- Written by: Jed MacKay
- Art by: Alvaro Lopez
- Colors by: Mattia Iacono
- Letters by: VC’s Cory Petit
- Cover art by: Alessandro Cappuccio, Rachelle Rosenberg (cover A)
- Cover price: $4.99
- Release date: November 19, 2025
Nova: Centurion #1, by Marvel on 11/19/25, spins off from the Imperial miniseries to find the last Nova taking odd jobs to keep the Worldmind alive, and those jobs get pretty odd, indeed.
First Impressions
Opening pages crackle with a big cosmic rescue, only to undercut themselves. Nova’s attempt at humor lands like a tax bill on payday, cheapening the imperial gravitas spun by the “Imperial” miniseries that spawned this spinoff. Right away, the core concept veers off balance, sacrificing suspense for flat comic relief. The book’s emotional pitch fumbles, giving readers little reason to invest beyond morbid curiosity.
Plot Analysis
The story launches with Richard Rider, the lone Nova Centurion, responding to a distress call from the Barathi, a pleasure liner stuck in a black hole’s grip. Nova and his mental onboard A.I., Worldmind, rapidly burn precious energy reserves to drag the ship and its thousands of passengers to safety, buying their escape with a costly use of power and a bold, gravity-assisted maneuver.
No good deed goes unpunished: after the rescue, Rider’s request for compensation is met with sneers and ridicule. Enter Pip the Troll – opportunist, agent, and cosmic huckster – keen on monetizing Nova’s heroics. The pair commiserate over drinks and a growing stack of unpaid bills, Pip angling for a managerial cut.
Fast-forward three months: Nova, compelled by financial strain and Pip’s relentless pestering, accepts a sketchy consulting gig. The client? The Kree-Skrull War syndicate, notorious for war crimes and intergalactic thievery, now robbed of priceless “mysterium.” They need a hero, preferably desperate and out of options.
Negotiations take a sharper turn when the prime suspect’s captured sidekick is revealed as Cammi, the tenacious Earth woman and Nova’s fellow Annihilation War survivor. What begins as a mercenary job mutates into a deeply personal reckoning with loyalty and wartime debts. The final page dangles the return of the villain Ravenous, stoking old vendettas and setting the stage for a high-stakes confrontation.
Writing
Nova: Centurion #1 stumbles hardest in its writing, lacing the cosmic action with situational humor that crash the tone like meteorites through a stained glass window. Instead of building on the somber foundation set by the Imperial miniseries, this script steps on its own emotional toes, trading momentum and gravitas for awkward banter. Dialogue often reads as exposition in disguise, padding the pacing with underwhelming attempts at levity and hampering the high-stakes feel that this premise demands.
Art
The art delivers clarity and readable composition. Space rescues and barroom arguments are drawn with serviceable layouts that make following the story a breeze. Color work adapts to shifting moods: the cold threat of cosmic catastrophe is bathed in blues and blacks, contrasting with the neon warmth of bar scenes. Yet, despite technical competence, the visual storytelling lacks spark. There’s little stylistic flair to distinguish this issue from a dozen other Marvel space comics.
Character Development
Richard Rider comes across as weary but dogged, burdened by the twin weights of legacy and logistics. Worldmind retains its mentor-algorithm persona but lacks new depth, and Pip the Troll leans hard into wisecracks and clichés. Cammi’s brief introduction hints at trauma and history but offers little insight or motivation here, leaving all arcs feeling predictable and unearned. The book plays with past trauma, but no character breaks out of their archetype.
Originality & Concept Execution
The premise about an outgunned cosmic guardian forced to freelance to keep the lights on could’ve brought genuine novelty if played straight or subversively. Instead, the execution plays it safe: “down-on-his-luck hero” is an old song, and this arrangement hits every familiar note, missing a chance to surprise anyone who’s seen Nova down on his luck before.
Positives
The comic’s pacing delivers one clean setup after another, efficiently marching Richard from galactic disaster to reluctant business deals to a reunion with a survivor of horrors past. The color palette and line work do their job, never muddling action or dialogue. For die-hard Nova fans, the nods to series continuity and the promise of old rivalries rekindled offer a small hit of nostalgia.
Negatives
Unfortunately, the script’s desire to lighten the mood kneecaps the book’s stakes. Jokes override tension, making cosmic peril feel like a sitcom subplot. Characters are sketched so thinly they may as well be stand-ins, never quite feeling as tortured or as complex as their histories demand. Artistically, this issue is solid yet utterly unspectacular. Safe, steady, but wholly unmemorable.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.Follow @ComicalOpinions on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
The Scorecard
Writing Quality (Clarity & Pacing): 1.5/4
Art Quality (Execution & Synergy): 2.5/4
Value (Originality & Entertainment): 0.5/2
Final Verdict
Nova: Centurion #1 can’t pay its own way, let alone earn a spot on a crowded pull list. It’s more cosmic busywork than adventure – a book that spends narrative capital like spare change and leaves its own hero haggling for relevance. Choose wisely; this issue is strictly for the Nova completionists, not for anyone hoping for the next cosmic epic.
4.5/10
We hope you found this article interesting. Come back for more reviews, previews, and opinions on comics, and don’t forget to follow us on social media:
Connect With Us Here: Weird Science DC Comics / Weird Science Marvel Comics
If you’re interested in this creator’s works, remember to let your Local Comic Shop know to find more of their work for you. They would appreciate the call, and so would we.
Click here to find your Local Comic Shop: www.ComicShopLocator.com
As an Amazon Associate, we earn revenue from qualifying purchases to help fund this site. Links to Blu-Rays, DVDs, Books, Movies, and more contained in this article are affiliate links. Please consider purchasing if you find something interesting, and thank you for your support.
Weird Science Marvel Comics 