Between Deadpool & Wolverine and X-Men ’97, Professor Xavier’s evil twin is having a moment

The first full trailer for Deadpool and Wolverine was released today, giving fans a good look at Hugh Jackman in the classic yellow suit, a good look at his banter with Reynolds’ Deadpool, and a good look at Emma Corrin (The crown) as the film’s villain, Cassandra Nova.

Nova cuts a dashing figure in an ankle-length trench coat and a striking bald head, ripped straight from the X-Men comics. And she should: the X-Men villain is having a moment.

Who is Cassandra Nova?

She’s Professor X’s evil twin. Okay, that’s a simplification.

She is the stillborn twin brother of Professor X. She tried to kill him in the womb, but he overpowered her instead. But since she had the same psychic ability as her brother, her consciousness remained. After decades of trying, she managed to get her own physical form – as bald and old as Charles, but a lady – and threatened the X-Men as a powerful psychic who wants to kill Professor to make.

That’s also a simplification, but it’s really all you need to know. Believe me.

Cassandra Nova debuted in E stands for Extinction parts 1 and 2, the first two issues of Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly’s New X Men. In those issues, she brought an army of ‘Wild Sentinels’ to the mutant nation of Genosha, slaughtering 16 million mutants in a single day.

It’s those two ideas – Nova as an evil Professor X and her Genoshan genocide – that have everyone talking about her this spring.

In the field of animation, Disney Plus’ X Men ’97 made an entire episode about the fall of Genosha and has yet to reveal the mastermind behind it. There’s no guarantee that Cassandra Nova will appear (as of now, the signs still point to Mister Sinister), but there’s no doubt about the people behind it ’97 knew her name would come up. Even though she didn’t even exist when the original X-Men animated series was produced, the episode inevitably references Nova’s comic book appearance.

In Deadpool and WolverineNova appears to rule over a wasteland made up of various Marvel movie properties, including a 20th Century Fox logo sunk into the sand and an enlarged Ant-Man helmet (complete with desiccated skull interior) as its headquarters. And that may be related to this version of Wolverine, who “abandoned his entire world,” a la Old Man Logan.

Although we may not know exactly how she fits in, or what she does – at least not until Deadpool and Wolverine hits theaters in July and X Men ’97 shows his hand – it’s proving to be a hot Cassandra Nova summer in the world of X-Men adaptations.