Over the years, the X-Men have taken on some of Marvel’s most powerful and deadly threats, but few compare to Cassandra Nova. Nova, who is essentially Charles Xavier’s evil twin, first appeared in 2001’s New X-Men issue #114 during Grant Morrison’s run on the title.

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Though she hasn’t been in the X-Universe that long, Nova has proven herself to be a more lethal force than the X-Men’s go-to big bads like Magneto, Apocalypse, or Emma Frost. From her supernatural origins to genocide and civil war, here are 10 reasons Cassandra Nova is the most powerful threat in X-Men history.

10 XAVIER’S MUMMUDRAI

Cassandra Nova is a manifestation called a “mummudrai,” the dark, opposite spirit of a person (in this case, Xavier) that develops when they are in the womb. In actuality, Nova and other mummudrai are bodiless parasites composed of living emotional energy. Prior to birth, Xavier’s mutation was already strong, allowing Nova to take human form alongside him in the womb.

Cassandra effectively became Xavier’s twin. Sensing her evil, infant Xavier attempted to kill Nova, an event she barely survived. Remanifesting as an adult years later, Nova continues to threaten the X-Men as Xavier’s darkest, strongest, and most evil counterpart.

9 OUTING THE X-MEN

New X-Men Jean Saves School

As Xavier once said, anonymity is the X-Men’s primary defense. Despite several adversaries knowing the X-Men's identities, they stayed more-or-less hidden. This ended when, in her game of revenge, Nova put the X-Men and their students in mortal danger by switching minds with Xavier and outing him as a mutant on national television.

This literally put the X-Men on the map. Angry mobs gathered outside the Xavier Institute for days and the U-Men attacked the school to harvest mutant body parts.

8 SHE THINKS NOTHING OF COMMITTING GENOCIDE

During her inaugural comic book arc, Nova set out to destroy mutantkind as efficiently as possible. She starts by committing an atrocity unlike that of any other villain the X-Men have faced. After manipulating Bolivar Trask’s nephew to get his DNA, Nova sends Sentinels to destroy the mutant island safe haven of Genosha.

In doing so, she single-handedly killed 16 million mutants - just over half the world’s population. To Nova, it was an act no different than wiping out a virus, the mutant germ.

7 SHE TOOK CONTROL OF THE SHI’AR IMPERIAL FLEET

Cassandra Nova Manipulated The Shi’ar Into Attempted Mutant Eradication

After swapping bodies with Xavier and leaving Earth with Lilandra, Nova began working on another unprecedented task: Destroying the X-Men’s allies, the Shi’ar. After manipulating Lilandra, Nova used her to command the Imperial fleet to destroy part of the Shi’ar empire and incite a civil war.

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To top it off, she further manipulated the Shi’ar into sending the Imperial Guard to destroy Earth’s mutant population so as to “save” the universe from the mutant plague. When the Imperial Guard learned the truth and turned on Nova, she easily defeated them.

6 THE PHOENIX FORCE BONDED WITH HER

In the alternate universe of X-Men: The End, Nova continued to demonstrate why she’s the most powerful threat in X-Men history by becoming host to the Phoenix Force. On the Shi’ar Throneworld she bonds with the Phoenix in order to wipe out all life.

Despite their numerical advantage and powers, the X-Men and the Shi’ar Imperial Guard struggle to take her down. Jean, also harnessing the Phoenix, and Psylocke are the only two able to stop Nova, but not before she slaughtered the Imperial Guard - including Gladiator - and several X-Men including Storm and Dazzler.

5 INFECTED THE X-MEN WITH A PLAGUE

Remember when Nova leveled Genosha via Sentinels? That was just part one of a two-pronged, Sentinel-based scheme to wipe out mutantkind. Prior to being apprehended by the X-Men after destroying Genosha, Nova injected herself with millions of Nano-Sentinels. Once she was at the Xavier Institute, Nova spread the Nano-Sentinels, which acted as a virus.

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Mutants, even those as powerful as Jean Grey, experienced flu-like symptoms as the Nano-Sentinles ate away at their immune systems. Nova then incited the Shi’ar to attempt to preserve the universe by eradicating the incredibly weakened X-Men and the "Thought Plague Contamination."

4 TURNED THE WORLD’S GOVERNMENTS AGAINST MUTANTS

Cassa Nova plotting in a bunker

In X-Men: Red, Nova set her sights on her most powerful adversary: Jean Grey. As Jean worked to create a mutant nation, Nova sought to destroy her dream and exterminate all mutant life. To do so, she once again turned to Sentinel technology.

Nova refined the Nano-Sentinels into Sentinites, microscopic bots that attach to the human brain, allowing their host to detect mutant life and inciting fear and hatred after detection. Nova infected the world’s leader with Sentinites. At the direction of their leaders and in the absence of self-control, nations began hunting, detaining, and killing mutants.

3 SHE IS A MASTER MANIPULATOR

Nova has a flair for large-scale terrorism, but she is equally threatening in subtle ways that are equally terrifying. One example is Bolivar Trask’s nephew, a dentist, whom Nova lured to South America where she mapped his DNA and took control of the Sentinels that attacked Genosha.

Once in Xavier’s body, she also manipulated Beak into attacking Beast, who had discovered her secret. She also visited many world leaders, tapping into their potential hatred for mutants while infecting them with Sentinites. Even Emma Frost and Kitty Pryde have fallen victim to Nova’s influence, aiding her in her plans.

2 ALMOST UNRIVALED

After surveying Nova’s history of trying to destroy the X-Men and mutantkind, it’s clear that she is almost entirely in a league of her own. She truly is one of the most powerful threats in X-Men history, and surely would have brought about their demise by now if it were not for the one mutant who rivals her: Jean Grey.

When others, including Professor Xavier himself, have been outmaneuvered by Nova, Jean has proven to be the key to stopping her. Even when it was a team effort, Jean was the key, making her Nova’s new favorite target.

1 SHE HAS NOTHING TO LOSE

Marvel Comics' Cassandra Nova in her armor.

Perhaps the biggest reason that Cassandra Nova is the most powerful threat in X-Men history is that she really has nothing to lose, and that makes for the ultimate enemy. Unlike Magneto who fights for ideological change or Apocalypse who seeks to elevate the evolved, Nova seeks to destroy everything that Xavier cares about, from his vision of mutant and human coexistence to the X-Men, his students, and even his lover, Lilandra.

As a mummudrai, this is simply a more focused take on her natural state as a creature who exists solely to destroy. What could pose a more imminent threat to the X-Men?

Next: eXpunged Records: 10 Villains Who Joined The X-Men (And 10 X-Men Who Betrayed The Team)