Why Loki Isn't Dead!

Infinity War was a huge shock to many Marvel fans. With the countless plot twists and one devastating cliff-hanger, you would think that alone would be the end of the roller coaster of feels. Unfortunately, directors Anthony and Joe Russo seem to disagree. Within ten minutes into the film, we see the god of mischief himself strangled by the Eternal called Thanos. It appears as though that's the last we'll ever see of the infamous god, but is it?

By all accounts, Loki should have died in the first Thor movie after having fallen into the great nothingness during his battle with his adopted brother, but he reappears with a vengeance in Avengers. We see him supposedly die again in Thor: The Dark World, after being stabbed through the heart, yet once again he pops back up in perfect condition in Thor: Ragnarok. That alone should give pause to the quickness and finality of his end in Avengers: Infinity War. This, however, isn't the only reason why the beloved god of mischief hasn't left us.

As we saw in Thor, Loki is not just the son of Odin. He is the adopted son of the ruler of Asgard, taken from his father, Laufey, king of the frost giants. This means that Loki is not just a god, he's part frost giant. We see in his first movie appearance that he can change into a frost giant form. He is in this form several times throughout the movie, but is touchy about it in the next movies he plays a role in. The frost giant lineage he has though, is a major component for a counter-argument on his demise. If he were truly deceased, Loki would have reverted back to his true frost giant form. While he was rather purple and blue from being strangled, he didn't take on the look we've seen in his other frosty pop ups.

On the subject of Loki's form, let's discuss his fighting style. Throughout the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), we see him relying on his right hand for dominance during fights. Even when he's holding the Chitauri scepter in Avengers, he always holds it in his right hand. Coincidentally, the only time we see him fight with his left hand is when he's attacking the Dark Elves in Thor the Dark World and attempting to fight Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. In the first instance where he fought with his left hand, that was him faking his death. If we apply the same concept to his battle with Thanos, it makes perfect sense that he could be faking his death in this movie as well.

Finally, let's bring in another character into the picture. While they haven't exactly been on good terms since the start of the MCU, Bruce Banner and Loki are two people who coincide in this film. We see them together at first in Thor: Ragnarok, but eventually Bruce shifts to the Hulk and that's how he stays until after Loki's death. Considering the fact that Bruce is in Hulk form all the way up to the point where he crash lands on Earth, it brings up a few questions on his conversations with the master of mystic arts himself, Dr. Stephen Strange. Every other time Bruce has gone from the Hulk back to himself, he can't ever remember what happened while he wasn't in control, yet somehow he seemed to recall everything about Thanos perfectly and even knew that Loki had been sent by him in the first Avengers movie. The fact that Bruce seems to have kept his recollection from the Hulk and knew information about Loki that he had never shared teases the fact that Bruce may not be Bruce at all, but rather Loki faking his death yet again in the from of on Dr. Bruce Banner.

Taking into consideration all of these valid points, Loki's previous cheating of death, his lack of a frost giant form after Thanos strangled him, his fighting hand being switched, and Bruce's differentiation from former Hulk encounters, it seems extremely likely that we'll see a reappearance of everyone's favorite god of mischief in the next Avengers movie.