Who Is O.B. In Loki Season 2: TVA's Ouroboros

Academy Award winner Ke Huy Quan's performance in Loki Season 2 has been praised by critics and viewers since the first episode was released on 6th October 2023. While the season has just dropped on the streaming platform Disney+, fans expressed their heartfelt love and appreciation for his portrayal of O.B., a quirky engineer for the Time Variance Authority (TVA).

While he’ll insist on calling him O.B., Ouroboros has a significant meaning in mythology and Marvel Comics. We’ve traveled across the multiverse to help viewers learn who exactly is O.B. / Ouroboros and the role he may play in Loki Season 2.

Who Is Ouroboros/ O.B. In Loki Season 2?

Ouroboros, or O.B., is an original character created for the latest Marvel Studios' series, Loki Season 2, which debuted in the first episode. As the character does not appear in Marvel Comics, much of the character development is lifted from multiple sources and clues throughout the comics, starting with its official definition.

The design of the Ouroboros is noted for being a symbol or iconography that represents eternity, denoted by its cylindrical design and emblazed with a serpent seen consuming its tail continuously. In this depiction, the serpent is being reborn, thus expressing the union of both gnostic and alchemical, religious or spiritual, and matter in a repetitive cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

In Marvel Comics, there are a few mentions of Ouroboros, with the most recent mention being in Marvel Contest of Champions, a faction that formed following the defeat of the Grandmaster by the Summoner. The group started adding followers to its ranks who were against the Elders of the Universe and thus started experimenting with replicating the champions' abilities before selling them to the highest bidder.

Another mention of the Ouroboros can be traced to the pages of Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme (1988) #62. The Oculus Oroboros is a magical item that served as a conductor for magical properties, and in one alternate version, it was used as the main component for amulets, which the Temple of Vishanti used.

While not explicitly mentioned in comics, the Ouroboros have deep ties to Norse mythology as the serpent depicted as the World Serpent, Jörmungandr, one of Loki's children. Taking our knowledge and the context of Loki Season 2, it's safely right to assume that O.B. will have a significant role in this season, and O.B. and Loki will likely be forming a great partnership as we advance.

As Chief Engineer of the Time Variance Authority (TVA), Ouroboros, or O.B., mainly concerns himself with the upkeep of the TVA and, therefore, is wholly responsible for repairing and maintaining the mechanics and tools used by its employees and the Minutemen. O.B. is seen as a quirky, funny, and delightful character who is a genius and happily working behind his counter on the lower floor of the TVA.

While O.B. doesn't receive visitors, the last one being Agent Mobius, about 400 years ago; however, his knowledge of the TVA and the mechanisms will be of great use to help Loki from time-slipping. But beyond this, his intellectual mind will help Loki, Mobius, and their allies as they explore the calamity of the multiverse.

New episodes of Loki Season 2 are released every Thursday at 6 pm PT and 1 am UTC / 2 am BST on Friday on Disney+. Loki Season 1 is available to stream.