Deadpool & Wolverine will bring an incredibly powerful new villain to the MCU with major links to one of the most famous X-Men of all. The new Deadpool & Wolverine trailer offers the first full reveal of the bald villain, as she menacingly emerges from the skull of a giant-sized dead Ant-Man – her suitably macabre base – prompting inevitable questions over her identity.
Interestingly, the new Deadpool & Wolverine villain doesn’t come alone: the trailer also revealed the return of Fox X-Men characters Azazel (father of Nightcrawler) and Lady Deathstrike, adding them to the gang of mutants who seemingly serve their powerful master in The Void. The villain – whose name isn’t mentioned in the trailer – is played by The Crown‘s emma Corrin – but why is she such a threat to Deadpool’s plan to recruit Wolverine and save the Sacred Timeline?
Who Cassandra Nova? The Bald Villain In Deadpool & Wolverine Explained
Deadpool & Wolverine‘s villain – as the trailer confirms – is Cassandra Nova, a genocidal mutant with a bald head who possesses terrifying powers, and was behind a massacre on Genosha that wiped out millions of mutants. That storyline has just been adapted in X-Men ’97, with Nova swapped out for Mister Sinister as the villain pulling the strings behind the Wild Sentinels.
Nova was very briefly shown from behind in the first Deadpool & Wolverine teaser prompting speculation of her inclusion. The full reveal shows that Cassandra Nova’s has a comics-accurate look adapting the original Marvel Comics character purely. She has the same stiff collar and long tan coat of her original appearance, and obviously shares the bald look with her in-universe brother: Charles Xavier.
Given that Nova appears to be in The Void – the space at the end of time introduced in Loki season 1, and ruled by He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors) – it would seem she was, at some point, successfully pruned by the TVA and sent into temporal exile. That very much fits with her presentation in Marvel Comics as an abomination who was never really supposed to exist.
Cassandra Nova’s Dark Marvel Origin Explained
An Incredibly Twisted Supervillain Origin, Even For Marvel
Impressively, Cassandra Nova might have the darkest MCU villain origin of all. Thanos might have lost his entire planet, so he has a good claim to it, but Nova is the evil twin of Professor Charles Xavier, who attempted to kill him in utero and was killed in the process, only to be reborn in another body, vowing revenge. Oh, and she’s essentially a demon – the personification of what Marvel’s Shi’ar people call a Mummudrai, or an astral “shadow self” that everyone possesses.
Cassandra Nova debuted in New X-Men #114 (July 2001)
In Marvel lore, the “Mummudrai” are a species of parasites that are essentially the exact opposite of their “twin”, appearing in the womb, commencing a struggle for supremacy. Nova debuted as the “twin” of the unborn Charles Xavier, as an exact clone of his DNA with her own body. Sensing her evil, he killed her before she could be born, leading to one of the most memorably wild Marvel comics panels of all time:
Nova survived the fetus battle, gained a new host body and set herself on a path of revenge whose endgame was killing Charles Xavier, believing it was key in order for her to take over the universe. That led directly to her manipulating Donald Trask III to commit the genocide on Genosha in the “E Is For Extinction” story arc, which wiped out 16 million mutants in an instant.
Cassandra Nova’s Incredible Powers Explained
She’s More Powerful Than Professor X
Nova possesses the same impressive powers as Professor X, with more on top of his skillset, and the scale of her powers is only hinted at in the Deadpool & Wolverine trailer as she effortlessly fights off Hugh Jackman’s berserker using telekinesis. On top of that, she also comes with various other psychic powers, and is clearly powerful enough that Loki’s temporal monster – Alioth – hasn’t been able to take her out.
Cassandra Nova’s Marvel Powers Explained
Telepathy: Mind-reading and manipulation
Telepathic Cloak: To avoid detection
Telepathic Illusions: Including illusions and psychic disguise
Mind Control, Mind Wiping & Mental Paralysis
Mind Possession & Alteration
Psychic & Physical Shield Projection
Psionic Blasts
Astral Projection
Mental Detection
Telekinesis & Levitation
Healing Factor
DNA Duplication: And the ability to amplify any stolen power.
Phasing
It’s Nova’s astral origin that is really the difference maker, as it allows her not only access to all of Professor X’s powers, but also all potential future powers he might gain. Those include greater levels of telepathy, telekinesis, phasing, super-healing, DNA duplication, and most intriguingly of all an astral projection power that allows her to leave her physical body. If that power exists in the MCU, the question of why she’s “captive” in The Void would be a lot more complicated: and if she wants to be there, that makes her even more ominous.
Key Upcoming Release Dates
Deadpool & Wolverine – July 26, 2024
Captain America: Brave New World – February 14, 2025
Thunderbolts* – May 5, 2025
The Fantastic Four – July 25, 2025
Blade – November 7, 2025
Avengers 5 – May 1, 2026
Avengers: Secret Wars – May 7, 2027
