Long before it hit theaters, Avengers: Infinity War had Marvel fans guessing who would live,
who would die, and what would happen if, and when, Thanos got his hands on the Infinity
Stones.
Now that the movie’s out, though, the speculation hasn’t stopped, and some fans have a new
theory that might change everything… in the unlikely event that it’s actually true.
If you haven’t seen Infinity War yet, be careful: we’re about to get into some deep
spoiler territory.
One of the most shocking moments of the film comes right at the start, when Thanos kills
Loki, Thor’s occasionally supervillainous brother.
It certainly seems like a definitive end to Tom Hiddleston’s fan-favorite character,
but since we’ve seen Loki die before and return through trickery and illusions, a few
moviegoers are wondering if there might be something more than meets the eye going on
here.
A new theory brought up by journalist Josh L. Dickey, mapped out in detail by ScreenRant's
Thomas Bacon, suggests that Loki didn't actually die.
Instead, he's alive and well, and masquerading as Bruce Banner.
Dickey notes that "Loki's dagger sneak attack on Thanos was feeble.
He knew it wouldn't work,” suggesting that the whole thing was a ruse to allow Loki to
sneak back onto Earth.
Further evidence comes from the view that aside from not being able to turn into the
Hulk, there was something a little bit off about Banner in the rest of the movie.
"I don’t know.
Maybe the fact that I was trapped for two years inside of a monster made me a little
weird!"
According to the theory, he’s particularly odd in his passion-less interactions with
Black Widow It’s been a few years since their romance was teased in Avengers: Age
of Ultron, but since Banner doesn’t remember the years he spent as the Hulk, those memories
should be pretty fresh in his mind.
The theory also posits that Banner's inner struggle with Hulk may actually be down to
Loki disguising himself as the super-smart scientist but being unwilling to impersonate
the not-so-jolly giant, thanks to their somewhat contentious history with each other.
Dickey also suggests that this might be the reason why Banner landed directly in Doctor
Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum when he returned to Earth.
Loki has encountered the Master of the Mystic Arts before, so it's possible that he may
have directed his path from outer space towards Doctor Strange, knowing he’d be a quality
choice to spearhead the fight against Thanos.
If all this is true, it could mean that the Hulk wasn’t even on the Asgardian refugee
ship at the start of Infinity War, escaping with Valkyrie, the breakout character of Thor:
Ragnarok who’s expected to return in a future MCU film.
The only problem is that, well, it’s probably not true at all.
If you take Occam’s Razor to the Loki-As-Banner theory, you’ll find there’s a much simpler
explanation for all of its points.
For starters, by the time Thanos shows up on the Asgardian ship, he’s already dealt
with Loki before, and knows how he operates.
He’d be prepared for and expecting deceptive tactics like illusions and shapeshifting.
Second, and probably most importantly, Banner’s struggles with the Hulk make a lot more sense
as Banner actually struggling with the Hulk rather than Loki working a long con on the
Avengers.
The Hulk’s encounter with Thanos marks the first time that the Green Goliath has been
so easily defeated in a fight, which would shatter his confidence and explain why he’s
so unwilling to make a return.
Also, there are several scenes in Infinity War where Banner attempts to turn into the
Hulk when no one is around to see it.
That would only make sense for Loki if he suddenly had Deadpool levels of fourth wall-breaking
self-awareness.
Banner’s arrival at the Sanctum Sanctorum is pretty easy to explain away with magic,
but probably happened because that scene is lifted from the original comics.
The only difference is that there, it’s the Silver Surfer who ruins Strange’s staircase,
but since he doesn’t currently exist in the MCU, Banner makes a fitting substitute.
As for Banner’s encounter with Black Widow, there actually is some tension there, but
it’s certainly not the focus.
That, however, is easily explained by the fact that the romance teased in Age of Ultron
wasn’t exactly the best part of that movie.
Some viewers felt like it came out of nowhere, and didn’t really serve either character
well, so it makes sense that the next film might downplay it.
Or maybe Bruce Banner just doesn’t prefer blondes.
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