2024’s Marvel releases mean audiences may know more about Deadpool & Wolverine’s villain than they think, depending on their watch history.

Deadpool & Wolverine revealed Emma Corrin’s Cassandra Nova in full force to audiences – but those who’ve been watching X-Men ’97 may already know more about the MCU character than they think. Deadpool & Wolverine‘s second trailer provided just as many exciting moments and comedic lines as the first, all while revealing more about the film’s impending plot and the characters that lie within. Though some of these characters can only be seen via Deadpool & Wolverine Easter eggs and teases, new MCU movie villain Cassandra Nova gets a far more focused treatment.

The arrival of Cassandra onto live-action screens is especially exciting for comic fans, as despite being Charles Xavier’s twin, the complicated telepath has not appeared in a movie before. This means the MCU has something of a clean slate in terms of how to approach the X-Men villain and her arc – though 2024’s Marvel releases mean some parts of her story are more familiar to audiences than viewers might think, making one aspect of the character more ripe for adaptation.

Cassandra Nova Hasn’t Appeared In X-Men ’97 – But Elements Of Her Story Have

Charles Xavier’s Animated Storyline Introduces A Core Part Of Cassandra Nova’s Story

While Cassandra Nova herself may not be set to appear in X-Men ’97 – as head director Jake Castorena telling audiences “I wouldn’t get my hopes up for Cassandra Nova being a huge villain in our show” strongly suggests she will at most have a small role if she does even appear – the show also more or less had to explore a faction with close and crucial ties to the character. This is because the Shi’ar had already been introduced in X-Men: The Animated Series, and the ending of the original show made revealing what happened to Professor Xavier upon leaving with Shi’ar Empress Lilandra a necessary plotline.

In Marvel comics, the Shi’ar play an essential role in Cassandra’s story. The Shi’ar’s terminology is used to define her unusual origins – that of a “Mummudrai”, or rather a spirit that exists as the opposite of a person, in this case taking immense powers and even a physical form as a result of being the Mummudrai of Charles Xavier.

Later, Cassandra becomes one of the greatest threats to the Shi’ar by swapping bodies with Professor X, using the trust placed in the Marvel hero to try and take over the Empire and destroy it from the inside, even going on to possess Lilandra as well. As such, the Shi’ar are in many ways the most crucial aspect of Cassandra’s early story, outside of her interactions with Charles and the X-Men themselves.

Why Cassandra Nova’s Marvel Comic Backstory May Be In Deadpool & Wolverine

Cassandra Nova’s Shi’ar Backstory Is Close To Thanos’ Xandar Conquest

It’s unlikely Deadpool & Wolverine will quite have time to fully flesh out a story of space conquest during the multiversal tale it is set to tell, especially based on how many X-Men cameos the movie has already shown it contains. However, it’s this exact story that makes using the character’s backstory easier, as – given Cassandra is shown to seemingly be living in The Void during Deadpool & Wolverine‘s plot, and thus these events happened in another world – the movie would only need to reference this backstory or at most cut briefly to it, in the same vein as Thanos’ conquest of Xandar.

It’s also worth noting that, in the comics, Cassandra Nova was behind the Genoshan massacre that was shown in X-Men ’97 episode 6. However, the show itself swapped her out for Mister Sinister, who was instead responsible for the tragedy.

As such, it wouldn’t be impossible for Deadpool & Wolverine to make Cassandra responsible for this event once again, explaining why Wolverine appears to have become a loner once more in the movie trailer, and why he’s described as having “let down his entire world” if he found himself unable to stop her. With all this in mind, referencing the character’s galactic exploits could be a good way to tease just how powerful Cassandra is before a reveal like this, grounding the major prospective twist in more Marvel history and lore.

Cassandra Nova’s Comic Backstory Would Make Her A Truly Imposing MCU Movie Villain

Cassandra’s Full Backstory Would Let Her Match Deadpool & Wolverine’s Full-Throttle Plot

While the MCU has provided a number of genuinely threatening villains over the years, the franchise has often had to introduce its antagonists in their own origin stories, cutting their potential short, and meaning movies have not been able to include some of their most powerful or dangerous moments. Ultron never rose again despite the comic precedent, Malekith was stripped of his strongest moments and darkest lines, and even colossal threats like Dormammu and Gorr the God Butcher didn’t get to fully demonstrate the extent of their abilities.

However, Deadpool & Wolverine is in a far different position when it comes to its own villains. Since Cassandra Nova’s actions wouldn’t have been in the main MCU world, there’s no need to limit the chaos she wrought or lives she ruined in the same way. In fact, the movie has already teased this approach will be how it handles the villain, as it seems her base is in the skull of a colossal Ant-Man skull that she may well be responsible for, and she’s shown countering Wolverine’s attempts to slice her with seemingly relatively little effort.

As such, setting Cassandra up with all of her most impressively evil deeds from the comics makes far more sense. Nova’s ability to trick and almost take down an immensely powerful galactic empire single-handedly underlines how powerful she is, how dangerous she is, and, vitally, how truly ruthless she is as well. With Deadpool & Wolverine already promising high-octane action and an even higher stakes plot, it follows suit that the movie’s villain would also match up by being made as imposing as is physically possible, which logically includes her wildest Marvel stories.