Annihilation Scourge: Nova #1
Recap
Led by the unstoppable Sentry and the Revengers, the forces of the Cancerverse continue their warpath across the Negative Zone. Annihilus in an uncharacteristically sound move has ventured into the "normal" universe to retrieve aide from the Marvel heroes. Unfortunately for this incarnation of Annihilus, help is scarce and it has to rely on a two sheets to the wind Nova to come to his rescue.
For reasons I'm sure aren't just plot devices (loving sarcasm intensifies), Nova and Annihilus are unable to rally anymore troops when they visit the home of the Fantastic Four (which they just happen to already be in the Negative Zone) and as such have to Butch and Sundance their way back to their alien allies....if they can survive the journey.
Review
Rosenberg isn’t what you would call a SJW type writer but he does find ways to slip socially aware elements into his stories. The difference with him and a lot of writers these days is he doesn’t club you over the head with it and instead of SJW soapboxing replacing storytelling, he uses it as it should be, another layer to enhance the storytelling. Sometimes this lands as it was intended and it’s great, sometimes it attracts the wrong kinda of attention and turns a well meaning effort into mental gymnastics fuel to be offended by (cough Rahne cough) so which is it this time?
This Nova issue isn’t likely to top any checklists as the greatest Nova comic ever *but* the part that will raise eyebrows is Richard Ryder and his PTSD. PTSD while a very serious issue we see go mishandled literally all the time, most spectacularly post Vietnam for example, rarely gets touched upon in comics. Even more rare that it’s done any kinda good not to point fingers but last time it came up a guy claimed you could undelete computer files by running really fast so yeah….the bar is set extremely low here. Interesting enough though Rosenberg does a pretty decent job of touching on it here.
Against all odds, Richard Ryder has carved a niche for himself in and out of comics as a genuine hero (and not a Green Lantern knock-off as he pretty much was intended to be if we’re gonna keep it 100.) but even the greatest heroes have vulnerable moments. After a hellacious stay in the Cancerverse where he was hunted, tortured, unable to die from his torment and basically just the worst case scenario a hero could be in he’s not super keen on the idea of being infected by the Cancerverse and going through that Hell dimension all over again. So when the Sentry shows up and is still his same old completely unstoppable, crazy overpowered self….Nova gets triggered pretty hard. I’m gonna leave it at that for now but suffice it to say how Nova will overcome this latest challenge is gonna make for some great writing (or a justification to be pissed at how Ryder has been treated post-Conquest…again).
Final Thoughts
Annihilation Scourge: Nova #1 (Rosenberg/Roberson/Lopez} does an excellent job adding some true human elements to an otherwise outlandish yet fun story. Rosenberg and the gang seem to be breaking the cycle on disappointing event sequels so let's just hope they can keep it going until Omega drops.
Annihilation Scourge: Nova #1: Shellshock and Spacemen
- Writing - 8.5/108.5/10
- Storyline - 8.5/108.5/10
- Art - 8/108/10
- Color - 9/109/10
- Cover Art - 8/108/10