Marvel, It’s Time: Celebrate Nova’s 50th Anniversary

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Petition Marvel to Celebrate Nova’s 50th AnniversaryA Petition Link with CommentaryBy Timelord

In 2026, the Marvel character Nova (Rich Rider) will celebrate 50 years, but Marvel hasn’t announced any plans to commemorate the milestone. Fans have started a petition asking Marvel’s editor-in-chief, C.B. Cebulski, to properly recognize Nova’s 50th anniversary.

Follow the link to sign the petition at change.org: https://c.org/wN6zvGY5rp

How Marvel Cosmic hooked me

My fascination with the grand, space-faring stories of Marvel began in the summer of 1974. I was twelve years old when I spent 25 cents on an issue of Thor – specifically, #227 – and was immediately captivated by the epic battle between Thor, Hercules, Firelord, Galactus, and the living planet, Ego.

I was eagerly anticipating the release of issue #228 next month to find out how the story ended, and I highly recommend it if you haven’t read it yet. It’s a fantastic cosmic story that stands alongside the very best Marvel has ever created.

This sparked my interest in other comics featuring science fiction, horror, and fantasy, including titles like Magnus Robot Fighter and Dr. Spektor from Gold Key, Kong the Untamed from DC, Gold Key’s Star Trek, and Space: 1999 and Doomsday +1 from Charlton, as well as many more.

It used to be difficult to find quality science fiction and fantasy shows and movies on TV. Fans could sometimes catch old episodes of Star Trek on local channels, and Doctor Who occasionally aired on PBS. Space: 1999 first appeared in 1975, and the film Logan’s Run came out in 1976. That same year, Starlog magazine launched, quickly becoming the main source of news and information for sci-fi and fantasy fans – long before the internet existed.

Before 1977, comic books were the go-to source for science fiction and fantasy fans. Then, the release of Star Wars completely changed things, paving the way for the abundance of SF and fantasy we see in movies, TV shows, books, and more today.

Discovering The Man Called Nova

I vividly recall a day in mid-June 1976. My small Midwestern town was buzzing with preparations for the Bicentennial, and I was riding my bike to the local pharmacy – a family-run store where I usually bought comic books. That day, I was thrilled to unexpectedly discover a brand-new cosmic comic called The Man Called Nova.

I first noticed the now-famous cover art while browsing the comic book rack at the store. I quickly grabbed a new, undamaged copy – those were hard to find back then, before comics came with protective bags and boards – paid my thirty cents, and rushed home to see if the story lived up to the exciting image on the cover.

I wasn’t surprised at all by how much I loved it. The artwork by John Buscema and the stories by Marv Wolfman completely captivated me, and I’ve been a huge fan of Nova (Rich Rider) ever since – for almost 50 years now!

Rich Rider’s long road to becoming a Marvel Cosmic legend

I really loved following the character Rich Rider from 1976 to 1979. The story built to a thrilling climax where Rich finally went into space, which happened in the final three issues of the original comic book series.

The 25th issue concluded the series with a bit of an unresolved ending. Rich was shown battling in the Xandar-Skrull War while defending the planet Xandar.

As a comic fan, I always loved how the story unfolded with Rich Richards. It started in the early Fantastic Four issues (#204-214, specifically from 1979-1980) and really took off when he ended up stranded on Xandar, caught up in a war. His story continued over in the Rom series, and it wrapped up nicely with issue #24 in 1981, bringing him back to Earth, though sadly without his powers.

It wasn’t until 1989, eight years later in Thor #412, that we saw Rich Rider again. He returned with new powers as a member of the New Warriors, and quickly became the team’s most popular character.

He’s continued to work with us on many projects, most notably Annihilation (2006-2007). I believe it’s the greatest Marvel Cosmic story ever told.

And now, we are enjoying a new series, Nova Centurion, on the eve of Rich’s 50th Anniversary.

Thank you to the creators, advocates, and fans

As we celebrate 50 years of Rich Rider Nova, I want to express my gratitude to Marv Wolfman for creating such a memorable character. I also thank all the Marvel editors, writers, and artists who have brought Rich’s exciting stories to life over the years.

I’d like to especially thank Doug Smith for his enthusiastic support of the Nova and for creating and constantly updating Novaprimepage, which is the best Nova database available.

I’m especially grateful to Matt McGloin for building and maintaining CosmicBookNews, the leading website for cosmic-related news and information. He consistently champions high-quality content, particularly for titles like Nova, Quasar, and Guardians of the Galaxy, and I appreciate the opportunity he’s given me to contribute to CosmicBookNews over the years.

I especially want to thank Nova viewers for your generous support. Without your contributions, none of the programs we create would be possible.

Marvel hasn’t announced a Nova 50th celebration

As the 50th anniversary of Nova approaches, Marvel hasn’t revealed any plans for a celebration. They might be waiting to announce something later to create excitement, or they may not be planning anything special at all.

Questions have been asked of Marvel’s editorial staff, but so far, silence.

With Marvel currently focusing on its classic characters and their histories, it feels like the right time to recognize Rich Rider Nova as a legacy hero, given his 50-year run and celebrate his contributions to the Marvel Universe.

Time is running out! It’s February 2026, and the opportunity to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Rich’s book, The Man Called Nova (originally released in June-September 1976), is almost here.

Calling all Nova fans! Please sign the petition for EIC Cebulski requesting a 50th anniversary celebration for Rich Rider Nova. Let’s demonstrate to Marvel how many dedicated fans Rich Rider has and show our enthusiasm for more Nova stories and a special anniversary event!

Follow the link to sign the petition: https://c.org/wN6zvGY5rp

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2026-02-15 00:33