Loki
Michael Waldron · 2021 · TV Series
This TV series brought the complex, regulatory, and philosophical aspects of the multiverse (variants, sacred timelines, free will vs. destiny) into a major mainstream franchise, significantly shaping public understanding of these concepts.
What it is
After escaping capture, an alternate version of Loki is apprehended by the Time Variance Authority (TVA), an organization that maintains the 'Sacred Timeline' and prunes divergent realities (variants). Loki must grapple with his identity, free will, and the true nature of the multiverse.
↑Inherited from(5)
Features a time-traveling protagonist frequently interacting with temporal police or organizations that monitor the timeline, and grappling with the ethics of altering history.
Involves agents from a powerful organization traveling through time to prevent specific events from altering a predetermined future.
The series, like 'Watchmen', explores the idea of powerful, god-like entities attempting to control or manipulate timelines and realities for a perceived greater good, and the ethical dilemmas inherent in such power.
Explores the concept of temporal agents sent to manage or protect the timeline, often against a perceived threat to humanity's future.
The show's depiction of a bureaucratic organization managing the multiverse, the concept of 'variants' (alternate versions of characters), and the exploration of free will in a predetermined reality, are heavily influenced by 'Rick and Morty's' established multiverse mechanics and philosophical inquiries.