This Is The End My Friend — Reviewing ‘Nova: Centurion’ #6

Sometimes things in life are meant to carry on for considerable time while others shine bright for brief poignant times. Here one moment, bringing us a variety of emotions, and gone the next. A memory of what was and what could have been that hopefully leaves a lasting impact.

This is the case for Nova: Centurion which unceremoniously concluded as a series with issue six. It’s an action-packed finale from Jed MacKay, Álvaro López, Mattia Iacono, and Cory Petit.

Richard Rider is one of those characters that I barely knew at one point. Then came Annihilation, the cosmic event which changed everything. Suddenly not only was Rider a compelling character to me, but the Marvel Cosmic realm took on a whole new intriguing light. Since that initial spark moment, Marvel has tried and failed to recapture something with Marvel Cosmic time and time again.

Unfortunately, the post Imperial era of cosmic stories has also seemingly failed. Nothing has been said about what has led to some of the series being suddenly shifted to minis or not even come out (the Xavier led Exiles book). Once more Nova is a hero left to linger in character limbo, which is the saddest state of affairs.

There was a great sense of character and scale with this series. That’s not surprising with MacKay at the writing desk, since character depth mixed with deep plots and effective continuity usage are his signature move. I could read another fifty, or a hundred, or more issues of Richard Rider, Nova, gun for hire with his wacky crew of Aalbort and Cammi.

Sadly, that won’t be possible.

This issue closes out the overall plotline with the Mysterium, the Kree-Skrull gang, Cammi’s space parasite, and the strained relationship of Star-Lord and Nova. Yeah, in just one issue, MacKay effectively and smoothly wrapped up all those plots, giving each space to breathe and centering them on Rider being a true Nova-Prime badass.

A bold roughness has permeated this book since the beginning. The former big space hero reduced to gun for hire on a spaceship is one of those space western sort of things. Grain and grit are baked deep into that type of story. López has brought that to vivid stunning life time and time again, reaching character rich levels that match MacKay beat for beat.

Alongside the aforementioned roughness is a bit of slicker, more whimsically attuned elements. These lean into the overall majestic feeling we’re meant to feel about the vastness of space and the wonder of the universe itself. It softens many of the features of the characters at times which lends itself to the emotional energy we’re meant to pick up during these moments. Contrasting in a perfectly complementary way to the rest of the grittier artistic aspects.

Contrastingly complementary also fits as a descriptor for the color palette of the series. Iacono blends darker heavier tones with those that are flashier and more vibrant, both of them settling against the more natural toned-down backdrops. It gives the spaces their own unique feelings both in aesthetic but also in lighting and tonal feeling. It also smoothly bridges the various genre visual styles being incorporated into this story.

One character’s voice runs the control here but each of the friends and crew of Nova gets a moment. Petit keeps the established tone going with the lettering. Dipping into various colors and shifting styles brings more impact to the voices and keeps them distinct. Within these words we can feel and believe the character beats, as the way they are displayed never wavers in emotion or power.

Nova: Centurion #6 is now available from Marvel Comics.