Custom image of Emma Corrin as Cassandra Nova with their comic book character in the background | Agents of Fandom

Who Is ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Villain Cassandra Nova? Marvel Comics History Explained

The multiverse’s new biggest threat comes in the form of Emma Corrin’s Cassandra Nova.

Marvel has just released its first full trailer for the highly anticipated Deadpool & Wolverine coming July 26, 2024. Deadpool & Wolverine has long been speculated to be the film that will finally bring the X-Men into the MCU and close the doors on the Fox era of the X-Men franchise.

This first trailer gives us a glimpse into that transition and our first look at the film’s main villain, Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin), who will go toe-to-toe against the dynamic duo Deadpool (Ryan Renolds) and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). Let’s look at who this new villain is from the comics and what role she could play in this film.

Cassandra Nova Is Much More Than Charles Xavier’s Twin

Art of Cassandra Nova from Marvel Comics in a forest with purple juice on her face and body  | Agents of Fandom
Cassandra Nova shares a lot more than looks with Charles Xavier. Image Credit: Marvel Comics.

Cassandra Nova first appeared in Grant Morrison‘s New X-Men #114. She is known as Charles Xavier’s twin sister, but her origin is a bit more complex than that. Cassandra is not a mutant but a being of pure emotional energy known to Shi’ar legend as Mummudrai or the anti-self. According to the Shi’ar, everyone faces their own Mummudrai in the womb, which is the first experience of “the other” (New X-Men #126).

Cassandra, a being without form or substance, appeared to an unborn Charles Xavier and copied his DNA to create a body and become Charles’s twin. While still yet to be born, Charles’ powerful psychic mind detected the evil thoughts infecting him from the Mummudrai and attacked his new twin, causing Cassandra to be stillborn but survive as cellular matter. In this state, she spent decades clung to the wall of a sewer, rebuilding her body and learning to mimic human behavior with the ultimate goal of destroying her twin.

Cassandra Nova’s Powers Are More Than a Match for Deadpool and Wolverine

Art work by Frank Quitely of Cassandra Nova disintegrating Wolverines arm | Agents of Fandom
Adamantium is no match for Cassandra’s powers; it’s like taking a plastic fork to a nuke fight. Image Credit: Frank Quitely/ Marvel Comics.

By copying Charles’s DNA, Cassandra not only created a body for herself but also copied the full spectrum of Charles’s X-Gene, meaning she not only possesses all the psychic powers of Charles Xavier but also powers he could have developed due to different or latent mutations to the X-Gene.

In the comics, Cassandra can easily infiltrate Charles Xavier’s mind and use his body as her own, as well as take out other powerful psychics, such as Jean Gray and Emma Frost. Using her enhanced psychic abilities, Cassandra Nova is able to create psionic armor around herself and focus it into energy capable of disintegrating Wolverine’s arm to his adamantium bones (New X-Men #116). She can also read and copy anyone’s DNA sequence, has a healing factor, and can phase her physical body through solid structures.

Emma Corrin Will Officially Portray Cassandra Nova in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’

Emma Corrin as Cassandra Nova holding a cup of tea and staring off screen in Deadpool & Wolverine trailer | Agents of Fandom
Emma Corrin debuts a new haircut and abilities in Deadpool & Wolverine. Image Credit: Marvel Studios.

In this trailer, we see Cassandra Nova go head-to-head with Wolverine and emerge from a giant Ant-Man head, which she seems to be using as a base of operations. In this same scene, we also see some other actors from the X-Men franchise reprising their roles, such as Kelly Hu as Lady Deathstrike from X2, Jason Flemyng as Azazel from X-Men: First Class, and Aaron Stanford as Pyro from X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand, among a few others.

Cassandra Nova, being the anti-Charles Xavier, could be leading her own team of banished X-Men, which is why we see so many characters coming back from previous films, namely villains. This also would align with the comics, with Cassandra Nova taking the lead of the X-Men in an alternate-apocalyptic future controlled by Beast in the “Here Comes Tomorrow” event from Morrison’s New X-Men #151-155.

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Officially Brings the Mutant Duo into the MCU This Summer

Action shot of Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in Deadpool & Wolverine walking through a city street in front of the store "Liefeld's Just Feet" | Agents of Fandom
The boys are back in canon. Image Credit: Marvel Studios.

Deadpool and Wolverine will have their hands full dealing with Cassandra, the TVA, and other villains. In the trailer, we already see that Cassandra is more than capable of holding her own against both Deadpool and Wolverine, but it will be interesting to see how they handle the character in the MCU.

With the multiverse’s already established rules in the MCU, they could easily make Cassandra Nova an evil variant of Charles Xavier, who was pruned by the TVA. Whether she is an evil twin or variant, Cassandra is a powerful and interesting character who will be perfect to go up against the dynamic duo and lead this group of pruned villains.

Deadpool & Wolverine arrives in theaters on July 26. Follow the Agents of Fandom socials for all the latest entertainment news and reviews.

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