Marvel, bring Nova (Richard Rider) back!!!

After an excellent comic run, Nova a.k.a. Richard Rider (or Ryder) was banished in an event called The Thanos Imperative along with Star Lord and Thanos. Two of the came back (the ones attached to Marvel Cinematic Universe), but Nova didn’t. Fans have been asking for answers and the next couple of Guardians of the Galaxy issues will answer what happened to Rider (or Ryder).

Richard Rider was introduced in the 70’s but he took the spotlight almost 10 years ago with Annihilation, a comic book event that reshaped Marvel’s comic properties. The success of Annihilation gave green light to a new Nova series and new events for the cosmic characters (Conquest, War of Kings, etc.). It felt like Marvel was really pushing Nova as somewhat an answer to DC’s Green Lantern. He is also one of the characters added for Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3.

"Blue Blazes, I'm popular now!"

After Rider was “retired”, Marvel introduced Sam Alexander, a teenager who took the Nova mantle. He is the son of a former Nova officer but has no connection to Richard Rider. After a somewhat unnecessary appearance in Avengers vs X-Men, Marvel gave Sam an ongoing title. This new Nova also appears in the New Warriors and has team-up with Rocket Raccoon, Ironman and the Uncanny X-Men. Sam appears in the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon series. While Sam it seems is a good character (I haven’t read many stories with him) some people want Richard back since there was no “real” closure to his tenure as Nova. He got trapped in a dimension with 2 other guys who managed to escape and leave him behind.

"Sorry Rich, only movie deals get you out of the Cancerverse"

Is it a good idea to bring back Richard Rider? Yes! He is a great character and there are more stories that can be told with him as a character. Does Sam Alexander have to disappear to bring back the old Nova? No, not by a long shot. The story of a rookie super hero is always interesting, more so if they are kids. They can offer a whole different (and naive) vision of the world than an adult.

"I'm Sam Alexander and I play Kyle Rayner in this mess"

Marvel should look back at how DC solved the Green Lantern mess 10 years ago and allow both versions to co-exist. If the concept establishes that the characters is a member of a group of individuals that have the same power set  (Nova Corp, Green Lantern Corp, etc.), then, it’s OK to have multiple version of that character. They don’t have to interact or step into each other toes. With what has happened to him since Annihilation, Richard Rider is more comfortable in space and teaming up with Silver Surfer of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Sam can face Earth-based crisis with the Avengers and hurry home to finish his homework. Let them team-up once in a while so the reader can appreciate how different they are, even though they have the same powers. Don’t know, just my opinion.