'Deadpool 2': Is This The Mutant Surge?

The newest Deadpool 2 trailer has fans curious about the identity of the purple-haired and electric-powered mutant played by Shioli Kutsuna.

The unidentified mutant can be seen wielding a whip-like metal chain supercharged by her electric powers. She has purple hair and wears a black and silver uniform with its left shoulder bearing the familiar "X" insignia associated with Professor Charles Xavier's famous mutant team the X-Men.

In the Marvel Comics, Surge was a blue-haired superhuman introduced in the pages of New Mutants Vol 2 #8 in 2004.

A Japanese mutant named Noriko Ashida, Noriko fled to America as a teenage runaway in search of refuge after her mutant-phobic father claimed to "not believe" in mutants.

The homeless Noriko became a student of the Xavier Institute and was assigned to the New Mutants squad, where she served alongside fellow super-powered teens like Hellion, Armor, Rockslide, Mercury, Anole, Pixie and Laura Kinney, a.k.a. X-23.

Surge's powers included the ability to absorb all kinds of electricity, from electrical appliances to static in the air, which she could then transform into powerful lightning blasts. An always-on Noriko was unable to control her amount of electrical absorption, leading to her reliance on specially-designed gauntlets created by Beast (and later refined by mutant inventor Forge) meant to regulate her shocking abilities.

Kutsuna's mutant is one of several new characters glimpsed in the trailer, including Terry Crews' Bedlam, another lesser-known mutant from the Marvel Comics.

Deadpool 2 will see Ryan Reynolds' cancer-ridden merc with a mouth team with a band of mutant misfits — taking the name X-Force — as grizzled time-travelling mutant Cable (Josh Brolin) comes from the future with sights set on a fiery young mutant played by Julian Dennison (Hunt for the Wilderpeople).

The sequel is reportedly undergoing reshoots to increase the presence of franchise newcomers Cable and Domino (Zazie Beetz), who are said to be standouts. Deadpool 2 is said to be receiving higher scores than its 2016 predecessor in test screenings, with one cut of the upcoming blockbuster scoring as high as 98%.

Deadpool 2 opens May 18.