TV

‘Loki’ Gives The MCU It’s First Openly Bisexual Character And Fans Are Emotional

It was a very bisexual episode all around!

by Merryana Salem  27 June 2021
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The following piece contains spoilers for the most recent episode of Loki.

3 episodes in and Disney Plus’ Loki series is certainly living up to its chaotic and mischievous namesake. Between the time travel, magic, gods, and monsters, there’s a lot of things you could call the series but boring isn’t one.

But in all the chaos, series director Kate Herron made space for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first moment of bisexual representation. In episode 3, Loki runs off with Sylvie, the woman variant of himself he’s supposed to be helping the Time Variance Authority capture.

Loki and Sylvie escape the TVA, only to end up trapped on a dying and very purple planet called Lamentis. On Lamentis, the pair sneak onto a train full of the rich fleeing their crumbling planet.

Stowed away, the two steal a quiet bonding moment and discuss the differences in their timelines and love lives. Sylvie asks him, “You’re a prince. Must’ve been would-be princesses, or perhaps another prince?” To which Loki replies, “A bit of both. I suspect, same as you.” The scene is even lit up with the colours of the bisexual pride flag: purple, blue and pink.

The conversation confirms that Loki and versions of him from different timelines are bisexual, including Sylvie. But it will come as no surprise to those familiar with Norse myths or his Marvel comic counterpart. In both, Loki is gender and sexually fluid to maximise their mischief.

Marvel films have featured characters who are LGBT in the comics before, but this aspect of who they are has typically stayed unconfirmed. Examples include Deadpool, Bucky Barnes, Valkyrie (Thor: Ragnarok) and Ayo (Black Panther). This moment between Loki and Sylvie in marks the first time an LGBT character has had their sexuality confirmed in the MCU.

Here’s hoping this is the beginning of a long-overdue era of LGBT superheroes in the MCU.

New episodes of Loki stream every Wednesday exclusively on Disney Plus.