The series premiere of Loki on Disney Plus didn't just bring back the villain of The Avengers, but also opened a brand new chapter for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With the introduction of the Time Variance Authority, a whole new group of characters emerged. Much of the episode is devoted to Loki's interactions with Agent Mobius, but one character that sparked interest from comic book fans is Judge Renslayer.
Though she isn't actually named in the episode, Gugu Mbatha-Raw is credited with playing Judge Renslayer. She's seemingly based on the comic book character Ravonna Renslayer. She made her comic book debut in an Avengers storyline in 1965. Ravonna continued to appear in comics on and off through the late'90s. Her long comic book history, like her character in Loki, ties into time travel, but not in the way those unfamiliar with her story might expect. The MCU, after all, is well known for bringing new twists to even the most familiar of comic book characters.
Judge Renslayer In Loki
Judge Renslayer hasn't played a huge role in Loki just yet. So far, the audience knows she sentences violators of the sacred timeline to their punishment. It's clear that Mobius respects her. It's also clear that she's accustomed to her orders being carried out quickly. She loses patience with Loki as he argues the absurdity of the situation. Judge Renslayer repeatedly points out she simply carries out the Timekeepers' orders.
What the audience knows from interviews with actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw, however, is that the character worked her way up to judge. She used to be a hunter in the field. Renslayer became a leader in the organization with her immense knowledge and serious fighting skills. That means she's not simply a character in a position of power, but that she's a character who knows exactly what it takes to catch a variant and fix the timeline. There's a good chance her skills in the field will come into play later in the season.
Ravonna Renslayer In Marvel Comics
While Renslayer might have a strong connection with the TVA in Loki, the comics are a different animal. There, she isn't a judge. In fact, her comic book backstory is set far into the future of the main timeline - and not with any authority from the Timekeepers.
Instead, Ravonna lives in the 40th century. The daughter of a king, Ravonna is the heir to her father's throne. Her home happened to be the last outpost of humanity that hadn't yet been taken over by Kang the Conqueror, a time-traveling villain from the 31st century. Ravonna staunchly opposed Kang taking over the kingdom. She even joined forces with the Avengers to stop him from invading. Her story doesn't end with that battle though.
Instead, Ravonna ended up pulled out of her own timeline right before the moment she would have died. She also ended up trying to manipulate the events of the timeline herself by influencing the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. Neither of those attempts worked in her favor and she spent a lot of time stuck in an actual time storm before eventually taking on the codename Terminatrix to keep her identity a secret. All of her time traveling, however, can be traced back to that initial conflict with Kang the Conqueror, which might hint at a larger MCU role to come for her.
How Ravonna Might Hint At An MCU Storyline To Come
When Kang first attempted to conquer Ravonna's father's kingdom in the comics, he put his plans on hold. That's because he fell in love with her. Initially, Ravonna balked at the idea. In her eyes, Kang was the villain. He devised plans to prolong the conflict so he could prove himself brave to her. It worked, to an extent. Though Ravonna teamed up with the Avengers to stop Kang, she also sacrificed herself so he wouldn't be killed. She also admitted her love for him. When Ravonna was taken out of her timeline right before her death, it was a version of the time-traveling Kang who removed her.
Of course, once revived, Ravonna also took issue with him putting her in harm's way and failing to truly save her. Her course of action was to get revenge. That's why she became a villain, attempting to manipulate the Avengers and the Fantastic Four to do her bidding. Variants of Ravonna and Kang repeatedly came into conflict across different timelines. They even killed one another repeatedly, before reconciling and starting all over again.
Kang The Conqueror will appear in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The potential exists for him to appear earlier as well. Considering how time travel plays such a large role in his comic book story and Loki's series, fans can't rule out that the connection between the two is already there thanks to Ravonna Renslayer. Perhaps Judge Renslayer already met Kang the Conqueror. The audience could get to see a version of their tragic romance unfold.