Deadpool & Wolverine’s Villian Teases A Wild Comic Inspiration

The latest trailer for Deadpool and Wolverine gave audiences their first good look at the film’s big bad, Cassandra Nova. She is a X-Men character with a strange history in the comics and no obvious connection to Deadpool. So how does she fit into the mercenary with an oral introduction in the MCU? The trailer doesn’t give us too many clues, but based on the multiversal shenanigans we know the film will involve, the key to understanding Deadpool and Wolverine perhaps a mostly forgotten spin-off comic from the great 2015 Secret Wars event. Here’s why.

Let’s review what we know Deadpool and Wolverine. Beyond just the long-awaited on-screen collaboration of Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in their respective superhero roles, this will act as a sort of swan song for the Fox Universe Marvel movies. In addition to Jackman reprising his role as Wolverine, the film will also see Jennifer Garner And Aaron Stanford return in their roles as Elektra and Pyro, respectively. The film will also somehow connect Deadpool to the larger MCU. This is where Cassandra comes in.

Cassandra Nova is best known as the first villain of Grant Morrison’s iconic run of the X-Men from 2001 to 2004. In short, she is the sister of Charles Xavier. The complicated version of the story involves psychic babies fighting inside the womb, so maybe go check it out if you’re interested. But baby fights aside, Cassandra Nova created a shock in the comics when she arrived in 2001. Her first act is to slaughter 16 million mutants. Morrison continues his race X-Men This was a major change, and Cassandra Nova was in many ways the face of it. But we don’t need to bother too much with Morrison’s. X-Men.

Instead, we’re going to talk about X-Men ’92. During the greatest Secret Wars event that shook up the entire Marvel comics universe in 2015, Chris Sims and Chad Bowers led the spin-off title X-Men ’92. It served as a loose continuation of the beloved X-Men animated series from the 90s (which currently has a incredible sequel show on Disney+). The villain of the first arc X-Men ’92 was Cassandra Nova. Here, however, she sassyly took on the role of cosmic censor. ode to the censors of animated series, and sought to make the X-Men more suitable for all ages. This includes making Wolverine a pacifist and forcing other changes to preserve the morality of the story. The entire arc is about the X-Men learning to break out of their brainwashing and morally black-and-white censorship and become more complex characters again. This censor role is why Cassandra Nova is the perfect villain for Deadpool and Wolverine.

The biggest problem with integrating Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool into the MCU is the clashing tones. Deadpool starred in two R-rated films filled with sex, drugs, graphic violence, and more. Meanwhile, the MCU has remained squarely in the PG-13 category on the big screen (although Echo on Disney+ is rated TV-MA). Disney, Marvel and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige clearly has a certain brand he’s trying to uphold. Deadpool doesn’t really fit into the frame. Now under Disney, it was initially feared that the third dead Pool movie would not be rated R because of this branding that the MCU has stuck to.

With Deadpool’s meta-humor, we know the movie will deal with this issue as well as what it means for the end of the Fox movie universe. At one point we see a fight scene taking place in a desolate location with a partially buried 20th Century Fox sign, and the latest trailer contains a long clip of Kevin Feige not wanting Deadpool to talk about cocaine . And while Kevin Feige might be the literal censor that Deadpool must overcome, Cassandra Nova is a great villain in the film to portray that role as well. In accordance with its mission in X-Men ’92, Deadpool and Wolverine could see Cassandra Nova seek to make Ryan Reynolds’ hero more appropriate for all audiences, and hopefully fail. It’s a great way to wrap up the Fox era of Marvel and bring Deadpool into the MCU fold while maintaining his R-rated charm. But audiences will have to wait Deadpool and Wolverine comes out on July 26 to find out what the MCU has in store for Deadpool.