Nova #2
Nova (Vol. 5) #2 is the second chapter of Sam Alexander's origin arc and the issue in which his family — father Jesse, mother Eva, and sister Kaelynn — are formally introduced, grounding an otherwise cosmic story in the kind of domestic stakes that defined the best of the Marvel Silver Age. As the second installment of Marvel's Marvel NOW! relaunch of the Nova mantle, it deepened the deliberate contrast Jeph Loeb constructed between this new, working-class Chicano teenager and his predecessor Richard Rider, establishing the father-son helmet mythology that would drive the character's emotional core for years. Sam Alexander's arc — a Mexican-American kid from a small Arizona town thrust into intergalactic responsibility — represented a meaningful step toward broader cultural representation in Marvel's cosmic corner, well before diversity became a programmatic editorial priority.
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The series was launched under Marvel's Marvel NOW! publishing initiative in early 2013, with Jeph Loeb writing and Ed McGuinness on pencils — a creative partnership stretching back to their work together at Awesome Entertainment in the late 1990s and continuing through major Marvel projects. Issue #2, titled 'Chapter Two: Believe' and published in May 2013, continued directly from the first issue's cliffhanger, with inker Dexter Vines and colorist Marte Gracia completing the same core art team. Loeb's personal investment in the character was well-documented: he named the protagonist Sam after his own son, Sam Loeb, who died of bone cancer at age 17 in 2005, infusing the story's themes of absent fathers and inherited legacy with private grief.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published May 2013 by Marvel Comics as part of the Marvel NOW! initiative; story titled 'Chapter Two: Believe.'
- Written by Jeph Loeb with art by Ed McGuinness, inks by Dexter Vines, and colors by Marte Gracia.
- Marks the 2nd in-continuity appearance of Sam Alexander as the new Nova in his solo series.
- Contains the first appearances (in the solo series context) of Jesse Alexander (Sam's father and former Black Nova), Eva Alexander (Sam's mother), and Kaelynn Alexander (Sam's sister).
- Core plot: Gamora and Rocket Raccoon begin formally training Sam to use his father's Nova helmet, and Sam flies to the Moon for the first time.
- Sam Alexander was designed as a Chicano teenager from Carefree, Arizona, with Mexican-American heritage — a deliberate move to broaden Marvel's cosmic roster beyond its predominantly white legacy.
- Jeph Loeb named the character Sam after his own son, Sam Loeb, who died of cancer at age 17, lending the father-son storyline in this issue particular personal resonance.
- Collected in the trade paperback Nova Vol. 1: Origin (September 2013, ISBN 9780785166054), alongside Nova Vol. 5 #1–5 and related Point One material; a second printing of the individual issue and a 1:50 J. Scott Campbell retailer incentive variant were also produced.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Nova: Origin #[nn] (2013), Nova #1 (2014), Nova #1 (2014), Marvel. Официальная коллекция комиксов #148 (2019), Nova: Sam Alexander #[nn] (2023)
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