Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Loki season 2.
Lokiwas the third Disney + show to debut in 2021 and quickly became theMCU’s strongest series to date. With Tim Hiddleston returning to the iconic role, audiences were treated to grand adventures across various timelines and realities hidden in the MCU. Following his capture at the hands of the Time Variance Authority, or TVA, Loki and his new-found running mates soon find out that not everything may be as it seems at the organization tasked with protecting the sacred timeline at the center of the MCU. This puts our heroes on a collision course with He Who Remains at the literal end of time. We learn that He Who Remains is but one of many variants of a cruel and powerful conqueror and that the death of He Who Remains will open the doors for these variants hellbent on war to control the multiverse.
This “conquerer” is, of course, Kang the Conqueror, who was played by Jonathon Majors inAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.Majors also played He Who Remains inLokiand Victor Timely in season two. Both of these were meant to be teases for Kang as a villain that would be greater thanThanos as the ultimate MCU villain. However, recent developments at Marvel Studios seem to be shifting, andLokiseason 2 possibly changing the plan to move the showdown to Loki and Kang earlier, leaving the MCU in an interesting place.
Update August 14, 2025: This article has been updated with more information following Loki season 2 and recent developments in Marvel Studios.
The Story So Far
Following Loki and Sylvie’s interaction with He Who Remains in the season one finale of the series, Loki returns to the TVA on his own only to find himself in a timeline where his friend Mobius does not recognize him, and the TVA is adorned with a statue of Kang. That was the cliffhanger at the end of the first season and was quickly resolved inLoki’ssecond season premiere when it was explained that Loki had gone to the past, that’s why Moebois (Owen Wilson) didn’t know him, and those statues were hidden behind newer ones, proving He Who Remains was the creator of the TVA.
Lokiseason two was set as amultiversal adventure, even more so thanDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,with Loki interacting with another Kang variant, Victor Timely, an inventor from the early 20th Century. Even then, Loki’s real adversary was all the alternative timelines created by the murder of He Who Remains and how they were going to destroy the TVA, time, and space in the process.
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The second and maybe final season ofLokiwas all about the many timelines that had appeared after Sylvie killed He Who Remains, so much so, that in its last episode, once Loki has learned to control his time slipping, he goes back to that moment and the conversation they had with the Kang variant, in what was their first encounter.
He Who Remains tells the God of Mischief, the Temporal Loom (what Loki and his team have been trying to fix all season) is a fail-safe to preserve the Sacred Timeline and that he engineered all, so he’ll always win unless Loki kills Sylvie. He Who Remains even mocks him, telling him: “The outcome remains the same, you lose.” The showdown between Loki and Kang was not a physical battle but a conversation, just like the end of season 1. Yet, instead of Loki killing He Who Remains like Sylvie did, he rewrites the story.
Loki’s Season 2 Ending Changes Everything
Loki goes back in time and decides to “sacrifice himself” to save his loved ones. He watches the Loom explode and grab every timeline and universe, giving them new life and allowing its people to have some agency in their own futures. Loki creates a new Sacred Timeline modeled after Yggdrasil, the World Tree in Norse Mythology, with various branches that he himself holds together. Loki sits on a throne like he always wanted but at the cost of being alone at the end of time.
Related:How Can Marvel Pivot Away From Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror?
This noble sacrifice changes the outcome, as He Who Remains is never seen again and is finally defeated. Even if its multiple variants still appear, at least for now, they don’t know about the existence of the TVA, giving Loki’s friends (and all the heroes in the MCU universe) a chance to fight back against each variant (including the one Ant-Man and the Wasphas already defeated). Loki’s friends at the TVA now appear to be hunting variants, and Loki being the one who restored the multiverse certainly gives the heroes a fighting chance against the Council of Kings.
Yet, with Loki and Kang having their showdown in season 2, what does this mean for the future now?
Uncertain Future
It is currently unclear if Marvel Studios is still committed to keeping Kang the Conqueror as their major villain. Following the disappointing critical and box office reaction ofAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniaand the allegations against Jonathan Majors, which have resulted in a court case, reports suggestMarvel Studios is moving away from Kang the Conqueroras the villain. Rumors have circulated they will either focus on Doctor Doom or even pivot to an Avengers vs. X-Men movie. Downplaying Kang recently gained more weight afterAvengers: The Kang Dynastydirector Destin Daniel Cretton dropped out of the film to focus on Shang-Chi 2.
If the franchise still keeps Kang and either maintain Majors in the part or recasts, Kang and Loki might still cross paths. IfAvengers: The Kang Dynastystill does happen, they will likely make their assault on Loki since he is holding the Multiverse together.The nextAvengersmovie is the most likely place Loki will show up again.
If the franchise does move away from Kang, then the idea of a Loki and Kang showdown still happens. The two faced each other in both the season 1 and season 2 finale ofLoki. In season 1, a Kang variant held the upper hand, the author of Loki’s pain. Yet in the season 2 finale, Loki was able to confront He Who Remains and rewrite the story on his terms. He defeated He Who Remains, outsmarted him, and did what Kang never could.Lokiseason 2 offers a great way for Marvel Studios to end the Kang storylineand allow them to focus on other Avengers villains. Loki has already beaten Kang.
