[Infinity War spoilers!!!]
A crazy fan theory has surfaced: in a nutshell, Loki was faking it.
Again.
This theory argues that Loki was in fact the Hulk, who was sent to Earth by Heimdall. In this iteration, the Hulk is with Valkyrie all along with Korg and Miek, potentially returning to Earth in Avengers 4. Apparently this would explain issues with Bruce Banner’s characterization (which I personally didn’t notice the first time around).
Now, I got choked up over Loki’s death. I am a super fan of Loki. I am in Loki’s Army. I don’t want him to be dead.
That being said, I would be disappointed by his subterfuge, because it would mark a regression in his characterization yet again. The whole point of Thor: Ragnarok is that Loki has decided to stop hiding behind illusions in order to build a better relationship with Thor. I find it sad that people don’t seem to get the themes built within the Thor: Ragnarok‘s Thor-Loki interactions with the “Thor throwing stuff at Loki illusions”, which ends with this fantastic emotional payoff:
Unless Thor and Loki had planned this ahead of time, Loki faking his death and putting Thor through emotional pain is kinda a dick move, regardless of his motivations. It would annoy me, even if it would catch my interest in terms of creating a tricky plot.
Furthermore, it would only compound the ongoing Loki problem, which is becoming serious with each furtherance of his character arc: how he never truly appears to die. Each time he is resurrected, the emotional impact of his character is lessened, to the point now where people see a potentially serious death and refuse to believe it emotionally.
So, I’m on the fence about this theory. Very much on the fence.
We all have to survive until Avengers 4 to find out the truth!
Dappled-Things 