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Quote1 I'm not from this world. Never will be. The trick isn't to try and force myself to become a part of it... but to get right with the fact that I'm not. I'm Rikki Barnes, the girl without a world. I'm a nomad. Quote2
Nomad[src]

History

Bucky[]

Rebecca Barnes (Heroes Reborn) (Earth-616) from Captain America Vol 2 1 001

Rikki Barnes

When the Fantastic Four and the Avengers sacrificed their lives to destroy Onslaught, Franklin Richards, the son of the Fantastic Four's Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman, subconsciously created a pocket universe to save their lives. There, they spent an entire year reliving living new lives "reborn" into a reality where they had recently gained their abilities that vaguely mirror how they gained their powers originally. Franklin's new Earth included recreations of many of the heroes' old allies and foes.

Rebecca "Rikki" Barnes was the granddaughter of this reality's Richard and Peggy Barnes. Both had a past relationship with Captain America during World War II, the exact nature of which remains unknown, although Captain America did have a wartime sidekick named Bucky.[8] Whatever their involvement in Captain America's wartime adventures, Rebecca was seemingly unaware of them. Rebecca and her older her brother, John, lived with their grandparents in Philadelphia. The fate of her parents remains unknown; however, it's probable that they are both deceased.

Rebecca was determined to become a popular dancer, and worked hard to get a scholarship to get to Julliard in New York City; however, despite the fact that she was awarded the scholarship, she was inexplicably denied enrollment. Around this time her brother, John, had become a devout follower of the World Party, a political movement with a thinly veiled racist message. When John learned of his sister's rejection from Julliard, he suggested that she wasn't accepted into the prestigious school because she was white, a notion that she found ridiculous. He then tried to convince her to go to a World Party rally with him that was happening that night. Knowing that nothing good could come out of her brother's involvement with this group, Rebecca tried to stop him, to no avail.[9]

Unknown to most, the World Party's front man, Alexandre, was in reality the former Nazi super-soldier Master Man and his party was backed by the Red Skull. They were plotting to launch nuclear missiles to ethnically cleanse the United States.[9] The following day after the rally, Rebecca caught her brother, now with a shaved head and wearing a World Party jacket, rummaging through her belongings. He explained he was leaving to join the World Party and that he was going "save the country" from itself and departed, leaving the young Rebecca wondering who would save her brother from himself.[10]

Rebecca Barnes (Heroes Reborn) (Earth-616) from Captain America Vol 2 4 001

Rikki put on a makeshift costume and a pair of aviator goggles and broke into the World Party headquarters in an attempt to get her brother out of trouble. She overheard guards talking about how they had captured the newly reactivated Captain America and had him prisoner when she was discovered by her brother. When trying to convince him that the World Party was a Nazi front, he confessed that he knew that already and that he would shoot her if he had to. She fled her brother only to run into the Red Skull, who tied her to one of the nuclear missiles that he intended to launch on American soil.[11]

While tied to the missile she attempted to convince her brother to give up his extremist ideals; however, this failed to win him over. When Captain America and his friend, Samuel "Falcon" Wilson, broke free and fought the Red Skull and Master Man, Cap freed Rikki in the struggle. Unable to convince her brother to turn over a new leaf, she was forced to knock him and his friend out with a single kick. Rikki played an integral role in preventing the Red Skull from launching the nuclear missiles by catching the detonator before it could hit the ground. Cap and Falcon quickly defeated the Skull and Master Man. The Red Skull escaped and Master Man was taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.[12]

Returning with Captain America to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Rikki was provided a new costume by S.H.I.E.L.D. and took on the identity of Bucky. She briefly partnered with Captain America and aided him, and the dimensionally displaced Cable, in preventing A.I.M., led by M.O.D.O.K. and Baron Zemo, from storming the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier.[1]

Their partnership was short lived and soon after Captain America ended his association with the U.S. Government and went on the road to discover who he really was.[13] After clashing with the racist group, Sons of the Serpent, Rikki told Cap that things aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier had gotten strange and Cap asked her to keep an eye out. Bucky began snooping around and located one particular room that is cordoned off by armed guards.[14] Breaking into the room she found Nick Fury imprisoned inside and helped him save Captain America and the Falcon from the Son of the Serpents led by an LMD of Fury who was planted by subversive elements within the U.S. Government.[15]

When Captain America was called to New York to help combat Galactus, Rikki was forced to return to Philadelphia much to her chagrin; however, she was soon dragged into the battle against Galactus as well. Upon arriving home she was attacked by Doctor Doom who had traveled back in time after multiple failed attempts to stop Galactus.[16][17][18] Doom demanded to know why her S.H.I.E.L.D. files identified her as a chronal anomaly, but she was rescued by Captain America, who agreed to go to take Doom to New York to battle Galactus. Rikki followed and sat on the sidelines while the other gathered heroes prepared to strike against the Devourer of Worlds.[8]

Rikki encountered the Silver Surfer and tried to convince him to stand against his master and help the heroes save the planet, but the Surfer couldn't bring himself to strike at his master and fled. Bucky bravely jumped onto the back of his surfboard, refusing to let him go. Cap followed after her on his flying motorcycle and witnessed as Rikki was blasted by a jolt of Power Cosmic from Galactus. Bucky was hospitalized immediately and eventually recover. Her near sacrifice ultimately convinced the Silver Surfer to betray his master and aid the heroes. He sacrificed himself to destroy the Devourer with the "Ultimate Nullifier" that had been built by the planet's heroes.[8]

Bucky returned to costumed heroics right around the time that the Celestials delivered an ultimatum to Franklin Richards: he would have to choose between the two Earths as they decreed only one could be allowed to continue to exist.[19] Bucky worked with the Falcon to rampant preventing looting.[20] Ultimately, in order to save Rikki's world, the heroes transported there from Earth had to return to their native dimension, forcing Captain America and Falcon to leave Bucky to carry on alone. Although Bucky was heartbroken over losing her closest friends, she accepted this for the greater good of her world. The heroes' departure with the aid of the Celestial Ashema saw Franklin's pocket dimension spared from destruction.[21]

Young Allies[]

Heroes Reborn Young Allies Vol 1 1 Textless

Following the heroes' exile from this world, the Dreaming Celestial created global chaos across the planet. The many catastrophes followed, including the World Party rising to dominance and taking over Germany. Seeking to make the world a better place, Bucky formed the Young Allies, an online support group trying to network super-humans together. She sneaked into Wakanda and stole a pair of Vibranium boots and an Energy Shield. She also formed an alliance with the drug-mutated power-house, Toro, and the powerful mutant, I.Q. The latter was a World Party experiment that gained power enough to take over his captors. Bucky aided him in erasing all memory the German government had of his existence and he acted as the Young Allies information source and technical aide. Using her grandparents home as a base, the Young Allies also recruited Kid Colt, a Kymellian-Human Hybrid, from S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.

When British North Sea Oil and Energy Cartel's CEO, Leland Walker, began experimenting with the mysterious RIP energy leading to the destruction of Paris, I.Q. sent the Young Allies to stop him from using the energy further in experiments on Muir Island. There the Young Allies attempted to stop Walker; however, he was killed by the sentient energy source which manifested into two beings: Order and Kaos. They joined the group as O and K to judge humanity.[22]

Thunderbolts Vol 1 52

Eventually Doctor Doom took over the planet and transported it out of Dimension F and into to Earth-616 proper, where it would be commonly referred to as Counter-Earth. Doom ruled it with an iron fist, and was only opposed by the Young Allies. At I.Q.'s suggestion they threatened Doom to reform or they would unleash a biochemical gas in Latveria.[23] Doom sent Bucky's old ally Captain America and the Redeemers of Earth-616 to stop them; however, when Cap learned that this was all a bluff and its true intended purpose was to end Doom's rule, he led Doom to believe that the threat was valid.[24]

Doom ultimately abandoned Counter-Earth and the World Party took control in his absence. Rikki and the Young Allies next teamed up with the stranded Thunderbolts in stopping the World Party and helped establish a free floating colony on Attilan. The Thunderbolts and Young Allies also battled Anomaly and stabilized Counter-Earth. The process sent the Thunderbolts back home, though Jolt remained behind and joined the Young Allies.[25][26][27][28][29][30]

Young Allies (Heroes Reborn) (Earth-616) from Exiles Vol 1 82 009

Rikki and the Young Allies were in constant conflict with the armies of Atlantis led by Dorma. The threat ended when Proteus of Earth-58163 used his powers to kill them all. He convinced O and K to help him destroy the entire world until Proteus was stopped by the Young Allies with the aid of the reality hopping Exiles.[31]

Onslaught Reborn[]

Rikki was eventually killed in action, only to be reborn alongside Onslaught, who planned to kill Franklin so that he could more easily take over reality, thereby anchoring the psychic entity to the physical world.[3]

Franklin had retained a copy of the Heroes Reborn universe that he had created so that he had somewhere to escape to. Despite being identical to his previous creation, nearly all the heroes were native to this new pocket Earth where Bucky now found herself. She helped the heroes of this world; however, during the fight with Onslaught, both Rikki and Onslaught were trapped in the Negative Zone, with Rikki assuming she was going to die.[5]

Nomad Girl Without a World Vol 1 1 Textless

The pair survived until Onslaught became aware of a small tear in reality that led back to the universe's primary dimension, but didn't have enough power to transport all of his energy there. Instead, he possessed Rikki, wiping her memory of the time after she was transported to the Negative Zone and sent her through the hole in the Negative Zone to Philadelphia on Earth, planning to use her as a tether to eventually return to his home reality.[5]

Rikki, unaware of the portion of Onslaught that she carried inside her, attempted several times to contact Captain America, who, unbeknownst to her, was Bucky Barnes, an alternate counterpart to her own grandfather. Rikki, while still using the identity of Bucky, ran into the Young Avengers member Patriot.[32] Eventually Rikki came to the attention of Captain America's girlfriend, the Black Widow, who told Rikki to not contact him.[citation needed]

Later, Black Widow gave Rikki a new version of the Nomad costume and she began to fight crime under that codename. During her adventures, she met the hero Araña, and the two became fast friends and crime-fighting partners, eventually revealing their civilian identities to each other. Nomad also finally met with Steve Rogers, who had vague memories of his time in the original Heroes Reborn reality.[citation needed]

During one adventure, Nomad and Araña battled the Bastards of Evil, a group of young super villains claiming to be the illegitimate children of the world's most dangerous criminals. Eventually the girls were captured by the Bastards, who planned to kill them and broadcast their executions over the internet and on television. Other young heroes rescued the girls, including Gravity, Firestar, and El Toro. With their combined efforts, they were able to defeat and capture the Bastards.[33]

After defeating the Bastards, Nomad suggested that the heroes band together and form a new team; the others seemed reluctant, especially when Nomad suggested Young Allies as a name for the group. Still, the five became friends, and El Toro even became Rikki's roommate, with Rikki attempting to teach Benito English and Benito teaching her Spanish. Rikki secretly held some romantic feelings for Benito, due to a previous relationship with his counterpart in her universe.[34]

Soon after Benito moved in with her, Rikki began to have nightmares about a powerful entity attacking her in Colombia. After El Toro was kidnapped by El Dragon, Rikki along with the other Young Allies and the Secret Avengers investigated an abandoned Roxxon facility in the South American country. Once there, Onslaught revealed himself, possessing Rikki's body and attempting to use the energy he had stored in her as an anchor to pull himself from the Negative Zone back to the Earth. Revealing to Rikki that she had been sent here solely to serve as his tether, she began to fight back. Eventually, Rikki had Gravity seemingly kill her so that Onslaught could not return and destroy the planet.[35]

Despite the fact that Rikki seemingly died, Steve Rogers began to have nightmares similar to the ones Rikki had before, suggesting that enough of Nomad and Onslaught's energies may have survived to escape death and seek a new way to return.[citation needed]

Reincarnation[]

When Franklin Richards and Molecule Man recreated the Multiverse, Rikki found herself in an unidentified Old West reality with some recollection of both of her former lives, an unidentified WWII reality where she died at Omaha Beach, and the reality of Becky Barnes as well as a Zombie World. Following these iterations, Rikki was resurrected in an unidentified reality where she dated Toni Ho until both of them were killed by the Maker.[3]

Future Foundation[]

Finally reawakening in the Prime Marvel Universe, Rikki found herself a prisoner of L'ar Gath Five and the subject of a rescue operation by Franklin Richards' friends, the Future Foundation, who were on a mission to reassemble the scattered pieces of the Molecule Man.[36]

Attributes

Power Grid[42]
:Category:Power Grid/Fighting Skills/Experienced Fighter:Category:Power Grid/Energy Projection/On Contact:Category:Power Grid/Durability/Normal:Category:Power Grid/Speed/Normal:Category:Power Grid/Strength/Normal:Category:Power Grid/Intelligence/Learned

Powers

Reincarnation: Due to the fact that seemingly every version of her across the Multiverse was created by Franklin Richards, Rikki awakens in a new reality upon death, possessing the body of her counterparts, and retaining her memories from previous lifetimes.[3]

Abilities

Bucky is a trained dancer, she has great acrobatic skill,[9] and it is possible that she has been given fighting training by either Captain America or S.H.I.E.L.D.[citation needed]

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Vibranium-powered triangular Energy Shield, and Vibranium-soled boots.[citation needed]

Notes

  • Rebecca Barnes is the name of the younger sister of Bucky Barnes in the mainstream continuity.[37]
  • Upon meeting and befriending the mainstream counterpart of her brother, Rikki discovered that she also had a counterpart who died when she was born, along with her mother.[2]
    • Any familial relation between Earth-616's John and Rikki to Bucky Barnes or Peggy Carter has yet to be established or confirmed.
  • Rikki gives off an energy signature identical to that of the Maker and Molecule Man. This is because in every reality Owen and Franklin created, Rikki, Reed and Owen would be recreated there as well.[citation needed]

Trivia

  • Rikki is bisexual.[38]
  • According to Leech, Franklin places a version of Rikki in every universe he creates. He does this as he and Leech see Rikki as a friend. Franklin also believes that every universe needs a Spider-Man and a Captain America, and that Rikki is somebody who embodies Captain America's ideals, as she is always good, always tough and always cares.[40]
  • Though not confirmed, it can be assumed that Rikki was only able to reappear on Earth-616 due to Franklin Richards reviving the original Earth-616 Rikki when recreating that universe. Otherwise, there would be no body for her powers to insert her into.[3]

See Also

Links and References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rikki_Barnes

References

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