With the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the age of Kang is officially here. Although much about the MCU’s latest isn’t faring too well with critics, Jonathan Majors’ multiversal maniac is already being praised as one of the best villains the franchise has ever given us. The good news (well, for us, not the Avengers) is that we can expect much more from him as the Multiverse Saga continues, culminating in 2026’s Avengers: Secret Wars.
As we learn in Quantumania, Kang is a vastly powerful individual for whom the limits of time and reality hold no bounds. In fact, ahead of the film’s arrival in theaters, Majors confirmed to the press that Kang is officially a “Nexus Being” in the MCU. This is a term that readers of Marvel Comics will be familiar with, but it’s not something that has been uttered on screen ahead of Phase Five. Here’s everything you need to know about Nexus Beings.
What is a Nexus Being?
A Nexus Being is essentially the most overpowered of overpowered characters. Thanks to their reality-shaping skills, these heroes and/or villains have the ability to affect the timestream in ways that no other characters can dream of. It’s sometimes said that there is only one Nexus Being per universe, with this entity serving as the focal point or anchor of that specific reality. They are also known to be the node of mystical energy for their home universe.
Although this is a common misconception, a Nexus Being is not someone who is the same person across the multiverse nor are they the only version of themselves in the multiverse (like America Chavez in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, for instance). These individuals will have as many different variants as everyone else, it’s just that one of these variants is more important than the others and is classified as the Nexus Being of their universe.
What other Marvel characters are Nexus Beings?
Outside of Kang, who is likewise a Nexus Being in the comics, the other most notable Marvel character classified as such on the page is Scarlet Witch. While WandaVision and Doctor Strange 2 didn’t go quite so far as to describe Wanda Maximoff as a Nexus Being, they definitely portrayed her that way, considering the Scarlet Witch prophecy and the multiversal madness she caused once corrupted by the Darkhold.
Other Nexus Beings identified in the comics include variants of such iconic heroes as Jean Grey and Vision, Thor’s father Odin, and even variants of historical real-world figures like Queen Elizabeth I, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Abraham Lincoln. Additional examples include Leonard Tippett, an ordinary man granted vast cosmic powers by The Watcher, sorcerer from the 31st century Sise-Neg, and the famed wizard Merlin.
What does this mean for the MCU?
With Kang established as a Nexus Being, that means we now officially have two of them running around the MCU. This only seems to fuel those fan theories that Wanda will prove to be the Conqueror’s ultimate nemesis come Secret Wars, as it’s widely assumed that only she would be powerful enough to stop him — something that only appears more logical now we know both of them are the most hyper-powerful characters of their respective universes.
It’s also worth pointing out that Kang’s variant Immortus, as well as the TVA (which he runs in the MCU), are known to keep a close eye on and occasionally hunt Nexus Beings in the comics. On screen, this idea could be evolved so that Kang is attempting to wipe out those few beings who can actually stand to challenge him. This means that he may come after a resurrected Scarlet Witch, only to inspire her fury, leading to the showdown between the pair that fans are eagerly anticipating.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is playing in theaters now.