Mysterious Disney Plus poster for Loki TV show has me falling down the rabbit hole

As I've written about previously, Loki looks set to be the next water cooler mega hit for Disney Plus, following on from the massive success of the WandaVision TV show.

And, simply put, I'm excited for it. I'm not a massive Marvel fan or really that into superheroes content, but Loki is a great character and the cast of the show includes Owen Wilson – and who doesn't love Owen Wilson? Exactly.

However, a brand new Loki poster has got me falling down the rabbit hole so to speak – and specifically because of one very interesting detail that stands out massively. Take a look at the full poster below and try and guess what it is.

What the dickens is that cartoon clock? So, you've got the rest of the poster, which is all tonally consistent with what we've seen in Loki key art to date, with a clear time motif on display, and then we've got a Fallout-style cartoon Vault Boy clock smiling at us and waving.

I mean, the clock even has eyes and eyelashes. Oh, and it's also wearing a pair of white gloves for some reason.

If the clock wasn't odd enough, you'll also note that there are no hands on the clock face itself. The clock has a real pair of cartoon hands, but not actual hands.

Basically... what?!

Now, the obvious link between the cartoon clock and the wider poster is the theme of time. Loki and the surrounding characters are encircled by a clock face, while there is also another circle at the base of the poster with ouroboros-style patterns.

As with the cartoon clock, there are also no hands on these either. We know from the Disney Plus Loki trailer that time travel is involved as Loki is shown being forcibly recruited by the Time Variance Authority, and actually we do see that clock briefly in that trailer, as evidenced by the image below.

As such, on face value I think it is most likely that the cartoon clock is the mascot of the Time Variance Authority. This would make sense in terms of the mascot having no hands, too, as the TVA is according to the fiction a body that exists outside of time and space. And, well, if you exist outside of time then time doesn't apply to you does it? And if time doesn't apply then you don't need clock hands.

Taking an even closer look at the image above also has another visual cue that this could be the case as the clock appears to be shown on the screen locked up behind bars – as if time is held captive. Holding time captive seems to be exactly what the TVA is capable of.

However, considering that this is a Marvel property the clock could be something else entirely. Marvel shows and movies have a history of trailing things that then go on to appear in others, with Easter Eggs discoverable in basically everything. Could this clock be one of them? Right now I don't know, but it's an extra level of intrigue that's got me hyped to tune in to Loki on Wednesday 9th June.

To get up to speed on that mysterious cartoon clock watch the full Disney Plus Loki trailer below.

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