Yeah, welcome back to another dose of your favorite sporadically updated column, Down, But Not Out! Updates will begin to appear regularly again once October is over, so be patient!


The Man Called Nova #19 – “Blackout Means Business,
And His Business Is Murder!”

Original Release Date: May 1978
Words/Edits: Marv Wolfman
Art: Carmine Infantino & Tom Palmer
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colors: Michele Wolfman

He’s flying high again! It’s unfortunate that the ability to fly can’t block out the normal worries of a high school student, ‘cause Richard Ryder, The Man Called Nova, is worried about passing his Math AND Science classes!

Ah, the life of a hero is never dull, is it? All this worrying doesn’t block out the fact that things get interesting real quick; the sky goes dark in the middle of the day! Nova is immediately disoriented, not being able to see a thing even using the special lenses built into his helmet.

Before Rich can regain his sense of direction, he is struck by a powerful bolt of energy that knocks him clear through the side of a building. Opening his eyes, Nova finds that he can see again… but it’s not what he wants to see, that’s for sure: it’s a strangely garbed man flying straight for him!

Nova’s still trying to make sense of it all, but this man definitely isn’t helping; he’s demanding to know why Rich is spying on him; who is he working for? He proclaims himself Blackout and tells Nova that the hero is no match for his “black light beams!”

A tendril of black stretches from Blackout’s hand and right to Nova’s throat, cutting off his air. The angry man explains that his black light beams remove all heat from within Rich’s body, just as they are doing now, making it very easy for him to kill our young hero. But, Blackout explains, that he does not wish to kill Nova, but he must leave him be and never bother him again.

Nova, after Blackout releases him, explains that he has no clue what the weirdo’s talking about; he wasn’t following him! He was just flying by! But heck, since Blackout’s piqued his interest, he might as well stick around!

This flies in the face of Blackout’s request for peace, so he engages Nova with another force of black light beams that puts the blue-and-yellow-garbed hero through the other side of the building. Rich notices his body falling directly for some power lines below and makes a quick mental note that while he may be bulletproof, he is definitely not immune to the effects of electrocution! Before he can jerk himself out of the way, Blackout comes to the rescue… sort of.

The man wraps Nova in a cell of black light, which, he explains, will keep him floating in midair, thereby preventing his death from electrocution, but it will also prevent air from getting to him, meaning death by suffocation. Blackout leaves, but not before telling Richard that his one chance at survival is escaping before the air runs out, which is pretty obvious to Nova by now.

Nova finds it surprisingly easy to escape by slowly stretching and moving his way through the thick, strange substance, as if he were climbing out of a vat of molasses.

As much as he wants to, Nova knows he can’t go after the long-gone baddie. Nope, he’s gotta get to class before he gets yet another late report. Fortunately, ol’ Nova’s got some speed, so he makes it there with time to spare. Even better, he meets up with Ginger, the hottest of the hot, who reminds him that he’s got a study date with her that afternoon.

Elsewhere in the city, Blackout, using his black light beams, makes his way, destructively, into a building. He knows his way around and knows exactly what he’s looking for. After making his way through a massive door, he finds it…

Before he can leave with his prize, he is stopped by a man named Croit, who shouts his surprise at seeing Marcus Daniels in his building again! Blackout is surprised to be recognized in his new costume; it’s not exactly like he can leave the guy be now that he’s been recognized, now is it?

Croit shouts about finding a cure for him, but Blackout’s hearing none of it. He shouts that Croit isn’t trying to find a cure for his condition; he just wants to get Blackout under his control so his experiments will be safely under wraps.

Blackout places his hands on the forehead of Croit and his associate and, with a blinding light, merges them with the color spectrum. He explains that they’re not dead, but they are helpless since he is the only one that can bring them back.

Blackout promises to do just that and tarnish the reputation of Croit; he’s going to reveal everything! Croit will be destroyed forever, just like his laboratory that Blackout starts firing his black light beams into.

Blackout reveals that the device he came to get, the stabilizer that Croit used to keep him under control, is now his! He has full control now!

Blackout then reminisces about how it all started: he, as Marcus Daniels, found out that Croit had been defrauding the government of funds, but Croit had him framed. Just before he was going to be sent to prison, Croit offered him a deal that would reduce his sentence from years to just one month.

Marcus Daniels took the deal to be Croit’s guinea pig. Croit had found a way to harness the power of a black star; that power could be used to help humanity if used correctly. In an experiment, Croit infused Daniels with the power of the black star and subsequently had to design a suit (the very one he is wearing) in order to control that power. Also, to make sure the world didn’t learn of the experiments, Daniels was locked away.

Some time later, in Manhattan, Blackout stands atop the Empire State Building. There he has used his black light power to create a lightning storm that he will use to cripple the city. With the stabilizer now in his hands, he is unstoppable!

Fortunately for New York City, Nova’s done studying and just happens to be flying by. Once he’s spotted the insane villain, he engages him. After tangling with each other for some time, Blackout finally gets the upper hand.

Just as he did to Croit and Croit’s assistant, he begins pulling Nova apart at the atoms; he’s attempting to merge our hero with the light spectrum. Nova, not too fond of the idea, puts all his weight into one final, double-fisted punch; the force of the sock puts Blackout on his back… right on top of the stabilizer!

Only seconds later, the villain has faded from sight altogether. Where has he gone? Will he be back? Only time will tell.

*****

What do you get when you cross Marv Wolfman, Marvel in the 70’s, and a teenage superhero? A fantastic, action-oriented book, that’s what! Yeah, this was Marvel’s attempt at success via a teenage character. Much as they did with Spider-Man, Nova was your ordinary teenager with superpowers. I wouldn’t say his luck was as bad as poor ol’ Parker, but sometimes things were rough for Richard Rider.

Honestly, the teenager with bad luck thing always appealed to me in my teens, which is pretty understandable. I like my heroes to have flaws; it makes them more interesting. But then again, it’s always nice to not have those flaws resemble reality too much, because comics are a form of escapism for me.

Nova’s origin may sound familiar to any of you Green Lantern fans. The alien Rhomann Dey, last surviving member of planet Xandar’s elite Nova Corps, was wounded in a fight and needed to transfer his powers over to another, so that that person could take up the fight in his stead. Well, guess what? Ol’ Richard Rider just happened to be the one chosen.

So, is Nova just a rip-off of Green Lantern? No, not really… okay, kind of. But I can use the ol’ archetype excuse, right? He’s just falling into that particular archetype, much as Marvel’s Quicksilver did with DC’s The Flash or Image’s Supreme with Superman (these are just the examples that jump to mind, so don’t e-mail me with any weird comments. No wait, do.). Get it?

Anyway, the similarities don’t take away from excellent storytelling. And, of course, with Marv Wolfman in the writers’ seat, you know you’re going to get some good stuff.

Also, on this particular issue is legendary artist Carmine Infantino, who is more know for his work in the DC Universe. It’s good stuff throughout, but I wouldn’t say it was his strongest. Co-credited on the art is Tom Palmer and I don’t know how much of a mix it is between the two.

Anyway, Nova’s a good book, but I’m particularly fond of his later adventures with the New Warriors in the 90’s. That stuff’s not necessarily become “hot,” but it has piqued the interest of many due to their involvement in Marvel’s big tent pole production, Civil War.

Marvel put out an Essential Nova book not too long ago and those Essential reprints are always worth the money. So, hell, if you’re in the market for something different to read after you’ve finished up your stack of Captain Carrot, why not try this?