PREVIEW: Guardians of the Galaxy #18

[Trevel8182]

Hmmm, the recent comments on Tom Brevoort's twitter/tmblr in which he answered a fan's question about possibly bringing back Rich some time down the line is kind of making me think that Rich might actually already be back and we just don't know it yet. Tom basically says to wait for the GotG story to play itself out before we ask the question "When will Rich be back?"

This makes me think that Rich might not actually die here and instead he will:
A.)Get absorbed by Thanos (or just have the Nova Force taken from him).
B.)Has been converted into some other form/being (maybe he's actually Corvus Glave? LOL)
or
C.)Rich was badly injured/infected by the Many Angled Ones and is being very well hidden/protected by Pete in an effort to keep Rich's enemies away and stealing the Nova Force(if he still has it) from his defenseless body until he recovers or is cured.

A Cosmic Cube being present and the very nature of the Cancerverse opens so many more possibilities other than death.
However, It would be pretty a sweet scene if Pete were to take an upset Gamora to see where Rich's "resting place" is, only to find Rich kind of hobbling around in some hideaway attempting to recover his strength/abilities rather than an actual grave.
Of course Rich can also simply be comatose somewhere, a side effect if Thanos did indeed steal the Nova Force from him.
Some connection between Thanos, Nova, and Star-Lord is what has me thinking that the main reason Pete is coming for Thanos over in the pages of Legendary is to get something back FROM Thanos rather then just to outright kill him.

Whatever the case Brevoort's comments don't sound like he's alluding to anything as absolute as death (or as absolute as it can be in comics).
...small scraps of hope, I know. But it's SOMETHING!

Being absorbed by Thanos or in a coma sure that's fine, Rider being a corpse or Death's undead hand servant, I can't live with. My dream scenario would be Rider being brought back from death after being betrayed by Blonde Quill by Rhomann, Cosmo(gotta have Cosmo he's Comrade Rider's doggy!), and Adora(who according to DnA is still alive and could be an awesome love interest for Rider). Having his power level going back down to Centurion or lesser(maybe give him the movie costume, wrist blasters and all just to demonstrate how week he's gotten), going thru his Degobah Nova Prime training, learning more about the Nova Corps history(Rider probably has the real Cosmic Cube, maybe tie it to the corps history), and being labeled public enemy number one by the Guardians and the Avengers, while Garthan Saal or some Dark Nova(maybe giving the black corps a good origin) has corrupted the Worldmind and the Nova Corps, or maybe go the Mass Effect 2 route, with Rider being brought back by some third party with an agenda and keep the whole Public Enemy Number One thing.

[THANOSRULES]

I still say he's Jesse...just because Abadox was played...it is actually Rider who started the Black Novas....Rider is Jesse..

[50yearoldNovafan]

It's comics - the character will come back as soon as a writer pitches a good idea for him\her
They don't have to, but different kids like different things - furthermore, I wouldn't let my pre-teen nephews\nieces read the current incarnations of many of the comics you mention, some are too violent others too complicated for them to appreciate properly yet; Marvel\DC comics' market has aged and the comics have more mature themes (I don't mean just sex\violence) than they did when I was a kid.
As a former children's librarian, I understand what young kids like - marvel has virtually no presence in that area.
Here's a good list for children's comics: http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/02/...ght-after-all/ - Neither Marvel nor DCare anywhere tobe seen, they *do* need to up their game when catering to younger audiences and comics in general need those younger audiences if they are to survive as a medium. At the moment, Indies are doing a lot better than the big two.

Sad things about comics, a lot of young folks don't buy them. They are costly. Shoot, a lot of the comic shops are so far away from where people live, you have to drive to get to them. Both of the ones in my area are one hour plus, away. I only see grown ups going into either store. That is kind of a sad state of affairs for comics.

[50yearoldNovafan]

Hmmm, the recent comments on Tom Brevoort's twitter/tmblr in which he answered a fan's question about possibly bringing back Rich some time down the line is kind of making me think that Rich might actually already be back and we just don't know it yet. Tom basically says to wait for the GotG story to play itself out before we ask the question "When will Rich be back?"

This makes me think that Rich might not actually die here and instead he will:
A.)Get absorbed by Thanos (or just have the Nova Force taken from him).
B.)Has been converted into some other form/being (maybe he's actually Corvus Glave? LOL)
or
C.)Rich was badly injured/infected by the Many Angled Ones and is being very well hidden/protected by Pete in an effort to keep Rich's enemies away and stealing the Nova Force(if he still has it) from his defenseless body until he recovers or is cured.

A Cosmic Cube being present and the very nature of the Cancerverse opens so many more possibilities other than death.
However, It would be pretty a sweet scene if Pete were to take an upset Gamora to see where Rich's "resting place" is, only to find Rich kind of hobbling around in some hideaway attempting to recover his strength/abilities rather than an actual grave.
Of course Rich can also simply be comatose somewhere, a side effect if Thanos did indeed steal the Nova Force from him.
Some connection between Thanos, Nova, and Star-Lord is what has me thinking that the main reason Pete is coming for Thanos over in the pages of Legendary is to get something back FROM Thanos rather then just to outright kill him.

Whatever the case Brevoort's comments don't sound like he's alluding to anything as absolute as death (or as absolute as it can be in comics).
...small scraps of hope, I know. But it's SOMETHING!

I don't think Rich is dead, either. But something is fishy. Why would Quill and Thanos have to keep a secret, and be kind of buddy buddy about that secret? Something is very curious about this situation.

[Drakeon]

I have a question thats been bugging me. In Thanos Imperative Peter has the drained cosmic cube from the last issue of Guardians where he used it up stopping Thanos. But then in the.cancerverse he says he has enough juice for one last shot. So, if it was drained in Guardians why does it suddenly have more juice?

Also, whatever happens in Gaurdians #18 Im sure has something to do with the aforementioned last use of the cube.

[VJ.]

Sad things about comics, a lot of young folks don't buy them. They are costly. Shoot, a lot of the comic shops are so far away from where people live, you have to drive to get to them. Both of the ones in my area are one hour plus, away. I only see grown ups going into either store. That is kind of a sad state of affairs for comics.

I live in the UK - most major cities have a comic shop, and reasonable public transport links; loads of teens\pre-teens visit my LCS. Whilst most of the older ones prefer the big two, younger ones in there with parents usually leave with good child friendly indie Graphic novels\collected editions that have been recommended by the staff.
Furthermore, children are a big market; there's a reason that all-sorts of companies aggressively market to them, they influence the buying decisions of the adults around them (this has been extensively researched & proven - I can find links to studies if you really want...).

[Speedball]

I live in the UK - most major cities have a comic shop, and reasonable public transport links; loads of teens\pre-teens visit my LCS. Whilst most of the older ones prefer the big two, younger ones in there with parents usually leave with good child friendly indie Graphic novels\collected editions that have been recommended by the staff.
Furthermore, children are a big market; there's a reason that all-sorts of companies aggressively market to them, they influence the buying decisions of the adults around them (this has been extensively researched & proven - I can find links to studies if you really want...).

This thread is about the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy #18 and the resolution to the mystery surrounding Rich Riders fate.

[50yearoldNovafan]

I live in the UK - most major cities have a comic shop, and reasonable public transport links; loads of teens\pre-teens visit my LCS. Whilst most of the older ones prefer the big two, younger ones in there with parents usually leave with good child friendly indie Graphic novels\collected editions that have been recommended by the staff.
Furthermore, children are a big market; there's a reason that all-sorts of companies aggressively market to them, they influence the buying decisions of the adults around them (this has been extensively researched & proven - I can find links to studies if you really want...).

No thank you.

[VJ.]

No thank you.

That was hyperbole, not a real offer -

[L.R Johansson]

Read Annihilation and you'll understand. Then a few years later he gets flushed down the toilet so they could push Sam because god only knows a teen angst hero book is something none of us have ever read.

That's not what happened, and you know it. DnA stopped pulling their weight sometime around War of Kings, which resulted in the books quickly losing readers - GotG and Nova was closing in on cancellation-numbers, and a lot of us dropped the books.

I picked back up again for Thanos Initiative, but I didn't really like it - mainly because the art was god-awful, so I couldn't really tell if the writing was improved. The end of the imperative, with the shoot-out between Star-Lord, Nova, and Thanos, was really their way of putting an end to their stories.

I gave them a final shot with Annihilators, picked up an issue or two - but it was terrible.

I actually felt rather betrayed by DnA - they got fantastic ideas, incredible tone and scenarios, from KEITH GIFFEN - yet they failed to live up to that legacy - they weren't Giffen, and honestly, I'll never forgive them for that.

The Annihilation-wave Cosmic books was pretty much done when Marvel decided to bring in Bendis and Loeb. Loeb then of course had his idea for a new Nova, but the only reason Marvel did it to begin with, was because DnA had already BLOWN HIM UP!

[50yearoldNovafan]

That's not what happened, and you know it. DnA stopped pulling their weight sometime around War of Kings, which resulted in the books quickly losing readers - GotG and Nova was closing in on cancellation-numbers, and a lot of us dropped the books.

I picked back up again for Thanos Initiative, but I didn't really like it - mainly because the art was god-awful, so I couldn't really tell if the writing was improved. The end of the imperative, with the shoot-out between Star-Lord, Nova, and Thanos, was really their way of putting an end to their stories.

I gave them a final shot with Annihilators, picked up an issue or two - but it was terrible.

I actually felt rather betrayed by DnA - they got fantastic ideas, incredible tone and scenarios, from KEITH GIFFEN - yet they failed to live up to that legacy - they weren't Giffen, and honestly, I'll never forgive them for that.

The Annihilation-wave Cosmic books was pretty much done when Marvel decided to bring in Bendis and Loeb. Loeb then of course had his idea for a new Nova, but the only reason Marvel did it to begin with, was because DnA had already BLOWN HIM UP!

Wow! You felt betrayed and you'll never forgive them? Sounds like they personally came after you. I hope every thing is okay.

By the way, from what I understood, DnA did not get their ideas from Giffen. They had been wanting to write Nova for years. From interviews I read, Giffen said "this is where Nova will be at the end of the first Annihilation Mini, and this is where he should be at the beginning of the final, seven issue Annihilation mini. You craft a story to get us there."

DnA were not just puppets who were working from an outline or a full story from Giffen. They did a lot of great work.

I will agree that I did not like Annihilators, but that was more an art thing. And it appeared the story may have been rushed. And I did not like what they did with shuffling the deck and "killing" the Guardians of the Galaxy and expanding the team. But they did a lot of hard work and told some fantastic stories. And I may be jaded, but most of the stuff I really enjoyed was in their Nova run.

[THANOSRULES]

Wow! You felt betrayed and you'll never forgive them? Sounds like they personally came after you. I hope every thing is okay.

By the way, from what I understood, DnA did not get their ideas from Giffen. They had been wanting to write Nova for years. From interviews I read, Giffen said "this is where Nova will be at the end of the first Annihilation Mini, and this is where he should be at the beginning of the final, seven issue Annihilation mini. You craft a story to get us there."

DnA were not just puppets who were working from an outline or a full story from Giffen. They did a lot of great work.

I will agree that I did not like Annihilators, but that was more an art thing. And it appeared the story may have been rushed. And I did not like what they did with shuffling the deck and "killing" the Guardians of the Galaxy and expanding the team. But they did a lot of hard work and told some fantastic stories. And I may be jaded, but most of the stuff I really enjoyed was in their Nova run.

Well said! Ive somtimes cooled peoples jets on " DnA as God speak"..so in some convulted way i can see what johensen is speaking about( thetre were lulls in quality)..but the tone and certainty are uncalled for..and despite my wishes to keep the Annhilation band together, DnA crafted a DEFINITIVE run which had a quality and duration few comic book writers can ever hope for.

Nobody knows what went on behind the scenes and what kind of editorial mandates existed. How related was DnAs lulls in qualty when they just got frustrated that marvel wouldnt feature the characters they were writing in major marvel events or give the roles on cartoons or Avengers membership? Do you think being on an island and seeing things like what they did with Ultron , Annhilus, Black BoltBolt and others basically ignored by main marvel, or how about the fact the so called cosmic events they were mandated to spam to us always competed vs other prominant events? (sometimes even from marvel)

I have no evidence those things frustrated DnA or Giffen or Andy Schmidt or Bill Rosemann..but its food for thought. Maybe someday we will get more answets. Most of the guys seem pretty damn classy..so maybe we wont.

But feeling "betrayed" by DnA is a darn stretch. It was a definitive run..it was awesomd..maybe if we keep our pedal to the floor we csn get everyone..the whole annhilation team back together for a tale or two..DnA and the others gave us some great work..thats something to celebrate..

[Mr. Huston]

Hrm... There doesn't seem to be any way out of this that has both Rich and Pete looking good.

I've been a huge Richard Rider fan dating back to the Larsen days for many of the reasons already stated so eloquently by other posters here. Over the past couple of years, though, I've actually come to appreciate the fact that DnA gave comic fans a wonderful and rare gift with their Nova run: A complete story with a beginning, middle, and end. If Rich never comes back, his story still feels like a complete coming of age/tragic hero tale, the kind I wish Spidey could finally enjoy (I don't get the Cap comparisons in this thread at all. Rich and Steve are about as far apart as you can get). That doesn't mean I wouldn't ever want to see Rich again, quite the contrary actually. I would be more than satisfied with what I do have if it meant that the character wouldn't be irreparably screwed with in the future, which is admittedly pretty hard to do in comics.

What's disheartening to me is seeing Richard fans reach a level of obnoxiousness I had previously thought was reserved only for HEAT members. I don't know whether the majority of these fans became aware of, or fell in love with the character through DnA's work, but I just think it's a shame that Sam is vilified for having certain personality traits, while the fact that Richard displayed many of the same qualities in his formative years is oh so conveniently ignored. Rider fans are quick to tell you that one of the most endearing aspects of the character was that fans got to see him grow into a man and a great hero, but some of those same fans are completely unwilling to give the new kid a chance, and go on that journey with him. I think there's more than enough room for two Nova's in Marvels universe, and I actually think it would be extremely beneficial to the Nova concept in general to keep both Rich and Sam around. Now, if only the title could sustain some consistency...

[THANOSRULES]

Hrm... There doesn't seem to be any way out of this that has both Rich and Pete looking good.

I've been a huge Richard Rider fan dating back to the Larsen days for many of the reasons already stated so eloquently by other posters here. Over the past couple of years, though, I've actually come to appreciate the fact that DnA gave comic fans a wonderful and rare gift with their Nova run: A complete story with a beginning, middle, and end. If Rich never comes back, his story still feels like a complete coming of age/tragic hero tale, the kind I wish Spidey could finally enjoy (I don't get the Cap comparisons in this thread at all. Rich and Steve are about as far apart as you can get). That doesn't mean I wouldn't ever want to see Rich again, quite the contrary actually. I would be more than satisfied with what I do have if it meant that the character wouldn't be irreparably screwed with in the future, which is admittedly pretty hard to do in comics.

What's disheartening to me is seeing Richard fans reach a level of obnoxiousness I had previously thought was reserved only for HEAT members. I don't know whether the majority of these fans became aware of, or fell in love with the character through DnA's work, but I just think it's a shame that Sam is vilified for having certain personality traits, while the fact that Richard displayed many of the same qualities in his formative years is oh so conveniently ignored. Rider fans are quick to tell you that one of the most endearing aspects of the character was that fans got to see him grow into a man and a great hero, but some of those same fans are completely unwilling to give the new kid a chance, and go on that journey with him. I think there's more than enough room for two Nova's in Marvels universe, and I actually think it would be extremely beneficial to the Nova concept in general to keep both Rich and Sam around. Now, if only the title could sustain some consistency...

Sorry if you feel we are obnoxious..certainly some are and some are not..i dont think generalizing helps much.

If you follow the full sam arguement..theres been a litany of issues with the character and how/ why he was brought forth that are much more complicated and in depth than how you paint it.

Id also challenge your notion of Rider having a definitive "end"..this notion has been flat out shot down by Bill Rosemann recently. Wrapping Rider was a pure editorial move/ mandate ...how can you think bringing back the characters he was killed with no explanation for years now was in any way , acceptable or not a total bad move?

[VJ.]

What's disheartening to me is seeing Richard fans reach a level of obnoxiousness I had previously thought was reserved only for HEAT members.

^^This - The attitude of most of the Rider fans on here have actively put me off reading about the character. Furthermore I've gone from hoping that there can be two Novas to hoping that the OS tie-in kills Rider off because maybe then they'll be forced to confront the fact that he isn't Nova at the moment (and, well we all know how permanent comic book deaths are, anyway).