The Marvel Adventures books are an exciting line of comics meant for readers of all ages and who enjoy modern stories of classic superheroes! Beginning in Marvel Adventures Super Heroes #17, a new lineup of Avengers take over the series including a certain human rocket named Nova!

Series editor Nate Cosby was very generous and took the time to answer some questions about Nova's upcoming role in the Avengers and even sent over some artwork! I'd like to thank him for his time and answers!

What led writer Paul Tobin and you to selecting Nova as part of the new Avengers line-up?

Cosby: We spent a LOT of time deliberating. The selection of the seven took a few weeks, to the point where one incarnation had MARVEL GIRL, MARVEL BOY, and CAPTAIN MARVEL (that would've been a weird group). Paul and I figured we needed a Spider-Man, but we didn't want to use Spider-Man (he's got his own book, I suggest everybody read it!!! It's really good, especially MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN #53, which begins a new status quo on the book).

But we wanted a kid on the team, somebody just starting out, powerful but not at his full potential, and we picked Nova. He's our Spider-Man. (FYI--This team consists of CAPTAIN AMERICA, IRON MAN, THOR, THE VISION, THE BLACK WIDOW, THE INVISIBLE WOMAN, and NOVA. The new arc that introduces this team begins in MARVEL ADVENTURES SUPER HEROES 17, on-sale in November!)

What role will Nova play in the title?

Cosby: Spider-Man. :) He's the screw-up. He's always wanted to be a part of this kind of team, and now he is, and he's FREAKED out. He's too green, it's too soon to be up this high. But he's gonna do his best to try and fit in...and fail miserably from time to time. There's a little frat boy in him from time to time, but at the end of the day, he knows when to stop partying and take out the bad guys.

Will the Nova in the series still be Richard Rider and will his origin be any different from the one presented in the 616 Marvel Universe?

Cosby: We're not going to get TOO far into his origins. You pretty much just need to know that he's about 18-19 in this series, he can fly fast, he's strong, and he shoots bolts. And he listens to music in his helmet (mostly hard rock, I would think).

But yeah, that's Rich under the helmet. I was a huge New Warriors fan growing up (I was THISCLOSE to putting him in the brown costume!), so Rich is the only Nova to me. ALSO, in Issue 18, we see Rich's brother Bobby (we call him Bobby! Not Robbie) and Bobby's girlfriend, Fran.

How do you and Paul see Nova interacting with the other members of the new Avengers?

Cosby: Awkwardly. Nova does NOT fit in. He fits in less than The Vision, and The Vision's a freakin' robot. He gets intimidated by Thor's muscles. He's not training enough for Captain America's liking. Invisible Woman doesn't think he takes super heroing seriously. He's not smart enough for Iron Man to recognize that he exists. He tries to flirt with Black Widow and gets called a little boy.

Life sucks as an Avenger. That's why he begins a friendship with The Vision...they're both outsiders, they're both new at this (Nova at being on a team, The Vision at having a personality), so their connection grows as the story rolls on.

Will we be seeing any of the original Nova villains (Condor, Powerhouse, Diamondhead, Sphinx, etc.) appearing in new Marvel Adventures versions in the title?

Cosby: Speak of the devil!!! Diamondhead himself shows up in Issue 21. I always kinda had a soft spot for Sphinx, but there's no plans to use him as of yet. Not to worry though; we'll have plenty of Nova-fighting-then-getting-the-snot-kicked-out-of-him-and-getting-back-up-because-he-doesn't-know-better type action.