Nova

Nova in 2023

**Richard Rider** was an average, ordinary high school kid, growing up in New York. Right before Rhomann Dey's death at the hands of Thanos, he sent the entire Nova Force's power to a random individual on Earth, taking almost 5 years to arrive. Rider was the lucky person, and was bestowed the power of the Nova Force, becoming **Nova**.

### Origin

In his senior year of high school, Rich Rider's life was forever changed when a blast from a dying member of the Green Lantern Corps-style Nova Corps transferred his powers and uniform to Rich. Using his new powers, Rich became the superhero Nova, meeting the likes of Thor, Spider-Man, the Thing, Nick Fury, and the Defenders in his career.

However, said career was cut short when he willingly gave up his powers to be with his family on Earth....or so he thought. In truth, Rich's powers were dormant, and when fellow founding New Warrior Night Thrasher threw him off a building to test this theory, Rich was back in action as a long time member of the New Warriors.

### Annihilation

Nova briefly travels the US with the reformed New Warriors as part of a reality television show. Rider leaves the group when he is summoned to Xandar alongside the entire Nova Corps, which has been fully mobilized to respond to the Annihilation Wave, a large fleet of insectoid spaceships from the Negative Zone led by Annihilus. The wave decimates Xandar and the corps in a surprise attack. As the only surviving centurion, Rider makes contact with the Xandarian Worldmind, a living supercomputer that regulates the Nova Force and is caretaker of the entire database of Xandarian civilization. The Worldmind uploads itself and the entire Nova Force into Rider, greatly enhancing his abilities. During the Annihilation War, Rider takes command of the United Front, a loose collaboration of soldiers of various races.

In a nearly year-long campaign, Rider resists the Wave's advance across the galaxy until the United Front suffers a swift defeat. He leads a small team into the Wave's conquered territory and eventually engages Annihilus in personal combat, killing him. After the Annihilation War, Rider returns to Earth to rest. Angry that his pleas for help in the Annihilation War were ignored by Earth's superheroes because of a Civil War, after a dramatic meeting with former New Warrios member, and Rider's friend, Penance and feeling out of place on Earth, Rider returns to space.

### Post-Annihilation and War of Kings

Attempting to aid the Kree against an invasion from the Phalanx , Rider is wounded and crash lands on a sparsely populated Kree outpost. While Rider's unconscious body recovers, Worldmind deputizes a local Kree commander, Ko-Rel, to guard him. Rider is infected by the Phalanx and joins the Phalanx. Now tasked with killing Rider before the Worldmind falls into enemy hands, Ko-Rel attacks him, only to be killed by Gamora in retaliation. Upon her death, her fraction of the Nova force returns to Rider and enables him to overcome the transmode virus. He flees Kree space pursued by Gamora and a Phalanx-controlled Drax. Seeking a cure for the transmode virus, Rider eventually arrives on Kvch, home planet of the Technarchy. Rider enlists the help of the mutant Warlock and his son Tyro, who cure Rider, Drax, and Gamora of the transmode virus. The five return to Hala to engage Ultron and the Phalanx.

When ambushed by Skrulls during the Secret Invasion storyline, Rider is aided by Kl'rt. He learns about the Secret Invasion and heads for Earth. Rider learns that , the base where his brother now works, is under Skrull attack. Working with Darkhawk , Rider successfully stops the Skrulls' advance. The scientists of the facility extract the Worldmind from his brain and use the supercomputer to jump-start a project known as the quantum flask, which restores Quasar to life. A Skrull warship is about to attack Project Pegasus but is destroyed by a band of alien Nova Centurions who then declare their allegiance to Rider.

Rider learns that Worldmind has been recruiting for the Corps without telling him. When he learns that Ego the Living Planet is among the new recruits, he becomes enraged and tries to battle Worldmind. As a result, he is stripped of his rank and ejected from the Nova Corps. Because his body has become dependent on the Nova Force, Rider will die if he is without it for too long. As a temporary measure, he borrows the quantum bands from Wendell Vaughn and becomes Quasar. Using his new abilities, Rider rescues the Corps from the Shi'ar Imperial Guard. Ego is removed as a Centurion and Rider regains his Nova Prime status, but not before most of the new recruits are slaughtered by the Imperial Guard. Nova agrees to train the remaining new Centurions, including his younger brother Robert.

### Realm of Kings and Thanos Imperative

A lost Nova Corps ship appears from a tear in space-time known as the Fault. Onboard is Zan Philo, a long-missing Nova centurion who is assigned to train the new recruits. Later, Rider and Darkhawk find themselves inside the Fault, where they are called to do battle for the Sphinx against his younger self. Because of the unstable timestream inside the Fault, Nova is able to return with Namorita , his old girlfriend and fellow New Warrior who had died a few years earlier. Rider returns to Project Pegasus, where he confronts an alternate Quasar who originates from the Cancerverse, a universe within the Fault.

Catching up to the alternate Quasar , Rider returns to the Fault to see the Universal Church of Truth rip it wide open. Assisted by others, he confronts Lord Mar-Vell, the evil alternate version of Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) , but cannot stop him. Entering the Fault to assist the Guardians of the Galaxy, Rider and the Guardians watch Thanos destroy Mar-Vell. Now facing an enraged Thanos, Rider pulls the Nova Force from the rest of the Corps for extra strength. He and Star-Lord are able to hold Thanos back for the few minutes it takes for the Fault to close, trapping all three of them in the Cancerverse. The two heroes continue to fight Thanos for a Cosmic Cube which has the power to send them home. Rider charges the Cube with the Nova Force to create a doorway for Star-Lord, intending to remain behind and keep Thanos from escaping too. Star-Lord escapes, but Rider is unable to prevent Thanos from escaping as well. Because no one is immediately aware Star-Lord survived, Nova and Star-Lord receive a statue in their honor on Hala.

### The return

The latest Nova, Sam Alexander , locates the Xandarian Worldmind. Rider's consciousness awakens within the Worldmind during the encounter. Through circumstances as yet unrevealed, Rider returns to life, travels to Earth to visit his mother, and learns that his father has died. He teams with Alexander, but odd occurrences suggest that he is still linked to and influenced by the Cancerverse.

## Powers and Abilities

Richard Rider is the host of the Nova Force, a vast energy source that he can access to grant himself a number of superhuman attributes. As host to the entire Nova Force, Rider is now possessed of tremendously augmented strength and durability as well as enormous quantities of energy that allows him to hold his own against other powerful beings.

* **Superhuman Strength:** Rider is able to channel the Nova Force for the purpose of increasing his physical strength to vast levels. While the full extent of his strength level is not known, he is listed well above the class 100 limit. The Nova Force grants Rider sufficient strength and power to engage and even stalemate powerful foes in combat. He has even stated that his best shot can destroy everything within 3 miles. He was even capable of going blow for blow with powerful warlord himself in combat.
* **Superhuman Speed:** By channeling the Nova Force properly, Rider can grant himself the ability to run and move at speeds that are beyond the physical limits of the finest human athlete. While the upper limit of his running speed is not known, he can at least run several hundred miles an hour. He can move at speeds faster than light.
* **Superhuman Stamina:** Due to the Nova Force's augmentation of his musculature, Rider's muscles produce considerably less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of a normal human. While the full limits of his stamina are unknown, he is able to exert himself physically for at least 24 hours before fatigue toxins impair him.
* **Superhuman Accuracy:** With the Xandarian Worldmind's help, Nova can shoot beams of energy with an accuracy of millimeters.
* **Superhuman Durability:** Rider's body is highly resistant to all forms of conventional physical injury. He can withstand high caliber bullets, falls from tremendous heights, exposure to extremes in both temperature and pressure, powerful energy blasts, acidic corrosives, and tremendous impact forces without sustaining injury. While employing the Nova Force, Rider can easily withstand the rigors of deep space indefinitely.
* **Superhuman Agility:** Rider's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are enhanced to levels that are far beyond the physical limits of the finest human athlete.
* **Superhuman Reflexes:** Rider's reflexes are similarly enhanced and are far superior to those of the finest human athlete.
* **Regenerative Healing Factor:** In spite of his great physical resilience, it is possible for him to sustain injury. On the rare occasion that Rider is injured he can purposely channel the Nova Force to rapidly heal damaged bodily tissues.
* **Flight:** Rider can use the Nova Force to propel himself through the air at tremendous speeds. Nova is fully capable of achieving faster than light velocities and possibly enter and traverse hyperspace, of which Rider often does, while traveling through space. However, moving as such speeds while in the atmosphere of a planet would cause devastation to the planet itself, so he travels much slower while on within a planetary atmosphere, generally at supersonic speeds.
* **Energy Generation:** Rider can channel the Nova Force and expel the energy in the form of extremely powerful concussive blasts that he often uses in combat situations.
* **Xandarian Worldmind:** Aside from housing the Nova Force, Rider is also the host of the Xandarian Worldmind. The Worldmind is a sentient collective created to govern and maintain all forms of Xandarian culture. The Worldmind contains all knowledge collected by the Xandarian people including art, science, history, and philosophy. Rider can access any aspect of this technology by communicating with the Worldmind verbally or mentally. As a result, The Worldmind often contacts Rider unbidden and usually offers advice, instructions, insights, recommendations, and even criticisms. Rider's bond with the Worldmind is highly useful, however, also in the fact that the Worldmind is crucial in helping Rider maintain self control when tapping into the full might of the Nova Force.