Loki Season 2 Proves Kang Is More Powerful Than Marvel's Infinity Stones

Contains spoilers for "Loki" Season 2

In the 1st season of "Loki," the titular God of Mischief (Tom Hiddleston) meets some shocking truths, and that's before he finds himself at the end of time with a variant of himself. Not only does he learn that in an alternate timeline, he dies at the hands of the same tyrant who sent him to New York in the first place, but that the Infinity Stones he finds in the TVA have all the capability of a paperweight. Now, Season 2 hammers home just how insignificant those multi-colored nuggets are and, more importantly, just how powerful Kang (Jonathan Majors) really is in the process.

Within minutes of being reunited with Loki in Season 2, the poor guy catches himself time-slipping between the past and present while trying to get a grip on things. If that's not enough, he's also trying to reveal to the TVA that a terrible threat has been controlling them from behind the curtain. These two issues ensure that by building and breaching the TVA to this degree, Kang packs more of a punch than an Infinity Gauntlet ever could, even while not being in attendance at the moment. It raises the question of what damage he could do if he ever sets foot in the place.

While it hasn't happened yet, we know from the post-credits scene in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" that Loki and Mobius will be reunited with Kang (or at least a version of him) this season. In the sequence, Victor Timely, a Kang variant, shows off an invention in what appeared to be the early 20th century.

The biggest concern, however, is which side he will be on during that time. Loki and Mobius getting in early could see them speaking to a Kang uncorrupted by power or the universe-changing discoveries he eventually makes. Victor Timely may even buddy up in order to put things right. Still, as any time-travel tale has proven in the past (or the future?), the smallest progressions of what's already happened could have a drastic impact further down the line.

Speeding up Kang's discovery of what extent time can be manipulated could put him on course to becoming a greater version of the monster he'll turn out to be even sooner. If so, those Infinity Stones will be even less of a feared accessory than they already are. The clock is ticking for next week when "Loki" returns on Disney+.