As the Asgardian God of Mischief, Loki (of the Loki's catalog of powerful illusions and natural cunning have helped him cheat death time and time again, so Thor and the rest of Earth 616 will no doubt soon learn he's once again defied his own end.
Loki's multiple appearances in the MCU prove that he's naturally drawn to chaos. In the first Avengers: Infinity War.
Few other characters would have survived such a wild journey. But for a long time, death wasn't permanent for characters that weren't completely villainous in the MCU. Although Quicksilver's death in Thor: Love and Thunder, given his centrality to the series" Earth-616 Loki is dead, but a variant is currently trapped in a different branch of the Multiverse. With Loki season 2 confirmed, it's almost certain the God of Mischief will return before long, so here are all the times Loki has cheated death in the MCU (so far).
Loki First Cheated Death As A Baby
Before Loki was part of the Asgardian royal family, he was a Frost Giant - and a miniature one at that. His real father, the Frost Giant King Laufey, left him to die in a temple shortly after his birth. But Loki was destined to live a long and cosmically influential life full of encounters with death that started with this first instance. Soon after the war between Jotunheim and Asgard ended, a freshly-wounded Odin adopts Loki and uses his magic to alter the child's appearance so he can as an Asgardian. The Asgardian King then takes him as his own son and raises him alongside the rightful heir to the throne, Thor.
Although Odin's decision to save the abandoned child of his enemy seems like a sign of complete selflessness at first, the Allfather himself later reveals to Loki that it was all a strategic move to bring peace to the Nine Realms. This is a painful revelation that shakes Loki to his core and motivates him to wreak as much havoc as possible later down the line. Loki, tortured by being alone, despises living in his brother's shadow and hates the thought of not being enough. However, when the death of Odin comes in Thor: Ragnarok, Loki understands that his adoptive father actually considers him his son, which results in Loki's ultimate test of loyalty to his brother and his kingdom at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War.
Loki's False Death At The End Of Thor
The first time Loki willingly cheats death in the MCU happens at the end of 2011's Thor. After Loki betrays Laufey to protect Odin, Thor confronts Loki and tries to make him realize that wiping out an entire race doesn't make up for their father's mistake, but Loki is hellbent on his revenge. Thor realizes the only alternative left is to break the rainbow bridge, even if that means not being able to see Jane Foster again. Odin arrives and saves his sons from falling into the black hole they created, and Loki explains to him that everything he did was intended to make him proud, but the Allfather still disapproves of it. Loki lets go and falls into the abyss.
Not only does the trickster god survive the trip through the wormhole, but he also winds up in the Sanctuary, where he meets Thanos and The Other, who offer him the chance to rule over Earth in exchange for retrieving the Tesseract. To achieve this mission, Thanos grants Loki the Mind Stone, but Loki is beaten by the Avengers and taken back to Asgard to be put on trial.
Loki Faked His Death In Thor: The Dark World
When Malekith and the Dark Elves invade Asgard in Thor: The Dark World (and kill Loki's magically powerful mother, Frigga, in the process), Thor sees no other alternative but to free Loki, who knows the location of a secret portal that can let them escape. However, Malekith still catches up to them. In an attempt to distract him, Loki appears to switch to Malekith's side, but it's actually a distraction to help Thor destroy the Aether. Malekith's minion, Kurse, then attacks Thor. Loki jumps into action and sacrifices himself to protect his brother. He stabs Kurse to no avail, and the monster stabs him back, but Loki sets off one of Kurse's bombs and defeats him before dying in his brother's arms. Of course, Loki is always one step ahead, and it's revealed at the end of the film that he faked his death to return to Asgard, cast a spell on Odin, and impersonate him in order to become king.
Loki's death in Thor: The Dark World was intended as permanent, but the character is loved so much by the audience that the reactions at test screenings pressed for his return. Contrary to what the end of The Dark World suggested, Loki's fake death allows him to become a hero in Thor: Ragnarok, where he finally doesn't have to fake his death to prove himself a worthy opponent. Loki seems to leave his dark past behind and, he stands tall alongside his brother and his teammates even after Asgard is blown to pieces, ready to start from scratch.
Loki Unwittingly Cheated Death In Avengers: Endgame
It seems Loki maintains his tendency to evade death even after his actual death. Unfortunately for the reformed Loki in Thor: Ragnarok, the film ends when a very familiar ship comes into frame. Avengers: Infinity War begins with the big reveal of Thanos, now accompanied by the Black Order, ready to collect his due. Among the wreckage, Loki tries to distract the Mad Titan and unleash the Hulk. When this doesn't work out, Loki swears loyalty to him and then tries to stab him in the throat, but Thanos already knows all of his tricks. He chokes the god to death in front of Thor saying, "No resurrections this time."
For all intents and purposes, Loki's tragic death at the hands of Thanos is permanent. He has no chance to come up with any sort of illusion or contrived plan to fake his death once again. However, the Avengers: Endgame manages to give a variant of the god another chance at life when main-timeline Tony Stark drops the Tesseract by Loki's feet, putting the events of the Loki Disney+ show in motion. It's this Loki that's currently walking around very much alive in the MCU (although none of the other characters, including Thor, know this, since "Loki" has been trapped by Sylvie in an alternate timeline's TVA).
Loki and Sylvie Survive An Apocalypse at Lamentis-1
After being forcefully hired by the TVA and being shown his eventual death in the Sacred Timeline, Loki chases the time-hopping Sylvie, a variant of himself. Together, Loki and his female variant end up at the dying planet Lamentis-1, which is about to be obliterated by a falling moon. Despite their best efforts, both Lokis fail to make it out of the planet, and with the moon falling towards them, they find solace in accepting their fate.
This time, the main Loki is at peace with the thought of actually dying. His serenity soothes Sylvie, who has lived most of her life jumping from one cataclysmic event to the next but isn't prepared to die. Surprisingly, the deep connection they form at the last possible moment causes a drastic Nexus event. What the Time-Keepers consider a positive or negative impact on the Sacred Timeline is up for debate, but it seems Loki and Sylvie weren't supposed to care for each other that much. This helps the TVA find them and rescue them, but they're also captured and taken to the Time-Keepers.
Loki Survives Being Pruned By Ravonna Renslayer at the TVA
As unlikely as Loki and Sylvie's escape from Lamentis-1 is, the most shocking twist that follows is the "death" of Mobius and Loki himself. Once Ravonna Renslayer realizes that Loki and Mobius have found out the truth about the TVA — that its employees are abducted instead of created — she proceeds to prune them. The post-credits scene of Loki episode 4 reveals that Laufeyson didn't die. Instead, he was sent to a post-apocalyptic New York, where he's received by four other variants of himself: Boastful Loki, Classic Loki, Kid Loki, and Alligator Loki.
Loki has been a major influence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that simply refuses to die. With the threat of death gone for him, other obstacles arise. His identity, his motivations, and his glorious purpose are all put into question in the Loki Disney+ show, which proves that Loki has survived for a much greater purpose than he ever imagined. He now has a significant influence on the flow of time itself.
Loki Is Alive, But He Isn't In Thor: Love And Thunder
Avengers. At that point, Loki was still less than fond of his brother. Even if the living Loki variant weren't trapped in an alternate version of the TVA, it's doubtful his first instinct would be to reunite with the sibling who (from his perspective) just foiled his plans to conquer Earth. For his part, Thor still believes Loki is dead, so wouldn't know to go searching for him.
Loki won't be in Thor 4, but his Variant is alive when the film takes place. There's always a possibility that events in Thor: Love and Thunder set up some plot arcs for Loki season 2 or that there are Easter-egg references to the TVA, but a direct appearance from the God of Mischief is highly doubtful – but not impossible. There's always a chance Thor and Loki reunite in a post-credits scene, during which Loki's appearance wouldn't detract from Thor: Love and Thunder's already action-packed plot. Loki season 2 may take place before Thor: Love and Thunder (especially since time-travel is one of Loki's key plot elements), ending with Loki returning to Earth 616 just before meeting Thor in his hypothetical Thor 4 cameo, with their reconciliation becoming a central thread for a future movie. For now, though, both Asgardians are alive in the MCU but seem contained within their own franchises.
Loki Is Getting A Season 2
While Loki isn't in Thor: Love and Thunder, the previous season of the Disney+ show confirmed Loki season 2 will be arriving at some point in the future. season 2 doesn't have a release date yet, but filming started in 2022, meaning that a Loki season 2 release date as early as 2023 is a possibility. Several cast have been confirmed as returning, too. Tom Hiddleston will of course be back as Loki, and Owen Wilson is said to be reprising his role as Mobius. A plot arc for the pair will no doubt involve Loki trying to convince Mobius of the friendship the Trickster shared with Wilson's TVA Agent's season one variant. Sophia Di Martino will be back as Sylvie Laufeydottir, so another storyline will probably include Loki tracking down his wayward Variant/romantic interest.
Jonathan Majors is believed to be Loki connection they hoped for in Thor: Love and Thunder, but there's much more to come from Thor Odinson's morally ambiguous sibling. When Loki season 2 does finally reach Disney+, Marvel Studios will no doubt use it once again as a platform to set up the over-arching narrative of Phase 4/5. And, of course, it will also doubtless see the MCU's own God of Mischief cheat death multiple times once again.
