Nova #1-#3: You Can't Go Home Again

***** (five of five stars)

Favorite Quote:  “Peter Parker – the ‘Daily Bugle’ photographer – is Spider-Man?”  -- a stunned Nova responding to the news of Spidey’s unmasking

Summary
As the last member of the Nova Corps, Richard rockets around the Universe dealing with the aftermath of the Annihilation Wave.  As he does so – defeating a giant techno-organic creature on Turakis and a delayed pod of Annihilus’ minions on Halexa – Worldmind continues to voice its concern that he’s moving too fast and will burn out quickly.  After he almost kills the both of them by ignoring Worldmind’s navigational control and flying too close to a “super-gravitational event,” he relents and agrees to take some downtime.  Returning to Earth, he visits his parents, who give him the details on the destruction of the school in Stamford that killed Namorita and Night Thrasher and started the superhero "Civil War."  Dinner – and Richard’s dad’s diatribe about superheroes – is interrupted by Iron Man; SHIELD tracked Richard as a possible threat given his powerful power profile.  Iron Man is shocked by the new Nova, who gets upset with him when he realizes that the superhero community was so busy fighting its "Civil War" that it had essentially ignored the death of billions during the Annihilation Wave.  Iron Man tries to convince Nova to register, which he considers particularly important given that he’s a former member of the New Warriors.  Justice also tries to convince Richard to join.  At home, Richard’s dad is deeply disturbed when he discovers Worldmind controlling Richard’s body.  While Richard is on a walk to clear his head, he’s attacked by Diamondhead, who had staked out Richard’s parents’ house after Richard’s identity was revealed in the press after the Stamford incident (a result of his New Warriors connection).  Nova defeats Diamondhead, but attracts the attention of the Thunderbolts, against whom he holds his own.  Iron Man arrives to diffuse the situation, and Nova reveals his shock that villains like Venom are working for the government.  At home again, Richard’s father screams at him for fighting the Thunderbolts (“They’re the good guys!”) and his parents encourage him to register.  Angered by their implication that something is wrong with him mentally, Richard leaves the house, only to encounter Penance.  Robbie expresses his guilt over the Stamford incident, and Richard encourages him to move past it.  He then leaves Earth, telling his parents via a hijacked satellite feed that he’s needed elsewhere and that he’s the only one who can do the job he has to do. 

The Review
DnA cover a lot of ground here.  Richard goes on a full emotional and physical journey, beginning the story longing for home in space as he still deals with the aftermath of “Annihilation” and ending it seeking solace in space from the insanity of “Civil War” on Earth.  I couldn’t hope for a better start to this series.  I really hated Erik Larsen’s brief “Nova” series, the last time we got to see Nova in his own book.  This arc was repudiation, on all levels, of that series, showing us Nova as an adult hero.  To paraphrase the President quoting the Bible, Richard has put away childish things, and DnA get that point across clearly here.

The Really Good
1) I spend a lot of time overseas with my job, and I felt like I was reading a comic-book version of my life at points during this arc.  I was living overseas from 2000-2004, which meant that I wasn’t in the States for September 11th or its aftermath.  Every time I went home during that era, I eagerly awaited living in my own culture, of not being a stranger in a strange land.  But, just like Nova and the "Civil War," I found that the most disturbing part of going home in those post-September 11th years was that I still felt like a stranger in a strange land.  The culture was changing rapidly without me, and I often found myself surprised and occasionally disturbed by the changes.  For me, DnA really, really got that hue of shock down perfectly.  I should read these issues again right before I got home next summer, so I can prepare myself better!

2) If the "Civil War" was the macro-version of the expression, “You can’t go home again,” Nova’s fighting with his parents was the micro-version.  Everyone who’s ever left home inevitably goes back again only to find that his parents still view him as the person that left.  It didn’t matter that Richard led an intergalactic effort to save the Universe, he still found himself trying to explain himself to his father.  It’s a classic tale, but DnA still do a great job of making it poignant here.

3) Speaking of his accomplishments, I felt like DnA really got right the fact that everyone still viewed Richard as who he had been.  It doesn’t matter that Ronan the Accuser considers him a brother, Richard is still just the kid he was when he left, a member of the New Warriors, nothing more, nothing less.  Again, we all go through that moment.  No matter how successful you are in life, you’re never going to convince your First Grade teacher (or, you know, Iron Man) you’re not a kid with a runny nose who can’t figure out his Velcro sneakers.

4) Richard’s conversation with Robbie was really poignant.  You could feel Robbie’s guilt just exuding from him.  Richard’s comment – “Don’t let them turn you into something you’re not.” – was pitch-perfect.

Annihilation #1-#6

**** (four of five stars)

Summary

Six months after Annihilation Day, Nova now leads the resistance, called the United Front, with a de-powered Starlord (Peter Quill) serving as his deputy and Gamora (of "Annihilation:  Ronan") serving as his black-ops leader.  The Front is holding the Annihilation Wave on the periphery of the Kree Empire, a world called Daedalus-5, when the Wave manages to break through its force field.  Firelord captures Extirpia, Annihilus' queen, who reveals that the attack was a distraction so that Tenebrous and Aegis could defeat and kidnap Galactus and the Silver Surfer.  Meanwhile, Annihilus sends Ravenous after the remaining Heralds (Firelord, Red Shift, and Stardust).  After the Front retreats behind another series of force fields, pausing the battle, Phyla appears to Drax to tell him that Thanos has captured his daughter, Moondragon, and Praxagora arrives with the body of the Super-Skrull (and the story of their defeat of the Wave).  As Nova and his allies are trying to sort out Praxagora's allegiances, Ravenous appears with a squad (including a mind-controlled Terrax) to engage Nova and his allies.  As they almost start winning, Annihilus' elite guard, the Centurions, arrive, turning the tide in favor of the Wave.  The rest of the Wave arrives, using Thanos' teleportation technology, and Nova is forced to order a disorganized retreat.  Meanwhile, Thanos has been experimenting on Galactus and the Silver Surfer and reveals that he's found the key to siphoning the Power Cosmic.  He activates Galactus against Daedalus-5, forcing Nova to push an even hastier retreat.  The Super-Skrull is revealed to have been resurrected, and Drax, Red Shift, and Stardust stay behind to cover the escape.  Upon regrouping, the Front disbands, given the heavy losses and the revelation that the Wave now has teleportation technology.  Gamora goes to engage in guerrilla attacks on the Wave, Nova decides to take on Annihilus directly, and Ronan takes Super-Skrull and Praxagora to take on the Kree royal family, House Fiyero.

Drax is revealed to have survived the destruction of Daedalus-5 after having worked his way through the Wave troops to a ship.  Annihilus is furious with Thanos that he is diverting even a small amount of Power Cosmic to keep Galactus alive.  Peter Quill questions Nova's plan to go after Annihilus, but decides to accompany him when Nova points out the fact that Earth's heroes are too distracted by the Civil War to help.  Drax kills another queen (Eradica) and takes command of her ship, while Nova takes Peter Quill and Phyla to Xandar in order to get his hands on the Nova Corps' phase technology.  Moondragon reveals to Thanos that, based on reading his mind, Annihilus has staged the war not to conquer the Universe but to use Galactus as a bomb to destroy both the Universe and the Negative Zone.  Thanos agrees to deactivate the apparatus imprisoning Galactus (only he can), but Drax arrives and kills Thanos before he can finish the process.  Drax frees the Silver Surfer who finishes the deactivation of the imprisonment apparatus, freeing Galactus.

Meanwhile, Ronan, the Super-Skrull, and Praxagora storm through Hala, only to discover the Kree have joined the Annihilation Wave, and Nova finds Blastarr, who's leading his own resistance and gives Nova Annihilus's coordinates.  Ronan defeats Ravenous and eliminates House Fiyero, taking up leadership of the Kree after discovering that House Fiyero left the Supreme Intelligence brain-dead.  (Ronan mercy kills him).  Finally freed, Galactus sets about destroying most of the Wave (after shunting Drax and Moondragon to safety).  Annihilus barely survives, extending a great amount of power in so doing.  Ravenous launches another attack from Hala's orbit, but a Ronan-led Kree army repels him.  Nova finds and engages Annihilus.  Before Annihilus kills Nova, Phyla takes back the Quantum Bands from Annihilus, further de-powering him.  Nova realizes his weakness is through his mouth and rips out his heart.

In the epilogue, we learn that Red Shift and Stardust are in fact dead, and Drax, Super-Skrull, and Praxagora have gone MIA.  Ronan ceded certain parts of Kree territory to Ravenous after he sued for peace.  The allies are talking about making Nova chief of police (of the Universe, I guess), though he's unsure what he wants to do.  Phyla is considering taking up the Quasar name.  Ravenous, now in control of the Skrull Empire and the occupied Kree territories, uses a mother to re-birth Annihilus.

The Review

I really, really enjoyed this series.  You'll notice, of course, that I do list a significant number of bads.  The plot, unfortunately, had a number of holes.  If I were going to summarize them, it would be that Annihilus is portrayed during the mini-series and the first half of this series as completely un-defeatable:  he has the numbers, he has Tenebrous and Aegis, he has Thanos, he has the Centurions, and he has Galactus.  But, then, suddenly, it all changes, but not because of anything the heroes did but because characters suddenly disappeared.  Yes, Thanos betrayed Annihilus and freed Galactus.  But, Tenebrous, Aegis, and the Centurions disappear just as he needs them.  It would be like Han Solo and Princess Leia just suddenly disappearing halfway through "Return of the Jedi."  I felt like something should've been used to explain their absence because, in the end, it felt like Giffen had them disappear just so Annihilus could be defeated.

However, despite that, it's a pretty rocking series.  I read it -- and its preceding mini-series -- because Nova is one of my favorite characters.  I just re-read the short-lived "Nova" series by Erik Larsen, and it was a huge disappointment.  As I mentioned in "Annihilation:  Nova," he's portrayed as a girl-crazy, attention-seeking frat boy with few redeeming qualities.  I'm down with girl-crazy and attention-seeking (they're part of his charm, after all), but it was time for Nova to grow up a little and temper out those traits with a commitment to fighting the good fight for a reason other than getting the Avengers' attention.  Giffen gives us that gift here -- a Nova with a cause -- and it's awesome.  He gets the girl, he gets the wise-cracking side-kick, and he gets respect.  Perfect.  It's a long overdue moment and it gives Nova the potential to be one of Marvel's top-shelf super-heroes, not just a poor man's Spider-Man.  I'm really looking forward to making my way through the "Nova" series to see what DnA do with this development.

More than just Nova, though, Giffen and the other authors do a great job getting me to care about all sorts of characters -- Ronan, Drax, Phyla, Super-Skrull -- who existed only on the periphery of my awareness.  They've opened a whole new world of series for me, and I'm excited to see where it goes.  So, despite some of the plot holes that occasionally drove me to distraction, I recommend this series for its heart.

The Really Good

The portrayal of the destruction of Daedalus-5 and its aftermath in issue #3 was really well done.  Nova's narration was pitch-perfect, showing us the emotional impact of the sacrifices of Drax, Red Shift, and Stardust on him and stressing how those sacrifices didn't matter because they lost the war, given than Annihilus' now had large-scale teleportation technology and a weaponized Galactus.  You feel Richard's sense of helplessness, having carried the weight of so many life-and-death decisions for months only to face utter defeat.  Watching Gamora leave to go guerrilla-warfare on the Wave, seeing Ronan take the Super-Skrull and Praxagora to overthrow the Kree rulers, watching Nova decide to take on Annihilus by himself:  issue #3 was really the "Empire Strikes Back" of the series!  We see everyone at their lowest moments, the Front dissolved, the Wave threatening Earth in three months' time, the heroes saying their good-byes to each other as they go their separate ways.  (I particularly liked the dramatic scene between Nova and Ronan at the end, with Ronan telling Rich he considered him a brother and Nova left staring into space.) This issue alone earned this series four stars, despite some of the plot holes I outline below.

The Good

1) Giffen really manages to pull together all the disparate characters from the four lead-in mini-series in a deft way, with everyone fulfilling pretty logical roles within the United Front structure.  I mean, by the middle of the second issue, we've got the entire cast of main characters from all four mini-series in play!

2) As mentioned above, I enjoyed seeing the natural outcome of the sentiments expressed at the end of "Annihilation:  Nova," with Rich going, in his own words, from boy to man.  We still see his charm hidden in there, but the burdens of leadership are evident.  He fears that he's getting too used to the difficult decisions he has to make, like firebombing the wounded soldiers on Daedalus-5 to take out the Wave army so the remaining soldiers can escape.  It's a far cry from the kid fighting crime in part to get the attention of the Avengers.  It's a welcome change (and makes him even sexier than usual...).

The Bad

1) At the end of issue #2, we see the leadership group of the United Front facing the Centurions, who seem poised to overwhelm them.  But, in the start of issue #3, the Centurions are nowhere to be seen.  Instead, the Wave itself is attacking.  Weird.  Moreover, they're only occasionally mentioned -- but not really seen -- for the rest of the series.

2) The Super-Skrull's resurrection is bizarre.  First, the writer and editors seemed to have changed their minds about his death, because I doubt we would've seen the tribute scene at the end of "Annihilation:  Super-Skrull" if they had intended to resurrect him.  Second, even Nova concedes that they don't really know how he was resurrected, noting they all just took it on fact since they were busy fleeing Galactus.  Boo. 

3) I don't get Thanos' reaction to news that Annihilus is trying to use Galactus as a bomb.  I thought his motivation had been to serve Mistress Death, so, um, wouldn't he want as many people dead as possible?  The revelation that he was helping Annihilus just because it was interesting fell a little flat, to say the least.

4) The resolution of the Galactus problem was a little...simple.  Issue #4 ended making it seem like all hope was lost because only Thanos could release Galactus, having keyed the device to his energy signature.  But, then, Drax decides it had more to do with power levels and pretty easily frees the Silver Surfer, who accomplishes the task.  Didn't you think Annihilus would've maybe had better security on Galactus and the Surfer if they were that important?

5) Speaking of security, what happened to Tenebrous and Aegis?  They disappeared much like the Centurions.  You'd figure, if they were in league with Annihilus, he would've dispatched them in his defense as he was in the process of being slaughtered.

Annihilation: Super-Skrull #1-#4

** (two of five stars)

Summary
Super-Skrull is defending a Skrull world from the Annihilation Wave when he witnesses one of its warships, the Harvester of Sorrow, destroy the entire planet.  He flees to a Skrull warship controlled by one of the warlords now running the Skrull empire and asks her to provide him with a platoon to attack the Wave.  She refuses, since it could open up her territory to conquest from another warlord.  She insults him as a has-been disgrace and he attacks her.  The Super-Skrull flees and a young mechanic, R'Kin, rescues him, telling him that he had always been his idol.  Taking R'Kin with him, the Super-Skrull gets Reed Richards to send him into the Negative Zone to raise an army of those who oppose Annihilus.  Through torturing an official loyal to Annihilus, Super-Skrull discovers that the Harvester is a living organism created by a Hawal, who runs a prison planet.  The Super-Skrull attacks the planet and finds Hawal, who tells him he can create a virus to destroy the Harvester.  Two escaped prisoners sign onto the crusade to stop the Annihilation Wave to stick it to their jailers, and the Super-Skrull turns the rest of the prisoners into his army.  R'Kin builds a dimensional portal and asks the Super-Skrull if he can be the one to deliver the virus bomb, so he can finally strike blood.  The Super-Skrull leads the defense of Zaragz'na, the ancestral Skrull home world where the Super-Skrull's son lives.  However, R'Kin is revealed to be a traitor who did not deliver the bomb, and the Wave captures the Super-Skrull and his two followers and destroys Zaragz'na.  The Super-Skrull hypnotizes R'Kin and gets him to free him and the two other prisoners.  One of the prisoners, the robot Praxagora, plans on detonating the reactor core that fuels her to destroy the Harvester, while the Super-Skrull tracks down R'Kin.  R'Kin says he betrayed the Super-Skrull because he learned that he's a villain and that war makes no sense.  After amputating R'Kin's limbs so he cannot escape, the Super-Skrull finds Praxagora and absorbs her detonation, allowing her to live and him to make the sacrifice.  In the end, thousands of days after Annihilation Day, it's revealed the Skrulls worship the Super-Skrull as the hero he wished to be.

The Good
It seems odd to mark it as a "good" but this series is unspeakably sad.  Grillo-Marxuach gives us a group of truly wounded characters, from the Super-Skrull, who realizes too late that he should have focused more on his son and seeks to save him as his last act of redemption, to Praxagora, the last surviving member of her race.  I've rarely read an issue with a heavier heart than I did #4, where R'Kin narrates his horrible betrayal and Praxagora narrates her preparation to sacrifice her life.

The Bad
1) Why is the Skrull Empire broken apart again?  As mentioned elsewhere in these "Annihilation" reviews, I feel like I needed a better cheat sheet on the Skrull Empire than we got in the "Annihilation:  Prologue" series.

2) Holy pet peeve #2, Batman!  The introduction page to issue #2 tells us that the Super-Skrull has invaded the Negative Zone, captured someone who can destroy the Harvester of Sorrows, and found some allies.  Um, those events SEEM kind of important, so you think they'd happen ON PANEL.  Except, they do actually happen on panel.  They happen over the first few pages of issue #2 itself.  Rather than leaving the reader feeling like he missed an issue (which I totally felt), you'd think they've would've not spoiled the first few pages of the issue in the introduction page.  Since the same page appears in issue #3, it seems pretty clear that it was an error, but still!

3) So, R'Kin betrayed the Super-Skrull and his team because he felt that the Super-Skrull wasn't heroic (and was in fact a villain) and that war was pointless.  So, he becomes a traitor and lets the Wave devour the Skrull home world, killing millions of people?  Really?  Grillo-Marxuach really lost me with this pretty far-fetched explanation, which is why I give the series only two stars despite being mostly enjoyable.

Annihilation: Silver Surfer #1-#4

*** (three of five stars)

Summary
Air-Walker, a former Herald of Galactus, is attacked by a group of emissaries of Annihilus called Seekers.  The group's leader, Ravenous, reveals that the Annihilation Wave attacked Xandar (in "Annihilation:  Prologue") to draw out Air-Walker and another former Herald, Firelord, because Annihilus wishes to possess the Power Cosmic.  Silver Surfer rescues Air-Walker, who reveals, before he dies, the power of the Wave and beseeches Surfer to stop it before it's too late.  Meanwhile, Thanos receives an audience with Annihilus, who reveals that he is attacking the Universe because it is expanding into his Negative Zone and he seeks to restore the balance.  The Seekers find Surfer, who refuses to kill them because he has seen enough death.  He is saved by Firelord and Red Shift (another former Herald), who advocate to go to war on the Wave.  Terrax (another former Herald) is captured by Annihilus and Stardust, the current Herald, arrives to join Firelord and Red Shift on their mission.  Meanwhile, Thanos has sent his servant, the Fallen One (Galactus' first Herald) to see if the Beyonder has been freed in the fall of Klyn (again, in "Annihilation:  Prologue").  He finds her dead, but he also finds Tenebrous and Aegis, cosmic entities like Galactus.  Surfer is called to Galactus, who tells him that he imprisoned Tenebrous and Aegis eons ago after a war between cosmic entities that left only the three of them alive.  Morg (yet another former Herald) is revealed to have been killed by Annihilus, and Annihilus turns his attention to Terrax to try to find the secret of the Power Cosmic.  Firelord et al. fight the Wave as it attempts to capture them (putting a refugee convoy at risk), and Surfer agrees once more to become Galactus' Herald, accepting amped-up powers in return.  He is attacked by Ravenous, whom he defeats thanks to his new powers, telling him to flee to the Negative Zone and not return.  Tenebrous and Aegis summon Thanos, to whom they return the Fallen One's body, who they killed because of his ties to Galactus.  Thanos agrees to help them find Galactus to further both their agendas. 

The Review
This series covers a lot of ground.  As usual with Silver Surfer stories, I found it a bit...distant, emotionally.  It mostly serves the purpose of giving us some insights into Annihilus' motivations and deepening Thanos' intrigue, leaving the emotions more or less to "Annihilation:  Nova."  But, it does a good job at what it tries to do. 

The Good
1) This book is beautiful.  It took me a while to get into Arlem's art, but Surfer's fight with Ravenous in the last issue is truly stunning.

2) Of the four "Annihilation" mini-series, this one has the most to do with the core plot.  We learn Annihilus' motivations, we see him working with Thanos to find a way to amplify his power, we see the opposition (mostly in the form of Galactus's former and current Heralds) begin to organize itself.  Both "Annihilation:  Nova" and "Annihilation:  Ronan" focused on events happening on the margins of the core conflict, with only hints of Annihilus and his motivations.  This mini-series addresses them more directly, even if it's still geographically removed from the core conflict. 

The Bad
1) Pet Peeve #2:  The introduction to issue #3 says that the entire Skrull Empire has been destroyed, but I didn't know that we knew that.  After all, the events of this story occur on the periphery of the Skrull Empire, so how would anyone know what was happening closer to the heart of the Empire?  (We vaguely know it from "Annihilation:  Super-Skrull," but, given that that mini-series is also ongoing at the same time, I feel like it's not something that could be presented without comment as a fact.)

2) I don't really buy this "Galactus is part of the natural order of the universe, but Annihilus is a cancer that needs to be stopped" business.  I mean, killing a billion people is killing a billion people.  If the Heralds have to tell themselves that lie to get through the day, fine.  But, I don't think Giffen sells it here that a difference really does exist.

3) I'm not really sure why Surfer believes that keeping Galactus from the Annihilation Wave would save lives.  Wouldn't you want a being of Galactus' strength engaging the Wave?  Wouldn't that save lives?

4) Why are Ravenous and the Seekers not insects if they "work" for Annihilus?  They actually look like Thanos...

Annihilation: Ronan #1-#4

*** (three of five stars) 

Summary
Ronan the Accuser, as we began to see in "Annihilation:  Prologue," is stripped of his title as the Accuser and exiled from the Kree Empire.  In his search for Tana Nile, the witness on whose testimony he was convicted of sedition, he finds himself drawn to Godthab Omega, a backwater world in the disputed zone between the Skrull and Kree Empires.  There, he encounters Gamora, a powerful being also drawn to Godthab Omega, who has assembled a group of super-powered women named the Graces, of which Tana Nile is a member.  It is revealed that they have all been drawn to Godthab Omega by the Apprentice, a former apprentice of the Shaper of Worlds who is attempting to use the excess power from the fights between these powerful figures to re-create the world in his image so the Shaper -- who disowned him -- will be impressed.  However, during Ronan and Gamora's fight, the Annihilation Wave hits Godthab Omega.  Tana Nile is killed, but she manages to tell Ronan that the new royal Kree house manipulated her into bearing false witness against him in its attempt to purge the old guard from the Empire.  The Apprentice is driven mad after using his power to repel the Wave, and Ronan heads to Hala to inform the Kree of the coming doom. 

The Review
Furman gives us a really solid story here.  It's a little odd in the sense that we're actually in the middle of one plot (actually two:  Ronan searching for Tana Nile and the Apprentice re-shaping the world) when the Annihilation Wave attacks and essentially hijacks the story.  But, Furman manages to make it work and, in fact, conveys the point I think he was trying to make, which is that the Annihilation Wave was a totally unexpected event that completely swarmed the Universe without warning. 

The Good
Honestly, I knew next to nothing about Ronan the Accuser.  But, Furman does an excellent job of focusing on Ronan's current predicament without getting himself too bogged down by the weight of the character's history.  He gives us enough to understand what's happening but not too much that it hinders the plot. 

The Meh
Godthab Omega has a sort of Mos Eisley feel to it, and I feel like Furman could've done a little more to develop that, particularly because it might've lightened up an otherwise pretty dark series. 

The Bad
1) As I mentioned in my review of "Annihilation:  Prologue" and "Annihilation:  Nova," it's occasionally hard to keep all the worlds, histories, and stories straight when it comes to these sort of galaxy-wide stories.  In this series, I struggled with trying to remember my Kree history, particularly since I was in high school when "Operation:  Galactic Storm" had the Nega-Bomb eliminate most of the Kree Empire.  The last I knew of the Kree, they were attacking the Avengers as part of "Avengers Disassembled."  Furman does a pretty good job of keeping the new royal family running the Kree Empire as an intriguing mystery and not an annoying distraction.  But, an excerpt on the Kree Empire (similar to what we saw in "Annihilation:  Prologue") in the back of the book might've been useful.

2) OMG, pet peeve #2 is off the hook here.  The introduction pages frequently refer to the mercenary having given Ronan Tana Nile's location, when, in fact, he just gave him her name and the general sector where she went, if I'm not mistaken.  Ronan was drawn to Godthab Omega by the Apprentice, not because he knew Tana Nile was there.

Annihilation: Prologue and Annihilation: Nova #1-#4

**** (four of five stars) 

Favorite Quote:  "This is Drax."  "Drax?"  "Just Drax."  "Who may or may not have a past in destroying."  -- Nova, Quasar, Drax, and Nova, discussing Drax's possible past in destroying 

Summary 
A wave of insect-looking warships destroys the Klyn moons, a string of power-generation units that also serves as a maximum-security prison.  Later, on Xandar, all Nova Corps members (including Nova) are called to a briefing while a prisoner named Drax is released to a girl named Cammi after genetic testing proves that he is not Drax the Destroyer.  At the briefing, the Nova Corps members are dispatched to reinforce forces elsewhere in the galaxy, particularly given the presumed escape of prisoners when the Klyn moons fell.  During the briefing, the wave of warships arrive (despite allegedly being two star systems away).  Drax and Cammi flee the spaceport while the Nova Corps fights the wave.  The Corps is quickly overwhelmed and the wave sends the spaceport crashing into Xandar.  Nova decides to fly through the crashing spaceport (since flying around it wasn't an option) and later awakens to find Xandar -- and the Nova Corps -- totally destroyed.  Elsewhere, Ronan the Accuser is charged with sedition, the Silver Surfer observes the oncoming wave, some Kree warriors hope the wave wipes out the Skrull Empire (while the Super-Skrull invisibly observes them), and Annihilus is revealed to be behind the wave.

Later, Worldmind awakens Nova, who's still reeling from the destruction of Xandar and the Corps, and directs him to its physical location, the Hub.  Once there, Worldmind downloads itself into Richard in order to preserve Xandarian culture before the Hub is destroyed when the "habitational shard" where they're located suffers environmental collapse as it drifts from the sun's orbit.  Richard fears he will be driven mad like the last person to absorb Worldmind, but Worldmind assures him that it will help modulate the power until a permanent home can be found.  However, immediately drunk with power, Nova attacks one of Annihilus' warships.  He returns to the shard, shaken, and encounters Drax and Cammi.  Scared to use his power again, he decides to go with them to find a space ship to leave the planet.  Drax offers to help Richard control his powers, and Richard opens a stargate so they can escape the warships that surround the ruins of Xandar.  The ship begins to die, but the group is rescued by Quasar, who's helping a group of refugees flee the Annihilation Wave, as it's being called.  Nova agrees to help Quasar after Drax reveals to Quasar that Nova has the full power of the Corps, and Drax tells Cammi he's sticking close to people in power given the oncoming doom.  Nova and Quasar try to rescue an Aakonian warship attempting to help evacuate the refugees after it comes under attack from Wave forces.  They decide to go for a full-frontal attack on Annihilus to buy the refugees time to escape.  Annihilus destroys Quasar and absorbs his Quantum Bands.  Nova attacks, managing to contact Annihilus long enough for Worldmind to connect to the Wave and order it to attack itself (since all commands are centered off Annihilus).  Annihilus orders a retreat, Drax and Cammi rescue Nova, and Nova convinces Worldmind to stay inside him so that they can do good like they just did. 

The Review
I really enjoyed this story.  It gave me the Nova I always wanted when I read comics with him but that I never seemed to get.  In his last series, by Erik Larsen, he was an attention-seeking lug whose main goal was getting into the Avengers.  On some level, I always liked that, because it made him human.  (Nova has trouble with the ladies but saves the Universe!)  Occasionally, though, it felt like the writers were just aping bad Spidey tropes.  Giffen and DnA, however, give us a Nova all his own, where his challenges are handling the enormous power he controls and trying to do the right thing in a morally-ambiguous environment.  It winds up being a lot more interesting than him trying to get into the Avengers.  He gets to go through a journey and mature a little, without having to look like an idiot while doing it.  It's why this series is probably the best Nova story I've ever read. 

The Good
1) Giffen gives us something similar to the establishing scenes in "Starship Troopers" in "Annihilation:  Prologue," showing us just how many members of the Nova Corps there are but also at the same time conveying the innate sense of camaraderie that exists among them.  It's an important point, because it sets up how terrible the devastation of Xandar and the Corps is and frames Nova's mental state for the "Annihilation:  Nova" series.

2) DnA give us a pretty epic story in "Annihilation:  Nova."  Despite the occasional problems of keeping planets, systems, forces, etc. straight, the plot is actually pretty straight-forward.  Kev Walker manages to convey the epic-ness of the story while at the same time making the action easy to follow.  A lot of artists could learn from him.

3) As I said before, we really watch Richard go on a journey here.  We first seem him being treated as a somewhat green Corps member by other members, but, by the end of the first issue, he's the last remaining Corps member.  DnA do an excellent job showing Richard reeling from the events of "Annihilation:  Prologue," making bad decisions and fearing his powers.  Because DnA obey the first rule of good writing -- show not tell -- we see Richard go through this process of grieving and the end result -- Richard telling Worldmind it's staying with him and asking Drax to teach him how to destroy -- is totally believable and powerful.  Nova has always been portrayed as a kind of bumbling frat boy, but DnA seem to really see the potential that he's always had but no writer has ever seemed to fully grasp.

4) DnA pepper the series with a sense of humor.  Between Nova handing Drax his helmet so he can confer with Worldmind directly to the quote above, DnA make it feel like a real Nova story, not just some space opera.  They keep it human, and it's why it's such a successful story.  Some of the other "Annihilation" stories (particularly "Annihilation:  Super-Skrull") could have used a little more humor. 

The Bad
1) It occasionally gets a little distracting in "Annihilation:  Prologue" to keep track of all the star systems and named entities:  the Crunch Energy Cascade, the Klyn Moons, the Omega Core, the Syllth, etc.  "Annihilation:  Nova" also suffers from it:  I got confused about why "Aakonian colonists" were fleeing a planet called "Nycos Aristedes."  I've had a similar issue with comics like "Legion of Super-Heroes" and the old "Guardians of the Galaxy," so I think it's just a drawback of these sorts of epic space stories.  But, it's distracting nonetheless.

2) Moreover, I wasn't totally up-to-speed on what Drax and Quasar have been doing since I last kept tabs on them.  It actually seems like Giffen and DnA introduce the idea of the Drax-who-is-not-Drax for the first time in these issues.  I'm sure they're going somewhere with it but, honestly, it just served as a distraction for me.  I also wasn't sure what Quasar was doing exactly.  I know he's the Protector of the Universe, but how did he decide to help the Aakonians amidst all the other people who needed help?  It almost seems like he lived at Nycos Aristedes, but I'm not sure why he would.  I'm not saying I needed complete histories provided but, given that each issue did give bios of the main characters, I feel like a little more attention could've been spent fleshing out some of the more relevant parts, like why Drax may not be Drax (but may be) and why Quasar was where he was.

3) I don't buy that Quasar's dead, partially, I know, because I'm reading this book five years after it was published and I'm pretty sure I know he gets resurrected.  But, even if I had read it then, I'm pretty sure I would've seen a resurrection coming...