Nova Vol. 25

This volume collects issue #25 of the Nova series launched by Marvel in 2013—an oversized anniversary special that also serves as the closing tie-in to the Avengers & X-Men: AXIS event. The story centers on Sam Alexander, a teenager from Carefree, Arizona, who inherited the helmet left behind by his father, Jesse Alexander, and became the new Nova (the Human Rocket) at fifteen. As the chaos of AXIS subsides, Sam has just survived a head-on clash with twisted heroes such as Kluh, and after a medical check-up is diagnosed with a concussion and left with his arm in a sling—yet he receives an invitation from Steve Rogers, Captain America's old comrade-in-arms: to visit Avengers Mansion, meet first-string heroes like Iron Man, Thor, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, Black Panther, Black Widow, and Hawkeye, and formally step into the ranks of the Avengers. In three pages, the volume recaps the legacy of the Nova Corps and the Novas before him (including Richard Rider), then thrusts Sam into the scenario he has always dreamed of: standing shoulder to shoulder with his idols, trading barbs with Jarvis, running excitedly through Avengers Mansion, and striking a comic pose in a "Super Saver Club Card"-style joke. For ongoing readers, this issue both wraps up the preceding story and marks a new starting point in Sam's coming-of-age arc.