Nova #2 is the best comic in the history of comics ever, and I'll have Chary take on anyone who says otherwise.
Why is Nova #2 the best comic in the history of comics ever? Because the story is about Nova (former member of the New Warriors) returning to Earth after the Annihilation story. As a result of this story, he is now enormously powerful. Nova heads to his parents' house to let them know he is alive.
About five pages into the story, Tony Stark shows up on the Riders' front lawn with a team of SHIELD agents. Nova tells him that this is unacceptable.
Tony then yammers on about the superhuman registration and indicates that he's got no clue about the Annihilation War, at which point Nova says 1) You idiot -- the Kree Empire and the Skrull Empire were destroyed by a meance which could easily have destroyed earth and I sent you a warning, but you ignored it because you were too busy with your stupid Civil War, and 2) I'm a fully trained, qualified, and accountable member of the Nova Corps, so I don't give a damn about your stupid registration.
Nova is my new hero. So are Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, who wrote this comic. Civil War was an idiot plot that had characters who should be heroic acting like petulant children -- it's very nice of Joe Quesada to publish a comic that acknowledges this fact.
Posted by Jason Fliegel at May 12, 2007 9:35 PM
Wow. I'm going to have to read this just to see him dress down Tony Stark.
Send Chary my way, then, because I fail to see the appeal in this issue. Allow me to enumerate my reasons:
1. Nova's dad is a hateful old crank, and just call his mom Doormat 'cause everyone just walks all over her.
2. The exposition about Civil War took far, FAR too long. The whole thing could have been achieved in a page, or less. Why should I have to wait until the next issue for the confrontation promised in the cliffhanger?
3. A fully accredited American police officer does not have dispensation to act as a peace officer in a foreign country without permission, nor does Nova Corps. membership give dispensation to flaunt the registration act on planet that has never, to my knowledge, officially called upon them for help. It's not that I don't expect this sort of petty rebellion from a former New Warrior, nor is this action out of character, but it is in no way justified.
I really enjoyed the issue as well. Nova was a character with a tendency to act rashly (still can be), but he's not totally certain what's happened on Earth since he's been gone, so he spent the episode playing it cool.
SHIELD shows up at his parents house, but he doesn't start a brawl, he goes with them and talks to Iron Man as an equal. He doesn't get pushed around, but he doesn't lose his temper. When he gets attacked by a villain out for revenge, he uses what I'd call a minimum of force, and takes the guy out in a couple of panels. Any property damage is caused by the villain's actions; not his. Then he turns the guy into the cops and files a report on the incident like I'd imagine he's supposed to.
Really, I'm not seeing the 'flaunting' or 'petty rebellion' Mithel is mentioning.
Mithel means "flout", not "flaunt". It's a form of eggcorn.
It is worth noting that the closest analogous situation might be when a Canadian soldier visits the U.S. while on leave. He's not, and cannot be, required to register with U.S. Selective Service just because he's in the U.S.
(Similarly, just today I was wondering if SHRA purports to apply to non-U.S. citizens, and especially if it purports to apply to heads of state like Black Panther and Namor. If it does in the latter cases, it is perforce beyond the law of nations and void thereby. This is relevant because heads of state Panther and Storm are currently operating out of New York as members of the FF.)
That is, it's not unlikely that membership in the Nova Corps, analogous to membership in a foreign nation's military, implicitly erodes Ryder's American citizenship. Of course, Ryder's return to the U.S. from space violates border regulations whether or not he's a citizen. (A superhero universe must have border regulations that cover space travel; more due process requirement being elided for boringness.)
No, you are ALL wrong. Okay, not everyone, because those that thought this rocked are correct, but...
The Nova Corps see the GALAXY as their jurisdiction. How they divided up the work is moot at this point but my assumption would be that if there is trouble and you can find them, the Nova Corp. can intervene.
So Earth, at best, is like a police district of a larger city. While a cop like me (I am not a cop) might be stationed on the West Side in District One, that doesn't mean my badge and responsibilities wouldn't carry over to District Four on the East Side. Earth might see it another way and maybe that is why the Nova Corp. do not routinely enforce interstellar law there but still...
Maybe the set up was too long with the thought being that while the cool Marvel people were reading the REAL quality crossover event in Annihiliation, they were ignoring the lame one with the Civil War. Which would include, because outside of paging through an issue at the store here or there, I am out of the loop.
Sadly, it seems they are going to save Tony's spanking to be delivered by the Hulk (I hope) but that doesn't prevent Nova from dishing it out to the Thunderbolts before heading off into space.
As for him being home at all, I think that is great. He needs to ground himself after the events of, oh, you know, saving the universe (always good for soldiers to remember why they do what they do, you know). We know he is going back with another Annihilation series in the works, so all is well.