Warning: Contains spoilers for X-Men #5Sigh… the beloved X-Men There are countless iconic villains for writers to choose from, but sometimes it feels like only a handful are used consistently. One terrifying and powerful mutant villain I think is used too often is the monstrous Cassandra Nova, the evil twin sister of Charles Xavier. Since Nova’s debut in Grant Morrison New X-Men, I loved the horror this character brings to her stories…but I really believe it’s time for Wonder to retire for Cassandra Nova At least a decade.
The dangerous Cassandra Nova recently had a starring role as the villain in the MCUs Deadpool & Wolverine – Masterfully brought to life by the talented Emma Corrin – and the role made Nova more famous than ever before in her dirty comic history.
Recently, X-Men #5 – From writer Jed MacKay and artist Ryan Stegman – The two powerful mutant psychics Psylocke and Quentin Quire encounter Cassandra Nova in a New Mutant’s mind, revealing that The villain is a member of the new “pro-mutant” 3K organization. Unfortunately, Nova’s over 20 year story arc just had an effective and emotional ending murderers…which makes me feel like your quick return cheapened that meaningful conclusion.
Cassandra Nova is too terrifying to be a regular X-Men villain
Becoming a recurring enemy makes you less impressive
Cassandra Nova’s debut and starring role in 2001s New X-Men #114 will forever be etched in my mind because of the sheer terror and destruction that the evil one caused. Not only was Nova visually arresting – a clearly evil twin to the “hero” Charles Xavier – but she was so evocatively a violent and sadistic sociopath, unlike some of the X-Men’s “goofier” or less serious ones Villains. Cassandra Nova caused the largest mutant genocide in Marvel historyUse an army of Sentinels to decimate Genosha and slaughter 16 million mutants in one fell swoop. Afterwards, Nova terrorizes the X-Men by taking over Xavier’s body, outcasting him as a mutant, and nearly causing the complete destruction of the Shi’ar Empire simply because she hates her brother and anyone associated with him.
Cassandra Nova’s creator, the critically acclaimed writer Grant Morrison, originally intended for Cassandra Nova to experience true redemption, an ending that was attempted with the villain on at least three separate occasions. sad, It seems Marvel just can’t let Nova goAnd in my opinion, every time she reappears as a villain, it diminishes the initial horror that Cassandra evoked in me as a reader. Nova was the main villain in 2019s X-Men Redwhich saw Jean Gray infecting her with nanites meant to make her experience mercy, but the “treatment” didn’t stick as she reverted to her old antics at the time of murderers.
murderers Ends with Emma Frost and Kitty Pryde – two of the living mutants most impacted by the Genoshan genocide – tricking Nova and trapping her 2 billion years into Earth’s past. It is unclear how Nova managed to survive and make it back to the present, But it certainly takes away from the impact of the punishment she received. It was revealed in X-Men (2024) #1 that Nova is back, and working with a mutant supremacist group known as “3K,” who have discovered how to activate the X-gene in non-mutant human adults. The issue uses the “Black Bug Room,” a subconscious psychic prison of the greatest fears, to reintroduce Cassandra Nova, diluting the horror of the first Black Bug Room, experienced by Cyclops in New X-Men #116. Honestly, I’m just not entirely sure why MacKay and Marvel decided to use Nova again so soon after her defeat in murderersAnd I wish they would let the evil one rest a lot longer.
Hopefully, Cassandra’s role will continue to develop her character
Turning Nova into a violent pro-mutant radical could get interesting
If Marvel is going to continue to use Cassandra Nova in their stories, they need to use her incredibly sparingly – like literally once a decade – or they need to have some real development for the character. of course, Marvel will almost certainly never let Nova achieve true redemptionBecause that would mean that they would no longer be able to use her as a villain. I enjoy MacKay and Stegman’s X-MenSo I will of course continue to read the series, and I truly hope that Cassandra is used effectively. murderers saw Nova become a ferocious “pro-mutant” fighter, as opposed to her previous hatred of mutantkind, and the new villainous organization 3K appears to be made up of extreme mutants with a plan to “save” mutantkind, which could lead to some interesting developments
Read New X-Men was a revelatory experience for me as a young comic fan, and Cassandra Nova’s key role as the main villain of Morrison’s first arc has left an impression on me to this day. That’s why I wish Marvel would let Nova stay billions of years in the past At least a few more yearsSo that her return should be horrible instead of just making a regular X-Men villain (or an MCU synergy byproduct). However, Cassandra S from the ashes The story is nowhere near complete, so I will patiently wait to see how Nova returns from the past and what her plans are for the X-Men before passing any final judgment.
X-Men #5 from Marvel Comics is available in stores now.