Warning: This article contains spoilers for Loki Season 2. Read at your own risk.
In a race against time and existence, the God of Mischief and Mobius, with Hunter B-15, O.B., Casey, and their allies in the Time Variance Authority enter into a mission to save the other branched timelines from being pruned. Loki Season 2 Episode 2, titled Breaking Brad, continues with the fiasco of the timelines and it all starts with the scene where Loki and Mobius enters the Sacred Timeline to look for an actor. This actor is none other than Brad Wolfe, but who is he anyway?
Loki Season 2 Episode 2 witnessed the reunion between Loki and Sylvie, and the grand plan of General Dox coming into fruition but not into completion as Loki, Sylvie, and Mobius stopped them. The episode also revealed why Loki attacked Earth which resulted to the Battle of New York in Avengers. Through it all, there's the actor who plays Zaniac, Brad Wolfe, and his real identity is revealed in the show.
Who is Brad Wolfe and how important is he in Loki Season 2?
Loki Season 2 Episode 2 introduces everyone to Brad Wolfe, an actor living in the Sacred Timeline who made movies for a living. He attended the debut of his movie, Zaniac which is similar to the name of an enemy of Thor in the comics, in an event where he encountered Loki and Mobius. As it turns out, Mobius knows him and he is actually called Hunter X-5, his real identity.
It turns out Hunter X-5 became a rogue TVA agent who abandoned his post in exchange for a life as a movie star in the Sacred Timeline. After various attempts of making Hunter X-5 break, he finally revealed to Loki and Mobius where Sylvie is. Bringing Hunter X-5 with them, they went to the branched timeline where Sylvie stays and works as a crew at McDonald's.
Well, Hunter X-5 knows more than just where Sylvie is located. He also knows the plan of General Dox and when he revealed that to Loki, Sylvie, and Mobius, all of them tried to prevent the grand plan of Dox: to prune all the branching timelines. While they managed to stop the pruning of some, around 70% to 80% were already taken down.
Who are Zaniac and Brad Wolfe in the Marvel Comics?
In the Marvel Comics, there is actually a rogue TVA agent named Brad Wolfe who worked on a movie called Zaniac. Wolfe becomes a monster called as Zaniac, a misogynistic serial killer, and he targets and kills a number of women. As Brad Wolfe was filming the sequel of his movie, he became possessed by Zaniac, and in turn, he began acting out the scenes from the script into the real life.
He became an enemy of Thor when he got out of prison in exchange for killing Jane Foster. Zaniac has the abilities of superhuman strength, energy knives, and superhuman durability. It turns out that this demonic entity possesses Wolfe was a vermin, and whoever gets near it will be possessed.
The comic book version is far from the series version but given that anything can happen in the MCU, it's always better to be prepared.
Loki Season 2 Episode 2 is now streaming on Disney Plus.
