Jed MacKay and the art team of Alvaro Lopez and Matteo Della Fonte are doing something really special with Richard Rider right now. In Nova: Centurion #3, the shiny Nova Corps is long gone. In its place is a galactic gun-for-hire: a version of Richard Rider who is just trying to pay the bills to keep the Worldmind running and maybe deal out some junkyard justice while he’s at it. And man, does it feel good.
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Richard Rider vs. Ravenous: A High-Stakes Cosmic Brawl
The issue opens with a high-stakes brawl on Tarvistaal II, where Rich is taking on Ravenous, a general from the Annihilation War who literally helped wipe out the Nova Corps. It’s a heavy confrontation, made even worse by the fact that Ravenous is an energy vampire who is currently sucking Rich’s power reserves dry. Watching the power meter drop from 48% to 36% in a matter of panels really hammers home how much of a losing battle this is for our hero.
What makes this issue great is the tactical storytelling in how MacKay handles the Boneyard sequence. When the fight gets too lopsided, the Worldmind pulls Rich into a virtual conference space that runs at 10,000% of real-time speed. There, the Worldmind basically tells Rich that his greatest weapon is that scrappy, resourceful kid from Earth he was before he ever got the helmet, and also the Nova Force. It’s a great bit of character work that reminds us why Rich is the only one left standing in a universe that doesn’t have a Corps to protect it anymore.
Why Nova: Centurion Features Marvel’s Best “Blue-Collar” Victory
The actual victory is one of the most satisfying blue-collar hero moments I’ve seen in a cosmic book in a long time. Instead of just punching harder, Rich uses the shipyard’s own industrial tools against Ravenous. He sets up safety beacons to cordon off the villain, allowing his teammate Cammi to hit him with a massive Matter/Energy Conversion Beam from their ship. This strips Ravenous of his power, forcing him onto a level playing field.
But the real badass moment is when Rich takes off his helmet and uniform because it’s too dangerous to be near a power conduit, borrows a hammer from the enforcer Yr-Kett, and finishes the job as just a guy in a tank top. Seeing a cosmic threat get leveled by a blunt object is visceral and incredibly effective.
Alvaro Lopez and Matteo Della Fonte’s Gritty Art
Visually, Lopez and Della Fonte do a fantastic job of keeping the action grounded even when it’s taking place on an alien world. The colors by Mattia Iacono give the Boneyard a haunting, ethereal look, while Joe Caramagna’s lettering during the final beatdown makes you feel every KLUDD of that hammer hitting home.
When Rich collects the Mysterium and demands his payment from the Kree-Skrull War bosses, he looks less like a superhero and more like a guy who just finished a double shift at the hardest job in the galaxy. The issue wraps up with a fun flashback showing how Cammi officially joined the crew, adding her “skills” to Rich’s power and Aalbort’s tactics. It’s a solid team dynamic that I can’t wait to see more of, especially with the tease that an ex-Nova named Eden Rixlo is coming for their ship in the next issue.
Verdict
Nova: Centurion #3 is a fantastic take on Richard Rider. It strips away the corps trappings and reminds us why we liked the character in the first place: he’s a guy from Earth who just won’t quit, even when the odds are impossible.
Read KPB Comics’ Nova Centurion Related:
‘Nova: Centurion’ #3 Review: Richard Rider Goes Blue-Collar
Nova: Centurion #3 is a fantastic take on Richard Rider. It strips away the corps trappings and reminds us why we liked the character in the first place: he’s a guy from Earth who just won’t quit, even when the odds are impossible.
