"Round 1," in Annihilation: Nova #4, by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (writers), Kev Walker (penciler), Rick Magyar (inker), Brian Reber (color artist), Cory Petit (letterer)
The point where Abnett and Lanning start writing Nova. Rich lands in the "Kyle Rayner" role as the last member of the Nova Corps, tasked with carrying not only the entire Nova Force, but also the Xandarian Worldmind, which is constantly trying to get him to do what it wants. Which is rarely what Rich wants. Rich, traumatized by the initial attack on the Nova Corps, alternates between revenge and apathy. Or fear, because he's afraid the power is going to drive him nuts (as it did the last person to hold the entire Nova Force). On top of that, he's got Drax the Destroyer and Cammi following him around, telling him to nut up, essentially. Also, Cammi keeps making fun of his helmet and complimenting his butt. That's awkward. This was my intro to her and this version of Drax, and I became a fan of hers pretty quickly.
This was also my introduction to Kev Walker's art, at least as far as I know. It's scratchier here than it is in his more recent stuff. Quasar shows up as a fairly calm, confident hero, but he has as many lines on his face as Robert Redford does these days. At the time, I joked everyone was getting skin damage from all the stray particles and cosmic radiation out there in space. Walker tends to ink his own work now, which probably accounts for the difference.
I love the version of Annihilus here, though, much more shadowy and ominous than he appears in a lot of other stuff. This looming hulk with spindly limbs, sharp points coming off everywhere, barely illuminated by that Cosmic Rod around his neck. He never really hurries, just advances steadily. He pushes through Quasar's shield with ease. He deals Nova a scarring blow with a casual backhand when he isn't even looking in his direction. It sells him, personally, as a threat far beyond what the Wave itself represents. Drax states the Wave is a hive mind, so you just need to take out the head to stop the whole thing, the head being Annihilus. Yeah, good luck with that.
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