Two of Marvel's most powerful yet underused heroes receive stunning cosplays, showcasing the true power of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. Both characters have long histories within the Marvel Universe but are often eclipsed by more popular superheroes (especially in Nova's case, where a potential cinematic debut in the MCU was skipped not once, but three times in a row). But where Marvel falters, fans are all too happy to pick up the slack.
Though Ghost Rider is considerably more well-known than Nova, it was actually the latter who appeared in comics first, debuting in 1966 (albeit with a massive caveat: he was an alien doctor named Denteen instead of the more modern Richard Rider). The character was created as a space-based version of Spider-Man with a dash of Green Lantern's origin (a dying alien gives an ordinary high school student superpowers). For his part, Ghost Rider appeared in comics in 1972; the character Johnny Blaze, servant of the Devil himself, was so popular that he quickly obtained his own self-titled series the following year.
On the website Instagram.com, cosplayers robocosplay and somestevenguy created stunning renditions of the characters Ghost Rider and Nova, respectively. The former includes the requisite chains crossed around the torse, spiked shoulder pads and a fantastic flaming head effect (complete with bright, glowing eyes). The latter opts for a more classic look, perfectly matching the comics-accurate blue and yellow armor of Richard Rider's Nova, complete with white eyes underneath his helmet adorned with a bright red crest. While both heroes rarely work together, they are extraordinarily powerful.
Nova is powered by the Nova Force, wielded by all of the Nova Corps. As such, Richard Rider has the ability to fly, possesses superhuman speed and strength, and absorb energy to redirect it in the form of beams and gravimetric pulses (similar to Captain Marvel, though she is more powerful). For his part, Marvel's latest Ghost Rider has now become one of the most powerful heroes in the Marvel Multiverse: Robbie Reyes is the All-Rider in the multiverse-hopping Avengers Forever series, imbued with phenomenal reality-warping powers that not even the other Ghost Riders can use.
Nova is a space-based hero and Ghost Rider often fights against the supernatural, and this discrepancy among the heroes' enemies means the characters rarely battle alongside one another. If they ever were to team up, the results would be truly devastating, especially if Johnny Blaze was replaced with Robbie Reyes as the All-Rider. The above cosplays will have to do for now as Ghost Rider and Nova are apparently too powerful to appear on the same - at least for now.
