Loki Holds One MCU Record No Other Marvel Villain Will Ever Break

Tom Hiddleston’s MCU story as Loki may have come to an end with Loki season 2, but he now holds a Marvel record that will probably never be beaten by any other villain. First appearing as Thor’s half-brother and the ultimate Asgardian black sheep in 2011’s Thor, Loki has survived death more than most MCU characters, earning the kind of longevity to rival even Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man and Nick Fury.

On the hero side of the Marvel movie timeline, Fury holds the record with 14 appearances (15 if you include Agents of SHIELD), and is unlikely to disappear just yet. If Robert Downey Jr does return as Tony Stark somewhere in the future, that record may be under threat, but Fury himself could still appear in multiple MCU releases. That’s the big difference with heroes in the MCU: they build a brand and return frequently. In contrast, even the best MCU villains appear briefly and burn brightly, which is why Loki’s record is so impressive.

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Loki Holds The Record For Villain Appearances In The MCU

Despite early plans to kill Loki off for good in Thor: The Dark World, his enduring popularity in the MCU has led to appearances in 8 different MCU stories (across 9 movies and TV seasons). That is an incredible achievement given his planned role in Avengers: Age of Ultron was left on the cutting room floor.

Given the MCU’s habit of killing off almost every villain after only one or two appearances at most, Loki’s longevity is incredibly impressive. His development into an anti-hero, and then finally a hero – despite his outsider status and self-assigned villain label – helped extend that run, of course, but that was only ever possible because of Hiddleston’s popularity in the role. The complexity of the character also helped justify so many appearances.

How Loki’s Record Could Be Broken In Future

There are only two possible ways the MCU will break Loki’s appearance record in the MCU, and only one of them feels particularly likely. The closest competitor Loki has in the MCU is Thanos, whose return in What If…? season 2 will mark his seventh (6 by Josh Brolin and one by Damion Poitier in The Avengers post-credits scene in 2012). He’ll need to appear a couple more times to outdo Loki, but there is the possibility that he could appear in more seasons of What If…? There’s also a less significant chance that he could appear in some form when Harry Styles’ Eros reappears in the MCU (perhaps as part of his brother’s backstory).

More likely is the possibility that Loki himself breaks his own record. With both Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars promising to close out the Multiverse Saga, timelines, the multiverse, and the Council of Kangs’ war for supremacy could all bring God Loki back. After all, anyone seeking to win the coming Mulitversal War would either need to accept Loki will sit on his throne forever without seeking dominion, or will have to be removed to complete their own conquest. The Council of Kangs can only be as powerful as He Who Remains if they take Loki out, so they may just identify him as their next target.