[Warning: Article contains spoilers for the latest episode of Loki. Read on at your own risk.] What started off in the MCU as an unintentional nod to Star Wars became very much intentional. Kevin Feige has many times over admitted that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has paid homage to its Disney-owned sister franchise…. We’re of course referring to someone in an MCU feature losing a hand/arm in honor of one of the most iconic scenes in all of Star Wars. If you don’t know it by now, go watch The Empire Strikes Back. That’s when Darth Vader forces Luke to follow in his father’s limbless legacy. Well, the traditional continues in the latest episode of Loki.
Episode 5 of Loki, “Journey into Mystery,” finds the God of Mischief thrown in with several other variants of himself in The Void at the end of time. (Brilliant as the original comic book version of the Asgardian trickster is Richard E. Grant.) It’s not long before a slew of others descend upon them and chaos ensues. In the melee, President Loki loses a hand to his alligator variant counterpart. Thus continues the long-standing MCU tribute to Star Wars.
Loki continues traditional MCU nod to Star Wars
This obviously isn’t the first time writers have had a character in the MCU honor Star Wars. Thor lost a limb (ironically to none other than Loki) in Thor: Dark World. Villain Ulysses Klaue sacrificed his forearm to Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron, too. The list of Marvel victims goes on and on, including Groot, Ant-Man’s Yellowjacket, and others. While President Loki is the most recent casualty, Bucky Barns has shouldered the brunt of the burden in the MCU.
Poor James Buchanan Barnes has lost the same limb not once but three times. First, we learn that he severs his arm during the fall from the train in Captain America: The First Avenger. Tony Stark then blasts it off in Captain America: Civil War. Finally, a Dora Milaje unceremoniously pops it off in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Perhaps Sebastian Stan’s resemblance to Star Wars star Mark Hamill is to blame.
The MCU returns to theaters (and Disney+) tomorrow with Black Widow. Who thinks Loki won’t be the last to lose a limb? Give us a show of hands. (Sorry, couldn’t resist).
