Ultraman Nexus (character)

Ultraman Nexus (ウルトラマンネクサス) is Ultraman Noa's second devolved form, and is the form a Deunamist assumes after using the Evoltruster. Starring in Ultraman Nexus, his story represented as the final phase of Ultra N Project. After evolving from Ultraman the Next, Nexus would resurface in 2008 to fight against a wave of Space Beast assaults, slowly grew in strength after bonding with multiple Dunamists and finally regained his long lost form Noa in his battle with Zagi.

Although Noa is his true identity, he made most of his future appearances as Nexus in subsequent Ultra Series.

Ultraman Nexus
As the world reeled from the first Space Beast disaster, Noa based himself on Earth and evolved further to become Ultraman Nexus. Over the years that passed until AD 2008, a secret global organization known as the Terrestrial Liberation Trust had been formed to defend Earth from the Space Beasts threats. At the same time, they were responsible for eliminating the public's memory of Ultraman or the Space Beasts since the 2004 Shinjuku Disaster. This was done to prevent a global panic from occurring, which would create ideal conditions for more Space Beasts to appear and feed upon the fears of humanity.

Noa himself had begun his own actions to protect the world from Zagi and his minions as Ultraman Nexus, and soon chose Jun Himeya, a former war photographer who experienced survivor's guilt from the inability to save an orphan named Sera. The fate of being chosen as a Deunamist led him to assume it as a self punishment for his past sins. During his time as the host for Nexus, he was first seen as another Space Beast by most of the Night Raiders, while Kazuki Komon instead became fast friends after being saved from a Pedoleon and several Space Beasts afterwards. Komon also kept Himeya's identity as Ultraman secret from his superiors and often butted heads with his immediate superior Nagi over the issue of whether Ultraman should be trusted or not.

He later encountered Dark Faust, a female Dark Giant in league with the Beasts while proving herself as a challenge to Nexus due to her mastery in the Dark Field. In their final battle, Faust revealed herself to be inhabiting Riko Saida's body after the latter died six months prior. Komon's intervention in the Dark Field not only led to Riko's emergence, but also her death at the hands of Nosferu. After his battle against Faust and Lafleya, Nexus and Himeya were acknowledged as an ally to the TLT while Dark Mephisto emerged as Nexus' second adversary. Said giant tried to manipulate Komon's depression to pull him into the dark side, until he was able to move on from the past, allowing TLT and Ultraman to finally destroy the regenerating Nosferu. Not long after, Jun's connection to Nexus was exposed and he was kidnapped by TLT in hopes of studying the Ultra's power. After multiple tortures, Jun managed to escape and was treated by his old colleague Sakura, but the injuries he faced greatly weakened his body so much so that according to the Illustrator, another transformation would lead to his death.

Time would prove his words to be true as the sustained injuries took a toll on Nexus when fighting against Kutuura and trying to save Sakura from Mephisto's grasp. In his death, Nexus was crucified in the Land of the Dead while Kutuura's tentacles slowly drained his light. Himeya would later met Sera's ghost, who corrected him of the purpose he was given the light and thus allowing Nexus to be revived via a reserved energy source. Initially in a weakened state, the Night Raiders fired their last supply of Ultimate Vanisher, providing Nexus with enough energy for a counterattack and he finally he defeats Mephisto for good. After both giants seemingly died in the explosion, Himeya appeared to Komon one last time, telling him that the light shall be passed to someone else.

Noa's power was later passed on to Ren Senjyu, a 17 year old genetically-engineered human with an ESP ability, but his flawed creation led to a limited lifespan, being calculated to die at the age of 18. Having escaped his original school, Ren wished to spend his last days in Japan surrounded with smiles and laughter. After his first battle as Nexus, he followed his predecessor's trait by befriending Komon in addition to Mizuo, a girl from the Memory Police. While fighting under Nexus' mantle, Ren provided the Ultra with Junis Blue, a speed-oriented form, and was assisted by the original Mephisto in fighting the latter's successor and clone, Dark Mephisto Zwei. During Mega Flash's emergence, Ren almost suffered the same fate as Himeya was, targeted by TLT to study Nexus' powers before the Night Raiders rebel and hide him in the forest. When engaging in a battle against Galberos and Mega Flash, Nagi's words renewed the youth's resolve to fight, defeating both monsters with the Chrome Chesters' help. As the cure for Ren's genetic flaw emerged, he was faced with a choice between saving himself and saving the world from the Space Beast Izmael. As it seemed that he would fall into exhaustion, Illustrator's encouragement allowed Nexus to rise for the final time and destroy the Space Beast. After separating from Nexus, Ren finally survived due to the cure's intervention.

As the light chooses Nagi, Mitsuhiko Ishibori revealed himself as the Unknown Hand, the traitor that was foreshadowed by Mephisto who proceeded to attack his own comrades while making his way to Lethe, leaving his creators weakened. After provoking Nagi as her parents' murderer, she transformed into Nexus but was quickly captured by Lethe, harvesting Nexus' energies and Ishibori absorbed it to restore his true form. As Dark Zagi, he rampaged on Japan and signals simultaneous beast attacks around the world. Komon jumped into the darkness and saved both Nagi and Nexus, in the process inheriting the Ultra's light. Arriving in the city, Komon used his newfound power to fight against Zagi, with the spectators regaining their memories of Ultraman after 5 years and they cheer on the giant once more. His memories of his predecessors allowed him to use all of Nexus' forms as and eventually helped regaining his lost true form, Noa. The silver giant curbstomped and defeated Zagi once their finishers clashed, therefore liberating Earth from the dark ruler. Though Space Beasts continued to appear, the Night Raiders were still there to face the threat with Noa and Komon.

Ultraman Ginga
''NOTE: It was unknown which form Noa took after being regressed to a Spark Doll. Since only Ultraman Nexus was released out of any forms offered, therefore suggested the possibility of Noa after the war trapped in Nexus' form.''

Ultraman Noa had participated in the Dark Spark War, as Ultraman the Next. In the middle of the battle, a villain known as Dark Lugiel, appeared and transformed all Ultras, aliens and monsters into Spark Dolls and they eventually fell to Earth. The location of his doll was unknown and it was possibly kept by Dark Lugiel in his collection or lost somewhere. Nonetheless after Dark Lugiel's defeat by Ultraman Ginga, Nexus was restored to his original appearance and with other victims of Dark Lugiel, returned to their homes.

Ultraman Ginga S The Movie: Showdown! The 10 Ultra Warriors!
"The light is a bond. Someone else will inherit it, and it shall shine again."

- Ultraman Nexus The Ultraman Ginga S Movie's official website reveals that after being defeated as Ultraman Noa, the giant was devolved into Nexus and sealed by Etelgar along with all the Heisei Ultras. After being freed by UPG, Nexus along with Max, Mebius, Cosmos, Zero, Ginga and Victory went inside Etelgar's castle while Tiga, Dyna and Gaia fought the Eteldummy of Five King. But when the Ultras got to the first floor of the Castle, an Eteldummy of Dark Mephisto appeared with Nexus ran to fight him while the others left to find Etelgar. Nexus turned into Junis and destroyed the Eteldummy before joining the others as Crossover Formation.

Ultraman X
When Xio Deputy Captain, Sayuri Tachibana was about to be killed by two Space Beasts Bugbuzun, the Evoltruster appeared and she transformed into Ultraman Nexus. Using this new power, she crushed the aforementioned two monsters before fleeing to Canada and fighting against Bemular to defend her family. The next day, a Bugbuzun appeared and grew from the Dark Thunder Energy. Xio arrived shooting him while Daichi Ozora transformed into Ultraman X to fight the Space Beast, but was overpowered by him. Although being faced with the dilemma of a Deunamist, Sayuri reused the mantle for the last time to assist Ultraman X, first by generating the Meta Field before the two combined their finishers to destroy said monster. After the battle, the Evoltruster faded from Sayuri's hand as she passed Nexus' words to Daichi to never give up on his dreams. As a gift, a Type U Cyber Card of Nexus appeared on Daichi's X Devizer.

Ultraman X The Movie: Here Comes! Our Ultraman
In this film, Ultraman Nexus Junis was summoned by his own Cyber Card to fight Tsurugi Demaaga in Cairo, Egypt and ended up defeating him after being empowered by Ultraman Exceed X Beta Spark Armor's Cyber Wings. After regrouping with Ultraman, Tiga, and X, Nexus left Earth with the other Cyber Card Ultramen.

Profile
According to magazines, Ultraman Nexus is a form of adaptation taken by Noa in order to suit his body performance with the Earth's environment. It should be noted that when the Deunamist (the human host of Nexus) transforms, they themselves physically become the Ultra, thus injuries will translate between forms as Nexus himself simply exists as the power they wield, a light which is passed on to the next Deunamist when the time comes.

Stats

 * Height: Micro ~ 49 m (In certain situations, Nexus can also shrink to 10 ~ 20 m.)
 * Weight: 40,000 t
 * Junis: 44,000 t
 * Junis Blue: 42,000 t
 * Age: Over 350,000 years old
 * Weakness: Within the Meta Field, Nexus is bound to the three minute rule before he begins to lose his strength. His strength can also falter when trapped within a Dark Giant's Dark Field or Zagi's Dark Field G.

Body Features

 * Eyes: Nexus has perfect night vision, he is able to see properly in the darkness of the Dark Field or at night. His eyes can also see through materials and into beings, he can also analyze substances by sight, such as how he knew Lafleya was explosive before the Night Raiders or CIC.
 * Head Fin: The fin on the back of Nexus's head, covering his neck, despite what most would think, it is not armor, not intentionally. It is the Ultra equivalent of having long hair.
 * Armed Nexus (アームドネクサス): The bracers on Nexus's arms, they are evolved forms of the Stratos Edge blades on The Next's arms and can perform many of the same abilities. They are the key to Nexus' energy attacks as well as deploying Meta Field and evolving into other forms.
 * Elbow Cutter (エルボーカッター): Smaller knives protruded beneath the Armed Nexus, they served in a similar role to Stratos Edge blades that The Next uses, slicing for melee combat.
 * Arrow Armed Nexus (アローアームドネクサス): Appearing only on Junis Blue, it is the modified right Armed Nexus. It has four modes, with its default appearance Normal Mode (ノーマルモード) while three others demonstrated in his attacks.
 * Energy Core (エナジーコア): Nexus' equivalent to a color timer, it flashes when Nexus is weakened or injured.
 * Core Gauge (コアゲージ): In Junis and Junis Blue, a crystal appears on top of the Energy Core to fulfill the functions of a Color Timer. It exists to measure the three minute rule of using the Meta Field.
 * Ultra Armor: Nexus' skin is resistant to lasers and fire so long as the Deunamist's strength is sufficient.
 * Evolution: As Nexus fought increasingly more powerful opponents, his power increased ultimately resulting in new forms such as Junis and Junis Blue and finally his ultimate form, Ultraman Noa.

Deunamists
The Deunamists are beings who can bond with the light to become Ultraman Nexus. The source of this ability is never truly explained, but it is implied to have to do with their mindset, as those chosen are often those with a desire to protect or fight Space Beasts no matter the cost to themselves. Each new bond provides the giant with additional strength, as evidenced from his constant evolution throughout the series.

Before Nexus or other Dark Giants, there was another who wielded the light of Noa in a different fashion. He was the first Deunamist, Shunichi Maki, who slayed the first Space Beast The One, his Ultra form was known as the Next.

Ultraman Hit Song History New Hero Hen
Ultraman Nexus appears in this short movie, where he appears to save Ultraman Zero from the attacks of Yapool. He was the 5th Ultra to appear, later followed by Ultraman Max.

Ultraman Retsuden
Ultraman Nexus reappears in Ultraman Retsuden episode 66 "Bond shine! Nexus, Max & Mebius!".

Video Game
Ultraman Nexus, and all his forms, appear as a playable character in the game Ultraman Nexus for PlayStation 2, which is based on the series.

Trivia

 * Designer: Hiroshi Maruyama.
 * Nexus was originally thought up to be the opposite of Ultraman Cosmos. While Cosmos showcased Ultraman's 'kindness' and held the theme that 'if you believe it will come true', Nexus was meant to showcase Ultraman's strength and that in life, one has to and can overcome challenges.
 * During Nexus's early planning stage he was originally called Ultraman Cross (ウルトラマンクロス). The name is inspired by the concept of bonds still present in the show and before the planned series was linked to Ultraman The Next.
 * When Nexus was going to be called Cross, the series was not originally intended to be connected to Ultraman the Next's Universe.
 * All of the names of Nexus's forms parallel a person's growth from childhood to adulthood. Starting with Anphans which ultimately means childhood, to Junis which equates to youth to Noa whose name derives from 'Nostalgia which ultimately means to look back at one's life usually their youth and childhood, meaning that Noa represents the adult stage. These also parallel Komon's mental and spiritual growth during the series.
 * Of all the Ultras in the Ultra Series Nexus/Noa holds the record for most hosts, five of whom are human, three intended but ultimately corrupted contenders and numerous undocumented aliens across the universe. The second one is a three way tie between Ultraman Saga with three hosts, Ultraman Tiga also had three and Ultraman Zero had three human hosts while his father Ultraseven who had two hosts and a human form.
 * Nexus was supposed to have a unique Junis form for Nagi, which unfortunately was cut due to the episodes not being filmed. According to the designer Hiroshi Maruyama, there is a form exclusive to Nagi, though the exact appearance is never stated.
 * This implied form is believed to be an orange-colored Junis in his draft, however, Maruyama also stated that he plans to give Nagi a predominantly black version of Junis. This concept art was written in his Twitter account until he deleted it later on.
 * Nexus is the only Ultra who has an alternate form that is considered a completely different Ultra. This Ultra, Noa is considered a Super Ultra, an Ultra with power of above the rest that they seem 'over powered'. These include Father of Ultra, Ultraman King and all the fusion Ultras in the series. Noa's power is later bestowed on the young Ultraman Zero who is arguably one of if not the strongest of normal Ultras.
 * His alternate form is also his true identity.
 * Though Nexus is stated to not have the three minute-rule that most Ultras have, a similar rule exists when Phase Shift Wave is used. This is because using the Meta-Field puts considerable strain on the Deunamist's body, after three minutes they will become tired. This was not a problem for the third Dunamist.
 * The word "Schtrom" used in Nexus's finishers is derived from the word "Strom", which means "Current" in Danish, which is fitting for the beams this name is used for considering they are currents of light, and "Electricity" in German. Fitting enough, the name of Noa's finisher is Lightning Noa.
 * According to Yuichi Abe, Sayuri would have utilized a different variant of Junis but the decision to use the original one was described as "adult circumstances" (大人の事情), a slang which means "some reasoning is very complicated".