Episode 2 of Loki ended on a bombshell reveal–the Loki variant that the TVA had been chasing through time and space was, in fact, a woman. This prompted many fans to speculate on the introduction of a popular comics version of the character, known as Lady Loki. However, despite the clear parallels some parts of the puzzle seemed to be missing. Her design was specifically very different for one, and for another, she immediately seemed to rail against the comparison to Loki himself when they met.
Of course, we didn’t get much time to examine the possibilities as Episode 2 drew to a close in truly chaotic fashion. But here, in Episode 3, we get to spend some quality time with this new character–and learn that she might not be a version of Lady Loki after all.
Spoilers for Loki Episode 3, “Lamentis,” from here on out.
Around midway through the episode, the variant volunteered an alternative name for herself–Sylvie–after repeatedly rebuffing any comparisons to Loki himself. She never elaborates on the name’s origins (or her own, for that matter) and Loki seems to take it in stride. Fans of Thor comics, however, will undoubtedly recognize the name as a reference to Sylvie Lushton, a side character in Thor comics that ran through the ’00s.
This is where things get a little weird, so bear with us. Prior to this particular story arc in the Thor books, Asgard had been destroyed and relocated to a small town in Oklahoma where the gods were either reincarnated wholesale or began inhabiting newly created bodies. This is actually the point of origin for the most popular incarnation of Lady Loki as well, who was a body created to reincarnate Sif that wound up being taken over by Loki instead.
In the chaos, Loki took the opportunity to do a little experiment of his own. Curious to see what would happen if a mortal began to believe they were an Asgardian, he either found or made Sylvie Lushton, a human girl, and gave her powers (and possibly memories) based on those of another Asgardian–Amora the Enchantress.
In the comics, Amora is a green-clad magic user who is most commonly seen acting as Loki’s on-again-off-again partner in crime. She’s also unique among Thor-adjacent characters in the fact that she’s one of the few Asgardians who isn’t directly based on any version of Norse mythology. She shares some similarities with mythological characters like Freya, but is ultimately just a comic book anti-hero. As such, she’s typically found acting as a sort of “female Loki” already, sharing many of his powers and chaotic ambitions without any of the historical ties.
Things are a little murky here, to be sure. It’s never explicitly clear if Sylvie herself was built from the ground up by Loki or if he really did just happen upon an unsuspecting mortal girl and tamper with her brain. The end result, however, is the same–a girl who was otherwise nobody suddenly had incredibly powerful magical abilities, and, hilariously, a spontaneous “Asgardian accent.”
Sylvie became known as the Enchantress, taking over the title from Amora herself–though it became a name they shared after Amora was eventually reincarnated properly.
This is all a very convoluted way of saying that Sylvie on the show may not actually be a Loki variant at all, but an entirely unique character who has managed to trick her way into being known as a Loki variant. Certainly there would be some benefit to being associated with someone as powerful as Loki, especially if your plans involve galavanting across time and space. This would mean that her cageyness about her past and her clear distaste at being called a Loki by the man himself are at least partially genuine.
However, there’s an equal possibility that the MCU is taking some major liberties with the source material here, something that they tend to do, and blending multiple versions of the story into a new and updated spin. It’s entirely possible that Sylvie is a Loki variant and also the MCU’s answer to Enchantress, or that the name or title Enchantress will simply be a convenient way for the MCU to differentiate between the two incarnations of the same character. This would mean that Amora proper is unlikely to make her way onto the big or small screens–though we should never say never. After all, look at the Mandarin.
It’s unclear whether or not Tom Hiddleston will continue to return to the MCU after Loki wraps, so introducing Sylvie as the de facto “new Loki” without literally making them two different versions of the same character would definitely have some benefits for future storylines.
Loki airs on Disney+ every Wednesday.
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