There are so many Infinity Stones for Thanos to get his hands on in Avengers: Infinity War that, to save some time, he already has one when the film begins. We’re briefly told by the God of Thunder that the Mad Titan grabbed the Power Stone when he “decimated” Xandar last week. Star-Lord and co. look particularly hurt by this, as they previously saved the planet from devastation back in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
What’s significant about Thanos’ attack on Xandar, though, is that it’s home to the Nova Corps, the interplanetary police force. Seeing as they’re nowhere to be seen in Infinity War, we imagine the Mad Titan has severely depleted their numbers. Which means that the film might just provide the perfect origin story for Richard Rider AKA Nova.
In the comics, Rhomann Dey – played by John C. Reilly back in GotG – travels to Earth after the Corps’ destruction and gives the Nova Force, their power source, to Rider, who’s a high school student at the time. The injured Dey also gives the boy his Nova Centurion uniform.
Now, with Xandar having been destroyed in the MCU, fans are thinking that something similar is being planned for the big screen. Granted, Nova is never mentioned by name in Infinity War and there are no confirmed plans to bring him to the Marvel Cinematic just yet, but he has been frequently teased by MCU filmmakers over the years.
Most interestingly, Kevin Feige recently said that Nova has “immediate potential” in the franchise. As such, we really wouldn’t be surprised to see a movie revolving around him on the Phase Four slate. And if we’re lucky, he might just even get name-checked in Avengers 4. Time will tell.