Loki Season 2 Returns To A Tragic Marvel Spot (And MCU Fans Should Be Worried)

Contains spoilers for "Loki" Season 2, Episode 1 on Disney+

The season premiere of "Loki" ends by revealing a prominent comic book location that should have fans excited — and nervous — about its potentially tragic implications.

In the post-credit scene of the first episode of "Loki" Season 2, the whereabouts of Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) following her deadly Season 1 encounter with He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors) are revealed. After killing the Kang variant and causing the Sacred Timeline to branch out, Sylvie is seen using a TemPad from the Time Variance Authority to teleport herself into the past, where she arrives in Broxton, Oklahoma, in 1982. She enters a McDonald's restaurant and is happy to see people smiling and enjoying spending time together while eating, telling the cashier, "I want to try everything," hinting at her desire to start anew. For Sylvie, a unique Loki variant who was taken from her own timeline as a child by the TVA, seeing families peacefully spending time with one another is a refreshing sight, one she was robbed of experiencing in her own childhood.

While the location on the Sacred Timeline Sylvie finds herself in might not seem significant at first glance, Broxton, Oklahoma, actually has an important comic book history that connects to Thor and The Avengers. Broxton has already appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Its mention in "Loki" isn't the first time audiences saw the city on the small screen.

Broxton, Oklahoma, a real-life location that made its way into the world of comics, first appeared in 2007's "Thor" #1 (by J. Michael Straczynski, Olivier Coipel, Mark Morales, Laura Martin, and Chris Eliopoulos). Following the destruction of Asgard and its people in the "Avengers: Disassembled" storyline, Thor finds himself homeless, drifting outside of reality until his cycle of rebirth begins. He eventually touches down in Broxton, having learned his fellow Asgardians' souls have been reborn inside the inhabitants of the city. After locating who he believes is a reborn Lady Sif, Thor also meets Loki's female form for the first time. Thor eventually transforms a nearby area into the new Asgard, raising the land into the sky a few miles outside Broxton to create a home on — or rather, just above — Earth. 

In 2009's "Siege" event (by Brian Michael Bendis, Morales, Coipel, Martin, and Eliopoulos), Norman Osborn commands the Dark Avengers to attack Asgard, leading to the mega-powerful Sentry annihilating the gods' new home. When the dust settles, not only has Asgard fallen to Earth, but Loki and Sentry have been killed. In 2012's "Mighty Thor" (by Matt Fraction, Pasqual Ferry, Frank D'Armata, and Joe Sabino), Iron Man helps rebuild the city as "Asgardia," which would eventually be moved into space, only to be destroyed. Broxton itself is later be attacked by Roxxon CEO Dario Agger (who we learn is the villain Minotaur in disguise) and his forces, leaving the city's residents to rebuild. 

Broxton returned in 2020's "Thor" series (by Donny Cates, Nic Klein, Matt Wilson, and Sabino) only to be turned into ruins at the hands of Mjolnir's sentient form, the God of Hammers. While Thor tries to protect the city, he's ultimately unable prevent its destruction.

Broxton, Oklahoma, has been mentioned in the Marvel Cinematic Universe before. In the "Agent Carter" series starring Hayley Atwell, the city is name-dropped among many other real-world locations in the Season 2 episode "Better Angels." In the following episode, "Smoke & Mirrors," a flashback reveals that scientist Agnes Cully, aka actress Whitney Frost, was born in Broxton. But while "Loki" isn't the first MCU show to mention the city, it likely has more importance in this story than the "Agent Carter" reference, which was likely intended as nothing more than an Easter egg.

Given the dark comic book fate of Broxton, it certainly seems like "Loki" is introducing the locale in order to set up its potential downfall. Sylvie's creation of a new life for herself as a McDonald's employee may be setting the stage for the city's collapse, as the connections she made in the past timeline will almost inevitably come crashing down as the Sacred Timeline continues to branch and cause mayhem across the Multiverse. In this case, Broxton's potential destruction could lead Sylvie on a quest to fix the timeline she helped break. Seeing the first-hand damage she caused may create new personal stakes, fueling her with revenge following the loss of her new friends. Regardless, choosing Broxton as Sylvie's current home appears to be intentional, and it is possible, if not likely, that tragic things are coming to the city — just as they did in the comics.

"Loki" Season 2, Episode 1, is available on Disney+.