- NOTE: This article is about the incarnation of Cassandra Nova from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The mainstream version can be found here: Cassandra Nova.
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| “ | Boys are so silly. | „ |
| ~ Cassandra Nova as she confronts Deadpool and Wolverine. |
Cassandra Nova is a supporting antagonist of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing as the main antagonist of Deadpool and Wolverine.
She is the evil twin sister of Professor Charles Xavier, the founder of the X-Men, who ended up in the Void, taking over as the leader of the pruned variants.
As the Time Variance Authority is reformed by God Loki himself, Nova becomes the TVA's biggest threat that needed to be stopped. This in turn led to the recruitment of both Deadpool and a variant of Wolverine themselves, upon which Nova turn became their biggest sworn adversary in the process.
She was voiced by Emma Corrin.
History[]
Backstory[]
As a young child, Cassandra Nova was pruned by the TVA as a result of attempting to kill her twin brother Charles Xavier, banishing her to the Void, a wasteland that unwanted variants and destroyed worlds were sent. Due to her immense powers, Cassandra quickly rose to be the most powerful sentient being in the Void, with the other greatest power being the more animalistic Alioth.
At some point, a middle manager in the TVA called Paradox made contact with Cassandra, and made a deal to inform her when variants were sent to the Void, so that she could either enslave them or use them to sate Alioth's hunger. Despite Paradox's deal with Cassandra, he also made an arrangement with Pyro as a contingency if she ever showed a desire to leave the Void.
Meeting Deadpool & Wolverine[]
Cassandra with her crew
Deadpool and Wolverine, along with Johnny Storm, were captured by some of her forces, all of which were predominantly supervillains who allied with her out of fear or belief in her strength. When Cassandra approached to talk to the heroes, Deadpool repeated (allegedly) the words of Johnny Storm, which were exceedingly negative, insulting, and eventually threatening to her; in response, Cassandra instantly skinned Johnny, causing his muscles to slop out, and the skeleton losing support from them also collapsing.
Cassandra used her powers to bury Wolverine, and shifted his burial aside; Deadpool attempted to reason with her, as well as flowing into his typical jovial banter; she phase shifted her fingers into his head to cause him pain and read his thoughts. Believing her distracted, Wolverine stabbed his claws in her back, while Deadpool stabbed his baby dagger into her chest. However, it proved ineffective, as her psychic powers allowed her to heal her body. As Alioth was nearing, Cassandra suggested that she will feed the Canadian duo to it, but Alioth's presence generated such strong gales that it caused a distraction, allowing Deadpool and Wolverine to use a rocket boot to escape.
Invasion & Betrayed[]
With the support of the Legacy Heroes, Deadpool and Wolverine returned to siege her fortress; while the Legacies battled the supervillain army, the duo infiltrated the headquarters to confront Cassandra. She easily knocked away Deadpool, while she phased her hand into Wolverine's head to read his mind and attempt to coerce him to join her side. Meanwhile, X-23/Laura killed Juggernaut, and threw his helmet to Deadpool, who planted it on Cassandra's head, thus nullifying her mental powers. While Cassandra had believed she was swaying Wolverine to her side, he revealed his role as distraction as her powers were smothered.
The anti-hero duo demanded that Cassandra return them to Deadpool's universe, but she laughed, as she exclaimed that to do it, they need to remove the helmet, yet if they remove it, she will brutally kill them. Interrupting the debate loop, she was shot a few times in the chest by Pyro, who revealed his double agent status, as well as beginning to rant about how much he hated serving a lunatic like her, but Wolverine knocked him out.
In an effort to honor Professor Charles Xavier's belief in compassion, Wolverine appealed to Cassandra's heart; he explained that had Charles known that she was in the Void, he would have done everything to bring her home. Although, she replied that the Void was her home. Even so, Wolverine mentioned how Charles took a chance on him, with him wearing the supersuit to remind him of the belief in a heroic version of himself, so he is willing to take a chance on her; while reluctantly, Deadpool cautiously removed the helmet from her, allowing her to regenerate from her bullet wounds.
Cassandra then briefly reminisced about how she discovered an exit, which she acquired by the arrival of a wizard, whom she skinned to wear his flesh for a while, as well as take his trinket; the object being a sling ring made Deadpool realise it was a Dr. Strange variant that she had discovered. Cassandra used the ring to create a portal to Deadpool's universe; she, however, sardonically noted that they should be quick, as Alioth was arriving again. Deadpool and Wolverine manage to jump through the portal just as Alioth crashed into the fortress.
Multiversal Conquest[]
Rushing to the nearby TVA outpost to stop the Time Ripper from destroying the timeline, the duo are intercepted by Paradox; he angrily chastised them for meddling with TVA affairs. Yet in the middle of the conversation, another magic portal opened, through which stepped Pyro, before Cassandra phased her hand into his head and broke his neck; she criticized Paradox for turning Pyro against her, claiming that she would have been happy to remain in the Void, but his actions drew her out. Cassandra phased her hand into Paradox's head, reading his mind made her excited when she learned about the Time Ripper. Cassandra expressed the desire to erase every timeline until the only universe left was the Void, and she would become God of it. Predicting their resistance, Cassandra telekinetically knocked Deadpool and Wolverine down the street, and kept her hand in Paradox's head to both read his mind to learn how to use the Time Ripper, and drag him behind her into the TVA outpost in which held the machine.
Cassandra had commissioned the Deadpool Corps, an army of a hundred Deadpool variants to kill, or at least, delay Deadpool proper and Wolverine; as she entered the Time Ripper's room to use her powers in conjunction with the machine's interface to complete her desired annihilation. The two anti-heroes, meanwhile, slaughter their way through the Deadpools, however, since all have the same extraordinary healing factors, it only served as a delay. Yet thanks to Deadpool's good friend, Peter - who is a multiversal constant - the Deadpool Corps are so happy to hang out with him, they abandon their intent for bloodshed.
Paradox had been left alive, and found by Deadpool and Wolverine; he explained about Cassandra already knowing how to use the Time Ripper, thus they are too late. However, they demand him to think of a solution, so Paradox managed to realise that if a circuit is established between the matter and antimatter power source pillars, it would create a feedback loop that would destroy the machine and Cassandra, although he warned that anyone who does it would die. Despite some struggle over who will be the lone sacrifice, Deadpool and Wolverine each grasp a power source each, and joined free hands to complete the circuit.
Death[]
As Cassandra relished the use of the Time Ripper, the circuit triggered the feedback loop, causing her to have rapid seizures, as did the anti-heroes. The overcharge caused the machine to explode, vaporising Cassandra in the process and avenging the deaths of Johnny Storm and the other variants Cassandra either killed or sacrificed to Alioth. Deadpool and Wolverine, however, survived due to the antimatter spill being shared between their healing factors, thus what would have destroyed one, only injured two. Commanded by Hunter B-15, the TVA support arrive to arrest Paradox for his unsanctioned creation and intended use of the Time Ripper, while also holding him accountable for making a deal with Cassandra and almost allowing her to destroy all reality through his carelessness.
Personality[]
| “ | Now I get to play God. | „ |
| ~ Cassandra declaring her desire for multiversal eradication due to Paradox. |
Cassandra Nova is characterized by a blend of mischievousness, courtesy, and unpredictability. Johnny Storm describes her as dangerously insane, with megalomaniacal and psychopathic tendencies. Cold and manipulative, she thrives on making life difficult for others. Her early denial of existence and upbringing in a lawless, chaotic environment have instilled in her a deep-seated malice and resentment towards the TVA. Unlike Professor X’s measured demeanor, she is playful and carefree in speech, but her actions are deeply malevolent. Notably, she killed the Human Torch after an insult and remains indifferent to her subordinates' fates. Contrary to Charles' hope to encourage the best in the people, she sought to provoke and increase the worst. Also, while Charles is dignified and gentle, she - while still sophisticated in her overall speech pattern - could be prone to irreverence and vulgarity, such as claiming her intention to murder the heroes, while pleasuring herself to Enya music.
Cassandra's chaotic upbringing has led her to seek stability and control. She exhibits authoritarian tendencies, is highly intolerant of betrayal, and responds to threats to her stability with extreme cruelty. Her vow to destroy all universes, leaving only the Void for her rule, reflects her vengefulness and lack of empathy, particularly in response to Pyro and Paradox's betrayal. Her sadistic nature is evident in her violent actions, such as peeling off Storm's skin, killing a variant of Doctor Strange and wearing his skin for days, and violently breaking Pyro's neck; there was also the fact that she used intangibility to phase her hand into a victim's head to read their minds, seeming to choose the more violating method to cause discomfort and distress for her own enjoyment.
Despite her cruelty, Cassandra displays a vulnerable side. When entering Wolverine's mind, she appears genuinely moved by his pain and loss, attempting to convince him to join her by promising to alleviate his suffering and offer him a place in the Void. She also harbors an inferiority complex and sibling rivalry towards Professor X, having killed several of his variants and stolen one of their wheelchairs, although finding no emotional reaction since they weren't actually her brothers. She believes Professor X from her reality never pursued her out of indifference, though he was unaware of her existence. Despite feeling abandoned, she considered the Void to be her true home, since in spite of having a sling ring that would have allowed her escape for a significant time, she chose to remain out of enjoying the chaos and power she felt over the realm; she only decided to leave the Void out of provocation, but aimed to return to it once her ambitions were fulfilled.
Later, when Wolverine saves her life and appeals to her heart, stating that Professor X would have done everything possible to bring her home had he known of her, which made Cassandra finally understand her brother more clearly, thus she agrees to return them to their universe; even when helping, she retained her playful and somewhat sinister side, as she noted that Deadpool and Wolverine would need to race to the portal before Alioth reached them. Despite this display of compassion, her darker impulses were stronger as when learned about the Time Ripper, she left the Void to use it to erase every reality in the multiverse, leaving the Void as the only reality in the existence, which she believed would make her its God.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Telepathy: Like her brother, Cassandra is a powerful telepathic mutant. She is able to hear the thoughts of anyone near her, although she claimed that only Charles could read from afar, whereas she needed to make physical contact with the brain, which she achieved through intangibility as noted below.
- Memory Reading: Cassandra can access memories of other people.
- Memory Alteration: She is able to change details in an individual's memories, so that they still seem like a real recollections, unless a strong will challenged the alteration.
- Perception Filter: She is able to deceive a target into believing that she was in one place, only to reveal that she was right next to them, which created the impression of teleportation.
- Telekinesis: Cassandra has the ability to move things with her mind, as shown when she telekinetically controlled Wolverine's body and easily skinned Johnny Storm, killing him
- Telekinetic Regeneration: Cassandra was able to use her telekinetic powers to make herself heal faster.
- Intangibility: Cassandra can make her body or parts of it intangible. She can use this to enter people's thoughts.
- Magic: Cassandra also can use the mystic arts. Many of the feats this knowledge confer come from manipulating extradimensional energy to control matter.
- Eldritch Magic: Cassandra is able to harness extradimensional energy to form weapons and shields for use in combat. These typically have an orange glowing appearance.
- Portal Creation: Cassandra had a Sling Ring, able to create sustained portals between two points on the planet and transport others to another dimension, and later retrieve them.
Abilities[]
- Genius Intellect: From reading Paradox's mind, she was able to not only learn how to use the Time Ripper, but combine her powers with it to extend its ability of erasure from one timeline to potentially every timeline.
- Master Strategist
- Leadership: While she was able to use her powers and intellect to ensure obedience, her occasional psychotic episodes and gleeful nihilism could provoke dissent, as shown by Pyro's attempted assassination.
- High Pain Tolerance: Despite suffering multiple stab wounds from Deadpool and Wolverine, she literally laughed them off. Even without her regeneration power, upon being shot, she expressed no sign of pain, but merely amusement.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- It was believed long before the third Deadpool film's synopsis was even released that whoever the villain of the film were, their plans would result in the destruction of 20th Century Fox's X-Men film universe in a story similar to Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe to integrate the title character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even though Deadpool's co-creator Rob Liefeld assured the fans that this wouldn't be the case. It wasn't until the film's release that the rumored plot was confirmed to be real or not.
- Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy decided to cast Emma Corrin as Cassandra Nova upon noticing them in a performance of a stage play adaptation of Virginia Woolf's Orlando: A Biography in 2022. Marvel Studios thus eyed them for the part by late 2022, but it wasn't until early 2023 that they managed to secure Corrin for the role due to having to work out her complicated schedule, with Corrin quickly accepting as they were interested in playing a villain.
- Early reports about Emma Corrin's casting in Deadpool & Wolverine indicated that they had been cast as Danger, the rogue A.I. program from the X-Mansion's training room. However, Marvel Studios was quick to deny that. Another rumor was that Corrin would play a Time Variance Authority judge like Ravonna Renslayer.
- In the comic books, Cassandra Nova is depicted as a much older woman with a wrinkled visage in her 50s, but the X-Men film series/Marvel Cinematic Universe's version of her is far younger with a smoother visage, with Emma Corrin being 28 when they played her.
- As Deadpool mockingly referred to her being Gen Z, it can be presumed Cassandra is biologically oldest as 27-28, thereby close to the actor's real age.
- To play Cassandra Nova in a "humanizing" way, Emma Corrin looked at Christopher Waltz's performance as Hans Landa from Inglourious Basterds, with her acting methods being seen alike those of the late Gene Wilder to the point of making her feel a skin-covered "Swiss Army knife".
- Cassandra Nova is the second non-MCU villain to appear as the main antagonist of an MCU film that serves as a crossover sequel of some sorts to a non-MCU film series, the first being the Green Goblin from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy who later returned in the MCU film Spider-Man: No Way Home.
- Cassandra Nova has the distinction of being the first Marvel film villain portrayed by a non-binary performer. Although the character herself is female.
- Cassandra Nova is the fifth female main antagonist in an MCU film, after Hela, Ghost, Scarlet Witch and Dar-Benn.
- Interestingly, she was redeemed like Ghost and Scarlet Witch, but then shortly afterwards withdrew her redemption out of spite against Paradox, aiming to destroy the multiverse just for his deception; arguably her psychopathy still remained, and her allowing Deadpool and Wolverine to escape the Void was out of momentary compassion.
- Hela was also redeemed in What If...? season 2.
- Interestingly, she was redeemed like Ghost and Scarlet Witch, but then shortly afterwards withdrew her redemption out of spite against Paradox, aiming to destroy the multiverse just for his deception; arguably her psychopathy still remained, and her allowing Deadpool and Wolverine to escape the Void was out of momentary compassion.
External Links[]
- Cassandra Nova on the Villains Wiki
- Cassandra Nova on the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki
- Cassandra Nova on the Marvel Wiki
- Cassandra Nova on the Marvel Movies Wiki
- Cassandra Nova on the Disney Wiki
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