The first episode of Loki is now streaming on Disney+, and it certainly left us with a lot to discuss, including the introduction of the TVA and its judge, jury and executioner(?), Ravonna Renslayer.
In "Glorious Purpose," Renslayer sentences the God of Mischief (Tom Hiddleston) to be "reset" until Owen Wilson's Mobius - who she seems to have a good relationship with - convinces her to allow him to help track down the rogue "Variant" that's killing her Agents. Though Ravonna appears to be a force for good (or order, at least), Marvel fans will know that her comic book counterpart eventually does down a darker path.
During an interview with THR, Gugu Mbatha-Raw discussed her character while hinting that there might be a more "morally ambiguous" side to her.
“She has a lot on her shoulders; she has a lot of responsibility. She has to make some morally ambiguous choices. As a judge, she doesn’t want to compromise the position she’s worked really hard to get to. But when the stakes get high, she has to get out of the office; she has to get out from behind that desk and get into the action as well. So that’s when she has to call upon her military training, and we get to see a whole other side of her. So there’s a lot of secrets. There’s betrayal. There’s lots of layers of Renslayer to come.”
The Beauty and the Beast actress also revealed that she had "a few" earlier interactions with Marvel Studios before landing the Loki role, but doesn't say which projects she was up for.
"There were a few auditions, the odd offer but near misses, really. There was nothing that really worked out until now. So it’s really exciting. Renslayer is definitely one of the most complex, powerful and interesting female Marvel characters that has come my way. For sure."
In the comics, Ravona, aka Terminatrix, was the time-travelling former ruler of Chronopolis and an enemy/ally/lover of Kang the Conqueror. Since we know that villain will be introduced in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, is there a chance Loki will end up tying into the Marvel Studios sequel? That's one possibility, but we'll just have to wait and see.
How do you guys see Renslayer's arc playing out as the series progresses? Drop us a comment down below.