When all of Marvel Comics' incoming Marvel NOW! series saw their covers leak last night, there was one image that was more unexpected than any others. Without a title or creative team linked to it, a single image by artist Francesco Mattina was sure to get fans of cosmic Marvel talking. Could Rich Rider be making a comeback?

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It seems strange to think the original bearer of the Nova helmet would be making a comeback in 2016. Until very recently, Marvel had to field an endless string of questions about his status at every available opportunity. But from his own solo series to his appearances in "All-New, All-Different Avengers," it seems like current Nova Sam Alexander has finally found his place in the Marvel Universe, and in the hearts of fans.

But for many, Rider is the one and only Nova. Forget the new kid. Forget John C Reilly. The original human to wear the helm remains a lynch pin of Marvel's Cosmic history. So if you're unfamiliar with the history of the Human Rocket, let us be your guide to the history of the man called Nova.

Origins



Originally conceived by writer and editor Marv Wolfman in his fanzine days, Nova rocketed into the Marvel Universe in 1976. With scripts by Wolfman, a design tweak from John Romita, Sr. and series art by the great John Buscema, the original series starring "The Man Called Nova" was a slice of old school comic book characterization mixed with '70s Marvel's penchant for cosmic superheroing.

Wolfman conceived Rich Rider as a classic everyman in the Peter Parker mold. The down-on-his-luck teen gets struck by a lightbolt from space and transformed into a member of the Nova Corps -- essentially like DC's Green Lantern Corps for the Marvel U. Over the next two years, Wolfman and company delivered stories where the average American teen would take on cosmic threats like the Sphinx and Diamondhead, winning over a cult following but never proving a breakout hit. For many readers, the character served as a bridge between classic meat-and-potatoes superhero stories and the more psychedelic material being produced by the likes of Jim Starlin.

A '90s Warrior



After years of appearing in the guest-star fringes of Marvel's publishing line, Rich ended up rejected by the Nova Corps and depowered. But a major turnaround was on the horizon as the '90s dawned. That's when Marvel rebranded the character as "Kid Nova" and drafted him into the young adult superteam called the New Warriors.

Under the pen of writer Fabian Niceza, Rider spent the decade seeing his life get more complicated. His backstory was deepened, his love life got crazy, and he generally had to deal with a lot of the soap operatic twists that come with a team book. He also earned his first solo series in almost 20 years with 1994's shortlived run, and Marvel attempted another "Nova" comic five years later as Erik Larsen went with a "back to basics" approach focusing on a burger-flipping Rider's struggles to battle his classic rogues and his personal life.

With the New Warriors serving as his anchor and his various solo exploits keeping his name alive, Nova gained a reputation as a fan favorite "next generation" Marvel hero before sliding back into the obscurity of quarter bins for a while.

The Cosmic Comeback Kid



Rich Rider's next revival is arguably the story that's made the Nova concept an integral part of the Marvel Universe as a whole: "Annihilation." The cosmic event arrived in 2006, and while it took place far off in the outer reaches of the Marvel cosmos, it had a huge impact on the publishing line and on the mass media end of things. As revitalized by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Keith Giffen, Rich Rider was now an epically-powered hero thanks to the fact that he had to absorb the "World Mind" of Nova Corps home Xandar. Using that power (and the spiffy new duds that came with it), Rich single-handedly defeated Annihilus in the event's gruesomely memorable finale.

As DnA took Rich back into a new solo series in the wake of that event, it became clear that the Nova story was slightly out of sync with the rest of the Marvel U. Rich returned home to earth to find the other superheroes dealing with the fallout from "Civil War. Despite the critical praise heaped on the book, the character never quite fit back into the mainstream Marvel U in a way that made him a sales juggernaut.

Rich continued on in every iteration of Marvel's cosmic corner as "Guardians of the Galaxy" became a breakout franchise for the publisher. He even costarred in Ed Brubaker's "Secret Avengers" series for a while. But while the character had completed his transformation from teenage everyman to cosmic superpower, Rider never fully took the comics world by storm.

The Nova Legacy



With general interest in its cosmic books at an all-time high, Marvel moved to shake things up when the "Guardians" movie was in its early planning stages. Most of the tone and stories that were launched with "Annihilation" found their end in the cosmic mini event "The Thanos Imperative" where the purple soon-to-be movie star threatened the space-faring pieces of the Marvel U for the first time in years.

Rich Rider was at the center of the story, but his end would be a tragic one. Left with the choice of seeing Thanos triumph or sacrificing himself to trap the Mad Titan in the so-called "Cancerverse," Rider made the heroic choice and was essentially written out of the Marvel U moving forward. In the years since, every other character that was locked in place in the Cancerverse has made their way back out again (including Thanos and Guardians' Star-Lord). But Marvel had other plans for the Nova Corps concept.

In 2013, Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness introduced the world to Sam Alexander - a new take on the Nova concept closer to the teenage outcast that Rich had been in his earliest appearances. Casting Nova as a legacy character received some pushback as longtime Rider fans were disheartened to see the hero finally show up in places like Disney XD's "Ultimate Spider-Man" cartoon only to have a different face under the helmet. But in recent years, Alexander has carved out his own place in the youthful corner of Marvel, while complaints about Rich's fate have tapered off.

Now that Marvel is teasing a return for Rich Rider, it opens up plenty of questions. Will he reclaim the Nova mantle and return as the everyman protector of earth? Or will his status as a cosmically powered entity factor in and cause trouble for everyone? What exactly will happen with Sam now that his forbearer is back on the scene? And most importantly, will fans get behind Rich Rider to make him the sales hit he's never quite been in the past?