Who is Ravonna Renslayer? Loki villain’s Marvel Comics differences explained

Ravonna Renslayer is one of the MCU’s biggest mysteries, but the Loki villain has an incredibly complicated backstory in the comics.

With the release of Loki Season 2, Ravonna Renslayer has made her way to the front and center of the MCU as a person of interest. After being outed as someone who betrayed the TVA and Mobius, fans finally got confirmation in the Season 2 premiere that she was working alongside Kang the Conqueror. 

While not much about Ravonna’s past has been revealed in Loki yet, her past in the comics is detailed. It’s also incredibly confusing. There are at least two Ravonnas throughout the history of Marvel, and each winds up on a very different path. 

With a past as a princess and a future as either a queen or a murderer, Ravonna might be one of Marvel’s most complicated characters. If you’re curious about what may happen with her in the MCU, here’s a quick guide on the Marvel Comics history of Ravonna Renslayer. 

Kang fights the Avengers for the right to marry Ravonna Renslayer

In 1965’s The Avengers #23, Kang traps The Avengers in the royal empire of Carelius on Earth-6311, the futuristic Other-Earth which Kang hails from. Here, Kang has designs to defeat the Avengers in a ploy to win the hand of Carelius’ daughter, Princess Ravonna. 

Ravonna Renslayer initially rejects Kang, taunting him as he fights The Avengers. But when Kang eventually triumphs and demands Reavonna’s hand in marriage, he discovers his commanders have a different decree: he must kill Ravonna, as it is their rule to slay the sitting ruler immediately when conquering a new kingdom. 

Kang refuses and briefly teams up with The Avengers. It winds up being for naught, though, as one of Kang’s commanders shoots Ravonna in the back. She dies in Kang’s arms, finally admitting she did love the Conqueror after all. 

Kang saves Ravonna and discovers the existence of Kang variants 

Kang would mourn Ravonna for 50 years, visiting her tomb in between his conquests. However, a fight with Thor would result in Kang’s timeline being fractured into two unique beings. One Kang arrived in Limbo, where he believed its ruler and his future counterpart, Immortus, had been killed.

With Immortus no longer ruling Limbo, Kang is free to use its technology to scour the realms. He finds what he believes is his Ravonna, but in saving her, he damns another Kang to die in her place. It’s through this that Kang learns his travels through time have created divergent versions of himself. 

With Ravonna at his side, Kang uses Limbo to kill the divergent Kangs. However, he soon learns Immortus is alive, having used the promise of Ravonna and power to trick Kang into killing his counterparts. Kang is banished from Limbo, but Ravonna stays behind with Immortus, who she sees as the personification of the last vestiges of good in Kang. 

The two Ravonnas have different lives that end in tragedy

The original Ravonna was kept in stasis moments away from death. She’s eventually revived by the Grandmaster and turned against Kang. She goes on to adopt the identity of Terminatrix and becomes an Avengers-level threat, challenging them throughout history. 

The alternate Ravonna has a much more peaceful future, though. She stays with Immortus, and the two eventually wed. They have no children of their own but do adopt a variant of Immortus from another timeline, known as Marcus Immortus. 

The two Ravonnas would eventually cross paths during the event The Terminatrix Objective. Here, the older Ravonna would be killed by Terminatrix, closing the loop on her life. Terminatrix herself would allegedly die years later during the events of Avengers Forever, but her status as a time traveler leaves the door open for a return. 

Loki Season 2 Episode 1 is now streaming on Disney Plus, which you can sign up for here. You can check out our other coverage below:

Loki Season 2 Episode 1 review | Loki Season 2 cast: All actors & characters | Loki Season 2: What you need to remember from Season 1 | Why Loki Season 2 wasn’t changed after Jonathan Majors arrest | Is Loki dead? All Loki deaths & returns in Marvel Comics explained | Why does Loki wear horns? Loki Crown/Helmet explained | How strong is Loki? Powers and weaknesses explained