Wake Up, Rich, Wake Up!

I'm not sure why, but I can't shake the feeling the current Nova story arc is Rich having a nightmare, or the Worldmind running some sort of hypothetical scenario to gauge Rich's current mental state, since he's still carrying probably over 90% over the Nova Force.

It's silly to think this, since I've seen April's solicited cover and it shows that mohawked tool Gladiator plowing through a horde of Novas like he's freaking OMAC or something*. Still, I can't help thinking it feels similar to his hallucinations while infected with the Phalanx virus during 2008's Nova Annual.

There's something about all of it that feels so terribly off. How the Worldmind is recruiting seemingly so many Earthlings, and seems terribly focused on guarding Earth, when there's a whole universe out there that needs attention. Possibly reflects Rich's desire to protect his homeworld? I'd imagine that when Rich first ran into all those Super-Skrulls, there were probably plenty of distress calls built up for him to respond to. As far as I know, Earth had not contacted him asking for assistance, yet Rich immediately comes back home the instant Kl'rt tells him what's going on, even though Earth has dozens of capes to protect it.

The Worldmind housing itself in Ego, the Living Planet, and telling Rich that Ego agreed to let Worldmind take over as the brain? Ego, who tended to run around wreaking havoc, eating anything it could, and has resisted all attempts to destroy it, or to control its actions? Well, Rich has butted heads with the Worldmind quite a bit over what their priorities are. Whether to rebuild the Corps fast or slow, whether to focus on getting the Worldmind someplace safe, or continuing to police the universe, and on and on.

Thirdly, there's just something about all those Novas in Nova #21. With the exception of Robbie, they all keep their helmets on constantly. Their eyes are either glowing, in a creepy Village of the Damned way, or are shrouded in shadows, hidden from view. In the crowd scenes, a lot of them look really similar**. In his first trip up to Ego, er "Nu-Xandar", all the Novas present give him the salute, creepy (to me, anyway) in how similar they are. They're all very friendly and respectful. But on Rich's second visit, Tarcel is the only one who salutes, and there's something about that 'Heh' he gives when Rich says he feels he's about 'to get the gold watch'. Like there's a punchline that Rich isn't privy to, and he's trying to keep from spoiling it. Would all this be a reflection of Rich's fear of the Corps' ranks swelling, only to be obliterated in the next big war, because none of these folks are adequately prepped for it? Just nameless schmoes being fed into the wood-chipper?

Or, is it a reflection of Rich's fear of being ordinary? The Annual covered how Rich, prior to becoming Nova, felt like he was utterly nondescript, only to be told that was why he'd make a fine Nova. And it seems like I can remember Rich expressing how being a Nova was one of the best things to ever happen to him, back during New Warriors Volume 1***. Well, when he was the only Nova left, that made him even more unique. The only Nova left, housing all of the Nova Force, and the Worldmind, and not only did he not go crazy, he fought Annihilus and won. Helped stop the Ultron-led Phalanx, and got the Kree out from under their control. Heck, he even earned the respect of Ronan the Accuser and the original, accept-no-substitutes, Super-Skrull! With the Corps swelling, and especially when he relinquishes the majority of the Nova Force, he loses all that.

Plus there's how quickly Rich goes from calm to pissed off. Granted, he's had a temper for as long as I've been reading about him****, but he's matured. He was sitting there, calmly discussing his concerns with the Fantastic Four, not acting awed by them, like it's just Sunday tea. Then the Worldmind pops up, says a couple things, and Rich starts lashing out. Would this be Rich's fears that he really is being damaged by the Nova Force showing through? Or, is it representing parental issues? Back in the Annihilation: Nova mini-series, before he begins housing the Nova Force, Rich slipped for a moment and called the Worldmind "dad". The Worldmind caught it, Rich played it off, and as best I can recall, Abnett and Lanning never touched on it directly again*****. But, when Rich came back to Earth at the start of the series, his dad was fairly antagonistic towards him, and I definitely remember his parents occasionally expressing concern about his lack of direction in life early in New Warriors, though that subsided when they learned he was back being Nova. With his father not being around him much these days, has the Worldmind fallen into that role? The authority figure to struggle against, the more experienced being that can - for all the progress you think you've made - cut through your self-esteem with just a few words, because it knows you so well?

Geez, I thought this was going to be a quick post, and it spun out into all that. Wow.

* Hmm, Gladiator as OMAC? They've each got mohawks, they're both capable of fighting a massive number of foes at once, and they can each be unstoppable if they feel like it. Nah.

** Holy crap! Ego can create antibodies to defend itself, and it can also alter its exterior appearance to seem more hospitable to unwary travelers. Could Worldmind be using Ego's resources to make anti-bodies, then pumping them up with the Nova Force? It already did something similar with those assault droids that project PEGASUS had during the Secret Invasion arc.

*** I can't verify that, but it seems right. Maybe I'm just going off how he seemed to be drifting before Night Thrasher helped him get his powers again.

**** That'd be the Nicieza/Bagley New Warriors, as if you hadn't already guessed.

***** Unless that's what the periodic friction between Nova and the Worldmind represents.