Despite a long legacy in Marvel Comics, Nova the Human Rocket often draws comparisons to DC’s Green Lantern, and now in the upcoming Heroes Reborn event, he will become the protégé of Marvel’s deliberate pastiche of Green Lantern: Doctor Spectrum of the Squadron Supreme. In Heroes Reborn: Young Squadron by writer Jim Zub and artist Steven Cummings, fans meet the next generation of heroes in a world turned upside down, including Nova – here called Kid Spectrum! The issue will be available in stores and on all digital comics outlets this May.
Nova, and the Nova Corps of which he is a member, first appeared in 1976’s The Man Called Nova #1, by Marv Wolfman and John Romita Sr. The character put a Marvel spin on the Green Lantern Corps: much like the GLC, the Nova Corps were a group of intergalactic law enforcement officers. All but one was killed, and they bestowed the powers of the Nova Corps on teenager Richard Ryder, who would go on to a heroic career both solo and as a member of the New Warriors. After the Corps had reformed and been destroyed a few more times, a younger Nova named Sam Alexander, was introduced, and the two have co-existed since, with Rider handling matters in space and Alexander on Earth. Sam has become a key member of the Champions, a team of underage heroes, and in Heroes Reborn, readers meet a new version of the Champions—one familiar and yet strange.
Marvel Comics have announced Heroes Reborn: Young Squadron #1, detailing Nova’s new status quo. The central idea behind Heroes Reborn is that it takes place in a world where the Avengers never formed. In their place the Squadron Supreme of America has become Earth’s premiere super hero team. The Squadron has inspired the next generation of heroes, who have come together as the Young Squadron. Miles Morales is a new version of the Falcon, Ms. Marvel has become Girl Power, and Nova is Kid Spectrum. Nova’s costume is different too; changed to reflect his new mentor and given the energy around his fists, perhaps some new powers. Marvel’s description of the story reads:
Without the Avengers, Marvel’s brightest young heroes have grown up with different inspirations. See the fascinating results in writer Jim Zub and artist Steven Cummings’ HEROES REBORN: YOUNG SQUADRON. The Squadron Supreme of America have taken root in the hearts and minds of all, but none more so than a trio of youthful champions who call themselves the Young Squadron! Kid Spectrum (Sam Alexander), Girl Power (Kamala Khan), and the all-new Falcon (Miles Morales) are here to here to defend the world against all threats… or are they?
As Marvel reveals more details about Heroes Reborn, it’s becoming clear that in replacing the Avengers, the Squadron Supreme have changed the very nature of the society around them. Marvel’s summary even suggests that Sam and his former allies may have become more villainous versions of their heroic selves in this timeline. Though Doctor Spectrum has long been Marvel’s go-to hero when taking digs at DC’s Green Lantern and the Justice League as a whole, one of the details that sets him apart has been his often contentious relationship with the gem that gives him his powers. If Nova is drawing his power from a similar stone (or a shard of the original) rather than the Nova Force, it’s possible his corruption will be even more literal than Miles or Kamala’s.
Heroes Reborn promises to offer fans a new Marvel Universe, one unlike any they have seen before. In the absence of the Avengers, not only will new heroes rise to take their place, but also inspire the next generation of heroes as well. In hitching his wagon to Marvel’s version of Green Lantern, Sam Alexander has had the chance to learn all the wrong lessons. Now, fans will get a chance to see the darker side of Nova.
