Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Loki season 2, episode 2

One of Loki's MCU powers just received a significant upgrade, becoming even more powerful thanks to Loki season 2. Seeking to save the Time Variance Authority from its imminent destruction, the titular God of Mischief (Tom Hiddleston) and Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson) are on the hunt for Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), the Loki variant who killed the TVA's founder He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors) in the finale of Loki season 1. To that end, Loki and Mobius' search leads to an impressive new display of the God of Mischief's magical abilities.

As seen in Loki season 2, episode 2, Loki and Mobius find Hunter X-5 (Rafael Casal) who's gone rogue from the TVA, making a life for himself on the Sacred Timeline as movie star "Brad Wolfe". However, he managed to discover Sylvie's whereabouts before he went AWOL, prompting Loki and Mobius to bring him back to the TVA for questioning. Although X-5 tried to escape, he was no match for Loki and his impressive magical skills. This includes a newly upgraded ability that has certainly elevated the God of Mischief's power as an MCU sorcerer.

Loki Season 2 Changes His Illusion Powers

Known as duplication casting, these particular Loki illusions are typically projections that can't interact with people or environments - they're just like holograms. This has been shown on more than one occasion in the MCU such as the Thor films and most notably in 2012's Avengers when Loki uses the ability to trick his Asgardian brother. When the God of Thunder attacks Loki on board the SHIELD helicarrier, Thor passes right through and becomes trapped in a cell made for the Hulk, prompting Loki to ask if Thor will ever not fall for his impressive holograms.

However, when Loki captures X-5/Brad Wolfe in 1972 London, he projects two shadow versions of himself that are actually capable of grabbing Wolfe, holding him against the wall of an alley. This is a rather notable change in Loki's duplication casting compared to the typical intangibility seen in the past. Furthermore, it's also impressive that the God of Mischief was able to cast two more perfect duplications of himself alongside the shadow versions.

Related: Every Loki Season 2 Episode 2 MCU Easter Egg & Reference

Why Loki's New Powers Are So Important

While Loki's magical powers in the MCU include the ability to shape-shift and the conjuring of physical weapons, this new upgrade to his duplication casting is rather significant, a sign that Loki's magical aptitude has perhaps grown. If Loki can actually manipulate matter via perfect duplications of himself with physical form and interaction, that's a pretty big game changer. After all, it's quite a rare power limited to a very select group of characters in the MCU including the Scarlet Witch, Doctor Strange, Agatha Harkness, and the Eternals' Sersi. With any luck, perhaps the God of Mischief's magic will continue to grow as Loki season 2 continues.

New episodes of Loki release every Thursday at 6pm PT / 9pm ET on Disney+.