Marvel Teases the Return of a Guardian of the Galaxy

A former member of the Guardians of the Galaxy is primed for a larger role in the Marvel Universe. For fans curious as to what Marvel has planned for 2024, they’ll want to pick up Timeless #1. The end-of-year one-shot is back for a third iteration with a new story but the same basic premise: tease upcoming storylines starring your favorite Marvel heroes and villains. Readers witnessed a showdown between the future Power Man and Moon Knight, but the real treat was seeing glimpses of stories to come. One of those stories featured an upcoming storyline featuring a Guardian of the Galaxy.

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Timeless #1. Continue reading at your own risk!

Timeless #1 is from the creative team of Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, Juann Cabal, Edgar Delgado, and VC’s Travis Lantham. As Power Man and the Immortal Moon Knight – revealed to be Luke Cage and Danny Rand – punch out their differences, they both experience flashbacks to different points in their past, aka our future. One of the first flashbacks includes looks at the Green Goblin, the Fantastic Four digging graves, Dario Aggar reading Immortal Thor, an army of zombie villains, and most notably, the return of Nova.

Of course, Richard Rider’s Nova has most recently been seen in the pages of X-Men Red, helping Storm and her Brotherhood of Mutants on the planet Arakko. It’s unclear if this Nova is the veteran Richard Rider or the young Sam Alexander, though there is a figure standing behind him that looks a lot like Apocalypse. Another hint that this is Richard Rider is the Nova has a yellow helmet, while Sam Alexander has a black Nova helmet.

Marvel’s Nova plans for the MCU

After rumblings that Marvel Studios has plans to bring Nova to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the last couple of years have brought reports indicating that is the case. News of Marvel developing a Nova project appeared in March 2022, with Moon Knight writer Sabir Pirzada attached. It was quickly reported thereafter that a Nova project would be a limited series on Disney+ instead of a feature film.

Introducing a new cosmic character like Nova would help Marvel transition away from the Guardians of the Galaxy, especially considering how James Gunn’s final Marvel film brought the team to a fitting end, with many of its mainstays moving on, like Gamora and Drax. This allows new heroes like Nova to step into the limelight. Also, if Marvel does have plans to introduce the Young Avengers, Sam Alexander would make for a potential candidate.

Where would you like to see Nova show up next in the Marvel Universe and the MCU? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.