The Russo brothers confirm that Richard Rider Nova was a part of that huge final battle scene in The Avengers: Endgame.
While fielding questions on Twitter as part of a promotion with Wired, Macho_Franchise on Twitter asked, “How do you guys not have any Nova Corps member in a fight against Thanos? Love the movie, but just boggles my mind. Didn’t even have to be Richard Rider.”
Joe Russo responded, “Look closely at that scene again and you will see…”
“There are thousands of people,” Anthony Russo added.
“You will see Richard Rider in the background of a shot. Easter egg,” Joe Russo confirmed.
Richard Rider Nova in the final battle in Avengers: Endgame
My own two cents about the question, Macho_Franchise should recall that the Nova Corps were killed off at the start of Infinity War and weren’t affected by The Snap, much like Loki.
The start of Infinity War revealed that offscreen, Thanos and the Black Order had decimated the homeworld of the Nova Corps, Xandar, and retrieved the Power Stone. So when Tony Stark brings back everybody from The Snap five years later in The Avengers: Endgame, those Nova Corps that died just prior to the start of Infinity War wouldn’t return. However…
Regarding Richard Rider Nova, we can speculate that (similar to the Annihilation comic) Richard Rider may have been the last surviving member of the Nova Corps following Thanos’ attack on Xandar just prior to Infinity War. We can then guess that Richard Rider Nova may have been snapped and then returned in The Avengers: Endgame and appeared during the final battle. Nova getting snapped would also explain why in those five years the Nova Corps was never rebuilt, because the Nova Force and the Worldmind had been snapped along with Richard Rider.
Nova rumored for the MCU
What’s pretty cool is, if Kevin Feige ever decides to do a Nova movie, it could show what happened prior to Infinity War with the battle of Xander, which would even mean the Black Order and Thanos could return (in a prequel scene) in the flick. The Snap would then explain why Nova wasn’t seen for the past five years, and things could go on from there. We could even see the final battle in The Avengers: Endgame from Nova’s perspective as well.
An Annihilation movie is actually rumored to be a part of Marvel’s upcoming Phase 5 slate, so cross your fingers.
