This article contains spoilers for WandaVision.
It’s become a hallmark of WandaVision’s sitcom world that the action stops to feature a commercial. These commercials often provide links to Wanda Maximoff’s own life. As each new episode launches, there’s a new commercial for the audience to pick apart. From the Strucker watch to Yo-Magic, the commercials prove creative and entertaining.
In the seventh episode of WandaVision, that commercial is for Nexus. Nexus is advertised as an antidepressant. It promises to help control those feelings of helplessness, and there are plenty of lines referencing that Nexus is for when, “the world isn’t all about you – or is it?” It’s also for, “anchoring you to your reality – or the reality of your choosing.” The commercial comes at a time when Wanda’s powers don’t seem to be working for her and she’s at a loss for how to proceed. Her husband hasn’t been home, she allows her neighbor to watch her kids, and she takes a “me day” that doesn’t go as planned. Beyond Wanda dealing with her own feelings, what is the significance of Nexus? What might it allude to?
First appearing in Marvel comics in 1972, the Nexus of all Realities is the name of a specific location in the universe. Created by Steve Gerber and Rich Butler for the comic book Fear, it’s gone through a few changes. Originally located in the Florida Everglades in the main continuity, the location can change depending on the reality in question. In one comic book reality, for example the Nexus is in Louisiana instead.
The Nexus is exactly what its name implies; it’s where all realities and the spaces between realities meet. Hidden from the general public, the gateway is under guard. Most comic book realities see it under guard by the character Man-Thing. In fact, he usually guards one tree with the gateway hidden inside it. In some versions of the story, the Nexus is created by a powerful magic spell. Other versions dictate that the Nexus is a natural occurrence.
Though Man-Thing has never appeared in the MCU, the character has been referenced. Not only has Maria Hill name checked him in an Agents Of SHIELD appearance, but Ellen Brandt, who is his ex-wife in the comics, appeared in Iron Man 3. Depending on what route the MCU decides to take with the Nexus of all Realities, however, Man-Thing doesn’t have to be its initial guardian.
It would be disastrous for a villain to use the gateway to travel between realities. There exist, of course, characters who can travel the multiverse without using the Nexus. Those characters, however, are rare.
There is another use of the term “Nexus” in Marvel comics. Instead of referencing a place, the term references people. Nexus Beings are incredibly powerful people who can actually affect future outcomes in their respective universes.
Specifically, Nexus Beings affect probability. That can mean their abilities differ. One could be a sorcerer, like Merlin, using spells and enchantments to change events. Another could be a time traveler, like Kang the Conqueror, traveling through history and changing how things could play out. Scarlet Witch is considered one of the Nexus Beings in the comics because of two of her abilities: her hex and her reality warping. Her hex actually helps her change the probability of events. She can hex someone, making them more likely to fall down in a fight or succumb to her magic. By using that ability in small ways, she can change the potential outcome of events. Her reality-warping, changing the very fabric of the universe, is a much larger way for her to change the future.
What’s most interesting about Nexus Beings is that there is only supposed to be one of them in a universe. Across different realities, there could be many, but there should never be more than one in the same place at a time. Even their offspring are considered incredibly powerful, meaning that the children of the Scarlet Witch (or at least, one of them) could potentially become Nexus Beings. The same forces who monitor the time stream to keep history intact monitor Nexus Beings as well.
It’s hard to tell which of the comic book Nexuses the commercial in WandaVision references. Both make sense within the context of the MCU and with Wanda at the center of the story. There’s evidence that either of them could be the intended reference – and that the commercial might be foreshadowing events to come.
As WandaVision revealed “it was Agatha all along,” her basement also makes an interesting case for the Nexus of all Realities making an appearance. Agatha’s basement has what looks like tree roots running all through it. She likely chose her home in Westview for a reason. Finding a way to access numerous realities would be a good reason. It might also explain why manipulating reality in Westview proved so easy for Wanda and Agatha up until now.
Of course, Wanda being a Nexus Being in the MCU would also make perfect sense. She exhibits a large amount of power – larger than most of the other superheroes and villains who appeared so far. Wanda is also able to reality warp in the same way she can in the comics, like changing the layout of her house, extending The Hex around Westview, and more. It’s also interesting to note that the Time Variance Authority will be a part of the upcoming Loki series, meaning one of the groups that monitors Nexus Beings is present in the MCU.
The upcoming Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness will not only feature the multiverse, but also Wanda Maximoff. This further supports the idea of either Nexus being the intended reference. The commercial referencing both might be the real answer.
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