NovaII

Real Name: Richard Rider

Powers: Rider’s physical abilities are heightened to superhuman levels, especially his strength and durability. He can fly at supersonic speeds under his own power, and he wears a costume that is resistant to the adverse effects of high-speed flight. The suit is even practical for use in outer space since the helmet can be sealed off and is connected to an internal air supply. Nova’s helmet also contains a radio set and a variety of vision enhancement devices such as telescopic sights, night vision lenses and heat imaging sensors. In addition to enhancing his existing abilities, this increased understanding has given him a new power: the ability to generate an explosive, omnidrectional release of energy, akin to a human nova burst.

History: Richard "Rich" Rider was an ordinary high school student until a dying alien conferred the costume and powers of Nova upon him. As Nova, Rich became a fairly prominent costumed crimefighter, and at one point briefly joined the super hero team Defenders.

Years later, Rider departed on an extended outer space quest that brought him into contact with the Xandarians, the alien race who were the source of his powers. The Xandarians maintained a super-powered police force known as the Nova Corps, and it was a dying member of the Nova Corps who had passed his powers on to Rider. Feeling responsible, Nova stayed on Xandar for an extended period as a member of the Champions of Xandar super-team, helping to defend Xandar from threats such as the hostile Skrull Empire. When the hero team Champions and spaceknight Rom joined the Nova Corps and the Xandarians in finally beating back the Skrulls, Nova decided to return to Earth but was told he could not retain his powers if he left since Xandar needed all the Nova Corps members it could muster to maintain its defenses. The homesick Rider regretfully accepted these terms and returned to Earth powerless, determined to rebuild a normal life for himself.

Unfortunately, normal life was not kind to Rider. His friends had all graduated from high school and gone on to other things while he was in outer space, and Rider, never a very good student, quickly became frustrated with being so far behind. He dropped out of high school, wasting his time on dead-end jobs and brooding over the loss of his super-powers, until the vigilante adventurer Dwayne Taylor, alias Night-Thrasher, approached him. Taylor was assembling a group of superheroes and invited Rider to join after showing him how to restore his superhuman powers. Grateful for the restoration of his powers, Rider agreed to join Taylor’s new team despite his instinctive dislike for the other crimefighter’s unapologetically arrogant, overbearing attitude (their relationship got off to a rocky start when Taylor, who had correctly deduced that a major jolt of adrenaline would restore Rider’s powers, dropped Rider off a tall building to force his powers to reactivate). As Nova, Rider became a founding member of Taylor’s new team, the New Warriors. When Nova’s old foe the Sphinx forced him into a time-travel quest, Nova returned with a better understanding of his powers and has since been better able to tap into their full potential.

He remained an active member of the New Warriors through most of its history (even during a period when he lost his powers again), and had an on-and-off romance with fellow founding member Namorita. Nova had since found a steady job at Marvel Burger, and reunited with his former high school friends to rent an apartment with them. After a while, however, Nova broke up with Namorita when she experienced complications after learning of her true cloned-hybrid physiology, and about the same time, the New Warriors broke up when Night Thrasher left New York City. Nova tried to make a name for himself as a solo adventurer, but failed. Eventually, the New Warriors reformed, and Nova has adventured alongside them ever since.