Did Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse Just Confirm Another Nexus Being?
Contains spoilers for "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"
Marvel Comics has a concept that's been loosely brought over to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, known as Nexus Beings. These are entities that serve as focal points for their respective realities, impacting probability, the time stream, and reality as a whole. While there are over a dozen known entities in the comics, the MCU has so far introduced two, namely Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors). However, it's possible another Nexus Being is out there affecting the multiverse who's been around on the big screen longer than either Wanda or Kang.
"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" brings back J.K. Simmons as the voice of J. Jonah Jameson. He can be heard both in Gwen Stacy's universe and when Spot accidentally visits a reality made up of LEGO. Simmons' Jameson was a highlight of Sam Raimi's original "Spider-Man" trilogy, and he reprised the character in the MCU for the mid-credits scene of "Spider-Man: Far From Home" as well as "No Way Home." He's also voiced the character in numerous animated series, including "The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes," "Ultimate Spider-Man," and "Avengers Assemble."
If Jameson's going to be there, it's a safe bet Simmons won't be too far behind, and it opens up many possibilities that Jameson could function as a Nexus Being or play another role within Spider-Man's mythos.
J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson could also be a Canon Event for Spider-Man
To be fair, J.K. Simmons doesn't have a complete chokehold on the part of J. Jonah Jameson. Keith Carradine voiced the character in "Spider-Man: The New Animated Series," and Jay Gordon voiced the character in the video games for "Spider-Man" and "Spider-Man 2." However, it's safe to say when most people hear the name, J. Jonah Jameson, they immediately think of Simmons' iconic turn. He may not be a powerful magic user like Wanda, but there could be a chance Simmons' various Jamesons are holding together the fabric of the multiverse where he needs that gruff voice and paranoid theories to keep things from falling apart.
There's also a chance Simmons playing Jameson is yet another Canon Event for Spider-Man. These are explained in "Across the Spider-Verse" as near-constants in every universe that every Spider-Man must endure. Some of the examples mentioned include the death of Uncle Ben and, at some point, throwing the Spider-Man costume in a garbage bin while dramatically walking away. It's possible Peter Parker dealing with an ornery J. Jonah Jameson also falls into this category, and if that's the case, having someone play the part as brashly as J.K. Simmons would make sense as being a constant throughout the multiverse.
For most fans, the more J.K. Simmons, the better, so he'll always be a welcome part of any "Spider-Man" movie. "Across the Spider-Verse" is playing in theaters now.