Marvel Explains Away X-Men & Eternals Being Unknown In The MCU

One of the biggest issues the Marvel Cinematic Universe faces is explaining how the X-Men and Eternals already exist in the franchise without anyone having heard of them before, but Loki‘s series premiere provides an on-the-nose and neat answer to that predicament. Loki is the third TV series to release as part of Marvel Studios’ new initiative with Disney+, tying the TV shows into the core MCU films. While Marvel Television made several of their own shows in the past, these new ones are MCU specific.

A core part of that means there’s extra space to flesh out characters and storylines, and even set up new ones, without clogging up the movie pipeline. And fans will surely appreciate having new Marvel content practically year-round. So far, WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier have resolved plot points leftover by Avengers: Endgame while setting up future films like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Captain America 4, as well as some other movies and shows. Next up to do the same is Loki, which uses its series premiere to subtly explain away why the X-Men and Eternals can already exist in the MCU without causing a problem.

Given time travel wasn’t a thing in the MCU until Tony Stark invented it in Endgame, it’s curious that an entire organization – the Time Variance Authority – would already exist, and would already have managed the Sacred Timeline for what seems to be thousands, if not millions, of years. When Loki questions how he never knew they existed, he’s told he didn’t know because he didn’t need to until now. Marvel can easily use that argument to explain why the X-Men and Eternals have been in hiding, and why no one’s heard of them; it’s because no one needed to know of them.

In the Eternals’ case, it’s easy for Marvel to explain their absence in world (and galaxy) events like Loki’s invasion and Thanos’ conquest, because their one rule has been to never get involved in the affairs of Earth. It’s even explained in the first Eternals movie trailer. As for the X-Men, that’s a bit more complicated since they’re not aliens, but rather people with ordinary lives that are upended when they discover they have powers. Usually, that’s when Professor X or Magneto come into the fold and recruit them. Still, the MCU can apply the same explanation for the TVA to the X-Men by saying they’ve remained hidden because it was necessary, and it’s possible they’ve even used their powers to wipe the minds of anyone who found them.

Even in Loki, the TVA has their own ways to reset events to prevent anything from happening to the timeline. While it’s easier to accept the TVA and Eternals being unknown in that regard, it surely will be more difficult to explain where the X-Men have been all this time. Still, that’s something Marvel doesn’t have to deal with for a while given the X-Men film is still in early stages of development, whereas Eternals releases in 2021.

Loki releases new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.