Tayyaba
Loki is one of the most popular characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and he has cheated death several times throughout the franchise. Recently, it was revealed that Loki’s first death in Thor: The Dark World was almost his last. In fact, the filmmakers originally intended for his character to truly die in that scene, but they changed their minds at the last minute – twisting it to look like an elaborate and brilliant deception.
Why was Loki brought back after his first death?
Tom Hiddleston (Loki) and Chris Hemsworth (Loki’s brother Thor) played the scene where Loki “died” as if it were a real death, signifying Loki’s redemption. However, test audiences did not believe that Loki was actually dead, so the scene was changed to include a post-credits scene where Loki is revealed to be alive. While some fans felt that this undermined Loki’s emotional death, it ultimately benefited the character in the long run with the change allowing Loki to continue his character arc from anti-hero to hero. In Avengers: Infinity War, Loki sacrificed himself for Thor, and his actions inspired his 2012 variant to become a hero as well. By sparing Loki, the writers set him up to be a consistent hero who would always put others before himself.
How did Loki manage to trick Thor with his first death?
Loki’s survival in The Dark World is well-known, but the details of how he faked his death are still unclear. One possibility is that he created an illusion of Kurse’s spear that visibly “stabbed” him, which is supported by the fact that there was little to no blood at the wound and that Loki had previously shown the ability to create illusions that were indistinguishable from reality. Additionally, Loki would not have had to maintain the illusion for long, as Kurse was quickly pulled into a black hole bomb. With that he would have nothing else to do but focus his energy on appearing lifeless in his brother’s arms. After Thor left, Loki could have simply continued with his plan, taking over Asgard and impersonating Odin.
Many people claimed that Loki could have created a body double and switched right before Kurse stabbing him. That theory can easily be refuted by the fact that Loki cannot create tangible illusions, and on screen we actually see Thor holding him as he fake-died.