Deadpool & Wolverine features a more obscure villain from the comics, but her origins in the film could differ from what comic book readers know.
Cassandra Nova is a more obscure villain from the X-Men comics, but she is incredibly powerful and has a special connection to the X-Men’s leader, Charles Xavier. While comic book readers know her origins, Marvel could be making a significant change based on details from the latest trailer. Deadpool & Wolverine is a multiverse adventure within the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, and Cassandra could have an origin story that better fits this narrative.
Who Is Cassandra Nova In Marvel Comics?
Cassandra Nova has an incredibly dark origin within Marvel Comics. First appearing in New X-Men #114, Cassandra is the evil twin of Charles Xavier, who tried to kill her in the womb after sensing she was evil. However, Cassandra is a species known as a mummudrai, a parasitic life form born on the astral plane. Her astral self became telepathically entwined with Charles, and she gained some of his telekinetic powers and attached herself to a body after escaping the womb.
After occupying her new body, she developed a hatred for all mutants as part of her vengeance toward Xavier. In the E Is For Extinction storyline, Cassandra gains control of the wild sentinels after manipulating Donald Trask III and launches an attack on the mutant nation of Genosha, wiping out almost all of its inhabitants. She is responsible for one of the deadliest attacks in Marvel history and is an extremely powerful person who is a danger to not only mutant-kind but possibly the multiverse.
Nova’s Appearance In The Void Suggests Her Origins Could Be Different From The Comics
More footage of Corrin’s Cassandra is displayed in Deadpool & Wolverine‘s second trailer. Nova appears to be the leader of a small army within The Void, the desolate world from Loki inhabited by people and objects purged by the TVA. Her base of operations is the giant skull of Ant-Man, whose skeletal teeth are briefly seen in the trailer. She is also seen fighting Wolverine, who isn’t able to get out from under her control. While Cassandra has the look and abilities of her comic origins, her location suggests there could be a small change to her story.
If Cassandra is in The Void, that means she was purged by the TVA after somehow messing with the sacred timeline. Since she’s from a different universe, she could be a variant of Charles Xavier rather than his evil twin. Loki revealed that variants of characters don’t have to be the same gender as their counterparts or even the same species. She can possess the same abilities as Xavier but be a wicked version that exists in a different universe. If she is a variant, that could fit Deadpool 3‘s multiverse storyline better than if she were related to Professor X.
How Nova’s Possible New Origins Could Tie Into Deadpool & Wolverine
The multiverse will have a large role in Deadpool & Wolverine, and Nova’s story could extend to different universes. Paradox, Matthew MacFadyen’s TVA employee, mentions that Wolverine let his world down, and shots of Logan in despair hint that something horrible happened in his universe. It’s possible that Cassandra Nova attacked his universe and eliminated the X-Men, leaving Wolverine as the lone survivor. Since Nova poses such a massive threat, the TVA could have purged her to prevent her from eliminating mutants in other universes.
If she is a variant of Professor X, the TVA could consider her a variant who went rogue, leading them to remove her from the sacred timeline. Since Deadpool and Wolverine have incredible healing abilities, they could be the only mutants who can stop them, which is why the TVA recruits them. There could be something larger at play that the trailers aren’t revealing, but it looks like Nova will be the threat the foul-mouthed mutant duo needs to stop.
