Yep, Guardians of the Galaxy Spoilers Are Popping Up Online. (UPDATED.)
Latino Review is reporting that Nova, a frequent ally of Star-Lord, a noted enemy of Thanos, and the cosmic defender of Earth, is (probably) going to appear in the post-credits stinger [http://www.latino-review.com/news/marvelous-da7e-51-marvelspiderdc-universe-roundup]. Cue much cheering. "But wait," I can hear you asking, "who the hell is Nova?" Good question, straw reader I just made up. Nova is, well, there's no way to sugarcoat this: Nova is Marvel's totally original character that in no way should remind you of a DC universe character that predates him by several decades.
The character, a human named Richard Rider, first debuted in Marvel Comics back in 1976. A member of The Nova Corps, an intergalactic military/police peacekeeping force, Rider was inducted into the group when he came upon Rhomann Dey, a Xandarian Nova officer who happened to lay dying on Earth. Dey chose Rider at random, infusing him with "The Nova Force", a source of superpowers to which Nova Corps members get increasing access as they rise through the organization's ranks. The Force grants members the power of flight, super strength, faster-than-light travel, the ability to create energy beams, open hyperspace gates, and other boons that come in very handy when battling powerful villains and hostile alien races on Earth or out in deep space. Rider is eventually appointed "Centurion Prime" (essentially a 3-star general) for the sector of space in which Earth is found.
What? No, this is nothing like Green Lantern. You know what? SHUT UP.
Anyway, Nova is a longstanding friend and ally of Star-Lord and as such, they two have teamed up more than once against Thanos. Most recently, the character was presumed dead after the events of The Thanos Imperative, though his ultimate fate has not been revealed. Having him appear in Guardians of the Galaxy makes a hell of a lot of sense, and I'm hoping, assuming that Guardians is the hit everyone is expecting, he'll be a major character in the sequel.
Latino Review is also speculating - without any confirmation, mind you - that Nathan Fillion will be cameoing as Nova in the stinger. This would indeed be incredibly awesome, though it must be noted again that this has not been confirmed. However, it would jibe with Fillion's coy comments a back in April [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/133552-Nathan-Fillion-Teases-Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-Cameo] that "[m]aybe you'll be surprised. Maybe. Check the credits." Personally, I'd love for this to happen, though I'm curious whether or not Nathan had to drop some of his hit TV series weight for the appearance.
UPDATE: This morning, James Gunn officially [a href=https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/statuses/480409062937358338]denied that Nathan Fillion will play Nova[/a]. Special thanks to commenter Elader for bringing this to our attention. That's somewhat of a bummer- and hell, there would have been a nice kind of symmetry, considering that Fillion previously voiced Green Lantern in a couple of DCAU movies - but it makes sense, considering Fillion definitely didn't visibly beef up or lean out during the last few episodes of Castle, the latest period when any such cameo could have been filmed.
We will note that Gunn does not deny Nova will appear in GOTG, so we'll take that report at face value. Meanwhile, Gunn also does not specifically deny that Fillion will have some kind of cameo. If Fillion wasn't just having fun with people back in April, I'm going to guess he has a blink and you'll miss it moment.
The stinger in question also supposedly includes Thanos, which is unsurprising, and this suggest that to me that the intent is to link Guardians to what is believed to be the plot of Avengers 3 as well as setup the plot of Guardians 2. But what about that report last March of spy photos purporting to be from Guardians [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/132981-Spy-Photos-Reveal-S-H-I-E-L-D-Is-In-Guardians-of-The-Galaxy], that showed several vehicles bearing old-school S.H.I.E.L.D. logos? Was that wrong or a hoax? Maybe, but it's worth noting that Latino Review explicitly refers to the Nova/Thanos scene as "post-credits". Several films in the MCU - The Avengers, Thor 2: The Dark World, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier - have included two stingers, one mid-credits and post-credits. I wouldn't be shocked by a mid-credits scene that ties Guardians more explicitly to the current state of the MCU.
We'll all find out in August of course. Until then, consider this post your official warning: from now until August, the Internet is a wilderness of Guardians spoilers. Click at your own risk.
Now, feel free to speculate wildly in comments.
Permalink
Latino Review is reporting that Nova, a frequent ally of Star-Lord, a noted enemy of Thanos, and the cosmic defender of Earth, is (probably) going to appear in the post-credits stinger [http://www.latino-review.com/news/marvelous-da7e-51-marvelspiderdc-universe-roundup]. Cue much cheering. "But wait," I can hear you asking, "who the hell is Nova?" Good question, straw reader I just made up. Nova is, well, there's no way to sugarcoat this: Nova is Marvel's totally original character that in no way should remind you of a DC universe character that predates him by several decades.
The character, a human named Richard Rider, first debuted in Marvel Comics back in 1976. A member of The Nova Corps, an intergalactic military/police peacekeeping force, Rider was inducted into the group when he came upon Rhomann Dey, a Xandarian Nova officer who happened to lay dying on Earth. Dey chose Rider at random, infusing him with "The Nova Force", a source of superpowers to which Nova Corps members get increasing access as they rise through the organization's ranks. The Force grants members the power of flight, super strength, faster-than-light travel, the ability to create energy beams, open hyperspace gates, and other boons that come in very handy when battling powerful villains and hostile alien races on Earth or out in deep space. Rider is eventually appointed "Centurion Prime" (essentially a 3-star general) for the sector of space in which Earth is found.
What? No, this is nothing like Green Lantern. You know what? SHUT UP.
Anyway, Nova is a longstanding friend and ally of Star-Lord and as such, they two have teamed up more than once against Thanos. Most recently, the character was presumed dead after the events of The Thanos Imperative, though his ultimate fate has not been revealed. Having him appear in Guardians of the Galaxy makes a hell of a lot of sense, and I'm hoping, assuming that Guardians is the hit everyone is expecting, he'll be a major character in the sequel.
Latino Review is also speculating - without any confirmation, mind you - that Nathan Fillion will be cameoing as Nova in the stinger. This would indeed be incredibly awesome, though it must be noted again that this has not been confirmed. However, it would jibe with Fillion's coy comments a back in April [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/133552-Nathan-Fillion-Teases-Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-Cameo] that "[m]aybe you'll be surprised. Maybe. Check the credits." Personally, I'd love for this to happen, though I'm curious whether or not Nathan had to drop some of his hit TV series weight for the appearance.
UPDATE: This morning, James Gunn officially [a href=https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/statuses/480409062937358338]denied that Nathan Fillion will play Nova[/a]. Special thanks to commenter Elader for bringing this to our attention. That's somewhat of a bummer- and hell, there would have been a nice kind of symmetry, considering that Fillion previously voiced Green Lantern in a couple of DCAU movies - but it makes sense, considering Fillion definitely didn't visibly beef up or lean out during the last few episodes of Castle, the latest period when any such cameo could have been filmed.
We will note that Gunn does not deny Nova will appear in GOTG, so we'll take that report at face value. Meanwhile, Gunn also does not specifically deny that Fillion will have some kind of cameo. If Fillion wasn't just having fun with people back in April, I'm going to guess he has a blink and you'll miss it moment.
The stinger in question also supposedly includes Thanos, which is unsurprising, and this suggest that to me that the intent is to link Guardians to what is believed to be the plot of Avengers 3 as well as setup the plot of Guardians 2. But what about that report last March of spy photos purporting to be from Guardians [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/132981-Spy-Photos-Reveal-S-H-I-E-L-D-Is-In-Guardians-of-The-Galaxy], that showed several vehicles bearing old-school S.H.I.E.L.D. logos? Was that wrong or a hoax? Maybe, but it's worth noting that Latino Review explicitly refers to the Nova/Thanos scene as "post-credits". Several films in the MCU - The Avengers, Thor 2: The Dark World, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier - have included two stingers, one mid-credits and post-credits. I wouldn't be shocked by a mid-credits scene that ties Guardians more explicitly to the current state of the MCU.
We'll all find out in August of course. Until then, consider this post your official warning: from now until August, the Internet is a wilderness of Guardians spoilers. Click at your own risk.
Now, feel free to speculate wildly in comments.
Permalink
