shapeshifter who, in ancient mythology, became a mare and gave birth to an eight-legged horse. He’s shapeshifted into a woman, too, IN THESE MOVIES. Like…I feel like he can’t really be defined by the typical ways we would use because he’s not human.
I’m bisexual and more power to anyone who feels happy about this inclusion, but on a personal level, I dislike that this is looked at as some huge stride for the MCU when Loki the character has historically been anything and banged everyone, lol.
I double co-sign everything you’ve said.
Indeed. Loki, mythologically, is the definition of the term ‘fluid’ in general. Loki becomes what he/she/they need to be and does whatever whenever, usually to advance some scheme, right?
He definitely reads very cis-man and heterosexual in this series but we’ll see! Maybe we’ll see him branch out more. I love the show.
I see him as asexual in the series, but these are gods, so whatever goes.
I agree – he’s read as very asexual to me because of how they wrote his primary driving factors. However, I would argue that he should be labelled as pansexual. @Case made a very good point that he “has historically been anything and banged everyone” – if that doesn’t meet the definition of ‘pan’, then I don’t know what would!
I guess you’re right. He is mostly asexual. I don’t know why I perceived his cis manliness and flirting with TVA guards, Lady Loki, etc. as being more hetero. He’s so nerdy-hot in the show. Definitely crush on him now even though I never really have in the past. He does say he’s pan so maybe we’ll see that play out more instead of him just saying it, in future episodes or the next season (Guess we haven’t learned pronouns for him yet, either?). Here for it.
I don’t know, I feel odd giving Marvel a cookie for the bare minimum here. Like, it took over a decade for one character to say one line about being bi. That’s not great.
I think the romantic storylines were mostly secondary in the MCU, and I can’t think of one I actually thought was passionate or romantic or there was real romantic chemistry between the actors. But I also don’t feel like I need that from the MCU?
That’s always been a pet peeve of mine. I don’t want or need romantic storylines and as a woman I feel like movie producers shove them in to attract a female audience.
I loatheddddddd the Captain American/Sharon Carter attempt in Winter Soldier. 100% unnecessary and forced.
And the Black Widow and Hulk storyline makes me angry. So not necessary!
I actually really liked the Captain America /Black Widow friendship tho
We have banana & nutella stuffed French toast and raspberry pancakes on the veranda this rainy morning.
Kevin Feige has been strongly hinting that there will be a Season 2 of Loki and I wouldn’t be surprised if one or both Lokis or even Richard E. Grant, shows up in Dr. Strange: Multiverse of Madness.
Rainy? If only!
To offset all the sweetness on the virtual veranda, I’ve brought a plate of tandoori chicken sandwiches, a heaping bowl of tzatziki, and baguettes.
I always read Loki as asexual, even if the original one in the Edda has all kinds of strange offspring – a snake, human twins, Sleipnir the eight-legged horse.
I’d be happy if Loki was revealed to be gender-fluid, or bisexual, but I don’t think there’s much wiggle room in the storyline.
I’m looking forward to season two, and I thought it was confirmed they’d start shooting in January ’22.
I don’t know why people are getting hung up on this. There are multiplr lgbtq+ hereos in marvel (in the comics). For example, Deadpool is fluid, and Captain Marvel is a lesbian (which i hope they touch on in the next movie).
I mean it’s good but I’d actually like to see this form part of the storyline as well
Not a cookie, per se, but my kids (16/17 y.o.) were so happy (they actually yelped and screamed) with that line because they were frustrated with the ignoring of the canon sexualities of the characters portrayed (or not portrayed) in the MCU films/tv shows.
I read Loki in the films to be asexual, but I knew his character to be pansexual, like Deadpool.
Now, if only my daughter would stop yammering on about SamBucky/Winter Falcon hookup I’d be good.
So long as they didn’t do this to add a stamp on their bingo diversity card. I’ll be happy when they have Loki kiss a man onscreen.
If this makes people happy, cool cool. But the admission was as barely-there as possible.
Which only bothers me because Marvel wants their accolades while still playing it so safe, and that’s gross.
Personally, I’m fine with Loki remaining undeclared until such time as the story requires he get amorous. Every show seems to shoe-horn in a romance even when it’s not needed, and it’s not my thing, so I’m happy when a show chooses not to.
I think it’s a good first step, but I do think companies will be more genuine on this issue when they actually allow bi and gay romance to occur on screen. Sex/romance really is what defines that aspect of us. Even marriage isn’t really applicable, IMO, because that’s a borrowed institution settled in a lot of heterosexual norms. Show me happy intimacy between lgbt+ characters, and I’ll call that real progress.
From what I remember about Norse mythology, Loki is a trickster and sexual. Fluid. Turned himself into a female horse once.
True, he’s not sexual in the films. He’s more into chaos and trickery than romance but the whole “prince and princess” thing didn’t surprise me. He’s over 1,000 years old, he’s had his mits in a few cookie jars of different persuasions.