Richard Rider | Nova Prime (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
brassbucket) wrote2014-06-30 12:28 pm
brassbucket) wrote2014-06-30 12:28 pm
Entry tags:
App for ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
ataraxion
P L A Y E R I N F O R M A T I O N
Your Name: Kiki
OOC Journal:kikibug13
Under 18? If yes, what is your age?: Nope.
Email + IM: kikibug13 at gmail dot com; AIM: k1k1bug
Characters Played at Ataraxion: Dick Grayson
C H A R A C T E R I N F O R M A T I O N
Name: Richard Rider
Canon: Marvel 616
Original or Alternate Universe: Original
Canon Point: His last appearance in the Thanos Imperative, where the opening to the normal 'verse has just closed, but whatever happens after, with him, Peter, and Thanos - hasn't occurred, yet.
Number: 396
Setting: Richard Rider as a part of the cosmic aspect of Marvel 616.
History:
Richard Rider was an average high school student of seventeen, in Hempstead, New York. His dad was a principal of another school; his mom worked as a dispatcher for the police department. His younger brother, Robbie, was a genius with a lab in the basement - the kind of brilliant kid who would build robots and blow up the lab and need his older brother to help out with the fire extinguisher. Rich was the butt of the jokes, for the most popular boy of his year - not ever quite good enough, at sports, at schoolwork...
But Rich was a decent person, nonetheless.
Much of all that didn't change the day when the Xandarian Nova Centurion, the last of his planet and his kind, Rhomann Dey, died somewhere in the Solar System and picked Rich Rider as his successor. He still went to school (at least for a while). He still had to deal with the bullies, he still has hid friends, and his family...
But he was something else entirely, now. He was Nova. He could fly like a human rocket, his strength was enhanced, his skin couldn't be hurt - not even by a bullet shot at him. Sometimes, he had insights about schoolwork, too, especially in his most hated subject of Mathematics. In a word, Rich found himself a superhero at the ripe age of seventeen, with no explanation of how or why him, with no guidebook, and pretty much all the enthusiasm for getting things right that would go with his, ah, maturity.
But try he did. Rich tried his best, to balance what he could do now - and what he felt obliged to do, with his new powers, against supervillains and alongside heroes - with his normal life, and it was a long exploration of trial and error. He slowly gained mastery of his new powers, and, eventually, revealed his identity to his family.
After that, Rich was taken to Rhomann Dey's ship, and wound up on Xandar, which had been restored - only to be pressed into service to defend it, no choice given, no contact with family and friends, only duty.
The price of freedom is high, and it's a price Rich pays, to return to Earth - to be released from service, he has to give up the powers he has spent so long learning how to master. The powers that he flunked out of school for, and that took him away from home without warning. Rich Rider returns to Earth. Again a disappointment to his family, he spends a while flipping burgers, trying to cope with what he is now. During this time, without him being aware of the fact, Xandar is destroyed again, this time by Nebula - who claims to be daughter of Zorr, the one who destroyed it before and whom Rhomann Dey succeeded in destroying before Dey died. (Nebula also claims to be the granddaughter of Thanos, the mad Titan and Avatar of Death.)
Rich's miserable, depowered existence comes to an end when the superhero Night Thrasher, aiming to create his own superhero team, figures out that Richard's powers aren't actually taken away, but are, in fact, dormant inside him. To start them up again, Night Thrasher kidnaps Rich and drops him off a high building - his plan is successful, but, well. It does show how careful the plans and actions of the team, known as the New Warriors, are. Despite the threat to his life, Rich does join the nascent team, and forms friendships - and more - within other members. Meanwhile, he finds his way to Xandar again, where he restarts the gestalt 'computer' awareness there - the Worldmind - which uses the planet's facilities to clone the Nova force leaders and people on the planet, restarting, yet again, the Nova Corps (he gets to meet Supernova, the Nova centurion who has been driven mad by hosting too much of the Nova force, in the process). This time, Rich is part of the Corps while still returning home, both to spend time with his family and with the New Warriors.
Adventures are had, and Rich's life is rocky, but more or less what he wants, until - five years after becoming Nova in the first place - cosmic disaster strikes. An unknown force (later called the Annihilation Wave) strikes at the Kyln, an array of prisons/energy generators near the 'Crunch', the edge between our positive-matter universe and the 'Negative zone.' The threat and destruction is enough for the entire Nova force to be recalled to Xandar for strategy and facing the threat, only to become the target of the next, second attack of the Annihilation War. The entire planet is destroyed, as is the Nova Corps, with Rich the sole survivor waking in the ruins, among billions of dead - civilians, brothers-and-sisters-in-arms. Everyone. (The only other two survivors are Drax the Destroyer and a young girl in his charge, but they were not exactly on the planet - they were trying to escape it at the time.) Richard remains the sole surviving Nova centurion, and becomes host of the entire Nova Force - Nova Prime, as well as the Worldmind, who/which needs to be relocated a new, safer location. One of the tasks that the Worldmind undertakes, leaving the ruins of Xandar as he does, is to shield Richard from the weight of the entire Nova Force, which has already driven a Nova insane and power-hungry (the above Supernova).
The threat they are facing is truly staggering. The Annihilation Wave has been gathered by Annihilus in the Negative Zone, and he aims for the destruction of all life - initially, he claims to seek retribution for the positive-matter universe expanding into the Negative zone, but the actual goal is revealed later. Even without knowing that goal, those in the way of the Annihilation Wave - the few that survive, and those who try to defend - know that the Wave is bigger than they can fight against simply, that it's horrible and malicious, taking on all inhabited planets in this way and leaving them smoking, falling-apart rubble. (The image to the left here.)
Richard, despite his young age and lack of direct experience, becomes leader of the force that tries to fight back the Annihilation Wave. It's because of a mixture of his powers, his personality that all the forces could unite behind, and the knowledge and understanding carried by the Worldmind. He isn't alone - he has mentors, including Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, and Peter Quill, the former Star-lord, a (at the time) part-cyborg with technopathy and great understanding of many things that most people never get to touch. Ronan the Accuser. The (surviving) Heralds of Galactus. Eventually, the Super-Skrull. Those who fight for life from the entire Universe gather under his leadership - and it's still a grueling, heavy-losses, disastrous losing war that goes on for months and months. In the end, Rich makes the call to go in, with what he knows and has mastered now, and kill Annihilus, to end the threat once and for all. With much help, he succeeds.
Crushed under the weight of all the losses on his watch Richard has Worldmind give him all the distress calls that have accumulated over the seven months when he couldn't address them, going from one to the next without rest - even when he finds that he's months late. Eventually, he agrees with Worldmind that he needs a break and returns to Earth... only to find it in the grip of the Civil War. He finds out that his old team, the New Warriors - including his ex-girlfriend Namorita - died, setting the whole thing off. He's given twenty-four hours to choose to register, but he is attacked way before that deadline by the Thunderbolts. He fights with his father, then finds out that one of the Thunderbolts is one of his old teammates that he thought had died, too, and finds him horribly broken, doing penance with just about every motion he makes. Even worse-off than when he touched down, Rich leaves Earth before his deadline expires, taking leave from his parents post factum.
The next distress call he takes brings him to the Kree empire... which has been taken over by the Phalanx techno-biological virus. He fights to stay free of it, but becomes one of the Select, infected and controlled. Breaks free of the control, but remains infected, and has to deal with most of the Nova force being tied up fighting off the virus inside his body (about 87%). With difficulty, he leaves Kree space to seek help - which he does find, on the planet of origin of the virus, Kvch. There, Warlock sacrifices his life to heal Rich, adding to the weight on Rich's shoulder, even if he is brought back to life shortly after that. With the aid of Warlock and his adopted 'son' Tyro, Rich returns to Kree space, where he aids his old friend Peter Quill and his allies to end the threat - which, it turns out, is not only the Phalanx virus itself, but Ultron directing the virus as well.
After Rich helps Peter establish his team, the Guardians of the Galaxy (suggesting both Drax and Gamora to be added to the lineup, as well as Knowhere as their base of operations), he returns to Earth to deal with problems there. Like the secret invasion, his younger brother, Worldmind deciding to start reestablishing the Nova Corps behind his back... which is only the first symptom of the deterioration in Worldmind's personality, which has been taking the brunt of Rich carrying the full Nova Force without going insane and that is being exploited by Ego, the sentient planet. By the time that crisis is over, well, the Universe is again under a serious threat, because a great bomb that was detonated to end the War of Kings opened the Fault, a gateway to a very different universe - one where Death has been killed and nobody dies, but everyone is under the control of ancient, horrible creatures, the many-angled ones, which want in Rich's Universe, too.
While exploring the Fault, Rich, along with old friend Darkhawk, gets pulled into an extra dimension created by an old foe, the Sphinx - in fact, by two Sphinxes, separated by many centuries of age, which can exist together inside the Fault, because of the way it ruptures reality. The younger Sphinx wants the older one's powerful Ka stone to add to his own, so the old one brings champions to protect him - Rich and Darkhawk find an earlier-time Reed Richards already there, and soon they are joined by Black Bolt (dead in their time)... and the also now-dead Namorita, taken from back when she and Rich were first on the New Warriors. When the fight between the two Sphinxes is over and the extra dimension collapses, Rich refuses to let Nita go... and wakes up with her, in his own universe. She is an impossibility, but she's alive and well, and they resume their relationship.
In the end, the threat from the no-death Universe (called Cancerverse, both because it threatens to expand in the main Universe until it's eaten it up, and because it starts with Mar-Vell refusing to die of cancer) is way too great. The Guardians of the Galaxy go into the Cancerverse, along with Thanos, to try and shut it down, and Peter Quill sends a message to Rich, asking for assistance. Leaving Namorita on Knowhere, Rich goes into the Cancerverse, where Death is re-established, but she refuses to take Thanos back, driving the Mad Titan... mad. The gateway between the two universes closes as the Cancerverse collapses; Rich and Peter stay inside the dying Universe to keep Thanos from returning to their own and wreaking havoc there.
Personality:
Rich Rider starts out as an average guy with lots of insecurities. He's bright, but he doesn't apply himself - that's the general opinion of his teachers about him. His peers... well, he has a few friends, but, for the most part, he's the butt of jokes, the 'loser' that the jock always picks on. On the inside, Rich feels... deficient. With the kind of family he has, of people who are brilliant and dedicated, he feels out of place. Always late when everyone else is punctual. Flunking Math and Science in school where his brother is a genius, his uncle is a doctor of science, and his dad is a school principal. He sometimes even wonders if he's adopted - but, at the same time, he has no doubt that his family loves him.
When he gets the Nova powers (without a manual, of course), he's actually better at applying himself, both in practicing with what he can do, and in thinking his way through problems. But the same insecurity haunts him when it comes to being Nova, undercutting the joy of what he can do and the sheer exhilaration of exercising his powers.
So, in the beginning, Rich is an insecure teenager who's blundering about with having more powers than he knows what to do with but wants to use for the right things, one more superhero in a city that's already getting tired of them. He doesn't have a shred of pride, instead full of a great desire to prove himself. He is a good man, all the same - the moment he realizes what he can do, his first thought is hitting back the bullies, now that he has greater strength than them... and then, the very next thing he thinks is that, no. He can't use his powers for personal gain, he shouldn't use them to get to those weaker than him. Because those things would make him a bully and a villain, and, well. Not what he wants to be. Even the jock that mocks him - Rich is the kind of guy who helps him, when he needs it.
He can't keep himself from being a disappointment to his family, however, with his schoolwork, because being Nova just becomes more and more important to him.
During the years - and adventures - that follow, he keeps on making mistakes, being uncertain and insecure, but growing, and remains a good guy. He's never assertive enough to be the leader, nor does he actually covet the position. In some ways, he's a manchild; in other ways, he's a hero. He gets some things wrongs, others right, he doesn't give up, and he sort of reaches a kind of balance...
... but that all changes with the Annihilation War. Almost overnight, in the face of great adversity, he has to grow up, to become a leader, a hero, a warrior - and he does. He learns from the most ruthless, he figures out how to surround himself with people who work with him so that they get at least some victories, that their losses are retreats, not disasters. He steps up to everything that he needs to, shouldering the responsibility for the entire universe, as well as the weight of an entire Corps that he's the lone survivor of. He does everything that he needs to do, and keeps on doing it, keeps on giving everything of himself for others - people of any species, people he doesn't know, and those he does, too - until there's nothing left but hope, barely any of it, again, and again, and again.
It takes its toll. Under a still-optimistic and relatively stable exterior, he's many things that are broken. PTSD, survivor guilt, pure exhaustion. He gets a clear bill of mental sanity during his time on Earth, though - he willingly goes through the tests, so that he knows.
What he does not become is power-hungry. All that he has, all that has been given to him, he gives out for the protection and defense of others who cannot defend themselves. Whether it's a planetary evacuation or saving a cat stuck on a rooftop, whether it's saving somebody he loves or an enemy who hates his guts? He'll do it. Because, to him, that's what Nova is, that's what he's chosen to be, and he'll do it to the last.
The great amount of power that he wields (and that he's been stripped of at least three times; the last time, it's been revealed that, without it, he has about forty-eight hours to live, since it's keeping him alive, after all the things that he's been exposed to while being Nova) is always a means to an end to him, but, with time - and trials - he's learned to use it very extensively, almost as naturally as breathing. While he knows very well that it's external, he's had to apply it so much that it's a part of him, too, another set of limbs.
In personal relationships, Rich is loyal and dedicated. He appreciates all the people he's been allowed to get to know and touch, whether they stay in his life or leave him behind when they're done, for the moment. He fights for his friends, like freeing Gamora from the Phalanx - and then helping her find a new place for herself, when he realizes just how aimless her life has become and how hard she had embraced being a Select; or like bringing Namorita back with him from the dimension of the Sphinxes. He'll come to a friend's call for help, even when he knows it may be a one-way trip.
For all that he knows he's accomplished, he's never actually considered himself the best, or irreplaceable. He's a soldier - it's the responsibilities he has that keep him fighting, sometimes, rather than particularly wanting to be lauded victor, or anything of the sort. He's been known to skip out of the celebration party for saving a planet, now and again.
He's also far from perfect. He has lapses of judgment and willpower both - early in the Annihilation War, his lack of determination and skill get Quasar killed and power falling to Annihilus; when he's on Earth after the end of the war, a friend reaches to him, and, while he doesn't push him away, the pain and pressure get too much for him and he takes off almost in the middle of conversation. He can be impatient with what he perceives as squabbles (like, oh, the superheroes Civil War, on Earth), and, though this is mitigated by both Worldmind and remembering mistakes he's done, he can still be a little bit rash and jumping into situations without fully estimating what's at stake.
Sometimes. Other times, he takes those risks on purpose. He gambles what seems too much to get out of impossible situations.
In the end, he always tries. Coming up against something that he knows is bigger and badder than him, to protect the lives of those who can do even less?
Yeah. That's him. Every time.
Abilities, Weaknesses and Power Limitations:
The original Nova abilities were: superhuman strength and durability, flight, as well as good healing/recovery factor. On his own, Rich has acquired the skills of expert hand-to-hand combatant and decent marksman (seven months of war will do that, if nothing else does). As a Nova, he can also control gravitational forces, and open stargates - wormholes - these abilities are ones he got to learn, after becoming fully a member of the Corps, rather than ones he intuitively understood when he first got his powers. The stargates can be anywhere from person-sized to capable of through putting an entire planetary evacuation fleet. As Nova Prime, his ability to project and absorb energy is greatly enhanced.
The first limitation to those is control. The Nova Prime abilities came to Rich in set with carrying the Worldmind, a gestalt... computer? Entity? That contains the entire knowledge and achievement of the Xandarian culture, and much of what Rich has been doing for the last few years has been through Worldmind's control. The absence of that knowledge will make him be a little more careful overall with the application of his powers. Also, in the case of Stargates, he'd need to sit down and make precise calculations, but - after years as Nova before Xandar was destroyed - he does know how to do that.
The fact of the matter is, though, that at any point where I'd like to play him, Rich is overpowered. He is a cosmic power - just about able to hold his own against a Herald of Galactus, and space has been his playground since he was maybe eighteen.
The first-line thought of how to limit his powers comes from the part of canon where he was infected by the Phalanx virus. The nanites can be recognized as a similar threat to his independence of judgment, and tying down a good chunk of his power in trying to neutralize that would be an organic power cap. I do know that his powers will need to be capped, and am willing to deal with whatever the limitations will be.
Inventory: This is a little weird, but his locker is likely to be empty of personal items - mostly because his uniform and helmet... can pretty much be generated by the Nova Force inside him, when he needs them. He can take them off, and put them on again, but, well. He only needs a thought to get into uniform. Which is also a quarantine suit, even when he has the helmet off.
Appearance: 6'1, 190 pounds, brown hair and brown eyes white male, with scar over his right eye. Arguing with Tony Stark and infected by the Phalanx virus.
Age: 25
AU Clarification: N/A
S A M P L E S
Log Sample:
Rich missed Worldmind.
It was almost his first thought as he launched gently out of the hatch on the hull of Tranquility. Flying through space wasn't something he needed her for, but for the last nearly three years, she - he - it had been his constant companion. Residing within him for most of that time. Not hearing the steady, sarcastic voice with so much information... and so much judgment, too (oh, it would be so much worse, if he were to pop back home, right now...) - it was like missing a part of himself. The last time he'd been out of touch for this long was when the Sphinx had grabbed him and Darkhawk. Before that...
Before that, it had been complicated. He didn't want to think about it.
For the first time in the couple of days since he talked with Peter, though, he actually let himself wonder if she misses him, too. That was, she was probably pissed off at him, for vanishing off with the entire Nova Force. Dying, probably.
He was flying away from Tranquility, though he doubted if, even had he been flying towards it, said state of mind would visit him anytime soon. He looked away from the stars to steal a glance towards her. She was big. Bulky. He'd seen planet evacuation craft of that size, and he'd gotten so many of those safely away. Not all. But he'd saved people.
Now, he couldn't. Not even the people he knew, he couldn't get them back where they belonged. Not Peter, who had so much to deal with. Not Sam, whose mom and little sister were probably panicking, back home. Not anyone. It was frustrating, and he was feeling more helpless than he had since the Annihilation War. But he couldn't open a Stargate, and that was the fact. He'd have to find out, in detail, what else he couldn't do. Better sooner than later, he thought, while whatever people were coming out of, inside the ship, could strike again. Whatever else, they needed his protection, or would, and he needed to be ready. That was the purpose for coming out here in space, alone.
That, and coming to terms with some stuff.
He should be all right, with knowing what was going to happen, back home. He'd made the choice himself, knowing. Knowing that he was buying those sixty seconds with his life, with the peace of mind of Nita and Robbie and his parents and everyone else.
But it still. He couldn't quite comprehend it, yet. Maybe it would be easier, out here among the stars. Maybe he could later come back to the ship, knowing where his new limits were, and act like he should. Think and feel like he should. Maybe he could come to peace with the fact that he was dead.
Well. He could try, anyway.
Comms Sample:
[ Video, here. Of Nova, only he has his helmet off, brown hair not too disheveled and brown eyes sort of calm, though there's tension in his shoulders. He's not hiding behind voice or text alone, nor behind a mask. ]
My name is Richard Rider, and I'm Nova Prime, of the Nova Corps, back home. Nova Centurion 11249-44396. The Corps's purpose is to help those that need it, throughout the Universe, think a cross between police force and peacekeepers. To that purpose, we have access to certain abilities, through the Nova force - I won't bore you with details, this is just the basics, like introductions go, right?
Anyway. I've got a question - those of you who've been brought here who do have abilities beyond baseline human. Have you found that you can't do specific things that you should be able to? If there are new limitations, have you found any logic to what they are?
Thanks a lot. If you'd rather, we can meet to discuss that in person. Or via text. Whatever works for you, I'm not trying to out people trying to be discreet about what they can do and so on.
Anyway. Rider out.
Your Name: Kiki
OOC Journal:
kikibug13Under 18? If yes, what is your age?: Nope.
Email + IM: kikibug13 at gmail dot com; AIM: k1k1bug
Characters Played at Ataraxion: Dick Grayson
C H A R A C T E R I N F O R M A T I O N
Name: Richard Rider
Canon: Marvel 616
Original or Alternate Universe: Original
Canon Point: His last appearance in the Thanos Imperative, where the opening to the normal 'verse has just closed, but whatever happens after, with him, Peter, and Thanos - hasn't occurred, yet.
Number: 396
Setting: Richard Rider as a part of the cosmic aspect of Marvel 616.
History:
Richard Rider was an average high school student of seventeen, in Hempstead, New York. His dad was a principal of another school; his mom worked as a dispatcher for the police department. His younger brother, Robbie, was a genius with a lab in the basement - the kind of brilliant kid who would build robots and blow up the lab and need his older brother to help out with the fire extinguisher. Rich was the butt of the jokes, for the most popular boy of his year - not ever quite good enough, at sports, at schoolwork...
But Rich was a decent person, nonetheless.
Much of all that didn't change the day when the Xandarian Nova Centurion, the last of his planet and his kind, Rhomann Dey, died somewhere in the Solar System and picked Rich Rider as his successor. He still went to school (at least for a while). He still had to deal with the bullies, he still has hid friends, and his family...
But he was something else entirely, now. He was Nova. He could fly like a human rocket, his strength was enhanced, his skin couldn't be hurt - not even by a bullet shot at him. Sometimes, he had insights about schoolwork, too, especially in his most hated subject of Mathematics. In a word, Rich found himself a superhero at the ripe age of seventeen, with no explanation of how or why him, with no guidebook, and pretty much all the enthusiasm for getting things right that would go with his, ah, maturity.
But try he did. Rich tried his best, to balance what he could do now - and what he felt obliged to do, with his new powers, against supervillains and alongside heroes - with his normal life, and it was a long exploration of trial and error. He slowly gained mastery of his new powers, and, eventually, revealed his identity to his family.
After that, Rich was taken to Rhomann Dey's ship, and wound up on Xandar, which had been restored - only to be pressed into service to defend it, no choice given, no contact with family and friends, only duty.
The price of freedom is high, and it's a price Rich pays, to return to Earth - to be released from service, he has to give up the powers he has spent so long learning how to master. The powers that he flunked out of school for, and that took him away from home without warning. Rich Rider returns to Earth. Again a disappointment to his family, he spends a while flipping burgers, trying to cope with what he is now. During this time, without him being aware of the fact, Xandar is destroyed again, this time by Nebula - who claims to be daughter of Zorr, the one who destroyed it before and whom Rhomann Dey succeeded in destroying before Dey died. (Nebula also claims to be the granddaughter of Thanos, the mad Titan and Avatar of Death.)
Rich's miserable, depowered existence comes to an end when the superhero Night Thrasher, aiming to create his own superhero team, figures out that Richard's powers aren't actually taken away, but are, in fact, dormant inside him. To start them up again, Night Thrasher kidnaps Rich and drops him off a high building - his plan is successful, but, well. It does show how careful the plans and actions of the team, known as the New Warriors, are. Despite the threat to his life, Rich does join the nascent team, and forms friendships - and more - within other members. Meanwhile, he finds his way to Xandar again, where he restarts the gestalt 'computer' awareness there - the Worldmind - which uses the planet's facilities to clone the Nova force leaders and people on the planet, restarting, yet again, the Nova Corps (he gets to meet Supernova, the Nova centurion who has been driven mad by hosting too much of the Nova force, in the process). This time, Rich is part of the Corps while still returning home, both to spend time with his family and with the New Warriors.
Adventures are had, and Rich's life is rocky, but more or less what he wants, until - five years after becoming Nova in the first place - cosmic disaster strikes. An unknown force (later called the Annihilation Wave) strikes at the Kyln, an array of prisons/energy generators near the 'Crunch', the edge between our positive-matter universe and the 'Negative zone.' The threat and destruction is enough for the entire Nova force to be recalled to Xandar for strategy and facing the threat, only to become the target of the next, second attack of the Annihilation War. The entire planet is destroyed, as is the Nova Corps, with Rich the sole survivor waking in the ruins, among billions of dead - civilians, brothers-and-sisters-in-arms. Everyone. (The only other two survivors are Drax the Destroyer and a young girl in his charge, but they were not exactly on the planet - they were trying to escape it at the time.) Richard remains the sole surviving Nova centurion, and becomes host of the entire Nova Force - Nova Prime, as well as the Worldmind, who/which needs to be relocated a new, safer location. One of the tasks that the Worldmind undertakes, leaving the ruins of Xandar as he does, is to shield Richard from the weight of the entire Nova Force, which has already driven a Nova insane and power-hungry (the above Supernova).
The threat they are facing is truly staggering. The Annihilation Wave has been gathered by Annihilus in the Negative Zone, and he aims for the destruction of all life - initially, he claims to seek retribution for the positive-matter universe expanding into the Negative zone, but the actual goal is revealed later. Even without knowing that goal, those in the way of the Annihilation Wave - the few that survive, and those who try to defend - know that the Wave is bigger than they can fight against simply, that it's horrible and malicious, taking on all inhabited planets in this way and leaving them smoking, falling-apart rubble. (The image to the left here.)
Richard, despite his young age and lack of direct experience, becomes leader of the force that tries to fight back the Annihilation Wave. It's because of a mixture of his powers, his personality that all the forces could unite behind, and the knowledge and understanding carried by the Worldmind. He isn't alone - he has mentors, including Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, and Peter Quill, the former Star-lord, a (at the time) part-cyborg with technopathy and great understanding of many things that most people never get to touch. Ronan the Accuser. The (surviving) Heralds of Galactus. Eventually, the Super-Skrull. Those who fight for life from the entire Universe gather under his leadership - and it's still a grueling, heavy-losses, disastrous losing war that goes on for months and months. In the end, Rich makes the call to go in, with what he knows and has mastered now, and kill Annihilus, to end the threat once and for all. With much help, he succeeds.
Crushed under the weight of all the losses on his watch Richard has Worldmind give him all the distress calls that have accumulated over the seven months when he couldn't address them, going from one to the next without rest - even when he finds that he's months late. Eventually, he agrees with Worldmind that he needs a break and returns to Earth... only to find it in the grip of the Civil War. He finds out that his old team, the New Warriors - including his ex-girlfriend Namorita - died, setting the whole thing off. He's given twenty-four hours to choose to register, but he is attacked way before that deadline by the Thunderbolts. He fights with his father, then finds out that one of the Thunderbolts is one of his old teammates that he thought had died, too, and finds him horribly broken, doing penance with just about every motion he makes. Even worse-off than when he touched down, Rich leaves Earth before his deadline expires, taking leave from his parents post factum.
The next distress call he takes brings him to the Kree empire... which has been taken over by the Phalanx techno-biological virus. He fights to stay free of it, but becomes one of the Select, infected and controlled. Breaks free of the control, but remains infected, and has to deal with most of the Nova force being tied up fighting off the virus inside his body (about 87%). With difficulty, he leaves Kree space to seek help - which he does find, on the planet of origin of the virus, Kvch. There, Warlock sacrifices his life to heal Rich, adding to the weight on Rich's shoulder, even if he is brought back to life shortly after that. With the aid of Warlock and his adopted 'son' Tyro, Rich returns to Kree space, where he aids his old friend Peter Quill and his allies to end the threat - which, it turns out, is not only the Phalanx virus itself, but Ultron directing the virus as well.
After Rich helps Peter establish his team, the Guardians of the Galaxy (suggesting both Drax and Gamora to be added to the lineup, as well as Knowhere as their base of operations), he returns to Earth to deal with problems there. Like the secret invasion, his younger brother, Worldmind deciding to start reestablishing the Nova Corps behind his back... which is only the first symptom of the deterioration in Worldmind's personality, which has been taking the brunt of Rich carrying the full Nova Force without going insane and that is being exploited by Ego, the sentient planet. By the time that crisis is over, well, the Universe is again under a serious threat, because a great bomb that was detonated to end the War of Kings opened the Fault, a gateway to a very different universe - one where Death has been killed and nobody dies, but everyone is under the control of ancient, horrible creatures, the many-angled ones, which want in Rich's Universe, too.
While exploring the Fault, Rich, along with old friend Darkhawk, gets pulled into an extra dimension created by an old foe, the Sphinx - in fact, by two Sphinxes, separated by many centuries of age, which can exist together inside the Fault, because of the way it ruptures reality. The younger Sphinx wants the older one's powerful Ka stone to add to his own, so the old one brings champions to protect him - Rich and Darkhawk find an earlier-time Reed Richards already there, and soon they are joined by Black Bolt (dead in their time)... and the also now-dead Namorita, taken from back when she and Rich were first on the New Warriors. When the fight between the two Sphinxes is over and the extra dimension collapses, Rich refuses to let Nita go... and wakes up with her, in his own universe. She is an impossibility, but she's alive and well, and they resume their relationship.
In the end, the threat from the no-death Universe (called Cancerverse, both because it threatens to expand in the main Universe until it's eaten it up, and because it starts with Mar-Vell refusing to die of cancer) is way too great. The Guardians of the Galaxy go into the Cancerverse, along with Thanos, to try and shut it down, and Peter Quill sends a message to Rich, asking for assistance. Leaving Namorita on Knowhere, Rich goes into the Cancerverse, where Death is re-established, but she refuses to take Thanos back, driving the Mad Titan... mad. The gateway between the two universes closes as the Cancerverse collapses; Rich and Peter stay inside the dying Universe to keep Thanos from returning to their own and wreaking havoc there.
Personality:
Rich Rider starts out as an average guy with lots of insecurities. He's bright, but he doesn't apply himself - that's the general opinion of his teachers about him. His peers... well, he has a few friends, but, for the most part, he's the butt of jokes, the 'loser' that the jock always picks on. On the inside, Rich feels... deficient. With the kind of family he has, of people who are brilliant and dedicated, he feels out of place. Always late when everyone else is punctual. Flunking Math and Science in school where his brother is a genius, his uncle is a doctor of science, and his dad is a school principal. He sometimes even wonders if he's adopted - but, at the same time, he has no doubt that his family loves him.
When he gets the Nova powers (without a manual, of course), he's actually better at applying himself, both in practicing with what he can do, and in thinking his way through problems. But the same insecurity haunts him when it comes to being Nova, undercutting the joy of what he can do and the sheer exhilaration of exercising his powers.
So, in the beginning, Rich is an insecure teenager who's blundering about with having more powers than he knows what to do with but wants to use for the right things, one more superhero in a city that's already getting tired of them. He doesn't have a shred of pride, instead full of a great desire to prove himself. He is a good man, all the same - the moment he realizes what he can do, his first thought is hitting back the bullies, now that he has greater strength than them... and then, the very next thing he thinks is that, no. He can't use his powers for personal gain, he shouldn't use them to get to those weaker than him. Because those things would make him a bully and a villain, and, well. Not what he wants to be. Even the jock that mocks him - Rich is the kind of guy who helps him, when he needs it.
He can't keep himself from being a disappointment to his family, however, with his schoolwork, because being Nova just becomes more and more important to him.
During the years - and adventures - that follow, he keeps on making mistakes, being uncertain and insecure, but growing, and remains a good guy. He's never assertive enough to be the leader, nor does he actually covet the position. In some ways, he's a manchild; in other ways, he's a hero. He gets some things wrongs, others right, he doesn't give up, and he sort of reaches a kind of balance...
... but that all changes with the Annihilation War. Almost overnight, in the face of great adversity, he has to grow up, to become a leader, a hero, a warrior - and he does. He learns from the most ruthless, he figures out how to surround himself with people who work with him so that they get at least some victories, that their losses are retreats, not disasters. He steps up to everything that he needs to, shouldering the responsibility for the entire universe, as well as the weight of an entire Corps that he's the lone survivor of. He does everything that he needs to do, and keeps on doing it, keeps on giving everything of himself for others - people of any species, people he doesn't know, and those he does, too - until there's nothing left but hope, barely any of it, again, and again, and again.
It takes its toll. Under a still-optimistic and relatively stable exterior, he's many things that are broken. PTSD, survivor guilt, pure exhaustion. He gets a clear bill of mental sanity during his time on Earth, though - he willingly goes through the tests, so that he knows.
What he does not become is power-hungry. All that he has, all that has been given to him, he gives out for the protection and defense of others who cannot defend themselves. Whether it's a planetary evacuation or saving a cat stuck on a rooftop, whether it's saving somebody he loves or an enemy who hates his guts? He'll do it. Because, to him, that's what Nova is, that's what he's chosen to be, and he'll do it to the last.
The great amount of power that he wields (and that he's been stripped of at least three times; the last time, it's been revealed that, without it, he has about forty-eight hours to live, since it's keeping him alive, after all the things that he's been exposed to while being Nova) is always a means to an end to him, but, with time - and trials - he's learned to use it very extensively, almost as naturally as breathing. While he knows very well that it's external, he's had to apply it so much that it's a part of him, too, another set of limbs.
In personal relationships, Rich is loyal and dedicated. He appreciates all the people he's been allowed to get to know and touch, whether they stay in his life or leave him behind when they're done, for the moment. He fights for his friends, like freeing Gamora from the Phalanx - and then helping her find a new place for herself, when he realizes just how aimless her life has become and how hard she had embraced being a Select; or like bringing Namorita back with him from the dimension of the Sphinxes. He'll come to a friend's call for help, even when he knows it may be a one-way trip.
For all that he knows he's accomplished, he's never actually considered himself the best, or irreplaceable. He's a soldier - it's the responsibilities he has that keep him fighting, sometimes, rather than particularly wanting to be lauded victor, or anything of the sort. He's been known to skip out of the celebration party for saving a planet, now and again.
He's also far from perfect. He has lapses of judgment and willpower both - early in the Annihilation War, his lack of determination and skill get Quasar killed and power falling to Annihilus; when he's on Earth after the end of the war, a friend reaches to him, and, while he doesn't push him away, the pain and pressure get too much for him and he takes off almost in the middle of conversation. He can be impatient with what he perceives as squabbles (like, oh, the superheroes Civil War, on Earth), and, though this is mitigated by both Worldmind and remembering mistakes he's done, he can still be a little bit rash and jumping into situations without fully estimating what's at stake.
Sometimes. Other times, he takes those risks on purpose. He gambles what seems too much to get out of impossible situations.
In the end, he always tries. Coming up against something that he knows is bigger and badder than him, to protect the lives of those who can do even less?
Yeah. That's him. Every time.
Abilities, Weaknesses and Power Limitations:
The original Nova abilities were: superhuman strength and durability, flight, as well as good healing/recovery factor. On his own, Rich has acquired the skills of expert hand-to-hand combatant and decent marksman (seven months of war will do that, if nothing else does). As a Nova, he can also control gravitational forces, and open stargates - wormholes - these abilities are ones he got to learn, after becoming fully a member of the Corps, rather than ones he intuitively understood when he first got his powers. The stargates can be anywhere from person-sized to capable of through putting an entire planetary evacuation fleet. As Nova Prime, his ability to project and absorb energy is greatly enhanced.
The first limitation to those is control. The Nova Prime abilities came to Rich in set with carrying the Worldmind, a gestalt... computer? Entity? That contains the entire knowledge and achievement of the Xandarian culture, and much of what Rich has been doing for the last few years has been through Worldmind's control. The absence of that knowledge will make him be a little more careful overall with the application of his powers. Also, in the case of Stargates, he'd need to sit down and make precise calculations, but - after years as Nova before Xandar was destroyed - he does know how to do that.
The fact of the matter is, though, that at any point where I'd like to play him, Rich is overpowered. He is a cosmic power - just about able to hold his own against a Herald of Galactus, and space has been his playground since he was maybe eighteen.
The first-line thought of how to limit his powers comes from the part of canon where he was infected by the Phalanx virus. The nanites can be recognized as a similar threat to his independence of judgment, and tying down a good chunk of his power in trying to neutralize that would be an organic power cap. I do know that his powers will need to be capped, and am willing to deal with whatever the limitations will be.
Inventory: This is a little weird, but his locker is likely to be empty of personal items - mostly because his uniform and helmet... can pretty much be generated by the Nova Force inside him, when he needs them. He can take them off, and put them on again, but, well. He only needs a thought to get into uniform. Which is also a quarantine suit, even when he has the helmet off.
Appearance: 6'1, 190 pounds, brown hair and brown eyes white male, with scar over his right eye. Arguing with Tony Stark and infected by the Phalanx virus.
Age: 25
AU Clarification: N/A
S A M P L E S
Log Sample:
Rich missed Worldmind.
It was almost his first thought as he launched gently out of the hatch on the hull of Tranquility. Flying through space wasn't something he needed her for, but for the last nearly three years, she - he - it had been his constant companion. Residing within him for most of that time. Not hearing the steady, sarcastic voice with so much information... and so much judgment, too (oh, it would be so much worse, if he were to pop back home, right now...) - it was like missing a part of himself. The last time he'd been out of touch for this long was when the Sphinx had grabbed him and Darkhawk. Before that...
Before that, it had been complicated. He didn't want to think about it.
For the first time in the couple of days since he talked with Peter, though, he actually let himself wonder if she misses him, too. That was, she was probably pissed off at him, for vanishing off with the entire Nova Force. Dying, probably.
He was flying away from Tranquility, though he doubted if, even had he been flying towards it, said state of mind would visit him anytime soon. He looked away from the stars to steal a glance towards her. She was big. Bulky. He'd seen planet evacuation craft of that size, and he'd gotten so many of those safely away. Not all. But he'd saved people.
Now, he couldn't. Not even the people he knew, he couldn't get them back where they belonged. Not Peter, who had so much to deal with. Not Sam, whose mom and little sister were probably panicking, back home. Not anyone. It was frustrating, and he was feeling more helpless than he had since the Annihilation War. But he couldn't open a Stargate, and that was the fact. He'd have to find out, in detail, what else he couldn't do. Better sooner than later, he thought, while whatever people were coming out of, inside the ship, could strike again. Whatever else, they needed his protection, or would, and he needed to be ready. That was the purpose for coming out here in space, alone.
That, and coming to terms with some stuff.
He should be all right, with knowing what was going to happen, back home. He'd made the choice himself, knowing. Knowing that he was buying those sixty seconds with his life, with the peace of mind of Nita and Robbie and his parents and everyone else.
But it still. He couldn't quite comprehend it, yet. Maybe it would be easier, out here among the stars. Maybe he could later come back to the ship, knowing where his new limits were, and act like he should. Think and feel like he should. Maybe he could come to peace with the fact that he was dead.
Well. He could try, anyway.
Comms Sample:
[ Video, here. Of Nova, only he has his helmet off, brown hair not too disheveled and brown eyes sort of calm, though there's tension in his shoulders. He's not hiding behind voice or text alone, nor behind a mask. ]
My name is Richard Rider, and I'm Nova Prime, of the Nova Corps, back home. Nova Centurion 11249-44396. The Corps's purpose is to help those that need it, throughout the Universe, think a cross between police force and peacekeepers. To that purpose, we have access to certain abilities, through the Nova force - I won't bore you with details, this is just the basics, like introductions go, right?
Anyway. I've got a question - those of you who've been brought here who do have abilities beyond baseline human. Have you found that you can't do specific things that you should be able to? If there are new limitations, have you found any logic to what they are?
Thanks a lot. If you'd rather, we can meet to discuss that in person. Or via text. Whatever works for you, I'm not trying to out people trying to be discreet about what they can do and so on.
Anyway. Rider out.
no subject