Heh, Ms.Marvel's crack about Richard Rider's fanbase being rabid was a cute shot at us fans who kind of pissed all over Sam Alexander. And hey, maybe it was deserved. I'm a Richard Rider fan who like many was proud to see Richard come into his own during the Annihilation storyline which is briefly touched upon in this issue. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning who were the pair of writers responsible for revitalizing Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy gave Richard's role a galactic Lone Ranger was one of the highlights for me as a comic reader in the early 2000s. Then came Sam and the natural accept/reject response occurred when it comes to every new character came about and I fell firmly into the "Reject" category. It wasn't so much the character of Sam but the overall tone shift of the Nova series from a pretty serious title to a somewhat kid-friendly version. At the time, I got it. This was Marvel's attempt at roping in younger readers. This was Jeph Loeb's dedication to his son who passed away. This iteration of Nova...was not for me. And I gave it a fair shake but decided to take it off my pull list. It did not help that Marvel's editorial at the time was on full defense and did not take kindly to criticism, and to be fair not all of the critics were civil. Now...for the issue itself.I liked it for a number of reasons. The artstyle is unique, almost Indie-comic style and somehow it works for a title which probably is going to be focused on crazy space adventures. The dialogue I can tell is more slanted to Sam's youthful exuberance. But Jeff Loveness tries to balance out the young talk with Richie's more mature, somewhat cynical dialogue. He just needs to remember to drop a "Blue Blazes!" here and there otherwise, this Richie is definitely being mind-controlled. Lastly....Death's Head!Yes. Cool to see a classic character from the Marvel UK days. The redesign is a little too streamlined but hey, Marvel UK represent!

As far as character returns go, the Return of Richard Rider is nothing short of surprising. This could end up being a huge middle finger to the fans of Richard Rider in order to push the fanbase towards finally embracing Sam Alexander...or maybe its something more. Unlike the return of Quill and Thanos which was almost without consequence or light backstory, Richard's arc for the "price" he had to pay to return is almost frightening. And think about it, he gave his life to save the universe and his friend Peter Quill but his efforts were for naught and Thanos got out of the Cancerverse, leaving Richard holding the bag. And it kind of relates to the Cancerverse story of the "many angled ones" reaching out to a hero in great desperation to become the "Avatar of Life". It happened in The Thanos Imperative with Lord Mar-vell. It could happen to Richard in his lowest point. And the ending sequence of Richard finally manning up to the mistake(is wanting to live a mistake? Or is the fear of death cheapening the act of sacrifice?) and resolving to seal himself and the Cancerverse was gut-wrenching...only to have yet another plot-twist. I think this book is perhaps the sleeper hit of Marvel's current line. And Jeff Loveness has finally found a way to make Sam palatable by pairing him up with a big brother figure in the form of Richard Rider. Richard becomes the older brother Sam never had and Sam becomes yet another prospective Nova to restart the Nova Corps. Has a bit of a Batman/Robin dynamic.