Does Loki create the Marvel multiverse?
At this stage it seems safe to say that Marvels next big play is the Multiverse, with at least two future films (specifically Spider-Man: No Way Home and the aptly-named Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) reported to revolve around the idea of parallel worlds and alternate heroes. Advertisement  But now, in Marvels new Disney Plus series Loki we may have just had the first hint at how exactly that big crossover story will begin, with the first episode explaining some background to the Multiverse (as wed previously speculated) while also dropping a key detail  it doesnt exist yet in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The exposition was delivered via the medium of a dancing cartoon clock with a Southern accent. Long ago, there was a vast multiversal war, Tara Strongs Miss Minutes tells Tom Hiddlestons Loki as he stews in the headquarters of the Time Variance Authority. This IS the news you're looking for The best sci-fi news and features this side of the Outer Rim. Thanks, you are now signed up to our sci-fi and fantasy newsletter! We look forward to sending you our email updates. Sign in to/ register for a RadioTimes.com account to manage your email preferences Sign in Register To manage your email preferences, click here. Sign me up! Immediate Media Company Limited (publishers of radiotimes.com) would love to send you our sci-fi and fantasy newsletters. We may also send occasional updates from our editorial team. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information about how we hold your personal data, please see our privacy policy. Countless unique timelines battled each other for supremacy, nearly resulting in the total destruction of well, everything. But then, the all-knowing Time-Keepers emerged, bringing peace by reorganising the multiverse into a single timeline  the Sacred Timeline. Now, the Time-Keepers protect and preserve the proper flow of time for everyone and everything.  In other words, while there was once a multiverse these extra-dimensional beings called the Time-Keepers put a stop to it, ostensibly to save all of reality. Just one universe, progressing along nicely, with the Time Variance Authority stepping in to erase any potential new universes when individuals stepped off the Time-Keepers Sacred Timeline. One such individual, of course, is Loki himself, as is explained to him later in the instructional video. Stepping off your path created a Nexus event, which, left unchecked, could branch off into madness, leading to another multiversal war, Miss Minutes says, while the words Danger: Multiverse flash onscreen, before the video concludes by explaining how the TVA keep everything in order. This segment of Loki is intriguing for a number of reasons, giving a real hint as to whats next for Marvel, and their subtle gameplan in general. You see, this isnt the first time weve heard of Nexus in the MCU  it actually turned up before in WandaVision during one of that series fake commercials in a scene that seemed to imply a kind of multiverse connection. Do you just want to be left alone? the advert said. 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 doesnt revolve around you. Or does it?  Fans were quick to note that in the comics, Nexus beings are described as rare individual entities with the ability to affect probability and thus the future, thereby altering the flow of the Universal Time Stream  and while this advert didnt end up coming to much in WandaVision, perhaps it was always intended as a nod to Wandas future role in Doctor Strange 2, and her own status as a Nexus being. The fact that its turned up again in Loki suggests that it wasnt just a throwaway reference, and that these new rules and terms will become important as Marvels Phase 4 continues. Well, were going to take a wild guess and say that over the course of the series, either he or someone else is going to cause the Sacred Timeline to diverge rapidly, effectively creating the Multiverse for it to be a major story point in the Doctor Strange and Spider-Man sequels. In a way it all makes sense  the Multiverse hasnt turned up in the MCU before this point because it hadnt been created yet  and if true, this theory shows just how important these Disney Plus series can be to the overall Marvel plot. Advertisement  Then again, we could be wrong about this whole thing. We still havent forgotten The Mephisto/Quicksilver incident *shudder*.