Loki Season 2 just dropped a major easter egg that adds to the Norse Mythology behind our God of Mischief's lore. So you might want to stick around to hear the rest of the story of who is Balder the Brave and why Loki killed Balder the Brave.
As you may be well aware, Loki, the God of Mischief, has always sought to cause chaos every step of the way. May it be tormenting his brother, Thor, or perhaps an entire civilization to his own amusement.
But did you know, Loki’s pranks had gone too far one time? So much so that he was on the brink of killing a God.
The God’s name was Balder Odinson, aka Balder the Brave, the half-brother and close friend of Thor in the Marvel Comics.
Who is Balder the Brave?
Balder the Brave is one of the Asgardians that was introduced in Marvel Comics. We have yet to see his live-action debut in the Thor movies or even in the Loki series, so it’s quite natural if you haven’t heard of him yet.
The thing about Balder is that Queen Frigga is quite protective of her son’s safety. No, not the common maternal instinct type. Just that, if Balder were to die, his death would unleash the coming of Ragnarok.
Balder is the God of Light. Known for how his name literally translates to ‘the shining one’, his powers and origins come from his connection to light and purity.
Apart from being a trained warrior and leader enough to rule Asgard in replacement of Odin and Thor, the God of Light possesses many common traits an Asgardian would have.
This includes superhuman strength, speed, and durability, but most notably his ability to speak to any living creatures within the Nine Realms, energy projection, and photokinesis.
As the God of Light, he can generate a beam of light that could melt even Frost Giants down to smaller sizes.
RELATED: Top 8 Smartest MCU Villains Ranked
So, Why Did Loki Kill Balder?
In Norse Mythology, like many previous pranks the God of Mischief had committed, it was out of jealousy, an innate urge of him to be the center of the party no matter how tragic it may be.
According to the myth, Balder is prophesied to die. Once his mother, Frigg, found out about this, she journeyed through the Nine Worlds to prevent the prophecy from coming true.
When Frigg had declared Balder to be nearly immortal thanks to her protection, Loki took this as a challenge.
Once he figured out what exactly would kill Balder, Loki tricked the God of Light’s blind brother, Hod, into killing his sibling for him.
As it turned out, Balder was vulnerable to a mistletoe plant, which Loki gladly provided Hod with.
Marvel Comics depicted a similar method of death, but with a change of goal in mind: Loki wanted to awaken the Ragnarok.
Although, Balder’s death did not last long, since his soul simply arrived at Hela, the God of Death’s, doorstep, leading Odin to bargain with her to bring him his son back to life.
READ MORE: What’s the Most Controversial Moment in the MCU? 7 Scenes That Divided Marvel Fans
Will We See Balder Make His MCU Debut?
Marvel’s Multiverse opens up a great many things, including more live-action debuts of the alternate versions of our MCU heroes and villains.
MCU Costume Designer Graham Churchyard had previously spoken with Comicbook.com’s Phase Zero podcast and told the truth behind Balder’s continuous absence from the franchise:
“We got very far designing Balder the Brave and then we were waiting and waiting and waiting on casting. Poor Balder the Brave, he almost made Thor 1, Thor 2, and Thor 3, if I can simplify that. He’s been a long time waiting and I don’t think he’s gonna make an appearance any time soon.”
Since this 2022 interview, Loki Season 2 has officially dropped a major easter egg in the third episode, where Loki and Mobius found the statues of Balder, Odin, and Thor.
Loki made bold comments about Balder's statue being up there in 1893 Chicago instead of his own, such as, "Why'd they include Balder? No one's even heard of him."
To which Mobius proved him wrong by saying, "Sure they have. Balder the Brave. You know sometimes I forget that you're one of them. You are one of them. Blows my mind."
Although Mobius technically is apart from the Sacred Timeline and, therefore has an omniscient point of view of the workings of the world, this was but a simple cameo/reference that could very well include live-action adaptations in the future of the MCU.
READ NEXT: Why Did Loki Attack New York? Thanos’ Great Plan For Destruction
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!