Nova

In this 2007–2010 Marvel run, writer Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, with artists like Wellinton Alves, Sean Chen, and Andrea DiVito, put Richard Rider—the human Nova—front and center as the last surviving member of the Nova Corps. Stripped of his support system, Rider becomes a cosmic-scale solo hero, crossing paths with Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, and even Galactus himself. The series is a key part of Marvel’s late-2000s cosmic renaissance, showing a vulnerable but determined hero trying to hold his own against the galaxy’s biggest threats.