Loki: Sylvie is an original character, showrunner confirms

Sylvie has captivated Loki fans since her arrival but it turns out that her origins are not in the Marvel Comics.

Who is Loki‘s Sylvie, really? This is hard to know, largely because the audience simply doesn’t know, but also because the character’s trauma has made her very guarded and evasive.

Introduced in episode 2 of the Disney Plus series, “The Variant,” as, well, the eponymous Variant, Sylvie is an alternate version of the God of Mischief, the only known female variation currently known throughout the timeline.

Talking with Thrillist, Loki showrunner Kate Herron revealed a lot about the process of bringing this series to life and revealed that Loki is an original character. She commented:

"“I think that’s the thing that’s really key for her is that she’s a completely original character, completely born out of our writers, and that, for me, was exciting.”"

Loki Sylvie is an original character on the series, showrunner Kate Herron reveals.

While very similar to our Loki (called Professor Loki by Mobius at one point in the series), as they are technically the same person, environment plays a role as well in forming personality, of course.

“She’s her own character. She’s different, and they’ve had different lives,” Herron told Thrillist. “They’re not going to be the same.”

As revealed in 1.03, “Lamentis,” Loki Sylvie always knew she was adopted, though her memories of her parents are very hazy due to being kidnapped as a child by TVA Hunters (seen in 1.04, “The Nexus Event“). She also hates the name “Loki,” which could partially explain why she dyed her hair blonde and took up an alias.

Her main skillset is through enchantment, accessing memories of others (and constructing new scenes based on them) through physical touch.

Loki’s Sylvie is played by Sophia Di Martino, a British actress who has had quite a career in British TV, though except for a guest appearance on the ITV/PBS series Midsomer Murders, none of her credits really register for American audiences.

She does, however, share a name with the Marvel Comics character of Sylvie Lushton, who was introduced during the 2008 Dark Reign (between Secret Invasion and Siege, where Norman Osborn becomes SHIELD Director) storyline as a member of the Young Avengers. She is a teenager from Broxton, Oklahoma, who was given her powers by Loki.

Comics Sylvie takes up the mantle of “Enchantress” after the Asgardian Amora (who is implied to exist within the MCU because her sister Lorelai, played by The Gifted‘s Elena Satine, was the antagonist of the episode Agents of SHIELD 1.15 “Yes Men.”)

The Loki season finale will drop on Disney Plus on Wednesday, July 14 at 12 a.m. PT and 3 a.m. ET.