The Loki series has been a runaway success for Disney+, breaking streaming records and reigniting an already loyal fanbase.
And with its rise in popularity, many lesser-known Marvel characters have been brought into the limelight of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
One such character is Mobius, portrayed in the series by Owen Wilson.
First appearing in the Fantastic Four comics in the early 90s, it's safe to say that the character - while loved by some diehard comic book fans - is not well-known. Or at least wasn't before the series.
For those who don't know, Mobius is really a bog standard guy compared to many of the heroes (and villains) he interacts with. He's just an office worker really with no super powers. And while his office just so happens to be the fantastical Time Variance Authority (or TVA), it is odd that such a regular Joe has such an unusual name.
But it turns out the name is interesting - and, indeed, fitting.
You see, a Mobius strip is a very curious shape in maths. It is a surface with only one side and one boundary curve meaning that if you draw a line along the edge, it will travel in a full circle to the opposite point to where you started.
If your brain is hurting already, don't worry. Maths enthusiast and drag queen, Kyne, has explored this interesting shape on her TikTok, showing viewers what the shape looks like using a piece of paper.
As well as explaining how the shape is one sided using a pen, Kyne also explained what happens when you cut it at different angles.
Cutting a Mobius strip dead centre creates one long loop with multiple twists - rendering it no longer a Mobius strip at all. While cutting is off centre creates two separate strips interlocking with each other.
So what does this have to do with the Marvel character? Quite a lot actually - and *spoilers* if you haven't watched series one yet.
For a character who has dedicated his life to the 'proper flow of time' (as it's often referred to in the show) it seems fitting that his name refers to a one-sided loop without an end. For further proof on this you only have to look at his full name - Mobius Mobius Mobius - and you'll see the 'endless loop' narrative the writers were looking to convey. His duty is to keep the timeline steady without disruption.
But of course for anyone who has watched the first series of the show, we also know this mission is disturbed with the introduction of Loki, Sylvie and the revelation that the TVA is basically a lie. Mobius, like all who work at the TVA, is a variant (someone who has disrupted the timeline and created a branch in reality).
Knowing what we know now about what happens to a Mobius strip when it is cut off-centre (or you could say, steered away from it's usual flow), it's hard not to draw comparisons from the shape's namesake.
Mobius (the character) was pulled away from the regular flow of his infinite loop and as such created a new interlocking version of himself, one who is now wise to what is happening.
For a series that has ended with the opening of a multiverse with infinite possibilities, it's no coincidence that one of its central characters is named after an unending loop.
And as a further thought, it's also quite interesting that Mobius' main weapon in the series is to trap people in a time loop.
That said, we will leave you pondering on why - knowing what you now know about the name - it is Mobius who often utters one of the show's most quoted lines: 'For all time. Always.'
