A scene in The Avengers provides further evidence that Loki (Tom Hiddleston) was actually being mind-controlled when he engineered the Chitauri invasion and what has been dubbed as the Battle of New York. Loki was the superhero team’s first villain, but he ultimately become somewhat of a hero towards the end of his life. But now, it’s possible that he wasn’t truly the villain people thought he was.

Following his defeat in Thor, Loki makes an arrangement with Thanos to lead an army of Chitauri to Earth. One of the six Infinity Stones, the Mind Stone, is placed in a scepter wielded by Loki. Armed with his scepter, Loki is able to take control of Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Eric Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard), and others, and forces them to do his bidding. Loki’s scheme unites the heroes of the MCU for the first time. After Loki is captured, the Avengers later learn that the true mastermind behind the attack was Thanos.

A fan has pointed out on Reddit that in the scene where Loki stabs Thor (Chris Hemsworth) in The Avengers, Loki can be seen with tears in his eyes. His apparent remorse for his actions suggests that Loki isn’t completely evil, despite all the harm he’s willing to inflict on the planet and his attempt to murder his brother. Or, Loki could be genuinely sad because he actually had no desire to stab Thor in the first place. It could also be that he was acting against his will. The Mind Stone within the scepter could have been controlling Loki. It’s not hard to imagine that Thanos could have used the Stone on Loki before giving it to him. In fact, this would explain why Thanos would be willing to part with it in the first place.

Thanos’ main ambition was to gather the Infinity Stones. Would Thanos really be willing to hand over the Mind Stone to a lackey who could betray him? He wouldn’t have parted with it unless he knew he’d get it back. If Loki was his puppet, he could be sure that Loki would do exactly what he asked. The idea that Loki was being manipulated is reinforced by Marvel’s description of Loki on their website, which states that “Unbeknownst to him, the scepter was influencing him, fueling his hatred over his brother Thor and the inhabitants of Earth.”

Loki has had an interesting arc in the MCU that has been filled with twists, betrayals, and moments of redemption. Loki has shown in other movies that a part of him does care about Thor. Avengers: Infinity War killed off Loki but an alternate version of the villain, one who escaped S.H.I.E.L.D. custody in 2012, still lives. This Loki, who is now part of a different timeline, will return in the Disney+ series, Loki. Since this version of the character has just experienced the Chitauri invasion, the series has a chance to explore the notion that Loki wasn’t 100% responsible for the attack on Earth.

More: How Thanos Can Return In The MCU’s Future

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