NOVA

 

NOVA

Real Name: Richard Rider

First Appearance: Nova (Vol. 1) #1, September 1976

Powers: The Man Called Nova was originally a baseline human named Richard Rider. He received his powers from Rhomann Dey, a Centurion Prime in the Xandarian Nova Corps. Dey was dying from injuries suffered in battle, and transferred his powers to Rider so that he would carry on in his place. Rich thus gained the powers and costume of the highest ranking and most powerful Corpsman Xandar there was. He developed roughly Superhuman Class 20 strength, superhuman endurance, reflexes, and durability, and the power to fly at the speed of sound. Nova's costume was composed of Xandarian materials, and his bucket-like helmet converted into a cloth-like consistency once removed, making it easier to conceal and store. When in action, the helmet had telescopic and infrared lenses, and could tap into nearby radio transmissions. It also had a retractable face shield that automatically slid into place to cover the exposed lower half of his face whenever he went into space or underwater, providing him with over 30 minutes of breathable oxygen. Nova lost his powers, regained them, and reconnected with Xandar to gain greater control over his powers and the malleable properties of his costume. Nova apparently increased in strength, speed and durability at this point, as well as gaining access to his gravimetric pulse, a beam of directed force projected from his eyes. He could absorb various forms of energy on contact in order to power and enhanced the pulse's energy. Nova's costume now came with a number of new features. Utilizing its tesseract release function, Nova could instantly switch between civilian clothes and his costume at will. Its malleable nature allowed the new costume to close up around his face completely instead of using the face shield. It also included universal translation abilities, the ability to store and replay audio files, sensory scans capable of analyzing energy to determine if it was compatible for absorption, and navigation sensors including an array of star charts and "landmarks" in space enabling him to navigate while traveling from planet to planet.

Nova's powers were dramatically enhanced as he now houses the Xandarian Worldmind and the entire Nova Force in his body. His strength now reaches Class 100, he can achieve at least 0.8 light-speed under his own power, possesses extra-ordinarily enhanced durability, and more. His capacity for absorbing energy signatures has been increased, and he can now redirect and manipulate the gravimetric forces his body produces at enormous levels. He can also open stargates at will, allowing himself and others to cross light-years of space in a matter of minutes. The Worldmind is tapped directly into his brain, enabling it to speak to Nova mentally. The Worldmind contains a vast storehouse of information, the entire accumulated knowledge of the Xandarian people. It can provide Nova with any of its archival data, and has advanced scanning abilities allowing it to accumulate new information from its environment. It can perform planet-wide scans for lifeforms and energy signatures, sensing all kinds of activity in Nova's vicinity in all directions. The Worldmind works to constantly supplement Nova's control of his massively augmented powers, and he often relies on it to mechanically guide the Nova Force. The Worldmind can modify the proportionate percentages of Nova energy Rich dedicates to flight, defensive shields, or offensive generation, distributing his energy resources as best fits the situation. It can also control the intensity and shape of the gravimetric discharges Nova creates: A passive photon burn merely creates illumination, phased pulses act as solid battering force, a collimated beam has penetrative properties, a radiative field aura repulses matter in an expanding bubble around his person, etc. Furthermore, the Worldmind is capable of upgrading Nova's sensory capabilities. It can accelerate his vision telescopically, project images and information onto the inside of his helmet, including targeting sights painted on targets, and can tap directly into his nervous system to feed him information subliminally. In this manner, Nova intuitively "senses" and reacts to all the proximity and energy signature data the Worldmind is constantly scanning for, recognizing and avoiding attacks far faster than if the Worldmind had to verbalize a warning for him. Finally, the Worldmind can stimulate various physical functions in Nova's body. It can boost his adrenaline, dull pain, stimulate the release of endorphines, and even utilize massive heal and repair subroutines, giving Nova a mechanically-derived healing factor equal to or better than Wolverine's in scope, although it takes him much longer than Logan to fully recover.

A longtime weightlifter, Rider is a capable unarmed combatant coached in fighting techniques by the Nova Corps, Andrew Chord, Night Thrasher (Dwayne Taylor), and Drax. He has also accumulated considerable military combat and strategy experience during the Xandar-Skrull war and the Annihilation Wave conflict, and has matured into a confident leader over time. He has some experience as a starship pilot, notably the Nova Corps vessels.