Marvel’s Loki Concept Art Reveals VERY Different Version of a Fan-Favorite Character

Marvel’s Loki Season 2 added a fan-favorite new character to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in the form of Ouroboros, a Time Variance Authority agent working in the bowels of the Repairs and Advancement department. It was revealed that “O.B.” was the brains and heart of the TVA, writing the guidebook all agents are trained with, after being inspired by the works of Victor Timely. 

While O.B. was an interesting character on paper, what sold MCU fans was the performance and charisma of Oscar-winner Ke Huy Quan (Goonies). Quan has been on a serious roll since returning to acting and winning the Oscar for his supporting performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once, and O.B. is a character that MCU fans definitely want to see again. 

Now, it’s almost like an episode of Marvel’s What If…? animated series to wonder just how different the MCU Ouroboros character could’ve been. But now, thanks to concept artist Aleksi Briclot, we don’t have to wonder “What If?” We can actually take a look at the alternate possibility: 

As you can see above, Briclot had a very different vision of Ouroboros that he pitched to Marvel Studios. As the artist describes it: 

Old fashion mechanic jumpsuit. Orange overall (the color of the Time Variance Authority in the show) with some hints of complementary color : blue. This guy has an Ouroboros snake pattern tattooed on his head. I tried to avoid being too obvious so I made it small like some thin crown. The « recycle » logo on the wall is also a nod to the character : the giant snake/dragon eating its own tail. And I made him blind like he’s looking at the universe and all the time variation with some kind of third eye or another sense.

Ke Huy Quan’s lovable geek version of O.B. was a unique and fun departure from what, admittedly, looks more like the ‘old wise black man’ trope, with its questionable slant into less of a tech geek persona and more of a blue-collar handyman. Sheeesh…

If nothing else, this is more proof of why it’s good to keep an open mind when it comes to casting characters. If this concept of O.B. had been the driving factor in casting the character, we never get all the wonderful and weird idiosyncrisies that Quan brought to the table – and the MCU would be worse off for it. 

Loki Season 2 is now streaming on Disney+.