Loki may soon explain a multiversal plothole involving both the MCU and Sony's Spider-Verse. As has been seen in the current Multiverse Saga, some characters can freely travel the multiverse in the MCU without any consequences or repercussions, while others have experienced more violent symptoms as has been seen in the animated Spider-Verse movies. However, a new theory suggests that Loki season 2 will offer new insights regarding the effects and dangers of multiversal travel.

In Sony's Spider-Verse movies, it quickly becomes apparent that existing in a reality one isn't from can cause disastrous effects to the body if they remain too long, a painful molecular breakdown that can lead to a violent death. That said, this hasn't been an issue in the MCU despite the fact that both Marvel Studios' universe and Sony's Spider-Verse are connected within the same greater multiverse. However, the first trailer for Loki season 2 may be teasing that there are only certain ways in which multiversal travel across time and space can be done safely (even in the MCU).

Related: Loki Season 2 Cast Guide: Every New & Returning Marvel Character

Loki Season 2 Features Glitches Similar To Across The Spider-Verse

In the first trailer for Loki season 2, the God of Mischief is suffering from the effects of what's referred to as "time-slipping". Essentially, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is being teleported between the past and present, presumably a side effect of Loki season 1 where his variant Sylvie killed He Who Remains, thereby changing the timeline and creating a new reality once Loki returned to the TVA where no one knew who he was, not even Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson). Likewise, it's confirmed that Loki is also time-slipping within the headquarters of the TVA itself, something that should be impossible according to the show's new character O.B. (Ke Huy Quan).

Regardless of the reason why Loki is time-slipping, the effects appear to be quite violent and random, not unlike glitching in the Spider-Verse movies. It's also one of the first instances in which a character from the MCU is dealing with a physical consequence of multiversal travel. While Kang the Conqueror is confirmed to have traveled the multiverse, he's never actually been seen doing so. Likewise, other versions of multiversal travel have either been accomplished via magic as seen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and No Way Home, or with inherent superpowers in the case of America Chavez, with neither method causing chronic negative reactions.

What Loki And The Spider-People Have In Common

Since Across the Spider-Verse's release, there's been a notable inconsistency with Spider-People and the villains they apprehend needing technology to avoid glitching when traveling the multiverse. At the same time, nobody else in the connected MCU has ever had the same problem (until now). Thanks to the time-slipping seen in Loki season 2's trailer, a narrative thread of commonality can now be drawn between the MCU's God of Mischief and Sony's Spider-Society as his temporal glitches don't seem all that wildly different in the upcoming MCU series.

Both the Spider-People and Loki use technology to travel the multiverse, while everything else seen so far has been the result of magic. The proposed theory is that using tech may somehow cause the user to glitch, while magic is able to bypass the issue. As an example, the Spider-Man villains from other realities seen in No Way Home were brought to the MCU via Doctor Strange's spell and didn't glitch, while the glitching villains referred to as anomalies in Across the Spider-Verse were largely the result of Alchemax super colliders from different realities. Hopefully, Loki season 2 can shed new light on the multiversal plot hole.

Related: Marvel Hints Loki Season 2 Will Undo 11 Years Of Redeeming The MCU Villain

Why Other Marvel Characters Don't Glitch Like Spider-People And Loki

The idea of technology causing more problems for multiversal travel than magic does seem viable considering the examples provided by both Marvel Studios and Sony thus far. Currently, glitching and time-slipping have only happened when technology has been in use. Although the creation of more tech like the Spider Society bracelets became the solution for glitching in Across the Spider-Verse, perhaps they're not as perfect as the movie made them out to be.

As far as this relates to Kang the Conqueror, the original Marvel comics confirm his suit was built to protect him from the effects of time travel and visiting other realities. Perhaps the same is true in the MCU with all other devices being inferior to his own. At any rate, it will be interesting to see what Loki season 2 reveals regarding the inconsistencies of multiversal travel when it begins streaming October 6th on Disney+.