With the concept of Anchor Beings, Deadpool & Wolverine has revealed new details about the MCU’s multiverse that may be critical for Earth-616, also known as The Sacred Timeline.
Warning: The following article contains major spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine.
Anchor Beings serve as the lynchpins of their respective realities. These individuals are not just powerful or important; they are quite literally the foundation upon which their universe is built. The concept was introduced through the character of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) in Earth-10005, the reality where the Fox X-Men films took place. His death in Logan set off a slow decay of that entire universe, highlighting Anchor Beings’ critical role in maintaining their realities’ stability.
The introduction of Anchor Beings adds a fascinating layer to the MCU’s exploration of the multiverse. It suggests that every time a character makes a choice diverging from the Sacred Timeline, they could potentially become an Anchor Being in a new branch of reality. This concept beautifully ties into the events we’ve seen in projects like What If…? and other multiverse-spanning adventures, showcasing how individual choices can have cosmic consequences. But what about Earth-616, aka The Sacred Timeline? Who is the Anchor Being holding it together?
Is one of the Avengers the Anchor Being of the MCU’s Earth-616?
Introduced in Loki, the Sacred Timeline is a carefully curated sequence of events maintained by the Time Variance Authority (TVA) to prevent multiversal chaos. That means Earth-616, the MCU’s primary reality, holds a special place within this time-space framework. The Avengers we know exist there, and almost every event in the MCU occurred on Earth-616. An Anchor Being of such a prestigious timeline should be of utter importance, right?
The most obvious candidates for Earth-616’s Anchor Being are the heroes who have been central to the MCU’s narrative. First of all, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) carried the franchise through its first three phases, making him a prime contender. His sacrifice to defeat Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Endgame is a pivotal moment in the MCU’s history, cementing Tony as the ultimate defender of Earth-616. Similarly, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) definitely played a crucial role in shaping the MCU before retiring at the end of Endgame.
However, Earth-616’s continued existence after the departure of both these characters raises questions about their status as potential Anchor Beings. If either were truly the anchor of this reality, wouldn’t their absence have triggered a decay similar to what we saw in Wolverine’s universe? This decay may already be happening, and this plot point will be explored in future crossover events such as Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Or maybe the Anchor Being of Earth-616 is one of the heroes who remain (maybe even a non-superhero like Bruno from Ms. Marvel) or perhaps an unknown character who hasn’t shown up on the silver screen yet.
Nevertheless, since the Sacred Timeline is so particular, we must wonder if it even has an Anchor Being.
Does the MCU’s Sacred Timeline even have an Anchor Being?
Perhaps the Sacred Timeline, the “original” reality, operates under different rules. It’s conceivable that Earth-616 doesn’t rely on a single Anchor Being but is instead stabilized by a collective of important figures or events. That would mean that the death of an Avenger would not erase the timeline, instead creating a vacuum of power to be occupied by a new generation of heroes. That’s exactly what has been happening in the MCU during the Multiversal Saga.
It’s also possible to imagine that the Scared Timeline doesn’t have an Anchor Being at all! Being the main timeline in the multiverse, it might exist on its own. All the other timelines depend on an Anchor Being because they are variations of the original time-space plan for the cosmos. That would mean that new timelines can only endure while key people still make relevant choices. Once they die, their timeline slowly degrades because it’s an alternate path anyway, a deviation that the multiverse corrects in a couple of millennia.
This last option fits like a glove in the current state of the MCU. Since each What If…? story comes from a single decision that generates an entire timeline, removing the decisionmaker from the picture would wipe out their reality. It’s an intriguing idea that Marvel Studios can even use to fuse different realities in the future, bringing the Fantastic Four and the X-Men into the Scared Timeline for good.
As fans eagerly await more information, the question of who serves as Earth-616’s Anchor Being remains tantalizingly open. One thing is certain: In the MCU’s ever-expanding multiverse, the possibilities are truly endless.