Guardians of the Galaxy #18 answers the question – whatever happened to Richard Rider?

Marvel’s most prominent member of the Nova Corps disappeared into the ether, never to be seen again. Now read his story and see exactly what happened in this Original Sin tie-in.

This August, the burning question of what happened to one of the greatest heroes of in the Marvel Universe finally gets answered inGUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #18 – an Original Sin tie-in! New York Times Bestselling creators Brian Michael Bendis and Ed McGuinness bring you the blockbuster answer to the question on everyone’s mind:

What happened to Richard Rider?

“We have literally been dropping hints since the Guardians guest-starred in Avengers Assemble,” says Brian Michael Bendis in an interview with Marvel.com. “I have known exactly what we were doing with this from the moment I agreed to do the book, but I thought it would be best to slow burn the reveal.

Nova, the Human Rocket – once one of the greatest heroes in the Marvel Universe, gone in a flash. Side-by-side with Star-Lord, Nova fought valiantly to save the entire universe from encroaching death. Sealed in a twisted and horrific version of our own universe, Richard Rider sacrificed everything to prevent the onslaught of Thanos.

The true story of that sacrifice has never been told. Though Star-Lord and Thanos miraculously returned, Nova was nowhere to be found. The truth behind his absence kept a closely guarded secret between two bitter enemies. A secret that will finally be revealed!

“Not only does this reveal answer a question for diehard readers, it also tells something about the character to newer readers,” continued Bendis.

“This is a story Brian Bendis has been dying to tell for several years,” says Executive Editor Mike Marts. ”Now that time is finally here and we can’t wait for readers to find out what happened to Richard Rider!”

How did Star-Lord and Thanos escape their hellish imprisonment? And why did Nova not return with them? The explosive last stand of Richard Rider begins now! No fan can afford to miss the blockbuster GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #18!

This one should be interesting to say the least. I think there’s a prevailing concept at Marvel (and other companies as well) these days that big events don’t really need to be explained in full right there and then. That sometimes a reveal of the events that took place in a big crossover could be stretched out and teased till they explode, sometimes setting up yet another set of circumstances. I could not agree more with this thought, and while I love exposition and knowing what happened as soon as is humanly possible, it’s also kind of fun to have an air of mystery around certain things. Things like the disappearance of Richard Rider.

Fortunately, fans won’t have to wait too long to find out the rub on this one as Guardians of the Galaxy #18 is set to rocket onto the racks this August from Bendis and Ed McGuinness.