The Man Called Nova #22

History

The series was the brainchild of Marv Wolfman, who had originally sketched out the Nova concept with Len Wein in a 1966 fan-zine, a full decade before the character debuted in his own ongoing in 1976. By issue #22, Wolfman was serving double duty as both writer and editor on the title, with Jim Shooter occupying the Editor-in-Chief role at Marvel. The interior art was provided by Carmine Infantino — a Silver Age DC legend who had served as that company's publisher before moving to Marvel in the late 1970s — inked by Steve Leialoha, while Dave Cockrum and Joe Rubinstein supplied the cover. The Comet himself was introduced one issue earlier (#21) as the unnamed derelict Harris Moore, making #22 the issue that delivers his costumed identity, his 1956 radiation-origin flashback, and his first direct team-up with Nova.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Story title: 'The Coming of the Comet'; cover-dated November 1978, released August 15, 1978 (Marvel Vol. 1, issue #22 of the 1976 series).
• First full costumed appearance and origin of the Comet (Harris Moore): a 1950s-style hero whose powers — electrical projection and flight — stem from exposure to a mysterious gaseous comet in 1956.
• Harris Moore first appeared without his costume (as a derelict) one issue earlier in Nova #21; #22 is universally cited as his first appearance as the Comet in costume.
• Written and edited by Marv Wolfman; interior art by Carmine Infantino (pencils) and Steve Leialoha (inks); cover by Dave Cockrum and Joe Rubinstein; colored by Carl Gafford; lettered by Gaspar Saladino; Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter.
• The issue also features Diamondhead as the primary antagonist, with Doctor Sun appearing in cameo and the Sphinx referenced in flashback — villains central to the series' concluding cosmic arc.
• The Comet went on to appear in Fantastic Four #206, #208–209, and ROM #24, and was later codified in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #16 as a member of the Champions of Xandar.
• This issue is part of the run (#22–25) that transitioned Nova's supporting cast toward the Champions of Xandar concept, a storyline whose conclusion carried over into Fantastic Four #204–205 after Nova's own series ended.
• The Comet's in-universe origin is presented as a retro 1950s hero — deliberately evoking an earlier era of Marvel/Atlas superhero storytelling within a 1978 Bronze Age context.

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