Summary

  • The Time Variance Authority (TVA) was formed by He Who Remains to oversee the stability of the Sacred Timeline and prevent branching realities from emerging. Variants who deviated from the timeline were captured and erased.
  • He Who Remains, a Kang variant, is the creator of the TVA and the Sacred Timeline. He formed the TVA to prevent the emergence of new Kang variants and a second Multiversal War.
  • Sylvie's killing of He Who Remains led to the unraveling of the Sacred Timeline and the creation of the multiverse. This event will have a lasting impact on the MCU, influencing future projects such as Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Marvel Studios' Loki season 2. Loki introduced a whole new world to the MCU, with new characters, technology, and universe-changing ideas to boot.

Loki's two seasons focus primarily on the Asgardian God of Mischief, but the series also affects the rest of the MCU, though the TVA hasn't yet been seen in any other Marvel Studios project. Loki season 1 not only debuted several new characters to the MCU but also helped to introduce the primary villain of the Multiverse Saga, who will have an important role in projects, particularly Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars. Loki's place in the MCU's timeline can be confusing, and the many new concepts it's introduced may be overwhelming, so here's a breakdown of every piece of lore introduced in the popular Marvel Studios series.

Who Formed The TVA & What It Does (& Why)

Mobius and Loki in the TVA in Loki season 1

Initially thought to have been constructed by the cosmic Time-Keepers, the Time Variance Authority (TVA) was later revealed to have been the brainchild of He Who Remains. He Who Remains established the TVA as an organization overseeing the stability of the Sacred Timeline. The TVA's workers ensured that any variants who veered from the Sacred Timeline, potentially creating a branched reality, were captured and tried, with the branching timeline being erased from existence or pruned.

What Is The MCU's Sacred Timeline?

Sacred Timeline in Loki season 1

The Sacred Timeline was established by He Who Remains after he won the Multiversal War against his more villainous variants. In order to create it, He Who Remains pruned all other timelines, singling out only one, and built the TVA in order to oversee its stability. While He Who Remains maintained the Sacred Timeline from the Citadel at the End of Time, the TVA workers would be boots on the ground, pruning timelines for their enigmatic dictator and eliminating any potential variant threats.

Who Is He Who Remains & What Is His Connection To The Wider MCU?

He Who Remains in the MCU

Jonathan Majors debuted as He Who Remains in Loki season 1's finale, introduced as the resident of the Citadel at the End of Time and the creator of the TVA. In actuality, He Who Remains is a variant of the MCU's Kang the Conqueror, who made his first appearance in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. After fighting a war with his other variants - the Council of Kangs seen in Quantumania's mid-credits scene - He Who Remains formed the Sacred Timeline and the TVA to ensure no branching realities could grow far enough to allow new Kang variants to emerge, preventing a second Multiversal War.

What Happened When Sylvie Killed He Who Remains?

Sylvie killing He Who Remains in Loki season 1's finale

Sylvie, a female variant of Loki portrayed by Sophia Di Martino, murdered He Who Remains in Loki season 1, completing her lifelong mission but leaving a lasting impact on the MCU. He Who Remains had dedicated his life to maintaining the Sacred Timeline, though effectively rid the cosmos of free will. After Sylvie murdered him to restore free will, the Sacred Timeline unraveled, allowing the multiverse to be created. This informed the events of subsequent MCU projects, including Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and will be crucial to the MCU's future.

Miss Minutes' Role In The TVA

Miss Minutes angry in Loki season 1

Miss Minutes, voiced by Tara Strong, is the anthropomorphic clock mascot of the TVA. Although not much is yet known about Miss Minutes' origins in the MCU, she was revealed to be working directly for He Who Remains and was potentially even created by the Kang variant. Miss Minutes acted as the gentle guide to the TVA for new variants, as well as providing to the TVA's more senior of staff.

What Is The MCU's Void?

The Void in MCU

First introduced in Loki season 1, the Void is a barren landscape situated at the end of time, where everything the TVA prunes ends up. Matter cannot simply be destroyed, so rather than killing variants of destroying timelines, the TVA's Time Sticks and Reset Charges transport the matter to the Void. There, a giant creature shaped like a storm cloud, Alioth, devours any organic matter, but the manmade matter of erased timelines collects in grand makeshift cityscapes. The Void included many MCU Easter eggs, including references to the pages of Marvel Comics.

Why Variants & Timelines Are Pruned

Mobius being pruned in Loki season 1

In order to prevent a second Multiversal War from emerging, which he proclaims is an inevitability if his numerous variants are allowed to exist, He Who Remains demanded that any variants that enable a Kang to come to power be pruned. This effectively means that these individuals and timelines were completely erased from existence, being sent to the Void at the end of time, where they'd be devoured by Alioth. This meant that no further variants of Kang the Conqueror could exist, as the Sacred Timeline ensured that the only variant of Kang was He Who Remains, though this is no longer the case.

Who Are The Workers In The TVA?

Hunter B-15 and Mobius in Loki

He Who Remains couldn't handle the massive workload of the TVA himself, so he staffed the organization with variants taken from the branching timelines. These variants, instead of being pruned, would have their memories of their lives on Earth wiped, and would be allocated a specific role inside the TVA. Minute Men such as Wunmi Mosaku's Hunter B-15 are the TVA's militia, while Owen Wilson's Mobius M. Mobius is an Agent. Judges, including Gugu Mbatha-Raw's Renslayer and Liz Carr's Gamble, and Generals, such as Kate Dickie's General Dox, are high-ranking of the TVA, though there are also lower-level staff such as Eugene Cordero's Casey.

Loki's Time-Slipping Explained

Loki time-slipping in Loki season 2 episode 1

Loki season 2, episode 1, "Ouroboros," introduced the new concept of time-slipping, which means that Loki is thrust through the past, present, and future uncontrollably and violently. While it's supposedly impossible for anyone to time-slip within the TVA, Loki time-slips to three different timelines of the TVA in Loki season 2's premiere. While the exact nature of Loki's time-slipping hasn't specifically been explained yet, this could be due to his exposure to the Sacred Timeline and conversation with He Who Remains in season 1's finale.

What Is Loki's Temporal Loom?

Mobius and the Temporal Loom in Loki season 2 premiere

The Temporal Loom was introduced in Loki season 2's premiere as a monumental piece of equipment that weaves pure time energy into physical timelines. It's currently unclear exactly what the purpose of this technique is, but it's possible that this could be the machine that allowed He Who Remains to isolate the Sacred Timeline from the multiverse. The Temporal Loom is integral to helping Loki with his time-slipping infliction, but in the future timeline that he travels to, it's revealed that the Temporal Loom is in critical condition, suggesting it could have a catastrophic impact on the TVA.

Who Is OB & Why Is He So Important?

Ouroboros in Loki season 2 episode 1

Ke Huy Quan debuted as Ouroboros, a.k.a. OB, in Loki season 2, introduced as a member of staff at the TVA who works alone in the Repairs and Advancements Department. Every piece of technology in the TVA was either designed by OB, or he is the only one who knows how to fix it and keep it operational, making him an incredibly important figure in the TVA. Nevertheless, few know of his existence. Interestingly, whereas the other TVA workers have their memories wiped periodically, OB's memory has not been erased, meaning he likely re centuries of the TVA gone by that everyone else has forgotten.

Why Time Doesn't Matter In The TVA

Loki revealing Kang's face in Loki season 2 episode 1

Similarly to the MCU's Quantum Realm, time is supposedly meaningless in the confines of the TVA. This means that human variants can be repurposed as workers in the TVA and work for centuries on end without aging a day. This is because the TVA exists outside the normal rules of time and space, though not much is yet known about where and when exactly this might be. The TVA's use of TemPads and Time Doors allows its workers to travel throughout all of human history to maintain the Sacred Timeline, but the true nature of time in the TVA in Loki is still unclear.

Key Release Dates