Just saw the first episode of Loki, liked it quite a bit. You know what else was my jam? Control!

Here the thing, it is so exactly alike in the aesthetics that I cannot help but think that there is more than just simple homage or the collective unconscious pulling the same inspiration in a vacuum. The level of technology is the same, the posters on the walls are almost identical, even the suits and office shirts have a slightly off look from how real suits look in almost the same manner. Control came out almost two years ago, and a TV show doesn't take as long to produce. I get that a lot of the style that both were inspired by is pulled from iconic representations of the very concepts of government bureaucracies (as Control got into specifically), but man, this seems almost legally actionable.

That said: good show, I liked it. Makes me wish Control were a show too, it would be a good format. I'd be more into that too as I like astral plane stuff better than time travel stuff.

Actually, the level of tech is not the same, but it's still very retro appearing to the same time period is what I meant to say.

Well, it's doubtful, I'd say. Considering filming for Loki began in January 2020, and Control was released in August 2019, it doesn't feel like enough time to ape anything from it. And I don't know if I agree that a TV show doesn't take that long to produce in general, but I doubt it even more when you include the fact that this is a Disney show set in the MCU (meaning a lot of stuff is planned fairly well in advance -- the general idea for the show has been around since 2018, for example), and the fact that it began filming at the beginning of a pandemic. I'm going to guess most of the ideas, script specs, and even scripts existed before Control came out, and while changes are always made on set I find it unlikely they changed the aesthetic of the show based on Control.

@sethmode: Yeah, I don't think the pre-production schedules for Control and Loki line up in such a way that anybody would have the chance to copy anybody else.

And truthfully, the idea of pairing something mundane with kooky, out-there shit isn't new. Ask the Tick, or Futurama, or Rick and Morty, or Terry Gilliam, or the cast of Sorry to Bother You, etc. etc. etc.

Hell, the comic book version of the TVA predates Control by...what? 30-something years?

I feel like it borrows more from things like Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and CW's Legends of Tomorrow than anything. But that's just me.

Culture exists outside of videogames.

There's a multitude of things that both Control and Loki's styles are riffing off of.

Are we talking about aesthetics?
Because i spent my entire time with Control thinking about SCP.

Can't agree with you. CONTROL was first shown to this world during E3 2018, a time when End Game still in production and Marvel Studios was desperate for any inspiration for the way past End Game. It's highly likely that someone at the studio watched the announcement trailer and went "Yeah, we can do that."

@infantpipoc: The idea that they aped from an E3 trailer seems even less likely to me.

Regardless, it isn't like the TVA thread is new, as @El_Blarfo said. There is plenty of continuity to go on here. I still highly doubt they borrowed from Control... It would be MUCH more likely that they borrowed ideas from SCP stuff (you know, like Control did....)

@infantpipoc: The idea that Marvel copied a trailer for a video game because the people making the movies had no idea what they were gonna do next is wild. Control doesn't have a monopoly on its aesthetic. Bureaucratic organizations juxtaposed with supernatural elements have been a thing in fiction for a long time. Other examples that come to mind are The Good Place and The Umbrella Academy.

Nope. Its a great idea and setting, but it was far from fully original when Control did it. Like others have said, the TVA itself has been around in the comics since the late 80s, even earlier if you know anything about Captain Britain. Deep Space 9 did it in an episode about tribbles. Umbrella Academy is another great example as @bladeofcreation pointed out above

@tartyron: No, TVA is a concept dating back to the mid-80s. If anything we should see TONS of Owen Wilsons running around but I guess they didn't want to do that.

Also, while I sort of see where you're going I wouldn't say I really see it in the show.

@sammo21: THANK YOU! I hate gatekeeping and I absolutely abhor excuses about bad storytelling that center on "if you read the comics, you'd understand..." but this? THIS is the exact moment "read the comics..." exists for. Comics are a more vast, creative, and long-standing force than people give credit for.

@infantpipoc:I'm sorry, "they were desperate for new ideas"?

Where on EARTH are you pulling this out of?? Do you have a single interview, source, or citation for this frankly wild claim? Or did you just not like the movie personally and therefore it must be true? This is some conspiracy theory logic leap "well, they'd just released this massive movie, they MUST be desperate/burned out!"

Yeah, I think Control is heavily influenced by SCP and combining it with the aesthetics of the X-Files, Torchwood, Terry Gilliam's Brazil and stuff like Cube Zero, and certainly a fair share of David Lynch and Lars Von Trier's Riget/Kingdom Hospital and all those anthology horror/thriller shows.

I did want to say that I meant the aesthetics. I do realize that the TVA existed in the comics decades before control, I pose the question completely in the look of the show, not the content of the comics, where the cribbing would likely be the other way around. And I only learned of SCP through Control. Does SCP have some established visual aesthetic? I thought it was all forum posts in the form of reports and thus wouldn't describe the offices of the agency, or whathaveyou.

Anyway, as a government worker drone that has to work with a system programmed in the early 90's, I actually love both pieces of culture, and in no way was intending to denigrate one or the other, just point out how uncanny similar the two things look. I basically have the same job Eugene Cordero has on the show (I love seeing him and so many other great comics show up in everything these days).

And I agree, it's unlikely they pulled it all from the 2018 trailer for control, but I do still think they could have been doing set design after the release of control and taken some direct inspiration. And while it doesn't mention Control specifically, the director of the show did say in an interview I read today that he stole "from everywhere", which makes sense for just about every creative everything since ever.

@curseofthewise: You are right, while they are not tired of making those, I'm certainly tired of watching those for half a decade. I just chose End Game as the high note I stopped on.

Was interested in this Loki show because some screen shots did remind me of CONTROL, but looking up the length of episode on IMDB and went Nah.

Tangent: I met Eugene Cordero a couple times, years ago. Nice guy!

I desperately do not want to get off topic here, but I have zero idea that this even means, let alone why it would be a reason to not watch something?

@sethmode: Let's just say that I might be willing to go into the so-called Marvel Cinematic Universe for 30 minutes every week, but an hour is way too much.

When people pick things to watch, run time is a factor all the time whether they realize it or not.

I'm not disputing that, but it seems an odd reason to outright dismiss a show without never even seeing it. If you watched the first episode and didn't care for it, or had zero interest in the premise, that would make more sense to me. You do you though.

Nah, it's a pretty established aesthetic, especially when it comes to comic booky high tech bullshit that isn't from Wakanda or galaxies far, far away.

See also: Legion on FX:

All of the ordinary objects in this show did far more than they appeared. It had a slightly more psychedelic bend to its visuals, but it wasn't uncommon to see the lighting schemes employed in the first two episodes of Loki like the scene of Bill Irwin working at his tool desk above (or, should be anyway: there are four images in this post but only two display).

Also worth noting that the cinematographer on Loki handled the cameras and composition for True Detective season one, which further explains why it has a look that's a little more distinct than most TV but also the usual straight forward color palettes of most Marvel properties.

@sethmode: But of course I've seen an episode and did not care, the big fat episode 0 titled Avengers End Game. Not that I don't like the movie, but it feels like a good point to stop watching and nothing after could change my decision to stop.

Okay, but you're the one that said you were interested in the look...either way, you don't have to convince me of anything. I just found it confusing. I regret saying anything.