When Tom Hiddleston recently appeared on film critic Mark Kermode‘s BBC Radio Film Review Programme, co-host Simon Mayo introduced Hiddleston by joking that the only appropriate way to greet Hiddleston anymore is to mimic his reception at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con and slavishly chant, “Loki! Loki! Loki! Loki! Loki! Loki!” You know what? Mayo wasn’t wrong.
Loki is a crazy popular character right now, and with good reason – he’s the most captivating and complex villain yet accomplished by any of the Marvel films from Iron Man to The Avengers to Iron Man 3. Heck, he’s arguably a more interesting character than even Thor. That’s actually a bit problematic, but it’s a good problem to have. Loki’s popularity surpasses that of the hero he is in opposition to, but they’ve already used him as the primary villain in two of their films, Thor and The Avengers. At a certain point, you either make him a Spike-esque anti-hero (ala Buffy the Vampire Slayer), or put him on the shelf to bring back out when the timing is right. The indication is that they are doing both, making him an anti-hero in Thor: The Dark World but holding him out of the next Avengers film to maybe return in the next Thor sequel so that absence will make the geeky heart grow fonder. So, beyond Thor: The Dark World who knows when we’ll see Tom Hiddleston as Loki again. They already upped the Loki quotient in the film through last-minute re-shoots designed to give the character more screen time, and even with that some reviewers have argued Loki is not in The Dark World nearly enough.
As such, while we’re still in this “Loki is amazing!” moment drink in the hilarity that are these Thor: The Dark World commercials currently airing on Comedy Central. The concept is to parody the incredibly popular AT&T commercials in which comedian Beck Bennett conducts deadpanned focus groups with precocious little school children. Instead of Bennett, the Comedy Central commercials feature Hiddleston in character and costume as Loki conducting his own focus groups with little children, the topic of discussion mostly being an attempt to establish how much cooler he is than Thor. Not to give too much away, but at one point Loki pushes one of the little kids down to express his superiority. It’s…amazing!
Who’s Better: Thor or Loki?
That’s the only clip Comedy Central has officially made available on YouTube. However, there are several other Loki commercials beyond the one above. Luckily, several YouTube uploaders have taped the commercials from their own TVs and edited them all together. Here is the upload from user xlingeringsentimentx (I have no idea how long this particular video will stay up on YouTube):
So, we can all agree that Loki is clearly better than Thor, right? Loki actually makes some valid, albeit funny, arguments in the commercials. He’s the one who was lied to by his presumed father his entire life, never allowed to know the truth of his own identity. He’s also the one who Odin clearly picked as his second-favorite to Thor. Also, in this sweepstakes of bad parenting Odin pretty much set Loki and Thor up for a lifetime of conflict by informing them both when they were but children that only one of them would be allowed to someday replace him. Even after all of that, though, in Thor Loki never actually intended to allow Odin to be harmed but instead meant to save him, just in rather theatrical fashion. Perhaps most importantly, though, Loki doesn’t need a stupid hammer to be able to push someone down, even if it is just a little girl.
WeMinoredInFilm co-writer Julianne Ramsey is the one who first made me aware of these commercials, meaning this post never happens without her.
Related articles
- Loki asks for a second opinion… (paullubiakjr.wordpress.com)
- Loki Vs. Kids: Tom Hiddleston Spoofs His Bad Side In TV Spot For Thor: The Dark World (popwrapped.wordpress.com)
- And Now, Let’s All Watch Loki Hilariously Argue With Kids About Thor (complex.com)
- Loki Or Thor? Tom Hiddleston Reveals Who He Wanted To Play In The Thor Franchise (popwrapped.wordpress.com)
