Nova Facts

Are you a fan of The Human Rocket? Well, we got One Dozen Nova Facts!

1. Unlike most Marvel superheroes from his era, Richard Rider became a superhero when he was a teenager. And unlike most superheroes, Rider was allowed to age into an adult. Fittingly, his successor Sam Alexander is also a teenage superhero.

2. Rider and Alexander are part of a galactic police department called The Nova Corps. Unlike their DC Comic's counterparts-The Green Lantern Corps-The Nova Corps work under a rank system. From least ranked to highest ranked it goes: Corpsmen, Millennians, Denarians, and Centurions. Above all four also include The Syfon Warriors who have the special ability of draining and redicting energy. And at the highest position is Nova Prime, the strongest Nova member. Richard Rider has held the title of Nova Prime.

3. The Nova Corps members gain powers by wearing their signature helmets which materialize their costumes and give them powers. Their powers come from The Nova Force-a collection of living computers on planet Xandar. These powers include super strength and durability, flight, universal communication, breathing underwater and in space, energy projection, telekinesis, and enough speed to fly through solid metal. The amount of power you gain from The Nova Force depends on your ranking. Corpsmen may have the non-violent abilities, Denarians are the first rank that can fly, and The Nova Prime has full access to The Nova Force.

4. The reason Sam Alexander's helmet is black instead of being gold is because his father was a Centurion, but a "dirty" one. His dad was part of a unit of Novas who were corrupt equal to that of corrupt police officers. As such, their unit wore black helmets. In "Ultimate Spider-Man" the TV show, Sam Alexander is Nova, part of Spider-Man's supporting cast, and wears a standard Nova helmet.

5. Despite Gamora's relationship with Star-Lord in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in the Marvel Comics Universe she and Richard Rider have a long-standing romantic relationship.

6. One of Nova's creators Marv Wolfman sued Marvel in 1997 for ownership of characters he's created for the company including Nova, Blade, and others. He lost the case in 2000.

7. Richard Rider was a founding member of the New Warriors in 1989 under the name "Kid Nova" alongside Speedball, Firestar, Justice, Night Thrasher, and Namorita. He left the team shortly before The New Warriors starred in a reality TV show and accidently caused Marvel's Civil War by causing civilians to die in a battle. Rider has also been a member of The Defenders and The Secret Avengers. His successor Sam was a founding member of the most recent New Warriors team as well as the newest version of The Champions and the Avengers for a short time.

8. During "Civil War", Richard was a main player in the cosmic event "Annihilation" in which the ruler of The Negative Zone, Annihilus, sent an armada of war ships across the galaxy. It was this event that sparked Rider's relationship with Gamora, and also created the modern version of The Guardians of The Galaxy.

9. Ego The Living Planet once used brainwashing to fool The Nova Corps into letting him join and use the Nova Force. Rider was unaffected and protested about it only to be stripped of his rank and thrown out. Rider borrowed The Quantum Bands from Wendell Vaughn/Quasar and became Quasar for a short time. He teleported beings known as The Mindless Ones inside of Ego, causing him great psychic pain. Ego retreated and Rider was given his ranking back.

10. One of Richard Rider's closest allies is Cosmo The Spacedog. Cosmo was a Russian dog sent into space as part of a program, but he got lost and became a space explorer. Due to cosmic rays Cosmo gained higher intelligence and multiple psychic abilities. He has helped Nova on multiple occasions and has been a member of The Guardians of The Galaxy.

11. In Issue #15 of "What If?", we see four what if stories where a homeless man, a young widow, a criminal, and Peter Parker become Nova. During "Secret Wars" in 2015, there was a miniseries called "Infinity Gauntlet" where we see a version of Xander that is a wasteland failed by The Nova Corps. A family of four and their pet dog become a team of Novas and secure the Infinity Gems from Thanos.

12. Richard Rider was also a key member of the event "The Thanos Imperative" in which Nova, The Silver Surfer, The Guardians of The Galaxy and others discover "The Cancerverse".In this reality, Death has no presence so life spread throughout the galaxy without cease. This overpopulation leads to the reality's ruler-an alternate version of Captain Marvel-to spread his realities' plague throughout all universes so that no universe would fear death. By the end, Richard is kept within the Cancerverse which is near to destruction, only to escape in 2017.

Thanks for reading.