Loki Is No Longer The MCU's Best Series Thanks To An 8-Episode Hit With 91% On Rotten Tomatoes
El is a Junior TV Features Editor for ScreenRant, with previous experience as The Mary Sue's UK and Weekend Editor. She holds a Bachelor's in International Media and Entertainment Management, as well as an MA and Ph.D. in Creative Writing. There is little she loves more than discussing her favorite TV shows with fellow fans. One day, she hopes to publish an original fantasy novel.
A surprise eight-episode Marvel Cinematic Universe hit is even better than Loki. Since Marvel Studios expanded its storytelling into the TV format on Disney+ — and despite a few misses, like the widely panned Secret Invasion — many of the MCU's small-screen shows have added genuine value to the franchise's storytelling. Lesser-known heroes like Ms. Marvel have had the opportunity to become main characters in their own projects; legends like Charlie Cox's Daredevil and Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones have been brought back to the forefront after their respective shows were previously canceled.
Perhaps more importantly, Disney+ has given the MCU a chance to experiment with exciting new genres and concepts. Shows like WandaVision, Agatha All Along, and Loki have redefined what it means to be a hero or villain while pushing the franchise's creative boundaries. Loki, especially, was a revelation, instrumental in setting up a new saga for the MCU. Loki's redemption is one of the greatest character arcs in Marvel's history, and the TVA is one of its most intriguing institutions.
Still, Loki did have its issues. Some plots and characters felt underdeveloped, and the short seasons forced the show to cram too much universe-altering lore into a mere 12 episodes. The MCU abandoning the Kang the Conqueror storyline also affected Loki's importance to the overall multiverse, despite its glorious series finale. Any narrative involving time travel and multiple universes will always experience growing pains. It does undermine the series somewhat, though, especially compared to the unexpected, emotional, small-scale storytelling of this year's most pleasant superhero surprise: Wonder Man.
Loki Is Narrowly Beaten By The MCU's Wonder Man
At first glance, it might not seem fair to compare Wonder Man to Loki. How could creator Daniel Destin Cretton's slice-of-life series compare to Loki, a show so grand and universe-shattering that it was meant to change the fabric of an entire franchise? That's exactly its strength, though. While Loki's development is tied to the multiverse's existence, Wonder Man is a pure character study, a down-to-earth look at what it's like to live in a world filled with superheroes.
It's exactly the kind of story Marvel's multiverse saga needed, a break from the incursions and doppelgängers. Yahya Abdul-Mateen III's Simon Williams is a perfectionist actor looking for his big break in Hollywood, hiding the very thing that could make him famous: his incredible strength and ability to harness ionic energy. That's not what he wants to be famous for, though. Rather than a standard superhero origin story, Wonder Man is a veritable buddy-cop romp, as Simon's unlikely mentor, disgraced Iron Man 3 actor Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley), helps him prepare for the audition of a lifetime.
|
Rotten Tomatoes critics' score |
Rotten Tomatoes audience score |
|
|
Wonder Man |
91% |
87% |
|
Loki season 1 |
92% (Certified Fresh) |
90% |
|
Loki season 2 |
82% (Certified Fresh) |
83% |
|
Loki (average score) |
87% |
87% |
Like all the best Marvel Disney+ shows, Wonder Man isn't afraid to take risks. Rather than pulling away from its central relationship to create a bigger, more explosive conflict, it fully leans into it. Even Wonder Man's connection to the wider MCU through Trevor's deal with the Department of Damage Control is rooted in their friendship. Wonder Man made the MCU's superhero-filled world feel more real and tangible. There were relatable, emotional stakes.
Despite being only eight episodes, Wonder Man also never felt rushed. The ending is sublime, a perfect full-circle moment for Simon and Trevor's friendship as Simon cleverly saves his friend without relying on a cameo from another hero. Loki was an incredible moment for the MCU and changed the audience's perception of what a Marvel show could be. Wonder Man is what all Marvel shows arguably should be: a chance for the MCU to expand its horizons, dig into its characters, and build out its world more meaningfully, without forcing audiences to watch to understand the rest of the franchise.
Loki Beats Wonder Man In 2 Important Ways
Wonder Man is, simply put, wonderful, but Loki's importance to the MCU can't be discounted. Aside from the resurrected Daredevil: Born Again and Marvel's What If...?, it's the only MCU show to produce a second season. While Wonder Man was originally renewed for season 2 after it found well-deserved critical acclaim, Marvel Studios suddenly and tragically reversed the renewal a few months later. This is even more devastating now, in the wake of Daniel Destin Cretton's record-smashing box office run with Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which, like Wonder Man, focused on the DODC and its growing role in Marvel's mutant story.
While Simon Williams still has the potential to show up in other Marvel projects down the road, including its upcoming X-Men reboot, it's impossible to ignore Loki's place in the overall franchise — even after the Multiverse Saga pivoted from Kang to Doctor Doom. Avengers: Endgame Encore's new post-credits scenes and the official Avengers: Doomsday trailer prove the upcoming team-up movie is essentially a sequel to Loki, as the newly crowned God of Stories makes his way through the crumbling multiverse with the TVA's help.
Wonder Man may be the stronger series overall, but Loki is a linchpin, pivotal in keeping the Marvel Cinematic Universe's story and timeline cohesive.
All episodes of Wonder Man and Loki are available to stream on Disney+.
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Wonder Man
- Release Date
- 2026 - 2026-00-00
- Network
- Disney+
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Simon Williams / Wonder Man
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Arian Moayed
Agent Cleary
A struggling actor unexpectedly gains superhuman powers, thrust into a strange overlap between Hollywood performance and superhero chaos. Blending industry satire with Marvel mythology, the series explores identity authenticity and what it means to play a hero when the stakes stop being fictional.
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Loki is a series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe following the alternate version of the titular character, Loki, after the events of Avengers: Endgame. Taken by the Time Variance Authority, he must confront his identity and choices while aiding in fixing the disrupted timeline to avert a greater threat.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.