Facts about Nova:
Guardians of The Galaxy has paved the way for Marvel to introduce more frontline superheroes working in an Inter-Galactic field and the biggest and the most anticipated hero among all of them is Nova. Fans cannot wait to see him make his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut and as things are shaping up, he’ll definitely show up in the upcoming phases of the MCU.
#1: Creation and Debut
Nova or Richard Rider was created back in 1966 by the writer Marv Wolfman in issue #3 of his Fanzine: Super Adventures. At that time the character was known as The Star. After that Wolfman tied up with Marvel and the character became Nova. Nova debuted in The Man Called Nova #1 in 1976 under Marvel Comics.
#2: Origin and History
When the last surviving member of the planet Xandar’s elite Nova Corps, Rhomann Dey, was living his last moments, he selected a New York High School student named Richard Rider to replace him. Rider was given the uniform and powers of the Nova Centurion. Doesn’t this origin story seems a bit familiar?
#3: Nova is super powerful
Nova is not just another superhero, he’s the real deal. He has the ability of flight, superhuman strength, speed, and durability. He is an expert hand to hand combatant. He has the possession (via download) of the Xandarian Worldmind, which allows him near infinite control over the Nova Force granting energy projection and absorption. He even has the ability to exert influence over gravitational forces and he can open wormholes.
#4: His uniform is a dream come true for any superhero
Nova has the standard Xandarian Star Corps uniform, designed to accommodate his powers without being damaged by them. The uniform is highly resistant to damage, including outer space conditions, and it is airtight. Also, the uniform has a built-in life support function that can sustain Rider under the most extreme environmental conditions, including acting as a life-support suit by locking off the mouth and eyes of the helmet.
#5: He once Sacrificed his life to defeat Thanos
During the Cancerverse storyline, Nova and fellow Avengers had a run-in with the Big Bad Thanos. Death was not even a concept in The Cancerverse until Thanos arrived and he doomed the entire Universe by bringing Death. In order to prevent Thanos from escaping the doomed reality before it collapsed, Nova, along with Star-Lord, sacrificed their lives and succeeded in stopping Thanos.
#6: Dead, but not really
At this point, the concept of death in the comic books is just a farce as the writers always find a way to bring back the character and that is exactly what happened with Nova. Turns out, after sacrificing his life to save the world, Rider’s consciousness awakened within the Worldmind. It was later revealed that Rider and the Worldmind survived and were stuck in the Cancerverse.
#7: Last Surviving member of Nova Corps
Richard Rider became the last surviving member of the Nova Corps after the Annihilation wave destroyed the planet Xandar. After these events transpired, Rider had to absorb all of the power of the Nova Corps into his body and although it did make him more powerful, it also made him the only surviving member of Nova Corps.
#8: Commander of the United Front in the Annihilation War
Nova became the commander of the United army, a loose collaboration of soldiers, during the Annihilation War. Nova, along with his army managed to withstand the first wave, which was a big thing, but they were quickly defeated when the next wave came. Nova took a different approach after that, he infiltrated the territory conquered by the enemy and took out their leader, Annihilus, in personal combat.
#9: Member of The New Warriors
Nova is one of the original members of the New Warriors and he has been a prominent member of the group for a very long time. It would be interesting to see if The New Warriors make their Marvel Cinematic Debut soon.
#10: Regarded as a Green Lantern Rip-off
Some of you might have picked it up by now that there are a lot of similarities between Nova and DC’s Green Lantern. Fans have accused Nova to be a Green Lantern rip-off since the beginning, as both the characters are cocky, a dying alien gives them their powers and both are part of an Intergalactic Super-group.
