After 25 Years, X-Men Reveals Iconic Villain's Ultimate Form

Twenty-five years after X-Men introduced one of its most powerful villains of all time, fans have finally witnessed their ultimate rebirth. Finally succeeding in their plans, this iconic X-Men foe becomes a monster who makes Magneto look like an afterthought.

Introduced in 2001, Cassandra Nova is a Mummundrai - a psionic parasite which latched onto Charles Xavier in the womb, using his DNA to create a powerful psychic 'clone' which the young hero was able to destroy in the womb. Over the decades, Nova used her stolen powers to knit herself back together, eventually stealing Xavier's body and declaring all-out war on his students.

Nova has clashed with the X-Men multiple times, and even acted as their ally - albeit always while serving her own predatory agenda. She was played by Emma Corrin in the recent Deadpool & Wolverine, which made the most of her incredibly creepy abilities while essentially ignoring her Mummundrai status.

X-Men's Cassandra Nova Unleashes Her Ultimate Form

That's not the case in the recent What If...? X-Men #1 - from Ashley Allen, Sumit Kumar, Sonia Oback and Clayton Cowles - which depicts Nova unlocking the ultimate Mummundrai form - an astral dragon capable of literally eating reality, having reached godlike power in a world where her in utero confrontation with her 'brother' went the other way.

In a world without Xavier, Nova is free to capture and experiment on the world's telepaths. In the process, she discovers it's possible to destroy the Netherworld - a layer of reality which limits her power. Implanting the world's telepaths with Mummundrai parasites and siphoning power from each of her victims, Nova becomes an astral dragon, capable of consuming the Netherworld with her terrifying mandibles.

Destroying the Netherworld would erase all limitations on Cassandra Nova's power, allowing her to literally rewrite reality, with the intention of ruling over a universe of Mummundrai as their god and leader. In response, the Phoenix Force drags Jean Grey out of time to the White Hot Room - a place she can prepare and plan to fight back.

The one-shot comic ends in an unusual place, with Cassandra Nova ascending to her ultimate form and this reality's Jean Grey and Emma Frost at the very beginning of their rebellion against her immense power.

What If...? X-Men Sets Up a New Series with Cassandra Nova as the Villain

Several of the stories in Marvel's most recent slate of What If...? titles have teased possible continuations, but What If...? X-Men is the most explicit. The comic ends with "The End?", setting up a status quo where Nova is more powerful than ever before, and the nascent X-Men are only at the beginning of fighting back.

It's likely Marvel is using these What If...? one-shots to test the water for more ambitious series, and this entry has been the most intriguing so far, setting up the Mummundrai as a global threat. Hopefully, Marvel pays off the tease of this issue, and the possibility of more stories set in this dark world.

This Is Cassandra Nova At Her Best

In her original depiction, Cassandra Nova was the scariest threat the X-Men have ever faced. A psychic parasite only pretending to be a 'person,' Nova broke the minds of her victims - she trapped Cyclops in a prison made of his buried trauma, broke the mind of Xavier's wife Lilandra, and forced Beast's most beloved student to beat him into a coma.

However, since then, she's been depicted as more of a self-serving antagonist - a significant threat, but traditionally 'villainous' in a way her original depiction avoided.

What If...? X-Men doesn't quite reach the heights of her original stories, but it does tap back into the promise of the Mummundrai as a concept, reminding fans that Cassandra Nova isn't just Charles' evil sister - she's a psychic monstrosity who stole his DNA as the first step towards an intended genocide of mutants.

What If...? X-Men doesn't just empower Cassandra Nova, it returns to what makes her unique and terrifying - hopefully, Marvel keeps telling this unique X-Men story, if only so fans can keep seeing the eldritch side of one of the franchise's most promising villains.

What If...? X-Men #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.