WandaVision: What Is Nexus?

This article contains WandaVision spoilers.

We got at least one big reveal in the seventh episode of Marvel’s WandaVision, and though it was indeed a key turning point that we’d been expecting since the series began, it wasn’t quite what some fans hoped for. There are still two episodes to go, however, and we suspect there might be more huge reveals left to come, and yet more wild commercials that many of us will spend hours picking apart.

The commercial in episode 7 was for an antidepressant called Nexus. The term “Nexus” has ties to the established MCU and Marvel Comics, and we’re here to talk you through what you need to know about the ramifications Nexus might have in both WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, for which WandaVision essentially acts as a prequel series.

So, let’s get down to business!

The Avengers: Age of Ultron Connection

Avengers: Age of Ultron has been referenced heavily in WandaVision to date and, yes, there is a Nexus connection to be found in the 2015 blockbuster that properly introduced us to both Wanda and Vision. In Age of Ultron, NEXUS is an internet hub in Oslo that Tony Stark visits when he’s tracking Ultron’s attempts to get nuclear codes. When Stark arrives at NEXUS, he finds that JARVIS has survived Ultron’s attacks by scattering himself on the internet.

Is the commercial a random reference to AoU’s NEXUS internet hub? Perhaps, but the Nexus ad voiceover is very telling, and speaks to a much larger reveal on the horizon:

“Feeling depressed? Like the world goes on without you? Do you just want to be left alone? Ask your Doctor about Nexus, a unique antidepressant that works to anchor you back to your reality, or the reality of your choice. Side effects include: feeling your feelings, confronting your truth, seizing your destiny, and possibly more depression. You should not take Nexus until your Doctor has cleared you to move on with your life. Nexus: because the world doesn’t revolve around you. Or does it?”

When we last saw Wanda Maximoff in Avengers: Endgame, she was just starting to grieve the loss of Vision, but we now know exactly how unhealthy Wanda’s grieving process was, and it was probably made that much worse when she found out about SWORD Director Hayward’s Vision-tampering CATARACT project.

Wanda admits she created Westview as a result, but still isn’t quite sure how she did it, and even in the often idyllic world of Westview she hasn’t really been able to block out her depression. In fact, it appears to be overwhelming her a little more with each passing episode, and that’s never been more evident than in episode 7, “Breaking the Fourth Wall,” where Wanda uncovers the truth about who has been behind some of the most nefarious magic in The Hex: nosy neighbor Agnes, aka iconic Marvel Comics witch Agatha Harkness.

The Marvel Comics Connection

What does the Nexus ad truly tell us about where this is leading? The medication certainly appears to be a rather ‘unique’ antidepressant in the surreal realm of WandaVision because it promises to stop the patient suppressing their depression and loss rather than help them dull those feelings, but in a very real sense “Nexus” could bring Wanda back to reality and fully establish her role in Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – and it probably will involve help from a very specific Doctor!

See, in Marvel Comics, the Nexus refers to the Nexus of All Realities, and it’s quite different to its underwhelming MCU internet hub counterpart. First appearing in 1972’s Fear #11, the Nexus forms a cross-dimensional gateway that provides access to all possible realities and is a place where all the realities of the multiverse intersect. Wanda Maximoff herself is often referred to as a Nexus Being, a multiversal anchor who serves to protect us from threats outside our reality.

As the ad says, Nexus works to either “anchor you back to your reality,” or one of Wanda’s choosing, like The Hex. Wanda could be about to discover that the reason why she suddenly had so much control over reality is because she is a Nexus Being connected to the powerful mystical node that provides access to anywhere in the grand multiverse. If so, it’s only a matter of time before Wanda’s Doctor – Doctor Strange, that is – shows up to try and prevent things deteriorating in Westview even further.

To be honest, since it’s already confirmed that Strange and Wanda get caught up in the ‘Multiverse of Madness’ in Sam Raimi’s upcoming Doctor Strange sequel, we’re not entirely convinced that the pair will be able to deal with the Nexus’ existence on Earth all that smoothly, but WandaVision is almost definitely heading for a huge, big budget MCU-style climax over the next two weeks with at least one huge cameo in the offing.

The excitement is real.