Looks like Loki’s ever-growing influence on the Marvel Cinematic Universe will reach new heights in Thor: The Dark World, as we’ve seen in this brand fricking new featurette. The ol’ green deity of Mischief can be seen throwing some heavy handed kicks at Thor, as if to prove his worth to Malekith and Algrim, and if you look close enough, you’ll realize a MASSIVE spoiler.

Give it a gander:

SPOILER WARNING

Alright, so… a few months ago, at the height of this summer’s San Diego Comic Con, a few lucky fanboys who attended the Thor: The Dark World panel spread rumors of a particularly shocking scene, in which Loki chopped/lobbed/hacked off Thor’s hand.

Yeah. Thor’s going all Jaime Lannister in this flick. At least, that’s what these dudes said, and this clip seems to support their assertion.

As much as I love a bit of realism in my movies (in this case, the very realistic fact that heroes and villains who fight with medieval weaponry would be susceptible to the occasional dismemberment), Marvel Studios has certainly underpowered Thor in the flicks, and I believe he suffers for it.

Sure, a full powered Thor wouldn’t be very realistic. In the comics he’s capable of destroying planets with flick of his wrist and a mighty toss of Mjolnir, travelling at faster-than-light speed, and waging war with beings who exist above human perception. How could Marvel convincingly create tension for such a tough dude? Their only remedy, as we’ve seen, has been to underpower Thor so that he’s a more reasonable hero for modern Earth. BUT… Marvel has also over-powered Loki, who actually poses a physical threat to Thor in the films (in the comics, the weakling Loki usually brainwashes a powerhouse character like Hulk or Silver Surfer to brawl with his bro).

Loki should never defeat Thor in hand-to-hand combat, but if you look closely, it seems that Loki not only heartily handed Thor a beating, but he chopped off his brother’s arm.

Look here. You can see an Asgardian knife secure in the green god’s hand.

And look here. Mjolnir zips through the air, on the way to Thor’s aid, but ol’ goldilocks falls backwards onto the ground, clutching his arm, and his mighty mallet careens into the ground.

Obviously these clips are ambiguous in nature, but according to the original reports from SDCC, and the context of these distant shots, it appears that Thor is soon to become a handless wonder.

SOURCE: CBM