Cassandra Nova fails to live up to her evil potential in X-Men ’97, although Deadpool 3 promises much more for the supervillain.

Spoilers ahead for episode 5 of X-Men ’97.

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After decades’ worth of patience, X-Men ’97 delivers upon a promise of good television with a near-perfect adaptation of Marvel’s mutant superheroes. The series, which recently took the entire world by storm, represents the hope carried by fans since the original show’s run in the 90s. Although nothing ever quite became as iconic as that period’s cartoon when it comes to Marvel animation, X-Men ’97 comes pretty close.

X-Men ’97 [Credit: Disney+]
However, with the series’ mid-season cliffhanger finale, one thing becomes evident – the show certainly knows how to raise fan expectations. But one factor which could have made the series uber-popular ends up being a misdirection, and even though the plot twist manages to shock the audience and leave them with questions, the show’s director does a good job too of crushing those dreams and expectations in one swift blow.

X-Men ’97 Cools Down After 5 Episodes of Epic Television

Fans of Marvel’s X-Men comics witnessed history being made after Disney’s X-Men ’97 re-introduced some of the most epic mutant superheroes and unleased their true power and potential into the world – something the live-action films hardly could. With each episode, the show proves itself more worthy of being called one of modern comic era’s greatest feat, although the feeling only lasts a moment.

After 5 sensational episodes, the Marvel show ends on a mid-season cliffhanger that teases the debut of Cassandra Nova. The only catch? It wasn’t Cassandra Nova after all. Despite logic pointing toward the most obvious solution, head director of X-Men ’97 asks fans to temper their expectation when it comes to the notorious villain. In an interview with Inverse, Jake Castorena claimed:

“I wouldn’t get my hopes up for Cassandra Nova being a huge villain in our show. But what I will say is, I don’t think people will be disappointed with our choices.”

Still from X-Men ’97 Episode 5 [Credit: Disney+]
As questions still linger in the aftermath of explosive Episode 5, X-Men brazenly digresses from showing the debut of Marvel comic’s one of the greatest and most powerful supervillain. And despite the long-awaited debut not panning out, the show’s performance promises more ground-breaking plots to come, with or without the help of Cassandra Nova.

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A Case For the Missing Cassandra Nova in X-Men ’97

One of the most powerful mutants in the X-Men universe, Cassandra Nova is infamously known for being Charles Xavier’s twisted, evil twin who uses her powers to unleash utter chaos. In the case of X-Men ’97, that chaos appeared in the form of a Sentinel genocidal attack on the mutant island nation of Genosha – a storyline that has directly been adapted from the E Is for Extinction arc of Grant Morrison’s New X-Men comics. Nova was behind the death of millions in said comic arc, but the show takes a major step away from using her as the master villain and uses humans as the catalyst in this war against mutants.

Cassandra Nova [Credit: Marvel Comics]
Cassandra Nova who is set to appear as the primary villain in Deadpool & Wolverine, manages only a lukewarm appreciation and anecdotal reference in X-Men ’97. Despite the lack of villainy that could have followed in the wake of the animated show, fans are left to figure out where to put their pent-up excitement at getting to see Nova in action and Deadpool 3 becomes the safest and most assured bet for the fans.

X-Men ’97 is currently streaming on Disney+, and Deadpool & Wolverine premieres in theaters on July 26, 2024.

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