Who is Lady Loki?

The second episode of Marvel’s Loki just introduced a major new character to the MCU. In the process, the show has just confirmed a popular casting theory. Lots of fans are asking, “Who was the girl in Loki Episode 2?” And we think we have the answer. Sophia Di Martino is indeed playing a female version of Loki, and she’s hatching a scheme designed to upend time as we know it.

In traditional Norse mythology, Loki is portrayed as a shape-shifter and a trickster who can take many forms. Needless to say, he’s not limited to manifesting as a man, or even as a human.

In Marvel’s comics, the concept of Lady Loki didn’t really arise until the 2007 Thor comic. That series is set in the aftermath of Ragnarök, a cataclysmic battle only Thor himself survives. Now reigning over the empty kingdom of Asgard, Thor sets out to locate all his fellow Asgardians, who have reincarnated in new, human bodies without their memories, to restore them to full power. That includes Loki.

While the original Lady Loki storyline dealt with Loki stealing Sif’s body, Marvel has gradually shifted away from portraying Loki as strictly male or female. Loki is now officially recognized as being both genderfluid and pansexual.

Marvel is simply reflecting an aspect of Loki that’s existed in Norse mythology for centuries. Loki is a trickster who can adopt many different forms, male, female and otherwise. Far from needing to steal another Asgardian’s body, Loki can change his physical form at will.

For all we know, Di Martino’s Loki is the same character as Hiddleston’s Loki, just from a later point in the MCU timeline. Perhaps everything Loki is now enduring as a captive of the TVA is an ordeal she’s already experienced.

Grant’s Loki may represent Loki’s apparent fate as a cosmic destroyer, whereas Di Martino’s Loki could embody the freedom and possibilities of a story yet unwritten. Either character may represent a possible future for the Loki we know and love.