Why Didn't Loki Use the Tesseract to Escape from Thanos in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’?

In Avengers: Infinity War, Loki indeed possesses the Tesseract, which contains the Space Stone and grants the ability to teleport. However, there are several reasons why he did not use this power to escape from Thanos at the beginning of the film.

THANOS'S POWER

At the start of Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos demonstrates his immense power by easily overpowering the Asgardian ship and its crew. Loki might have realized that, even with the Tesseract, escaping Thanos would be extremely difficult given Thanos's strength and the presence of his Black Order.

SURPRISE FACTOR

Loki was likely caught off guard by Thanos's sudden attack. The chaotic situation and the immediate threat posed by Thanos may not have left him with the opportunity to think clearly about using the Tesseract to teleport away.

DESIRE TO PROTECT THOR

Throughout the Thor and Avengers films, Loki's character arc shows a complicated relationship with his brother, Thor. At that moment, he may have felt a sense of responsibility to protect Thor, which influenced his decision-making.

PLOT REQUIREMENTS

From a storytelling perspective, Loki's decision not to flee serves the narrative of Avengers: Infinity War. His encounter with Thanos sets up the emotional stakes and the eventual conflict, as well as his character's journey throughout the film.

Ultimately, while Loki had the means to teleport, the combination of Thanos's overwhelming might, the chaotic circumstances, and his emotional ties likely prevented him from using the Tesseract to escape.

FUNCTION OF THE TESSERACT

As variously demonstrated in Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, and Captain Marvel, the Tesseract is merely a capacitor for the Universal Area Phenomena, the Space Stone, resources, and governs without a dedicated processing medium. Such as Zola's reactor, Selvig's navigational apparatus, or Mar-Vell's light speed engine. Raw operation of the Tesseract results in unintended outcomes, such as Johann Schmidt being unwittingly teleported from Earth to Vormir or, SPOILER: Loki randomly teleported from Earth’s New York City to the Gobi Desert.