Nova (comics)

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Nova
Cover to Nova #1 (2007). Art by Adi Granov.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Nova #1 (September, 1976)
Created by	Marv Wolfman John Buscema
In story information
Alter ego	Richard Rider
Species	Human
Place of origin	Earth
Team affiliations	United Front (Commander) New Warriors Defenders Champions of Xandar
Notable aliases	Kid Nova Nova #11249-44396 Nova Prime The Human Rocket
Abilities	Superhuman strength, durability and speed. Currently in possession, via download, of the Xandarian Worldmind which allows him near infinite control over the Nova Force granting: Energy projection and absorption Ability to execute powerful Gravimetric pulses and opening intergalactic stargates

Nova (Richard Rider), is a fictional superhero from Marvel Comics. Becoming a member of the galaxy's Nova Corps, an intergalactic police force, the youth gained enhanced strength, flight, injury resistance, and a uniform with life support.

Contents 1 Publication history 2 Fictional character biography 2.1 Origins 2.2 New Warriors 2.3 Annihilation 2.4 Civil War on Earth 2.5 Annihilation: Conquest 3 Powers and abilities 4 Other versions 4.1 Earth X 4.2 Marvel Zombies 4.3 MC2 4.4 Sphinx 5 Bibliography 6 Collections 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Publication history

The character was created by Marv Wolfman and John Buscema in Nova #1, 1976. The original Nova series lasted 25 issues. Marvel produced three subsequent Nova titles, the most recent of which (Nova, volume 4) began in April, 2007.^{[1] [2]}

The character also features prominently in past issues of Marvel's New Warriors as well as the 2006 Annihilation cross-over storyline, which led into 2007's Annihilation: Conquest.

[edit] Fictional character biography

[edit] Origins

Harry S. Truman High School student Richard Rider from Queens, New York is chosen at random by the alien Rhomann Dey, last surviving Nova Centurion of the planet Xandar's elite Nova Corps, to inherit his power and succeed him in the rank of Nova Prime following the destruction of his world by the intergalactic pirate Zorr. Having been mortally wounded in the battle that tore Xandar apart, Dey succeeds in tracking Zorr to Earth, but is unable to exact vengeance due to the extent of his injuries. At death's door, Dey has little choice but to transfer his power to an unsuspecting human on the planet below, praying that whomever he finds will take up his cause.^[3]

Rider gains great strength, a degree of invulnerability, the power to fly, and a uniform with a sealed life support system, but little instruction on how to use these new powers. Overjoyed, Rider eagerly takes up the life of a superhero, fighting costumed super-villains in New York and gradually learning how to use his new powers. Nova makes archenemies out of street level thugs, as well as cosmic level threats. He first fought Condor and Powerhouse,^[4] and then first fought Diamondhead.^[5] Nova met Thor and had his first clash with the Corruptor.^[6] He then had two encounters with the Sphinx.^[7]. He then teamed with Spider-Man to capture Photon, his uncle Ralph's killer.^[8] He then revealed his secret identity to his family.^[9]

Discovering Dey's Nova Prime Space Ship, which has been invisibly revolving around the earth for several years, Doctor Sun and the Sphinx lead Rider across the stars and to the newly reconstructed planet Xandar, the same world where his great powers originated. Traveling with them were Powerhouse, Comet, and Crimebuster.^[10] Engaged in bitter war against the Skrulls, the Xandarians form the Champions of Xandar and press Rider into over a year of service protecting their territories from attack.^[11] Nova aided the Champions of Xandar, Rom, and the Xandarians in defeating the Skrulls. Eventually tiring of a life of constant intergalactic war and hoping to rejoin his high school friends, Rider requests to return home to Earth. When he is told he must relinquish his powers in order to do so, Rider agrees.^[12]

For a time, Rider lives a relatively normal life flipping burgers as a cook at a fast food restaurant and barely making ends meet due to his disrupted education. He spends his time trying to pick up the pieces of the life he had left behind, all the while wishing he could find a way to regain the powers he lost. Unknown to him, during this period, the planet Xandar is destroyed again in an attack by the space pirate Nebula.

[edit] New Warriors

Main article: New Warriors

In a bid to secure new super powered allies, the superhero Night Thrasher breaks into S.H.I.E.L.D. computers and steals detailed data on Rider among other super powered individuals. Deducing that Rider's powers were not taken completely from him but instead lay dormant inside the young man's body, Night Thrasher convinces himself that a high-stress situation will be enough to reactivate Rider's powers and open him up to recruitment. To that end, Night Thrasher kidnaps Rider and drops him off the top of a multi-story building. The fall causes Rider's powers to reignite from within him, saving his life.^[13]

Rider joins Night Thrasher's superhero group, the New Warriors.^[14] The New Warriors first appeared as a team aiding Thor in battling Juggernaut.^[15] Though their first battle pits them against Terrax the Tamer,^[16] their adventures together typically include dealing with street level super villains as well as Nova's old foe the Sphinx. During this time, Rider begins dating fellow teammate Namorita and becomes close friends with Speedball.

With the New Warriors, he first battled Psionex,^[17] battled the Force of Nature,^[18] and battled the Hellions.^[19] When the second Sphinx invaded the Earth, Nova forced her to undo her transformation of Earth.^[20] With the New Warriors, he then battled the Fantastic Four.^[21] Rider's parents then learned that he was Nova again.^[22] With the New Warriors, he battled Terrax once again.^[23] With the New Warriors, he was captured by Gideon.^[24]

Functioning for several years as an earth-bound super hero with no connection to the now defunct Nova Corps, Rider eventually encounters Garthan Saal, a former Nova Corps Centurion who has been driven insane by his quest to absorb the entirety of the Nova Force, the source of the powers of all Nova Centurions. Having failed in his effort to enact revenge against Nebula for the destruction of his home planet, Saal instead turns his attention to restoring Xandar to its former glory. Stripping Rider of his powers for a second time, Saal transports Rider to Xandar again and forces him to assist in jump starting the process that restores the dead planet to life. Rider also witnesses the reformation of the Nova Corps, which appoints him to the rank of Centurion Prime.

Assigned to Earth, Rider is confronted with the challenge of balancing dual lives as a member of both the Nova Corps as well as the New Warriors. Rider soon encounters another Nova Corps member from an alternate timeline named Nova 0:0, who attempts to prepare him to do battle with a mysterious force that had destroyed his own Earth: "the Deathstorm." Defying the direct order of Xandar's Queen Adora to return to Xandar to quell an emergency, Rider succeeds in stopping the Deathstorm and saving Earth. His success is short lived, however, as Rider finds himself stripped of his powers once again and replaced as Centurion Prime by Garthan Saal. After several months, Saal is killed by Volx, Queen of the Dire Wraiths, returning the Nova force to Rider with his final breath.

[edit] Annihilation

Main article: Annihilation (comics)

Nova briefly travels the US with the reformed New Warriors as part of a reality television show. After the first season of the show, however, Rider leaves the group for Xandar to stand alongside the rest of the Nova Corps in the fight against the forces of Annihilus. The clustered world is swiftly decimated and with it the entire Nova Corps massacred by a surprise attack of the Annihilation Wave, newly arrived in this universe from the Negative Zone.

Rider somehow survives the onslaught, awakening on the ruined surface of Xandar. Drawn deep underground, Rider makes contact with the Xandarian Worldmind, a living supercomputer that is the regulator of the Nova Force and caretaker of the entire collective database of Xandarian civilization. As Rider is the last Nova Corps Centurion left alive, the Worldmind explains that there is no choice but to upload itself and the entire Nova Force into his body and mind. This act greatly enhances his already superhuman strength and durability as well as granting him control of the nearly limitless energies of the Nova Force.

During the prolonged effort to repel the Annihilation Wave, Rider takes command of the United Front, a loose collaboration of soldiers hailing from the worlds already under seige by Annihilus. Leading Drax the Destroyer, Star-Lord, Phyla-Vell, Ronan the Accuser, Kl'rt the Super-Skrull and Gamora (with whom he has become romantically involved) as well as the former Heralds of Galactus, Firelord, Red Shift, and Stardust, in a nearly year-long campaign, Rider almost succeeds in pushing back the Wave's advance across the galaxy. Meeting imminent defeat instead when Annihilus utilizes the stolen power of his captive Galactus to destroy an entire planet, Rider switches tactics. Disbanding the United Front, he leads a small team deep into the Wave's conquered territory, intent on assassinating Annihilus himself. Forging alliances with the likes of Blastaar and the Galadorian Spaceknights along the way, Rider eventually engages Annihilus himself in personal combat, tearing the tyrant inside out and halting his wave of destruction once and for all.

[edit] Civil War on Earth

See also: Civil War (comic book)

Returning to Earth after the defeat of Annihilus, Rider is immediately confronted by Iron Man who offers him the chance to register as a hero with the United States government and join The Initiative. Rider, who has not yet involved himself in the Civil War raging between heroes over the Superhuman Registration Act, is given 24 hours to register willingly. Without warning, Rider is then brutally attacked by the Thunderbolts, who endanger multiple innocent civilians and inflict massive property damage in their attempt to apprehend him. Fighting the team of former super villains to a stand still, Nova ultimately refuses Iron Man's offer, choosing instead to depart from a world he believes has gone mad in order to continue patrolling the universe at large.

[edit] Annihilation: Conquest

Main article: Annihilation: Conquest

Upon leaving Earth, distress calls from all over Kree Space summon Rider to the planet Hala, seat of the Kree Empire. Approaching the planet, Rider encounters a contingent of Phalanx-possessed Kree Sentries that attack him without provocation. The Worldmind reports that these Sentries are carrying viral programming that is nearly succeeding in invading its own systems. Cutting and running, Rider attempts to open a stargate and flee, only to impact at full speed against the energy barrier the Phalanx are using to seal off Kree space from the rest of the universe, mortally wounding himself in the process.

Flung to a planet on the far edge of Kree territory, Rider's charred body comes to rest in a crater near the encamped survivors of a downed Kree vessel. Working quickly to protect it's host's remains from incoming Phalanx attackers, the Worldmind chooses Ko-Rel, a female commander of the former warship, conferring on her the powers and rank of a Nova Corps Centurion and the designation Nova 0001. Nearing death, Rider is transported to the safety of Ko-Rel's ship to give his suit's healing systems time to attempt repairing his broken body. Later, the Phalanx Select, Gamora sneaks on board the ship and infects Rider with the Phalanx transmode virus.

Now a slave of the Phalanx, Nova rekindles his affair with Gamora, and spends a brief time as a Phalanx Select. Tasked with killing Rider before the Worldmind falls into enemy hands, Ko-Rel attacks him, only to be killed by Gamora in retaliation. Upon Ko-Rel's death, the remainder of the Nova Force transfers back into Rider's now fully healed body, enabling him to contain his transmode virus infection and break free from Phalanx possession. Fleeing, Nova utilizes the gravity of a nearby neutron star to create a wormhole and escapes. In hot pursuit, Gamora and new Phalanx Select, Drax follow Rider into the wormhole.

Hurled haphazardly through space, Rider finds himself far on the other side of the universe where he discovers Knowhere, a small, self-contained city carved into the massive severed head of a long dead Celestial. Eventually arriving on Kvch, home planet of the Technarchy, Rider is able to enlist the help of the mutant Warlock and his son Tyro, who succeed in completely curing Rider, Drax, and Gamora of the transmode virus before accompanying them back to Hala to engage the Phalanx. Bursting through the Phalanx's recently weakened energy shield, Nova saves Star-Lord's life and aides in the battle against Ultron.

[edit] Powers and abilities

Nova derives his powers from an energy source called the Nova Force, which all Nova Corps Centurions wield. This energy was transferred by Xandarian technology to Rider by the Nova-Centurion Rhomann Dey. Nova's small measure of the Nova Force gives him superhuman powers including flight, superhuman enhanced strength, speed, and durability, as well as the power to absorb energy directed against him and release it as gravimetric pulses and beams, either from specific parts of his body or from his energy body surface.

Nova wears a standard Xandarian StarCorps uniform, designed to accommodate his powers without being damaged by them. The costume is highly resistant to damage, including outer space conditions, and is airtight. The helmet contains a plexiglass-like plate that can be lowered to cover the lower face by cybernetic command, thereby making the helmet airtight; the helmet is connected to an oxygen supply concealed within the uniform. In addition, the uniform has a built-in life support function that can sustain Rider under the most extreme environmental conditions, including acting as a space suit by locking off the mouth and eyes of the helmet. The helmet contains radio circuitry enabling Nova to pick up radio transmissions, monitor transmissions, telescopic sights, night vision sensors, and heat imaging sensors, as well as overlay a visual heads-up display for tracking energy signatures. Nova's helmet has a rigid construction and shape when worn, but becomes as malleable as cloth when it is not, allowing Rider to hide it in his civilian clothes when desired.

Rider can also alter the appearance and nature of his uniform to suit his needs. However, as Rider learns the hard way, the StarCorps keeps a strict dress code. When he makes major cosmetic changes to his uniform after rejoining the New Warriors, Nova is summarily ordered to conform to standard.

Nova's uniform is not only extremely malleable; it is also designed with specific weapons and functions to aid Rider in his role as a Nova Corps Centurion. Among these features are an electromagnetic discharge that can nullify gravity and access to StarGates that allow him to enter hyperspace, where he can move at velocities exceeding the speed of light.

Nova is a good hand-to-hand combatant, and has been coached by Chord.

During Annihilation, Rider's uniform is altered and enhanced to house the Xandarian Worldmind and aid him in containing the Nova Force. As host to the entire Nova Force, which was previously used to empower all members of the Nova Corps throughout the universe, Rider is now possessed of tremendously augmented strength and durability as well as near limitless quantities of energy.

In addition to the Nova Force, Rider's body currently houses the Worldmind, the entire culture and history of the Xandarian culture as well as the individual minds of thousands of years of dead Xandarians. The consensus voice of the Worldmind can speak directly to Rider, and has demonstrated the following capabilities:

• Downloads profiles of opponents directly into Rider's mind^[25]
• Detects nearby energy surges, including those used in teleportation^[25]
• Can assume control of Rider's body as he sleeps^[26]
• Access other computer systems, including heavily-protected terrestrial computer networks (such as S.H.I.E.L.D. records)^[26]
• Analyze attackers, including detecting adrenaline surges in their bodies^[27]
• Detects approaching superhumans with energy-based powers (like Penance)^[27]
• Enables Rider to hack into satellite TV broadcasts, and transmit his voice and image to individual TV sets^[27]
• Can protect Rider from psionic manipulation using Psi-sheilds^[28]

[edit] Other versions

[edit] Earth X

In the alternate future of Earth X, Nova resides in the afterlife. He and two other deceased heroes, Ms. Marvel and Star-Lord, lead an initial charge against Mephisto, whose plans involve the death of all living beings. They are swiftly defeated, though the remaining heroes later make another attempt.

[edit] Marvel Zombies

Nova is featured in the Marvel Zombies one shot Dead Days. Unable to overcome his fear and horror of the slaughter occurring around him, he fails to act in his own defense when Spider-Man attacks him. Fortunately for Nova, Daredevil intervenes, but is bitten when Nova is too shocked to assist. He and The Mighty Thor are rescued by the Fantastic Four and united with the other surviving heroes on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. Nova panics further when Nick Fury formulates a desperate last stand defense, citing that this was nothing like previous global threats; and that the world was as good as dead. Regardless, Nova helps in the battle until he is bitten by Ms. Marvel. As a zombie, he participates in a failed attack on Doctor Doom's castle, in an effort to get at the humans inside. A zombie version of Nova can be seen in the Marvel Zombies limited series, being shredded by a hail of metal fragments hurled by Magneto.

He is still mobile when a swarm of zombies attack and attempt to consume the Silver Surfer. During the incident, Zombie Hulk crushes Zombie Hercules when the latter attempts to steal the Silver Surfer's head. Nova backs away, saying "On second thought, you keep that, big guy". He is later killed by the cosmic zombies.

[edit] MC2

Richard Rider appears frequently in the Spider-Girl series, which is set in an alternate future. The MC2 Nova (co-created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz) first appeared in Spider-Girl #7 and wrongly believed Spider-Girl was a super-villain since she was fighting Darkdevil at the time. After a brief battle, Nova would later realize his mistake.

Over time, the MC2 Nova has attempted to tutor and lecture Spider-Girl on the importance of being a super-hero. However, his arrogance and lack of patience with younger heroes causes his lessons to be largely ignored. However, the fact that Nova was a founding member of the New Warriors gave Spider-Girl the inspiration to form a new MC2 version of the Warriors.

By the time of the series, Nova has served as a temporary Avenger. He also appears in the Last Hero Standing and within the Avengers Next limited series. Nova also assisted in the battle against Galactus in Last Planet Standing. The Nova in the MC2/Spider-Girl future is eventually confirmed to be Richard Rider in Avengers Next #2. His attitude toward Spider-Girl is often arrogant and dismissive, bordering on the contemptuous; but later he becomes impressed toward her, after her surviving a battle against the Avengers' enemy Seth.

The MC2 Nova uniform closely resembles the original Centurion Nova Prime uniform worn by Rhomann Dey (the Xandarian who gave Rich Rider his powers) and worn by Rider during Nova's first and third series. The only difference is the original three starburst configuration has been changed into a single large starburst. The single starburst is similar to the starburst on the back of the original Nova uniform.

The MC2 Nova has his headquarters located onboard the Nova Prime Starship. The starship resembles the ship used by Rhomann Dey to pursue Xandar's destroyer, Zorr, to Earth and later used by Nova to fight the Skrulls during the Skrull/Xandar War. Whether this is the same starship as Dey's or a new one based on the original design is unknown. The MC2 Rich Rider uses the Nova Prime Starship to monitor Earthbound threats from space.

[edit] Sphinx

Nova appears as a member of a team of Avengers from a parallel reality where the Middle East is the dominant super power. He serves the ruler of this dimension, the tyrannical female Sphinx and kills in her name.^[29]

[edit] Bibliography

• The Man Called Nova (vol. 1) #1-25 (September, 1976 - May, 1979)
• New Warriors (vol. 1) #1-75, Annual #1-4 (July, 1990 — September, 1996)
• Nova (vol. 2) #1-18 (January, 1994 - June, 1995)
• Nova, The Human Rocket (vol. 3) #1-7 (May, 1999 - November, 1999)
• New Warriors (vol. 2) #0-10 (October, 1999 — July, 2000)
• New Warriors (vol. 3) #1-6 (July, 2005 - December, 2005)
• Annihilation: Prologue #1 (May, 2006)
• Annihilation: Nova #1-4 (June, 2006 — September, 2006)
• Annihilation #1-6 (October, 2006 — March, 2007)
• Nova (vol. 4) #1-current (April, 2007 - current)

[edit] Collections

Trade paperbacks include:

• Essential Nova (collects Nova (1976-1979) #1-25, Marvel Two-In-One Annual #3, The Amazing Spider-Man #171, Essential Marvel, March 2006, ISBN 0-7851-2093-9)

• The New Warriors: Beginnings (collects Thor #411-412 and The New Warriors #1-4, September 1992, ISBN 0-8713-5916-2)

• Nova (by co-authors Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, 2007-ongoing):
  • Annihilation - Conquest (with pencils by Sean Chen and inks by Scott Hanna, collects Nova #1-7, 168 pages, December 2007, ISBN 0-7851-2631-7)
  • Knowhere (with pencils by Wellington Alves and inks by Wellington Diaz and Nelson Pereira, collects Nova #8-12 and Annual #1, 144 pages, August 2008, ISBN 0-7851-2632-5)

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Richard Rider at the Marvel Database Project
• Nova Prime Page (Rich Rider)
• http://www.marvel.com/universe/Nova_%28Richard_Rider%29