Loki episode five had some absolutely whopping surprises, but none more wild than the appearance of a certain famous amphibian. So far, Loki has been absolutely filled with comic references galore — but it was fantastic and surprising to spot Throg, aka Frog Thor, alongside the new Loki variants.
If you’re unfamiliar with the character, you may have missed his appearance but regardless, it was a fun nod to just how weird Thor’s history really is.
It’s no wonder the episode’s titled ‘Journey Into Mystery‘.
Around the halfway mark of Loki episode five, a brief transitional shot shows Mjolnir lying in the dirt and a small figure pounding on the roof of a glass jar.
The shot is so quick you can easily miss who exactly is in that jar — but upon closer inspection, you can see it’s a frog wearing tiny Thor armour.
Yes, that’s right folks — Throg has now officially made his MCU debut.
While he was joked about in Thor: Ragnarok, he’s now an official member of Marvel’s film universe. That said, he does appear to be in a sticky situation, trapped in The Void and unable to reach Mjolnir, so it’s unlikely we’ll be seeing him again any time soon.
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Notably, the label on his bottle reads ‘T365’, a reference to Thor, Vol 1. #365 (1986), the comic issue where Thor led a frog army to victory against a pack of rats. See, Throg’s appearance in Loki isn’t a one off. He actually has a long and very colourful history in Marvel Comics.
Throg’s story begins with Loki
Like all problems in Thor’s life, the tale of Throg begins with Loki causing mischief — with the mischief being Loki turning Thor into a frog in a very special 1986 Thor comic arc (taking place from Thor Vol. 1 #363-366). But even though being a frog is an inconvenience, it doesn’t stop Thor’s heroic nature, and he even goes on to defeat a pack of evil rats and save the day as “Throg”.
He even ends up getting his own costume and armour in Throg form, the same one seen in Loki.
While the arc itself is short, sweet and very self-contained, the sheer ridiculousness of the character led to an enduring popularity. It even led to Throg being brought back, in the form of a new character named Simon Walterson (named after prolific Thor writer Walter Simonson).
This ‘new’ version of Throg was a man who was turned into a frog named Puddlegulp, and ended up quite liking it (understandable). After battling alongside the original Throg in the rat war and earning his merit as a fighter, Walterson gained a shard of Mjolnir for himself and transformed into the new version of Throg which now wields part of Thor’s powers.
Since his ascension, he’s gone on to join major teams like the Pet Avengers (equivalent to DC’s League of Super Pets) and even the Guardians of the Galaxy.
What started as a fun little comics run ended up having a long-term impact on the history of Marvel — and the story of Throg is so great, he’s now made it to the MCU.
While it’s unlikely Throg’s cameo will play a part in the future of Marvel, it was still excellent to see this amphibian hero get the justice he deserves on the big screen. Long live Throg.
The first five episodes of Loki are now streaming on Disney+ with the epic finale arriving Wednesday, July 14.