Comic Book / Nova (2007)

You're really not the Nova we knew, are you?

—Iron Man

Nova volume 4 is a comic series produced by Marvel Comics, co-written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning.

In the aftermath of Annihilation, Richard Rider is the last of the Nova Corps. With the assistance of the Xandarian Worldmind, Richard must try and protect the universe all by his lonesome. But the burden of all that power may well be too much for one man to bear.

The series ran for 38 issues and one annual, before being concluded with The Thanos Imperative in 2010.

Tropes:

• Aborted Arc: During the events of War of Kings, Centurion Prime Tarcel is abducted and tortured by the Shi'ar. In his cell, he's visited by someone who claims his cries drew him in... and it's Garthan Saal. As in the insane Garthan Saal, exhibit A on why too much Nova Force is bad, and more importantly kind of dead Garthan Saal. And then neither of them are heard from again.
• Accidental Murder: Rich is attacked by one of the Luminals, and zaps her with the Nova Force, causing her to explode. Making it worse, he was zapping her with the lowest amount of power he could manage.
• Alien Blood: Discussed in issue 9, when Rich finds some blood on the walls of Knowhere. Worldmind doesn't identify it as blood, but Rich points out alien blood is still blood.
• And the Adventure Continues: The series ends with Rich chasing after an evil alternate version of Quasar, who is heading toward Kree space, while receiving several distress calls from Kree space. He informs Worldmind to tell them he is responding, leading right into the opening issue of The Thanos Imperative.
• Arc Welding: The Secret Invasion tie-in features an appearance from a Dr. Evelyn Necker, who's been working on some Death's Head units Project PEGASUS acquired during World War Hulk, as part of her "Minion" project. Dr. Necker and Minion being part of the backstory of Abnett and Lanning's Death's Head II, tying the Death's Head 3.0 to its precursor.
• Back from the Dead:
  • Quasar, who'd died in Annihilation: Nova, gets resurrected in the Secret Invasion tie-in.
  • Namorita, killed off in Civil War, comes back from the dead in the final few issues, thanks to a bit of Tricked Out Time.
• Badass Boast: In issue 2, Rich is talking with Iron Man, just off Civil War and being more than a little dismissive of the Annihilation War, which Earth didn't notice.
  Iron Man: You say Annihilus was the driving force? What happened to him?
  Rich: I tore him inside out to save the universe. What have you done lately?
• Boom, Headshot!: Rich saves a handful of rookies from Warstar of the Imperial Guard by blowing their heads off.
• Brick Joke: Back in Annihilation: Nova, Rich and Quasar got into a discussion about what the right name would be if he turned evil and / or insane. Rich brings it up while fighting Quasar's evil alternate counterpart in the final issue.
• Catchphrase:
  • Rich's use of "Blue Blazes" whenever in trouble.
  • "It is critical you pay attention to me at this time." The Worldmind uses this on Rich. As can be imagine, it uses it a lot.
• Category Traitor: Malik Tarcel is a Shi'ar in the Nova Corps. He gets captured during the War of Kings, and gets some serious scorn from the Imperial Guard loyalists for being a Shi'ar working against the empire.
• Character Witness: During War of Kings, Rich's attempt to rescue a band of Nova Corps recruits in a combat zone gets him shot at by the local Kree and Inhuman forces, who are feeling territorial and don't give a damn that the people they're shooting at clearly aren't Kree. Only the intervention of Ra-Venn, who Rich met in Annihilation: Conquest, gets them to stand down.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: Rich's problem at the beginning of the series is he is determined to answer every back-call the Nova Corps registered during the Annihilation Wave, on his own, without stopping for breath. It takes nearly flying into a black hole to convince him to slow down a little.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: The series ends with the Nova Corps consisting of Rich, an old veteran, and a handful of rookies. Then The Thanos Imperative happens. After that, the other Novas just vanish, and aside from Robbie haven't been heard from since.
• Clingy Costume: In issues 2 and 3, while Rich is advised to keep a low profile while on Earth, taking off the uniform is not an option, thanks to a variety of bugs the suit is keeping contained.
• Conflict Ball: Richard gets into a fight with the Silver Surfer in issue 13, despite not wanting to (not least because the Silver outclasses him immensely). It's only when they're out of Galactus's sight that Norinn stops and says he was just doing it to keep up appearances in front of the boss.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: The Serpent Society versus Rich and the new Nova Corps recruits. Total time between engagement and the Society's utter defeat? About 1.16 seconds (and that's because Fraktur wanted to show off).
• Deadpan Snarker:
  • Rich, often.
  • The Worldmind is more deadpan, but given it's having to deal with Rich, no surprise. After the change in personality, Worldmind's sass output increases dramatically.
• Death Is Cheap: Warlock (of the New Mutants) sacrifices his life to purge Richard of the transmode virus, but thanks to Tyro getting an upgrade, he's soon back on his feet.
• Depower: When the situation between Rich and Worldmind reaches breaking point, the Worldmind takes back the Nova Force from Rich by force. Then it turns out without the Nova Force, Rich is dying.
• Discard and Draw: Following on from aforementioned depowering, Rich is given the Quantum Bands by Quasar (their previous wielder, Phyla-Vell, having lost them due to a temporary case of death). He only keeps them for about an issue.
• Developing Doomed Characters: Issue 5 introduces Ko-Rel and her crew, who were stranded on a remote planet during the Annihilation War. They're all dead by the end of issue 6, and Ko-Rel only lasts an issue longer.
• Exact Words: Blastaar agrees to give Rich a fifteen minute lead to go inside Ravenous's fortress to find his brother before he sends his own troops in. Some of Vulcan's goons complain, but Blastaar notes they're not his troops, so they get fifteen minutes too.
• Fighting from the Inside: While turned into a Phalanx, part of the Nova Force is sealed off inside Rich, along with a bit of Rich's mind, and helps him break free from their control.
• Foreshadowing: In issue 2, one scene establishes that Worldmind can operate Rich's body while he sleeps, much to Mr. Rider's extreme upset. Many issues down the line, it turns out this wasn't a one time thing, and Worldmind was busy...
• From Bad to Worse: The situation with a spaceship emerging out of the Fault when Monark Starkiller sabotages Worldmind, causing Ego's regeneration to speed up. Then Centurion Philo reveals the gangsters after their boss he's dealing with are none other than Mindless Ones.
• Game Face: When possessed by the agents of the Many-Angled Ones, the staff at Project: P.E.G.A.S.U.S. look totally normal... until they're rumbled, at which point they suddenly develop red eyes, prolonged tounges and start going "f'taghn". The evil Quasar goes further, with his skin turning blue.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Robbie Rider is a mix of this, The Resenter and I Just Want to Be You, thanks to winding up in a backroom job at Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. while his brother has become a big-time space hero. So when Worldmind offers him a chance to become a Nova, he jumps at it.
• Heroic RRoD: Quasar helps fight off the Skrull attack on Project: P.E.G.A.S.U.S. with his new powers, but the expenditure knocks him for a loop for several issues.
• Homeworld Evacuation: Richard spends issues 13-15 helping an alien species evacuate from its homeworld as it's being devoured by Galactus. The task is made more complicated by the presence of Harrow, a sadistic Spree Killer who's out to kill as many of the evacuees as possible.
• How Do I Shot Web?: Rich has some trouble with wielding the Quantum Bands because they're an entirely different beast from the Nova Force, being an Imagination-Based Superpower.
• It's a Long Story: Cosmo's only explanation for how he wound up at Knowhere and became its head of security. We never do hear how.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: Facing Blastaar, who would rather kill the perps Rich has taken in, Rich suggests he could let them all go as a show of kingly benevolence, or Rich could do to him what he did to Annihilus (rip him inside out). After a moment's pause, Blastaar agrees to let them all go.
• Let's You and Him Fight: Rich is attacked by Darkhawk because there's a Skrull invasion, and Darkhawk's already had to fight off several Skrulls that day disguised as other heroes (and, uh, Dick Cheney). Not to mention Chris's powers make him pretty belligerant anyhow. It takes Robbie Rider's intervention to get them to stop, with a bit of Lampshade Hanging from the younger Rider.
• Lotus-Eater Machine: The annual has Rich experiencing an altered version of his origin, where there's Phalanx several years before they supposedly existed, and a Bad Future where they've taken over Earth and he's leading a rebuilt Corps to finish them. It turns out it's the Transmode Virus making one last effort to kill him by trapping him in an illusion.
• Moment Killer: After Rich saves Dr. Necker from a case of parasitic infestation, Worldmind butts in to remind him it's maybe not a good idea to flirt with someone who works for a known terrorist organization, and especially not when he's already got a girlfriend.
• Mood Whiplash:
  • The pretty dark issue 10 has a moment where Rich runs through a mysterious, abandoned space station, finds one person who promptly turns into a zombie and attacks him, and is then attacked by her teammates in return. As Rich sits there trying to take stock, he's approached by... a dog in a spacesuit, who then starts "speaking" at him with telepathy.
  • After defeating Ego, Worldmind admits its present personality is too compromised to continue in use. It and Rich exchange goodbyes... and then the newly rebooted Worldmind with Ko-Rel's personality starts sassing at him immediately.
• Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: Dr. Necker starts off working for Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., but after a while turns out to be working as an inside agent for AIM. While she never does anything out and out evil, she insists A.I.M. aren't really "that" bad, and the fact her project is called "Minion" should be a red flag.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: While Rich proves far too stubborn to be controlled, the prolonged period where the Worldmind has access to his bio-data means when it goes insane it's got a good "how-to" guide on controlling humans.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: The Skrulls luring Rich into a trap clues him in to their newest attempt at invading Earth. Had they just left him alone, he never would've known.
• Nothing Is Scarier: Whatever Abyss is, we never see it, just what it can do to people. Even the Worldmind, despite having access to the Luminal's files on it, doesn't seem to know what it truly is.
• Police Brutality: Issue 3 has Rich fight the Thunderbolts, who attack him unprovoked in broad daylight simply for being unregistered. Since Moonstone is leading them at the moment, they are entirely willing to kill Rich and level the neighbourhood just to get him.
• Puppeteer Parasite: Everyone at Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. gets these in the final issue. Dr. Necker explains she was fully conscious, but utterly unable to reason with the creature. Fortunately a few seconds in a containment bubble is enough to kill the things.
• Redshirt Army: Worldmind forcibly recruits several thousand people during the War of Kings, and then dumps them in an intergalactic war with little-to-no training. The predictable soon happens, and a large amount of them are slaughtered by Vulcan's pet psychos. On getting his powers back, Rich's first order of business is getting all the new recruits out of the war and back home.
• Remember When You Blew Up a Sun?: The fact Rich ended Annihilation by turning Annihilus inside out comes up repeatedly.
  Cosmo: I would have gone for the throat, but then I am being dog.
• Rogues' Gallery Transplant: The Realm of Kings issues has Rich having to deal with the Mindless Ones, typically goons for the Dread Dormammu. Rich even lampshades how dealing with magic monsters is a little outside his wheelhouse.
• Run or Die: The only sensible option for dealing with a full-grown adult Technarx, even if Rich wasn't suffering from Phalanx infection. However, since he needs to buy time for Tyro to escape, running isn't really an option.
• Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: Rich solves the Mindless One problem and the Ego-looking-to-kill-everyone problem by dumping the former into the latter's brain. Ego vanishes in a flash of light, which Worldmind speculates was him just deciding the situation was no longer worth the aggravation and bugging out.
• So Last Season: In issue 2, Rich gets into a fight with Diamondhead, previously his main arch-enemy. Since Rich has gotten a boost, the fight is a quick curb-stomp in Rich's favor.
• Sophisticated as Hell:
  • The Worldmind generally uses a calm and measured form of speaking. Issue 10 has it borrowing a phrase from Rich's book on seeing the Rip.
    Worldmind: I believe my "funk" has also been taken to a new level.
  • When Rich uses the Quantum Bands to help summon aspects of the Worldmind which have not gone bug-flark, he winds up with Rhomann Dey and Ko-Rel. Dey is as profession as ever, while Ko-Rel's assessment is more... her.
    Ko-Rel: I'm as mad as a bag of Badoon.
• Summon Everyman Hero: Reconstructed in a speech in the annual, where Rich asks Rhomann Day why he's chosen Rich when he's so ordinary and average. Day responds that this is the point. He is ordinary and average, and that makes him the best recruit the Corps could want.
• Use Your Head: Rich finds himself facing off against Zenith, an insane evil Captain Ersatz of Supergirl, so a Nigh-Invulnerable Flying Brick who could quite easily tear him limb from limb... unless he headbutts her, hitting her with the psionic blocker Nova Corps helmets come with, rendering her powerless just long enough for him to knock her out.
• Villain Override: Worldmind reveals it can take over the body of any Nova Corps officer as it wishes. When Rich tries to save Worldmind from Ego, it takes over the entire Corps at once.
• While You Were in Diapers: Kl'rt says something along these lines to a band of Super-Skrulls he and Rich fight.
• Who's on First?: Rich runs into it on his first visit to Knowhere.
• With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: A fear, going back to Annihilation, is that having the entire Nova Force in him will drive Richard insane, as it did Garthan Saal way back when. In the back half of the run, it turns out while everyone was worried about Rich, they should've been more worried about the Worldmind. Rich is apparently too human to go nuts.
• The Worf Effect: Through War of Kings, Darkhawk had gotten a serious power upgrade, with the reveal he is capable of deflecting shots from the Omega-level mutant Vulcan if he knew how. The final issue has him blasted by Cancerverse Quasar so hard it not only knocks him out, but shifts him back to human.
• You Can't Go Home Again: Rich returns to Earth in issue 2 and 3, but since it's after Civil War he finds himself unnerved by the Registration Act, and on the outs with his parents simply for being associated with the New Warriors. Meeting Penance proves to be the last straw, and he takes off for space again.
• Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: After several issues trying to get to Kvtch, homeworld of the Technarx, Richard does indeed get there, and finds the planet is apparently uninhabited. It isn't, but when he finds a Technarx able to help, they can't.