The God of Mischief, from the start
Loki is the adopted son of Odin and the younger brother of Thor. In Thor, his first film, he is jealous, clever and badly hurt by a family secret he uncovers about his own origins. That wound drives almost everything he does for years. He is not a monster at the beginning; he is a son who never felt good enough, and the film lets you see the moment he starts to break.
Loki's titles in order
- Thor (2011, film, recommended)
- The Avengers (2012, film, essential)
- Thor: The Dark World (2013, film, recommended)
- Thor: Ragnarok (2017, film, essential)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018, film, essential)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019, film, essential)
- Loki (2021, series, essential)
- What If...? (2021, series, optional): an alternate-universe animated appearance
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023, film, essential): a post-credits scene
- Avengers: Doomsday (2026, film, essential, upcoming)
Release order and story order line up for the films. The series picks up from a moment inside Endgame, so it belongs after it.
Villain, brother, survivor: the big turns
The Avengers makes Loki the MCU's first major villain. He arrives on Earth with an army, an ancient artifact and a long list of grievances, and he is the reason Nick Fury's team exists at all. His scenes with the Hulk produce one of the most famous jokes in the franchise.
The Thor sequels soften him. The Dark World forces him into an uneasy partnership with his brother, and Thor: Ragnarok turns that partnership into something close to real affection, played mostly for comedy. Infinity War and Endgame then give his relationship with Thor some of its most emotional moments; it is best to see them without knowing what is coming.
A second life in the TVA
The Loki series follows a version of the character who escapes during the time travel in Endgame, so he never went through the growth of the later films. He is arrested by the Time Variance Authority, an agency that polices the timeline, and paired with agent Mobius, played by Owen Wilson. Watching this Loki slowly reckon with who he could become is the heart of the show. Where the series takes him is one of the biggest stories of the Multiverse Saga, and it should stay unspoiled.
The people who shape him
Thor is the core relationship in every Loki title. The Hulk, Nick Fury and Iron Man (Tony Stark) are his main opponents in The Avengers, and Tony's conversation with him in Stark Tower is a highlight. Odin and Frigga, his adoptive parents, matter most in the Thor films. More of his allies and rivals are in our MCU character directory.
Tom Hiddleston and the role that made him famous
Tom Hiddleston has played Loki from the first film onward, and few MCU performers have stayed with one role for so long. He brings theater-trained precision, a sharp sense of humor and real sadness, which is why audiences kept rooting for a character who started as the bad guy.
Beyond Marvel, Hiddleston starred in the spy series The Night Manager, the gothic romance Crimson Peak, Steven Spielberg's War Horse and the monster film Kong: Skull Island.
The best order to watch Loki's story
For the full arc, go in release order: Thor, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and then Loki. That way the series lands with all its weight, because you know exactly which version of him you are following.
If time is short, keep the five essential titles and skip the two recommended Thor films. You lose some family background, but The Avengers explains enough about him to follow along.