Tom Hiddleston explains why people love Loki, and it’s heartbreaking

Loki has been a MCU fan favorite since he was first introduced in 2011. But what’s the appeal? According to Tom Hiddleston, it’s all about the feels.

Of all the villains to challenge Marvel’s host of heroes over the past decade, none has been more beloved than Loki. Played by Tom Hiddleston, the Asgardian God of Mischief was the chief antagonist in the first Thor film.

And he was pretty bad. As in murdered-dozens-of-people and repeatedly-tries-to-kill-his-own-brother bad. And yet, despite the atrocities he commits against family, mankind, and Asgard, MCU fans love Loki.

Why?

Hiddleston himself has a theory, and it’s a lot more than Loki’s witty banter or charming accent.

This past weekend while at ACE Comic Con in Gendale, Arizona, Hiddleston revealed that part of Loki’s appeal is the character’s tragic past. As ComicBook.com reports, Loki has been dealt some pretty heavy emotional blows and is a “broken character,” which humanizes him and allows fans to empathize with the villain.

“People always understand that Loki is a troubled soul, and that he is evacuating his pain onto other people,” Hiddleston explained in response to a fan’s question, “But they understand where the pain is coming from so there’s empathy there.”

According to Hiddleston, it all goes back to that first movie where Loki finds out, “too late,” that he isn’t actually Odin’s son. “That is incredibly, emotionally destabilizing,” Hiddleston mentioned. “I think the first film really humanizes him, and I think makes the rest of the journey interesting. It makes you always think that he could be pulled back and redeemed.”

What’s more, Hiddleston announced that in his opinion, Loki is redeemed after his heroic actions to stop Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, thus completing his heroic journey… and making all those Loki-is-secretly-alive theories seem unlikely.

Whether or not you agree with Loki’s redemption, you’ve got to give it to Hiddleston. Loki is a complicated character. Marvel even weighed in on his morality recently when fans discovered a slight clarification about the character on his official Marvel bio. In Avengers, his heinous actions were mainly a result of being controlled by the scepter and Mind Stone within it. Some have even debated if that means Loki’s no longer a villain. But maybe that’s another question left for Hiddleston to answer himself.

The bottom line is, we love Loki because Loki is human… Well, metaphorically speaking, given he’s a Frost Giant with Asgardian pride. But in a cinematic world of clearly defined good guys and bad guys, his emotional depth is pretty refreshing.