Even when taking a large step back it can be tough to encompass the full scope of just how many possibilities lay waiting in the MCU. If it’s not Thano’s killing our decade long developed heroes/heroines, Adam Warlock marinating in a pod or Kurt Russell sporting a magnanimous screen beard it is some world ending event that means our utter annihilation. Completely understandable to forget about some of the begging to be asked finer questions.

Questions like what happened to the Nova force, not the Nova Corps but specifically the energy source used by the Xandarians entire society, which leads to an even bigger question what does the MCU have planned next? We know from what Thor tells us in Avengers Infinity Wars that when retrieving the power stone Thanos decimated Xandar, homeworld of the Nova Force. Does this mean we will see one of the most active galactic level forces omitted, hopefully not. If you find yourself asking what is the difference between the Nova Force , Nova Corps, will I see John C Reilly in a jumpsuit again and why should I care. Well before pondering that it helps to have a little background from the comics to get an idea of what could be coming next.

What’s referred to as the Nova Force is a nearly limitless energy source harnessed by the Xandarian people. The Nova Force has a range of abilities, (primarily manipulating gravity fields): for a visual reference the large interlocked shield that appears when the Xandarians join their ships in the Guardians of the Galaxy, that is a physical manifestation of the Nova Force. The source of this energy is a machine known as a Xandarian Worldmind, one of the most advanced sentient supercomputers in the known universe. After the Marvel Annihilation event, all of the Nova Force was transferred to the last Nova Corps Centurion, Richard Rider. As inheritor of the Nova Force Rider becomes the Nova Prime, giving him a host of powers like superhuman strength; speed, stamina, durability, flight and the power to emit gravimetric pulses and beams. One of the lesser mentioned powers of Nova Prime is the ability to make use of the vast Shiar stargates network. Due to the infinite pool of energy, the Nova Force is capable of bending space and time itself when centered into a single conduit. With such a high versatility it is easy to see why the Nova Force could be a top contender for future MCU phases. With directors Taika Waititi and Simon Kinberg displaying cosmic level power sources like the Phoenix Force and Odin Force throughout their films, filmmakers have really just scratched the cinematic surface of what the Nova Force can do.

Channeling this awesome power is Xandar’s space militia also known as the Nova Corps, a galactic police force that first appeared in Fantastic Four #205 (April 1979). Initially charging themselves with protecting the Andromeda Galaxy and later earth, the Nova Corps seeks to uphold the ideals of justice and order. A brief quote from Nova Prime after being trapped in the cancerverse puts into perspective the resolve of the Nova Core,

“I would do it all again because of one simple reason: what would have happened if I didn’t. Peace and order aren’t the natural state of things. They had to be invented and they have to be constantly defended. That’s why the Nova Corps was created. That’s the legacy that you carry on. “

Movie watchers had a brief glimpse in the MCU of the egalitarian galactic peace keeping society the Nova Core strives for. The operations of the Nova Core are reminiscent to a militant policing force that has a history of involvement in space conflicts such as the War of Kings event and the 1,000 year war with the Kree Empire. Within the Nova Corps are various ascending ranks imbued with access to portions of the Nova Force, rank determining the portion of control over the Nova Force granted. This gives us an idea of just how powerful Nova Prime could be in the MCU. As this universe has expanded the sheer proportions of the MCU creates such massive distances between locations, it’s more than a hop skip and jump from Xandar to Earth. This type of scaled environment makes it essential to have heroes and villains able to utilize powers for traveling vast distances fairly quickly. ††

Even though Thanos was able to destroy all the Nova Core members in Avengers Infinity Wars, if the 2006 Annihilation comic crossover is any indicator of what’s to come: the Nova Core has been decimated before and made a comeback. As long as the Worldmind has survived Xandar’s destruction the Nova Force lives on. If we are strictly speaking films, all bets are off and it is very possible a director may create their own unique story similar to what Taika Waititi did in Thor Ragnarok. Marvel phase 4 has been laid out following the story lines of established Avengers like Black Widow and Doctor Strange. Marvels recent announcement at the San Diego 2019 Comic Con confirmed some amazing MCU additions: Fantastic Four, X-Men, an Eternals movie and to many fans surprise a new Blade movie. You can see the full phase 4 announcement here . This leads a lot of room for speculation as to what we could see over the next few years leading to phase 5.

If we are speaking in terms of pure story potential I would think the Guardians would have some of the most, an entire galaxy in disarray after Thanos’s snap. The concept behind the snap is that such a massive ripple of cosmic energy across the universe could have created realities like the cancerverse and negative zone. Traditionally most MCU films have been based on an earth setting but with the potential of an Annihilation event the entire galaxy could be a battleground for Annihilus’s forces. Speculating it would appear that phase 4 is beefing up a the hero and heroine cast, maybe for something terrible coming in phase 5? Fans can be ecstatic at the possibility of an event leading to a Guardians of the Galaxy Nova Prime meet. Plenty of comic history between Annihilus and the Nova Core sets a high expectation for fans in upcoming Marvel films. While the possibility of an Annihilus Nova Prime show down is a little backwards since the Nova Corps had an Alamo stand against the Annihilation wave and fell, I will take what I can get if it means a Nova Prime movie. Such heavy hitters are established in the MCU; Scarlet Witch, Captain Marvel, Thor etc. it is inevitable that we will see a consistent up scaling in heroe power levels.

It would seem that the silent absence of the Nova Force so far could be leading to a big show later down the road. In trying to change the universe Thanos may have created one of the most powerful heroes we have seen yet, John C. Riley er I mean Nova Prime.