a member of the Secret Avengers during the first four issues of that team's eponymous series (May - Aug. 2010). Nova appears in a Guardians of the Galaxy storyline running from August to October 2014, an Original Sin tie-in featuring a flashback to events immediately following The Thanos Imperative. Fictional character biography Original series When the last surviving member of the planet Xandar's elite Nova Corps, Rhomann Dey, is dying, he selects New York high school student Richard Rider to replace him. Rider is given the uniform and powers of a Nova Centurion, but little instruction on how to use them. Calling himself Nova, Rider becomes a superhero, fighting costumed supervillains such as the Condor, Powerhouse, Diamondhead, the Corruptor, and the Sphinx, and teaming with heroes such as Spider-Man and Thor. He initially hides his identity, but later reveals it to his family. Rider discovers Dey's spaceship orbiting Earth and uses it to journey to Xandar with Doctor Sun, Powerhouse, Comet, the Crimebuster and the Sphinx, where they join the Xandarians' war against the Skrulls. With the help of Rom the Space Knight, the Skrulls are defeated. Wanting to return to Earth, Rider is released from his duties on Xandar and relinquishes his powers. The New Warriors Upon his return to Earth, Rider struggles to readjust due to his failure to complete high school. Unknown to him, the planet Xandar is utterly destroyed in an attack by the space pirate Nebula. With the help of Night Thrasher, Rider regains his powers and joins the New Warriors superhero team, where he becomes close friends with Speedball. Richard briefly dates Yale student Laura Dunham and teammate Namorita. Rider encounters Garthan Saal, a former Nova Corps Centurion who had been driven insane by absorbing too much of the Nova Force, the source of power for Nova Centurions. Saal seeks more power so he can restore Xandar to its former glory. He strips Rider of his powers and transports him to Xandar. Saal is defeated. Rider witnesses the reformation of the Nova Corps and receives the rank of Centurion Prime. Assigned to Earth, Rider is confronted with the challenge of balancing dual lives as a member of both the Nova Corps and the New Warriors. Rider encounters a Nova Corps member from an alternate timeline named Nova 0:0, who prepares him to stop the Deathstorm, which is coming to destroy Earth. Because Rider defies