The Endgame’s time travel has released Loki from the fate of his death, he’s free to take a new path, but it also turned back the clock on his redemption arc. In his show, he’ll have the chance to make another journey from villain to hero, and Verity Willis could play a central role in this second redemption.
Loki will bring the resurrected Asgardian under the eye of the Time Variance Authority and the TVA’s Mobius M. Mobius, played by Owen Wilson. That means Loki has probably attracted attention for being an aberration in the timeline, and he may end up working for the TVA as their agent in much the same way he worked for Asgard in the Loki: Agent of Asgard comic run that introduced Verity.
Most of the show’s other characters have not yet been revealed, leaving room for Verity Willis to already be planned for the show. Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sophia Di Martino, Sasha Lane, Wunmi Mosako, and Richard E. Grant have been cast in so far unconfirmed roles that may align with Agent of Asgard characters. The known story details are also sparse aside from what has been revealed in the trailers, but fans already know what kind of story Loki needs from here to re-establish himself as a hero (or at least an antihero).
Loki will be hopping through many different timelines and possibly bringing Loki up against the villain Mephisto, who the trailers have already teased. There’s a big adventure ahead of the God of Mischief, and if he’s going to emerge from it unscathed, he’s going to need a friend like Verity Willis.
Who Is Verity Willis In The Comics?
Loki: Agent of Asgard threw Loki and Verity Willis together during a speed-dating incident. While he was looking for the trickster Lorelei, who was looking for a new mark during a speed-dating event, Verity Willis saw through his illusion. Everyone was meant to see Loki as a 40-year-old divorcé, but she saw the true face of the God of Lies. Verity revealed could see through any lie, even one that was small or well-intentioned. She couldn’t even stand watching a movie because any kind of fiction set off her lie-detection abilities.
Loki and Verity became good friends, and he called upon her special abilities in some of his missions, using her alongside Lorelei, Sigurd, and even his brother Thor to complete Asgard’s tasks. However, when Asgard double-crossed him by listening to Old Loki, his villainous future self who promised a golden future for Asgard if Loki remained a villain, Verity was also at Loki’s side as he went through an identity crisis about whether or not he could change his fate. Loki later referred to Verity as his best friend and took her with him to different realms to keep her close as the world ended.
How Did Verity's Friendship Change Loki?
In Verity, Loki found the one person that the God of Lies could not directly lie to, though he did manage to lie to her through omission at least once. Their dynamic forced him to have a much more honest and vulnerable relationship with Verity than he had with anyone else in his life. Because Loki’s friendship with Verity was rarely set back by his usual trickery, she had faith that Loki would be able to succeed in his redemption. Even when she learned that Loki was fated to end the world himself, she didn’t believe this future was set in stone.
Loki was constantly haunted by being the God of Lies in his other relationships, and Old Loki revealed this inability to escape the villainous role everyone cast him in led to his return to evil. Both he and Verity had to redefine their perception of lies to make their friendship work. Verity began to accept stories as truth because they were true to the teller, and Loki realized that, in this way, not all lies were necessarily evil. Loki was reborn again as the God of Stories, no longer tied to his fate as a villain.
Why Adding Verity To The Loki TV Show Would Be Good
In the timeline of his show, Loki never redeemed himself through his brotherhood with Thor, so he’s back to being the Loki who tricked Odin and Asgard. Without Thor in the picture for now, he needs a foil who balances his tendency toward trickery, illusion, and lies. For Loki to have a long-lasting future in the MCU, he can’t remain the perpetual villain.
Instead, he needs to find a way to turn his powers toward better ends, to redefine himself as Verity Willis helped him achieve in the comics. Verity, the friend who cannot be lied to, is the perfect character to provide that foil in the show. Loki has never had a relationship like that in the MCU, as even Thor and the Asgardians are susceptible to his lies.
Especially since Richard E. Grant is rumored to play Old Loki, Loki will need someone by his side who can keep the truth in check. Old Loki was able to trick his younger self and set up plans to ruin his former redemption in the comics, and he could be a similar looming threat in the show. One of Old Loki’s usual gambits was to convince Loki that his mere existence in the future proved he could never change, so Loki will also need someone in his life who believes in his capacity for change to continue on his path toward redemption. Loki may be unleashing the God of Mischief yet again, but Verity Willis could help him become the hero (or close enough) he always had the potential to be.
Next: MCU Theory: Loki Introduces Marvel's Post-Apocalyptic Superhero
