CASSANDRA NOVA
Created By: Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely
First Appearance: The New X-Men #114 (July 2001)
b]Role:[/b] Suddenly-Introduced Sibling, Psychopathic Monster, Psionic Mastermind
Group Affiliations: The X-Men (in Charles' Body)
PL 16 (505)
STRENGTH 0
STAMINA 4
AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 6
DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 5
AWARENESS 5
PRESENCE 4
Skills:
Deception 11 (+15)
Expertise (Science) 7 (+12)
Insight 7 (+12)
Intimidation 10 (+14)
Investigation 4 (+9)
Perception 10 (+15)
Persuasion 7 (+11)
Stealth 6 (+6)
Technology 5 (+10)
Treatment 5 (+10)
Advantages:
Assessment, Diehard, Fearless, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6, Trance, Well-Informed
Powers:
"Mutant Powers: DNA Duplication"
Morph 2 (Beings Whose DNA She's Stolen) [10]
"Mind Shield" Enhanced Will Check 8 (Flaws: Limited to Mental Attacks) [4]
"Mental Detection" Senses 7 (Mental Awareness- Ranged, Radius, Acute, Detect Mutants- Ranged & Radius) [7]
Immunity 11 (Life Support, Aging) [11]
Regeneration 4 [4]
Immortality 2 [4]
Mind-Reading 15 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Effortless, Cumulative, Sensory Link) Linked to Mental Communication 4 (Feats: Subtle) (Extras: Area, Selective) (101) -- [115]
- Dynamic AE: "Focused Mind Control" Mind Control 16 (Feats: Dynamic, Insidious) (Extras: Concentration) (82)
- Dynamic AE: "Group Mind Control" Mind Control 15 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 60ft. Burst +2, Selective) (Flaws: Touch Range -2) (76)
- Dynamic AE: "Mental Stun" Affliction 16 (Will; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Perception Range +2, Cumulative) (65)
- Dynamic AE: "Astral Form" Remote Sensing 15 (Visuals & Hearing) (Feats: Dynamic, Dimensional) (Flaws: Physical Body is Defenseless) (32)
- Dynamic AE: "Focused Mental Blast" Damage 16 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Perception Range +2, Will Save) (65)
- Dynamic AE: "Mental Illusions" Illusion (All Senses) 14 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Selective) (Flaws: Resisted by Will) (57)
- AE: "Area Mental Blast" Damage 14 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Burst +2, Selective, Will Save) (70)
- AE: "Brainwashing" Affliction 16 (Will; Dazed/Compelled/Transformed Mentally) (Extras: Perception Range +2, Cumulative, Progressive +2) (97)
Force Field 6 [6]
"Disintegration" Blast 14 (Feats: Dynamic) Linked to Weaken 10 (Extras: Ranged, Affects Objects) (58) -- [70]
- Dynamic AE: Force Field 8 (Feats: Dynamic, Increased Mass 4) (Extras: Affects Others 13) (26)
- Dynamic AE: "TK Attack" Blast 14 (Feats: Dynamic, Penetrating 8) (37)
- Dynamic AE: "TK Ram" Damage 14 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 60ft. Line +2) (43)
- Dynamic AE: "TK Wave" Damage 14 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 120ft. Cone +2) (43)
- Dynamic AE: "Telekinesis" Move Object 14 (Feats: Dynamic, Precise) (30)
- Dynamic AE: Flight 5 (60 mph) (Feats: Dynamic) (11)
"Body Possession"
Mind Control 16 (Feats: Dynamic, Insidious, Instant Recovery, Subtle 2) (Extras: Sustained +2) [101]
"Phasing" Insubstantial 4 (Feats: Selective) Linked to Concealment 2 (Visuals) [29]
Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+0 Damage, DC 15)
Mind Control +15-16 Perception/Area (+15-16 Affliction, DC 25-26)
Mental Stun/Brainwashing +16 Perception (+16 Perception Affliction, DC 26)
Mental Blast +16 Perception (+16 Perception Damage, DC 31)
Area Blast +14 (+14 Damage, DC 29)
Initiative +0
Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +4 (+9-18 Force Field), Fortitude +12, Will +12 (+20 vs. Mental Attacks)
Complications:
Motivation (Destroying Charles Xavier)- Nova is a mummudrai, an "evil opposite" of Professor Xavier, and is compelled to destroy him.
Total: Abilities: 56 / Skills: 72--36 / Advantages: 12 / Powers: 372 / Defenses: 29 (505)
-I wasn't a huge fan of the Morrison/Quitely arc of
X-Men (ugly, UGLY art, goofy stories and random characterization, especially of Magneto), but there were some good parts- I liked the fact that they made Xavier's a school again, shook up the status quo, added in some more freaky-looking mutants, and Cassandra Nova. A vile, evil woman, Nova had some Morrison-ish origin I can't quite figure out- Professor X's twin, who was nearly-killed in the womb... but it turns out she put herself in the womb, so Fetus Xavier was justified in doing so. She was born a bodiless psionic entity- a "mummudrai" of Shi'ar mythology that each Shi'ar must face in the womb as their first "other"- an enemy they must defeat. Then she morphed into some crazy gross female Professor X thing. She's threatened the X-Men a few times, showcasing her truly horrific power levels, and it's always pretty cool when she lets loose. She gets Lilandra of the Shi'ar to send the Imperial Guard & Superguardians against the X-Men, raising all kinds of hell until Jean Grey, empowered by the Phoenix, expelled her from Xavier's mind and tricked her into possessing the inert body of Stuff- a Superguardian polymorph. This mass of cells was locked beneath the X-Mansion.
-In Joss Whedon's
Astonishing X-Men, they do a picture-perfect example of how to do a telepathic assault- essentially, Kitty Pryde imagines a world in which her first-born child is taken from her by Xavier and the X-Men- including her husband, Colossus- and responds to this betrayal by "phasing" her baby out of his prison. But the baby is actually Nova's "Stuff" body, and Kitty had been tricked. And she's STILL messed up by it several issues later- the betrayal felt so real that she still resents the people who were framed. Nova tries to possess Armor and go on the loose, but it appears she is defeated. This is shockingly the last use of Nova for about ten years- only two writers- both "Stunt Hires" by Marvel- had used her.
-Nova finally returns in the "Hickman Era"- she has been body-hopping ever since her last defeat. She takes over several heads of state and turns them into anti-mutant zealots, but Jean Grey engages in the creation of mass-produced Magneto helmets, which ends her possession. Finally, Cassandra is de-powered and Jean forces her way into Nova's psyche and forces her to feel all of the pain and suffering she has caused until others, and experiencing empathy for the first time in her existence. This ends her threat at this moment.
-Though her origin is ridiculous, I actually don't mind Cassandra Nova. The X-Men desperately needed a new "Big Villain" at that time, and her origin doesn't harm anyone else's (she's not REALLY Xavier's twin), and she's a different level of threat- much more secretive and clever than the brutish, hedonistic Shadow King. Her reappearance in
Astonishing was particularly great, with Hank's "oh god no" look of mortal terror really selling the threat. To say nothing of the hilarity of Wolverine regressing into his childhood form ("I'm the best there is at what I do. And what I do... is so terribly pretty!"). Like, many villains are threats. But Nova? Nova CHANGES you.
-Nova is PRICEY. She gets this way thanks to a grab-bag of every telepathic & telekinetic power ever, PLUS Body Possession, which she can do outside of the Telepathy Array, meaning she basically pays for an extra thing (in addition to regular ol' Mind Control, which IS in the Array). She's also nigh-impossible to kill. Her mental powers are beyond even Xavier's, as she can open up and warp the minds of any X-Man, up to and including Emma Frost, possess Xavier himself, and even turn Wolverine into a pathetic nancy-boy (and Beast into a growling man-kitty). She's pretty much the living definition of a super-team's worst nightmare, and you pretty much have to cheat to win.