The Marvel Cinematic Universe has renewed interest in nexus beings. In the MCU, these include characters like America Chavez and Scarlet Witch, who have immense power and can travel through the multiverse without assistance. In Marvel Comics, their definition is far more complex.

In the comics, a nexus being is any person or thing that has the power and capability to drastically affect probability and the timeline. These Marvel characters are rare, but a variant of them exists in every reality and serves as a temporal anchor point for that reality in the multiverse. The nexus beings that exist in the Marvel Universe are an exclusive number, encompassing both popular and obscure characters alike.

Updated on December 11, 2023 by Mayra Garcia: With the end of Loki, Marvel Studios has renewed the audience's curiosity regarding nexus beings in the MCU. These kinds of characters are central in Marvel Comics, but not everyone knows about them and their incredible power. This list has been updated to include more info and to comply with CBR's standards.

11 Scarlet Witch Is the Most Recognizable Nexus Being

Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch, is perhaps the most crucial nexus being in the Marvel Universe. Her abilities have made her a major focus of the larger multiverse ever since her first appearance. Before her reality-altering powers matured, Wanda used her chaos magic to create hexes and affect the probability of a given vicinity.

This meant that Scarlet Witch could inflict bad luck on those around her, which universally worked in her favor. However, as her powers grew, Wanda began to manipulate reality during events like Avengers: Disassembled and House of M, which ultimately resulted in her imagined children Billy and Tommy becoming real and powerful. This is another characteristic of a nexus being. Scarlet Witch's MCU counterpart also showed immense strength in her chaos magic but hasn't been officially labeled as a nexus being.

10 Lore Was a Dangerous Nexus Being Who Wanted Power

Lore was a multiversal variant of The Scarlet Witch, who was much more comfortable with her evil nature. She fed off of the power of other nexus beings and had dreams of multiversal conquest. Where Wanda used magic to help others and rarely broke the sacred rules, Lore constantly abused them.

Lore would routinely take over other people's bodies and use necromancy to raise and control the dead. From her use of magic to her characterization, Lore represents Wanda's darkest aspects and sinister potential. She could also drain energy from the entire planet to fuel herself, making her even more dangerous than Wanda. Fortunately, the Scarlet Witch proved capable of defeating her variant.

9 Eleyn Was a Tragic Victim of the Scarlet Witch’s Variant

A witch-queen from the land of Amazar, Eleyn was a tragic character, like Scarlet Witch. Eleyn experienced plenty of suffering from her start to her untimely demise in Scarlet Witch #1 (by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, and John Higgins). Although she was a nexus being, her powers weren't enough for Lore's villainous onslaught, which eventually made Eleyn lose her grip on her own mind.

From there, Eleyn became a vessel for Lore until the evil nexus being drained Eleyn's energies and left her for dead. Even though her life was tragic, Eleyn's spirit was vindicated following the Scarlet Witch's aid, and was finally able to rest in peace. While she was only a pawn in Lore's greater plan, Eleyn could still wield her power when it counted most.

8 Leonard Tippit Was a Nexus Being Who Faced the Avengers

Leonard Tippit was a murderer who operated under the radar until a chain of events led him to gain superpowers and encounter the Avengers. His existence as a nexus being began when The Watcher tasked him with killing five innocent children in Avengers #101 (by Harlan Ellison, Roy Thomas, and Rich Buckler) to prevent a future nuclear holocaust.

Even with cosmic abilities, Tippit was unable to fulfill his task, and it all turned out to be a plan meant to get the Avengers to stop him once and for all. As a nexus being, Tippit's actions could have changed the timeline forever if the Avengers had not intervened.

7 Sise-Neg Used Magic and Time to Become a God

Sise-Neg (which is Genesis backwards) was a magical being from the 31st century who sought to learn all the magic from all time and achieve godhood. To do so, he developed a time-traveling technique that allowed him to affect the past without altering his future. Through his journeys, Sise-Neg took the name Cagliostro and wrote the book that would later be required reading for sorcerers.

Towards the end of Sise-Neg's tenure as a magical being, Doctor Strange and Baron Mordo traveled to the beginning of time. Sise-Neg lamented his efforts to rewrite history in his image and instead recreated reality as it was. This caused Strange to have an existential crisis over what they witnessed. In the MCU, Cagliostro appeared in an episode of What If...? that implied but never confirmed he was Sise-Neg.

6 Merlin Altered the Timeline to Benefit Humanity

The same Merlin from Arthurian legend, Marvel's iteration of the character first appeared in 1943's Young Allies #11 (by Dan Barry and Allen Bellman) and has been a fixture in the Marvel Universe ever since. Through his magical powers, Merlin guided many characters and has appeared in books like X-Factor, Excalibur, Incredible Hulk, and Avengers.

While Merlin may not have a consistent presence in the Marvel Universe, he impacted the course of events during decisive moments. Merlin was a nexus being who contributed to many decisions to maintain reality for all humanity and has never stopped manipulating events in the multiverse to ensure that people continue to exist and thrive. While he hasn't shown up in the MCU to date, the confirmation of the Ebony Blade could allude to more ties to Arthurian legend.

5 Kang the Conqueror May Be the Deadliest Nexus Being

Better known as Kang, Nathaniel Richards was a 30th-century descendant of Reed Richards with dreams of conquest. Using the ability to time travel, Kang has since used his abilities to venture into the far past of ancient Egypt and become the Pharaoh Rama-Tut. This was one of his many efforts to rewrite history in his image.

While Kang has succeeded in some realities, he's also met opposition, thanks to the Avengers. Nevertheless, where one Kang was defeated, the possibilities of the multiverse have proven there's some version who has predicted his defeat and already set up a backup plan. Because he's made the timestream his playground, Kang has become a powerful nexus being, although he's rarely considered one due to how errant he is traveling the timeline.

4 Earth-772 Franklin Richards Was Destined for Immense Power

Perhaps the most innocent of all the nexus beings, Franklin Richards of Earth-772, first appeared in What If...? #35 by Roy Thomas, R.J.M. Lofficier, and Joe Phillips. In this reality, Franklin was part of a plot by the Time Keepers, where they are trying to eliminate nexus beings across the multiverse to further their existence.

However, thanks to the persistence of the Fantastic Five, they took on Annihilus and Doctor Doom in their realities to ensure a safe and healthy birth for Sue Storm. In the end, the Time Keeper's plans failed, and Franklin was born without any complications. But as a nexus being, this iteration of Franklin could be just as, if not more powerful than his Earth-616 counterpart.

3 Earth-90110 Vision Used His Powers to Mold the Future

Continuing the Time Keepers' conquest in What If...?'s Timequake arc, Earth-90110's Vision became a nexus being because, in his reality, he took over and created a future that was perfect but ruled by his grand plan. That said, Vision never acted as a true enemy to the heroes of his universe. But he did bring the fears of an AI takeover to life.

Thankfully, Vision sought to make reality a better place. Sadly, he was ultimately eradicated by the Time-Twisters, who had him replaced by the cosmic being Michael Korvac. Michael erased the remainder of the Vision's protocols, leaving Earth without a leader to follow. Dubbed Ultra-Vision, he was one of the few casualties in the Time Keepers' grand plan.

2 Earth-9250 Jean Grey Is the Ultimate Nexus Being

Earth-9250's Jean Grey was unlike any other Mutant variants that came before her since she and her fellow X-Men were also vampires. Nevertheless, the thirst they felt didn't stop them from being heroes. But in Jean's case, her actions would decide the fate of her reality after the Goblin Queen and Dormammu joined forces.

To protect existence from the demons in the dimension Limbo, Jean Grey received the means to activate the Phoenix Force and use it to kill Dormammu and the Goblin Queen. However, due to Dormammu's importance to the fabric of reality, it left a void that needed to be filled sometime in the future. To complicate matters, the Time Keepers also targeted Jean in the Timequake arc. This wasn't the first nor the last time a Jean Grey variant was related to a multiversal threat.

1 Earth-9260 Odin Was the Final Key in a Multiversal Plan

Earth-9260's Odin Borson's demise was vital to the Time Keepers staying alive and maintaining the multiversal timelines. As a result, he might've been the most critical nexus being during the Timequake event.

Still, Odin was merely a pawn in a larger scheme to ensure that Earth-9260 Thor was delayed enough for the final Time Keeper's elimination. This left Immortus a route to ruling all of time. Odin's presence implied an even greater battle on the horizon — one created by nexus beings but fought by regular heroes.