Concept art for the Marvel Cinematic Universe series Loki contains a glance at He Who Remains' early design which looks strikingly similar to Immortus.
Per Comic Book, the depiction in question was included in Marvel Studios' Loki: The Art of the Series book. One of the illustrations sees He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors) wearing his signature purple and green robes along with a large vertical helmet. The shape of the headpiece seemingly connects to the item worn by Kang's aged form in the comics. Another image sees the character sporting a mustache and goatee, which is similarly reminiscent of Nathaniel Richards.
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While the depiction of He Who Remains that ultimately appeared in Loki bears some resemblance to Immortus, the creative team ultimately opted to ditch the villain's iconic helmet and beard. Before the character was revealed, Season 1 showrunner Kate Herron confirmed that while their Kang variant was inspired by Immortus, he was always intended to be a unique character. "It’s a bit like Sylvie, right? She’s a unique character in relation to our story. He Who Remains is in the comics, but the version in our show was very different," Herron said. "He’s closer to Immortus, but he’s a unique character for our story. But Kang is a variant of that character."
Created by Stan lee and Don Heck, Immortus, also known as Nathaniel Richards, first appeared in 1964's Avengers #10 where he joins the Masters of Evil in a bid to destroy The Avengers. Subsequent stories have seen him travel back in time to claim dominion over ancient Egypt under the title of Pharoah Rama-Tut, battle his possible ancestor Doctor Doom and eventually assume the guise of Kang the Conqueror. Immortus has been a long-standing enemy of Earth's Mightiest Heroes and has battled them on many occasions.
Immortus wasn't the only storied character to inspire He Who Remains as Herron also explained that the team behind Loki took inspiration for The Wizard of Oz. "Something that was really fun for me was we hadn't, for example, cast the voice of the Time Keepers yet, because you know Wizard of Oz was an obvious reference of ours," Herron explained. Majors went on to lend his voice to the imposing figures who ultimately turned out to be a facade used to keep He Who Remains secret from the larger Time Variance Authority.
Loki Season 1 is now streaming on Disney+. Season 2 does not yet have a release window.
Source: Marvel Studios' Loki: The Art of the Series, via Comic Book