Marvel Just Revealed Who’s Really Earth’s Two Greatest Heroes, and They Aren’t Who You’d Expect

When talking about who Marvel Comics‘ greatest heroes are, it is easy to name people like Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and Spider-Man. However, it is interesting to wonder what the aliens in the Marvel Universe see when they look at Earth’s greatest heroes. That was shown in Queen in Black #2 by Al Ewing, Iban Coello, and Paco Medina. In this issue, heroes on Earth defend the planet from a symbiote attack as Hela, the new Queen in Black, sends her minions to attack the planet, while other heroes have left Earth to fight Hela and Knull in space.

The alien who arrived on Earth to warn the heroes of the incoming attack, Skrull Captain R’Gars (Captain Alliance), is fighting alongside Spider-Man and his allies. Things are looking tough for them when two unexpected heroes show up to help out. While Spider-Man just sees two old friends, R’Gars sees what he calls Earth’s “greatest heroes.” According to this Skrull, Richard Rider’s Nova and Johnny Storm’s Human Torch are the best the planet has to offer.

Richard Rider’s Nova Ended the Annihilation Wave

While this seems like a funny statement, from an alien’s point of view, Nova and the Human Torch did more than any other Earth hero to help protect and save the universe. The most obvious here is Nova, who has come a long way from his days as a teenage member of the New Warriors. When he started out, Richard was just like Spider-Man, a teenager who got incredible powers and had to figure out how to control and use them. He was a great hero but was inexperienced and had a lot to learn.

That is not who Richard Rider is now. Nova is the last surviving member of the Nova Corps, which was decimated in the Annihilation Wave. R’Gars considers Nova one of Earth’s greatest heroes because he was one of the soldiers who fought on the front lines, helped take the war to Annihilus, and then, as the vessel for the full Nova Force and Xandarian Worldmind, became Nova Prime and ripped out Annihilus’s entrails, ending the threat. As R’Gars said, Richard Rider was “the man who stood when all else fell.”

Honestly, this puts Nova on a much higher pedestal than Iron Man, Captain America, Reed Richards, and most of Earth’s other heroes. After the Annihilation Wave ended, Nova returned to Earth to see his family. Iron Man approached him and asked him to sign the Superhuman Registration Act and join him in training young heroes. When Nova realized that he was fighting to save the universe while the heroes on Earth were fighting each other in the “Civil War,” he was disgusted and left Earth. Nova saved everyone while Earth’s heroes fought each other over a registration act.

The Human Torch Was the “Savior of the Negative Zone”

The Human Torch has a more difficult explanation, but it is a legacy that has apparently spread across the cosmos. This event seemed like a tragedy at the start, as Johnny Storm was at the Baxter Building with the Thing and the Future Foundation kids when a group called the Cult of the Negative Zone attacked the building. Franklin Richards used his powers to destroy the villains in the Baxter Building. However, the entrance to the Negative Zone had to be locked from the other side, and the Human Torch sacrificed himself to keep Annihilus from getting through.

However, his story wasn’t finished. Annihilus captured Johnny and then ordered him to open the portal so his forces could return to Earth. Johnny refused, and Annihilus killed him. After worms-healers resurrected him, Johnny met the Light Brigade while in the Negative Zone, and he went to war against Annihilus. As R’Gars said, Johnny was the “savior of the Negative Zone,” as he took away Annihilus’s cosmic control rod, defeating the creature. Johnny then returned to Earth in command of the Annihilation Wave to save the Negative Zone and Earth.

What aliens like R’Gars see are Earth’s heroes who fight to save more than Earth. Nova was in the original “Annihilation,” and he took the battle to Annihilus himself to win the war. The Human Torch was trapped in the Negative Zone and ended up taking away the cosmic control rod and helping lead the Inhumans, Spider-Man, and the Fantastic Four in stopping the invading Kree after Annihilus had fallen. Spider-Man sees these heroes as small-time, but in the eyes of those from off the planet, these are the greatest heroes in Marvel Comics.

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