—Nova (Richard Rider)[source]Kid, listen. That helmet is one of the most dangerous weapons in the universe. If you give it up, a lot more people are going to die. Being a Nova means you gotta step up. You take the risks others can't. So step up.
History
The Nova Helmets were the Nova Corps' most known and notable equipment. It was created by the Xandarians to be provided to most members of the Corps in order to maintain peace throughout the universe. Each members' rank was given a specific type of helmet which were different from one another and gave varying amount of access to the Nova Force.[1]
The human known as Richard Rider would receive the Nova Prime helmet after its previous owner, Rhomann Dey fell on Earth and in his dying breath gave his helmet to Rider. Doning the Nova helmet, Rider was imbued with immense power and became the hero Nova, protecting not only Earth but the galaxy as well.[2]
During the reassembling of the Nova Corps following their destruction at the hands of the Annihilation Wave, the Xandarian Worldmind stripped Rider of his Nova status as he saw that it had gone mad, and along with it he lost the helmet, leaving powerless.[3] With the help of the Quantum Bands, Rider took back his helmet, and with it his powers, and returned the Worldmind to its former self.[4]
Rider would lose his helmet again after being trapped in the Cancerverse. The new Nova, Sam Alexander, eventually found Richard's helmet and gave it to his parents Charles and Gloria Rider to have as a keepsake of their son who they thought dead.[5] Rider would much later finally escape from the Cancerverse and after reuniting with his mother, got his helmet back.[6]Properties
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Different types of the Nova Helmets
The Nova Helmets were for the most part the main device used by members of the Nova Corps. Most helmets were directly linked to the Xandarian Worldmind, the main source of the Nova Force, which allowed them to bestow that energy to their wearer.[7][8] Each Nova rank was given a specific type of helmet with varying amount of access to the Nova Force. Corpsmen had 25% access to the Nova Force; Millennians 50% of the Centurions' Nova Force, but were unable to fly; Denarians held 75% of the Nova Force, and could fly to some extent; and the elite Centurions had 100% access to the Nova Force.[9] Another variety of the Nova Helmets were the black helmets used by the Corps' black ops team, the Supernovas, which unlike the regular ones had on-board reactors that made them independent of the Worldmind.[10]
The helmets contained radio circuitry enabling Novas to pick up radio transmissions, monitor transmissions, telescopic sights, night vision sensors, and heat imaging sensors, as well as overlay a visual heads-up display for tracking energy signatures.[2][11][12] Within their circuitry were built translators that allowed Novas to speak to races whose language was recorded into the helmet, such as Kree.[13] They could recycle air in order to continually provide their wearers breathable air.[14][15] The helmets even contained a synaptic scrambler to use on opponents in close quarters.[16] The Nova Helmets had rigid construction and shape when worn,[17][18] but could become as malleable as cloth, allowing the Novas to hide them in civilian clothes when desired.[19][20]
A single helmet that was fully charged with Nova Force could grant its wearer Cosmic Awareness.[21] In addition to this, the helmets could directly download into the corpsmen's mind information and expertise needed for their work, like skill-packages and dataware upgrades.[22] They maintained their own record feed in the helmet log which served for recovery access in the case the previous owner perished.[23] A Centurion's helmet provided access to the Nova Prime spaceship, which it could connect through the P.R.I.M.E. computer, and could see through its cloaking shield.[24] The helmets were registered to their wearers' specific DNA, which prevented unauthorized use of those unaffiliated to the Corps, though magic could disable this function.[25]
When worn by members of the Corps, the helmets could manifest suits around their wearers' body.[3] The suits were made of unidentified materials that were highly resistant to damage,[26] radiation, heat, cold including the extremes of outer space.[27] If damaged, the suits could not only repair themselves but also heal their wearers of minor wounds.[28][29] The suits included tesseract release, systems-adapt mode, flight navigation sensors and gravimetric pulse.[30] Within the uniforms were incorporated the Centurion User Support System, or CSUSS, limited backups of the Worldmind in case it was damaged or offline. The CSUSS had the properties of the Worldmind but with a more limited intellect, decision making and self-awareness.[31] Novas can alter the appearance and nature of their uniforms to suit their needs,[32] and even manipulate its material in a manner similar to symbiotes.[33] The helmets included a malleable Xandarian alloy which could lower to cover the face by cybernetic command or via sensors in the uniform which could sense changes in pressure and atmosphere and activate automatically.[19][34] Once activated, the uniforms became airtight and the helmets connected to oxygen supplies concealed within the uniforms which could last up to 6 hours.[14]
Trivia
- The Nova Corps of Earth-94241, instead of helmets, made use of Nova Stars which through nanotechnology manifested a helmet and suit when placed on someone's head.[35]
- The Helmet was a bit small for some humans and Skrulls which hurt their ears.[36]
See Also
- 312 appearance(s) of Nova Helmet
- 21 minor appearance(s) of Nova Helmet
- 1 mention(s) of Nova Helmet
- 104 image(s) of Nova Helmet
Links and References
References
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #2
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Nova #1
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Nova (Vol. 4) #22
- ↑ Nova (Vol. 4) #25
- ↑ Nova (Vol. 5) #29
- ↑ Nova (Vol. 7) #1
- ↑ Fantastic Four #206
- ↑ Nova (Vol. 4) #4
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #8
- ↑ Nova (Vol. 6) #11
- ↑ Nova #7
- ↑ New Warriors #19
- ↑ Nova (Vol. 4) #2
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Nova #4
- ↑ Annihilation: The Nova Corps Files #1
- ↑ Nova (Vol. 4) #28
- ↑ Nova #14
- ↑ Nova (Vol. 3) #2
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Nova #3
- ↑ Nova (Vol. 7) #4
- ↑ Champions (Vol. 3) #7
- ↑ Nova (Vol. 4) #21–22
- ↑ Nova (Vol. 4) #34
- ↑ Nova #7–8
- ↑ Asgardians of the Galaxy #4
- ↑ Nova (Vol. 3) #2–5
- ↑ Nova (Vol. 4) #3
- ↑ Annihilation: Nova #1
- ↑ Nova (Vol. 4) #24
- ↑ Nova (Vol. 2) #7
- ↑ Nova (Vol. 4) #15
- ↑ New Warriors (Vol. 2) #9
- ↑ Nova (Vol. 3) #5–7
- ↑ Nova (Vol. 3) #5
- ↑ Infinity Gauntlet (Vol. 2) #2
- ↑ Deadpool (Vol. 5) #30