Why Loki's Post-Credits Scene Is A Cooler Marvel Reference Than You Think

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Loki episode 6.

Loki's post-credits scene combines two Marvel traditions. At last, Loki's glorious purpose has truly been revealed. Two variants of the trickster god traveled to the Citadel at the End of Time, where they finally discovered the true mastermind behind the Time Variance Authority. And the MCU's Multiverse will never be the same again.

But that's not to say this is a victory. Before he was slain by Sylvie, He Who Remains revealed he was indeed the last survivor of the Multiversal war - the one who had triumphed over all other variants of himself. Without the TVA to guard the timeline, the Multiverse would return to a state of chaos, leading to the creation of countless timelines - and other variants of himself would soon emerge, each one seeking to dominate creation itself. Comic book readers will immediately recognize this as a twisted origin story for Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania. And then, just to confirm this Multiversal arc is far from over, Marvel dropped another reveal in a post-credits scene - Loki will return for season 2.

This post-credits scene actually combines two Marvel traditions. The post-credits scenes flow from Kevin Feige's love of cinema; "As a film nerd, I never wanted it to end," he explained in one interview. "So when I started making movies, I’d be like that’d be fun to do. We didn’t wanna put [the Nick Fury scene] in the body of the film ’cause we thought it would be distracting. So we thought we’d put it at the very end of the credits for people who like me when I was a kid could be rewarded for staying." Meanwhile, Marvel has also enjoyed teasing the future of their characters by including a tag saying when a titular hero would next return. For this Disney+ TV series Marvel decided to put these two approaches together, and use the post-credits scene to officially announce Loki season 2.

A folder showing a stamp saying Loki will return in season 2

Loki Post-Credits Scene Combines 2 Marvel Traditions For The First Time

It's an amusing approach, and it allows Marvel a lot of creative freedom because - unlike a traditional post-credits scene - it doesn't give much away. While Marvel has a reputation for long-term planning, the truth is they're a lot more adaptive than people think, and those post-credits scenes risk locking the studio in creatively. That's why Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, meaning the story will have moved on significantly by the time we get to Loki season 2. Marvel is wise not to drop a post-credits scene that unwittingly restricts them.

Besides which, this particular post-credits scene is perfectly fitting for Loki. The show stars Tom Hiddleston as Marvel's most egotistical god, a being so self-absorbed he'd never be willing to set up somebody else's story. No, instead Loki season 1 ends in the perfect way - simply confirming its titular character will return to deal with the consequences of his actions in a second season. That's really all Loki himself would want to know - and all we viewers need to know for now as well.

More: Every Comic Book Power Loki Learned From The Other Variants

Loki will return for season 2.