While Deadpool & Wolverine opened the window for several multiversal possibilities, it also brought to the fore a new concept of ‘Anchor Beings’ to the MCU. Presently serving as the key ‘anchor being’ is Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, who returns to life after his supposed death in 2017’s Logan. Speaking of which, while Deadpool’s entire focus remains on finding a new anchor to save Earth-10005 and the X-Men movie timeline, we also come across another big question. Was Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man also an ‘anchor being’? Let’s dig deeper.
How Does ‘Anchor Beings’ Work In The MCU?
“This is how reality dies,” said Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) to Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson after bringing him to the Time Variance Authority. Paradox, who calls himself a ‘mercy killer’ for the multiverse, also informs Deadpool that his world, Earth-10005, which also includes the X-Men movie timeline, is falling apart due to the loss of its ‘anchor being’ i.e., Logan, also known as Wolverine (Hugh Jackman).
Paradox explains that an anchor being is ‘an entity of such vital importance that when they die, their whole world slowly withers out of existence’. For the X-Men universe, Wolverine was this anchor being, and his death in Logan (2017), “an act of self-sacrifice so epic that it sent shivers down the timeline,” has triggered this decay.
As a result, the TVA assigns Paradox to oversee the end of Earth-10005, a process that will take place over thousands of years. To expedite this process, Paradox uses the Time Ripper, a device that destroys the space-time matrix of Deadpool’s world, accelerating its demise in a more merciful manner.
However, determined to save his universe, Deadpool ends up stealing TVA technology to travel through the multiverse and find a Wolverine variant (a version of Jackman in a blue-and-yellow suit) to stabilise the X-Men timeline with a new anchor being. During his journey, Deadpool even enters the Sacred Timeline (Earth-616 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe), which also has its own anchor that is crucial to its reality.
Iron Man An ‘Anchor Being’?
Unlike Wolverine, who died while saving X-23’s Laura Kinney in Logan, Downey’s Iron Man sacrificed his life to save the world, thus turning up as the major focal point of the Infinity Saga. In a recent conversation with Comicbook, Kevin Feige explained this theory. He was asked if, in a meta, Iron Man was the ‘anchor’ of the MCU, much like Wolverine was for the Fox-made X-Men movies.
“The fact that you even asked that makes me happy, and that the term has ignited your imagination to even ask that question,” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said.
With him teasing the same, if the anchor being was Iron Man, would that mean Earth 616 is also in a gradual decline? In any event, it can be assumed that Marvel Studios has bigger plans in store.
Meanwhile, Robert Downey Jr. is set to return to the MCU, but in a villainous avatar as Victor Von Doom, aka Doctor Doom. Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled for release in May 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars following in May 2027.
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