Writer: MacKay
Artist: Lopez & Fonte
Colorist: Iacono
Cover Artist: Cappucio & Rosenberg
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed herein are purely the opinions of the author of this article and do not necessarily reflect the official opinions of CosmicBookNews. Timelord regularly reviewed the 2007 “Nova” and 2008 “Guardians of the Galaxy” series with his reviews directly sent to the books’ editors and creators. Timelord’s reviews have been quoted by Marvel in cover blurbs, press reviews, and solicits.
Warning: Contains some spoilers.
Nova: Centurion #2 is a solid sequel to issue #1, both building on and improving the foundation of a new chapter in the cosmic adventures of Richard Rider. MacKay has managed to tap into the reckless energy of 1976-1979 Richard Rider and blend it with the tempered “leader of men” energy of 2007-2010 Richard Rider, resulting in a very satisfying tone for the series. Rich getting his mojo back is what Nova fans have been waiting for since 2010. Thank you, Mr. MacKay.
The bomber jacket is gone for this issue and I hope it stays gone. It would have been both a distraction and an impediment in the very well-executed combat scenes. I do miss the beard, but Rich’s explanation for eliminating it was valid and the great thing about beards is that they can be grown back. If the beard is grown back, during the stubble phase, I’d like to see Rich channel more of Banshee’s Lucas Hood type swagger and problem-solving methodology rather than the intended The Rockford Files’ Jim Rockford. If we’re going to go with crime-drama themes, Lucas Hood’s anti-heroic energy is more fitting to channel and will give this book the hard edge that truly great crime-dramas (like Banshee) exude, making the book appealing to a wider audience that normally ignores cosmic books.
The ensemble cast really shined in this issue. The addition of Yr-Kett, the Kree Sentencer, is a stroke of genius. She’s tough, bitchy, sexy, and overly-aggressive. As an old-school “bad-girl” comic character fan, she had me at hello. I hope she’s not just a “red-shirt” character to be killed off and forgotten, because she would be great to have as a recurring character in this series and as a love interest for Rich. A future issue with Rich and Yr-Kett waking up in bed next to each other would really get the fans talking and cement Rich’s more recent reputation for getting involved with “bad girls” as referenced by Cammi and Aalbort in a humorous scene.
The interaction between Aalbort and Cammi was entertaining, reminding me of the interactions between Banshee’s Sugar and Job. I was skeptical about Aalbort at first, but he defined what “Combat Accountant” means in this issue. I loved him acting as a sniper, purely to help his client collect the fee for the service. Perfect casting for the character – amoral and dis-passionate – just doing his job, nobility be damned, show me the money. And little Cammi has grown up to become the sophisticated master thief. I want to see more of what she can do. The Worldmind and Rich interactions were perfectly executed, shades of the 2007-2010 series.
Ravenous was well-portrayed – powerful and ruthless as usual – with a twist of being starved for energy, just like Rich. The energy absorption angle for Ravenous is interesting, especially since a Nova should also have energy absorption abilities (anyone remember the Nova Corps Syphon Warriors?). I’m wondering if MacKay is going to resurrect the Syphon concept to get Rich out of the predicament he’s in
at the end of this issue.
Lopez and Fonte deliver some fantastic cosmic art. I was happy to see Rich portrayed as more muscular with a more Captain America-like physique. Iacono’s colors perfectly accentuated the art. Cappucio and Rosenberg’s main cover was a vast improvement from Issue #1, delivering an appealing combat scene. More combat covers like this are needed to intrigue and entice new buyers.
In summary, Nova Centurion #2 is a proud addition to the Nova lore, and I encourage all Nova fans to buy at least 2 issues to help keep sales high and keep this series on the shelf for a good long time. It is promising and deserves a long run. It may have one if MacKay avoids the temptation to dive into the old tired tropes that have dragged Nova series down in the past. Please, no de-powering or killing off Rich and replacing him with a woke gender or race-swapped character. This has been done, it was a miserable failure, it pisses off the fans to the point where they abandon the series, and there is no reason to believe it will work if tried again. Rich has been around almost 50 years now, that should establish him as a legacy character, and the fans want to read about HIM, not somebody else. The ensemble cast is the key to introducing new characters with alternative demographics, not replacing a legacy character with someone with alternative demographics. And Marvel Editors – don’t replace photo-realistic artists on a cosmic book with cartoon-ish artists. Art which the fans found un-palatable helped kill the 1976-1979 series, so let’s not do that again. Also editors, let’s put a moratorium on the red-shirting of the Nova Corps and the Pearl-Harboring of Xandar. I’ve lost count of how many times that’s been done to make a cheap dramatic point. Enough. Let’s resurrect Xandar and the Corps for all time and give Rich an enormous ensemble cast to work with on a multi-galactic palette. And for fark’s sake, do not bring Sam Alexander into this book. That annoying little bastard would be the kiss of death to this series as he has been to so many others.
Here’s to nearly 50 years of Rich Rider Nova! Long live Rich Rider Nova!
