Nova (Frankie Raye) is a character appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. Created by writer

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...

and artist

George Pérez George Pérez (; June 9, 1954 – May 6, 2022) was an American comic book artist and writer, who worked primarily as a penciller. He came to prominence in the 1970s penciling ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' and ''The Avengers (c ...

, the character first appeared in ''

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...

'' #164 (November 1975). Frankie Raye was portrayed by Beau Garrett in the 2007 film '' Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer''.

Publication history

The character first appeared as Frankie Raye in ''

'' #164 (November 1975) and was created by writer

and artist

. After several years as a minor supporting character, she became a herald of

Galactus Galactus () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Formerly a mortal man, he is a cosmic entity who consumes planets to sustain his life force, and serves a functional role in the upkeep of the p ...

and assumed the name "Nova" in ''Fantastic Four'' #244 (July 1982) by John Byrne. The character was killed in ''

Silver Surfer The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...

'' #75 (December 1992). Writer

Kathryn Immonen Kathryn Immonen (; Kuder) is a Canadian comic book and webcomic writer. She has written a number of comic books for Marvel Comics since 2007, in collaboration with her husband Stuart. Biography In 2007 Immonen began working for Marvel Comics wr ...

and artist

Tonči Zonjić Tonči Zonjić is a Croatian comic book artist, writer and illustrator living in Toronto, Canada. He is best known for his work on Mike Mignola's '' Lobster Johnson'' series, and the Eisner Award-nominated ''Jake Ellis'' series. He designed the ...

revived Frankie Raye in the ''Heralds'' limited series in 2010.

Fictional character biography

While working for the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

as an

interpreter Interpreting is translation from a spoken or signed language into another language, usually in real time to facilitate live communication. It is distinguished from the translation of a written text, which can be more deliberative and make use o ...

, Frankie Raye meets Johnny Storm and becomes his girlfriend, despite her fear of fire. The couple soon breaks up, despite an attempt at reconciliation by Johnny. A brief encounter by the two some time later results in an unpleasant reaction by Frankie. They eventually begin to see each other again. Her fear is eventually explained to be the result of a mental block induced by her stepfather,

Phineas Horton Haechi Haechi (Mark Sim) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Christopher Yost and Marcus To, he first appeared in ''New Warriors'' (vol. 5) #2 (March 2014). Sim is among the laten ...

, after she was accidentally doused with the chemicals which caused the android original Human Torch (his creation) to burst into flame, in an attempt to prevent her from using the Torch-like powers granted to her by the accident. After breaking through the block, she regains her full memory and discovers her previously repressed superhuman powers. She aids the

for a short time, until she volunteers to become the new herald of

. She takes the name "Nova". Having previously demonstrated what the Fantastic Four deemed an alarming willingness to kill opponents, she claims to have no compunction about leading him to sentient populated planets and proves that when she leads the Devourer of Worlds to the

Skrull The Skrulls () are a race of List of fictional extraterrestrials, extraterrestrial shapeshifters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' #2 and were crea ...

home-world to consume it. Nova later attends the trial of Reed Richards by the

Shi'ar The Shi'ar ( ) are a fictional species of aliens appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Shi'ar Empire (or Imperium) is a vast collection of alien species, cultures, and worlds situated close to the Skrull and Kree Em ...

Empire. When Richard Rider resumes his Nova identity alongside the

New Warriors The New Warriors are a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They traditionally consisted of teenage and young adult heroes, and were often seen to serve as a junior counterpart to Avengers (comics) ...

, he is briefly called "Kid Nova" to distinguish him from Raye. Nova is later rescued from Skrull imprisonment by the

, whom she meets for the first time. She then battles the

Elders of the Universe The Elders of the Universe are a group of supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Collector was the first Elder to appear, and featured in '' The Avengers'' #28 (May 1966), but the idea that he was a member ...

. Galactus sends her to locate one of them, the Contemplator, and she is joined in this quest by the Silver Surfer. They journey to the

Coalsack Nebula The Coalsack Nebula (Southern Coalsack, or simply ''the'' Coalsack) is a dark nebula, which is visible to the naked eye as a dark patch obscuring part of the Milky Way east of Acrux (Alpha Crucis) in the constellation of Crux (constellation), Cru ...

where they are captured by Captain Reptyl. After battling Captain Reptyl, Nova battles Ronan the Accuser. This is followed by a clash with a Skrull duplicate of the Silver Surfer and a romantic flirtation with the real Silver Surfer. Nova and Galactus battle the In-Betweener. Nova then turns her romantic interests toward Firelord. Nova later encounters an injured Elan. She battles the second Star-Stalker, and then meets the

Power Pack Power Pack is a superhero team consisting of four young siblings appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Louise Simonson and artist June Brigman, they first appeared in their own series in 1984, which las ...

. A stimulator device temporarily renders her evil, until she is subdued by Reed and Franklin Richards, and Power Pack. Frankie Raye is ultimately killed by the alien

Morg Morg is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as a herald of Galactus. He was created by Ron Lim and Ron Marz and first appeared in ''Silver Surfer'' (vol. 3) #69 ...

, who replaced her as Galactus' herald. The demon Mephisto later makes it appear that she returned from the dead in a failed bid to steal the soul of the Silver Surfer.

Powers and abilities

Nova originally gained her superhuman powers after being mutated by exposure to unknown chemicals. Originally, she had powers similar to that of the Human Torch: flame generation, projection, and flight. Nova later gains vastly increased powers after Galactus imbues her with the Power Cosmic. She possesses superhuman physical abilities as well as the ability to project energy from across the electromagnetic spectrum and fly at faster-than-light speeds.

Reception

* In 2016,

Comic Book Resources ''CBR'', formerly ''Comic Book Resources'', is a news website primarily covering comic book news, comic book reviews, and comic book–related topics involving movies, television, anime, and video games. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publicat ...

(CBR) ranked Frankie Raye / Nova 13th in their "Straight Fire: The Hottest Heroes in Comics" list. * In 2018, CBR ranked Frankie Raye / Nova 9th in their "Top 20 Heralds Of Galactus, Ranked By Power" list.

Other versions

An alternate universe version of

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

encounters Nova in the 24th century in the first ''Hercules'' limited series by writer/artist

Bob Layton Bob Layton (born September 25, 1953) is an American comic book artist, writer, and editor. He is best known for his work on Marvel Comics titles such as ''Iron Man (comic book), Iron Man'' and ''Hercules (Marvel Comics), Hercules'', and for co-fo ...

. Writer-penciler John Byrne and inker Terry Austin produced a serialized story titled "The Last Galactus Story", which appeared in the

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

comics-magazine ''

Epic Illustrated ''Epic Illustrated'' was a comics anthology in magazine format published in the United States by Marvel Comics. Similar to the US-licensed comic book magazine ''Heavy Metal (magazine), Heavy Metal'', it allowed explicit content to be featured, un ...

'' #26-34 (October 1984 - February 1986), and detailed an all-new adventure for the character. The magazine published the first nine serialized installments of what was to be a 10-part tale. Each ran six pages, with the exception of part eight, which ran 12 pages. The magazine was cancelled in February 1986, leaving the last chapter unpublished and the story unfinished. According to Byrne, the story would have concluded with a dying Galactus releasing his power, causing a new

Big Bang The Big Bang is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models based on the Big Bang concept explain a broad range of phenomena, including th ...

and transforming Nova into his successor. During the Fantastic Four's fight with

Abraxas Abraxas (, variant form romanized: ) is a word of mystic meaning in the system of the Gnostic Basilides, being there applied to the "Great Archon" (), the princeps of the 365 spheres (). The word is found in Gnostic texts such as the '' Holy ...

, they briefly ally with an alternate version of Nova. It is revealed at the conclusion that she is actually allied with Abraxas after her Galactus destroyed Earth even after accepting her as his herald. Nova transferred her anger for her failure to the Fantastic Four of the Earth-616 universe in the absence of her own. Abraxas subsequently draws in an army of Novas who experienced similar traumas to keep the Fantastic Four occupied while he acquires the Ultimate Nullifier. The Fantastic Four summon the assistance of an army of alternate

Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...

to keep the Novas occupied.

In other media

Television

* Frankie Raye / Nova appears in the ''

'' episode "When Calls Galactus", voiced by Leeza Miller McGee. * Frankie Raye / Nova appears in ''

'', voiced by Tara Rosling. This version is a

mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It i ...

with clairvoyant and teleportation powers who Galactus recruited to replace the Silver Surfer as his herald. * Frankie Raye appears in the '' Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes'' episode "Zoned Out", voiced by Tabitha St. Germain.

Film

Frankie Raye appears in '' Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer'', portrayed by Beau Garrett. This version is a

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

captain.

Merchandise

* In 2011,

Diamond Select Toys Diamond Select Toys and Collectibles, LLC was founded in 1999 by sister company Diamond Comics Distributors to create collectibles for adult collectors, and has since licensed a variety of pop culture properties, including Marvel Comics, ''Star Wa ...

released a Frankie Raye / Nova figure as part of the

Toys "R" Us Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids (doing business as Tru Kids Brands) and various others. The company was founded in 1948 in Washington, D.C.; its first store was built in April 1948, with i ...

exclusive ''Heralds of Galactus'' boxset. * In 2021,

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...

released a Frankie Raye / Nova action figure as part of the Marvel Legends action figure line.

References

External links

* * * * * {{Silver Surfer, state=collapsed Characters created by George Pérez Characters created by Roy Thomas Comics characters introduced in 1975 Fantastic Four Fictional characters with fire or heat abilities Marvel Comics female superheroes Marvel Comics mutates