Sylvie From Loki Could Be A Combination Of Two Key Marvel Characters

Spoilers ahead for Loki Episodes 2 and 3. Maybe it was a good thing that the Loki creative team so quickly quelled those Mephisto theories (in case you missed it, that wasn’t the villainous demon in the Episode 1 church scene) — because they knew more discourse was coming. Namely, the one concerning the identity of Sophia Di Martino’s character. For a while, all signs pointed to the blonde, horn-crowned woman fans meet at Roxxcart being Lady Loki — but several subtle clues (some intentional and others, not so much) seem to tie the new character to someone named Sylvie Lushton instead.

Sylvie has a complicated comics backstory that fits pretty perfectly in the chaotic world of Loki — but because this show is all about mischief, don’t expect a straight book-to-screen translation. In fact, if the new character is indeed Sylvie, there are already plenty of exciting ways she diverges from the comics’ lore. Either way, as you wait to see how the rest of her story unfolds with Loki following that disastrous Lamentis-1 accidental pit stop, here is everything you should know about Sylvie in the Marvel Comics.

Who Is Sylvie Lushton In The Marvel Comics?

According to Marvel, Sylvie is a teenage girl from Broxton, Oklahoma — a temporary home for the Asgardians in the comics post-Ragnarok — who is suddenly endowed with mysterious power. She pairs her new skills (which include spells, teleportation, and many kinds of magic) with a mantle borrowed from the Asgardian pantheon, Amora the Enchantress, and heads off to New York to fight with the Young Avengers.

Or at least, that’s what Sylvie thinks. While her powers may be real, her entire life is a lie — a creation by Loki (in Lady Loki form) to effect chaos. As Inverse reports, the reveal came in Dark Reign: Young Avengers No. 4, in which Lady Loki explains the genius idea. “I liked the idea of creating a mortal who suspects she’s one of my kind,” she says. “She’s infinitely susceptible to dashed hopes. Hence mischief.” Sounds like some serious projecting from the God of Dashed Hopes, er, Mischief.

How Did Viewers Know Di Martino Is Sylvie?

Before Di Martino’s character officially introduced herself on the show, several observant fans found an accidental Easter egg in the credits of Episode 2. As tweeted by lotrkenobi and verified by Inverse, the name “Sylvie” appears in the credits for the Castillian-language version of Loki. InsideTheMagic.net also reported on Loki merchandise for sale that refers to horned headgear “inspired by the helmets worn by Loki and Sylvie.”

These specific slips might not have been intentional, but they aren’t actually the first time Sylvie’s name has appeared in connection to Loki. In fact, Twitter user dokidokiloki observed that the name “Laufeydottir, Sylvie” can be seen on one of the forms Loki is researching in Episode 2. And that’s where it gets even more interesting...

Can Sylvie Still Be Lady Loki?

While pretty much all characters in the MCU sport some cool surnames — Stark! Pym! — none are more revealing than the ones we find in Thor’s family. Thor Odinson’s name, for example, reveals that he is Odin’s son — Loki Laufeyson’s, that he is Laufey the Frost Giant’s son. So the fact that Sylvie’s surname is listed as “Laufeydottir” and not Lushton suggests the variant has a closer tie to Loki than her comics counterpart does despite her insistence on not being called a “Loki” in Episode 3. The series may be taking a hybrid approach, treating Di Martino’s character as an amalgamation of Sylvie Lushton and the God(dess) of Mischief. In other words, she’s not quite Lady Loki... but she’s not not Lady Loki, either. Di Martino suggested as much in an interview with Deadline, published June 26.

“All I know is that the character is inspired by the comics, but she’s Sylvie [in the Disney+ series], and this is an entirely new backstory for her,” she said. So whether you were a firm believer in Lady Loki, or swore it was Sylvie all along, rest assured: you were at least half-right! But it appears Loki is going in a new direction with this variant, one that’s both inspired by — and a departure from — the comics.

As the remaining few episodes unfold, Sylvie’s backstory will likely come into focus. Already, the streaming service has released teasers that show Sylvie as a child, which is promising for anyone hoping to learn about why she has it out for the Time-Keepers, how she knows the Time Variance Authority is made up of brainwashed variants — yes, probably including Mobius — and more commonalities between her and Loki.