Profile of NovaProfile of Nova
First Appearance: (as Frankie Raye) Fantastic Four #164, (with Human
Torch powers) Fantastic Four #238, (as herald of Galactus) Fantastic Four # 244, (with
name Nova) Fantastic Four #257
Death: Silver Surfer #75
Biographical Description
Real name: Frankie Raye
Occupation: Former interpreter, former herald of Galactus
Citizenship: United States citizen
Place of Birth: New York City
Place of Death: A planet devoured by Galactus
Martial Status: Single
Known Relatives: Phineas T. Horton (alias Thomas Raye, stepfather, deceased)
Known Confidants: Johnny Storm (alias the Human Torch of the Fantastic Four)
Known Allies: Silver Surfer, Fantastic Four, Galactus, Firelord
Major Enemies: Morg
Base of Operation: Galactus’s worldship, traveling the known universe
Former Group Membership: Fantastic Four
Extent of Education: Unknown
History: Shortly after Frankie Raye’s father died, her mother married Professor Phineas T. Horton then known as Thomas Raye. In the 1940's and 50's, Professor Horton invented the original android Human Torch, but the government feared android and future androids would be too dangerous and had all of his equipment and chemicals stored in a warehouse. Not long after Frankie’s mother married Horton, she did, leaving Horton alone in raising Frankie up. During which time, Horton began drinking. After the public saw the Human Torch (from the Fantastic Four), Horton became angry that someone was using his android’s name and, with his stepdaughter (now 14), broke into the warehouse to get his equipment. There, a rotting floorboard gave way, causing Frankie to fall and the chemicals she was carrying to catch fire. The flames caused by chemicals mutated Frankie, giving her the ability to flame on, without burning her body. Horton, overwhelmed by guilt, left her, but first he hypnotized her so she would not remember the event, her new powers, or even her life with Horton. Every week, Horton sent Frankie money, until a year had passed when he sent her a costume and a tape. On the tape she told her to put the costume on, then he hypnotized her into not remembering the tape or that she had put the costume on. The costume was invisible to the normal eye when underneath her costume, and, because of Horton’s hypnotism, Frankie could never see the costume.
Then when Frankie saw the Human Torch, she felt an odd connection to him. After she dated Johnny Storm for awhile, all her memories were restored, and she could now use her powers. She trained with the Fantastic Four for awhile, but always wanted something more "cosmic." When Galactus returned to earth, Frankie agreed to become his herald, and she was granted the Power Cosmic. Now, she was even more powerful and went by the name Nova. She served Galactus by leading him to planets, many times populated ones. Later, she no longer wants to lead Galactus to populated planets. Galactus dismisses her and finds a new herald, Morg, who does not care about other lives. Not agreeing with Galactus’s decision, Silver Surfer assembles Galactus’s former heralds and attacks Morg. The heralds eventually defeat Morg, but not before Nova dies in the battle.
Physical Description
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 140 lbs.
Eyes: originally blue, as Nova, white with no pupils
Hair: originally red, as Nova, none (although she has fire that looks like hair)
Other distinguished features: Nova’s entire body is covered with cosmic energy
resembling flames.
Powers and Abilities
Intelligence: Normal
Strength: Due to her cosmic form and metabolism, Nova was far stronger than ordinary human
being. If she channeled her energy into an act of physical strength, she could lift
(press) about 40 tons.
Flight Speed: Warp Speed
Endurance: Godlike
Durability: Metahuman (she wasn't nearly as durable as Norrin)
Reflexes: Enhanced Human
Fighting Skills: None
Special Skills and Abilities: None
Powers: Nova possessed the ability to manipulate cosmic energy in the form of stellar
fire. Her entire organic carbon-based body was transformed by Galactus to accomodate the
nuclear energies that coursed through her. Those energies made her the humanoid equivalent
a minature sun. Projected from any point on her body by mental command, Nova's energies
encompassed the entire electromagnetic spectrum possessed by a star: heat, light, gravity,
radio waves, and charged particles. She could produce a maximum amount heat of apparently
900, 000 degrees Fahrenheit. She was able to produce light of a maximum amount of an
excess of two times ten to the twenty-fifth power candela. With a minor manifestation of
her power she could burn through any earthly substance (with the exception of Adamantium).
She could project a stream of fire resembling a solar flare for distances of up to several
hundred miles. Nova was able to control her cosmic flame to such an extent that she can
project a sustained ring of flame at a fixed distance around any object. The precise means
that Nova generated her cosmic flame is unknown.
Like all of Galactus's Heralds Nova's body was transformed to survive all of the conventional rigors of space. As a consequence of her cosmic form and metabolism, Nova was far stronger and more durable than an ordinary human being. Through she still possessed a physical body it was virtually impervious to most froms of physical harm. Any projectile hurled at her fiery corona her body automatically incinerated. She was immune to aging, disease, and muscle fatigue. She no longer needed air, and was therefore able to exist indefinetly in the hard vacumn of space. Nova's major limition was that her brain was still organic in function, and still needed occasionally sleep to satisfy her human instincts. It was possible that a sever concussion to her body could cause her temporary unconciousness, but it took a radical dispersion of her body's molecules to kill her.
By utilizing her power uni-directionally, Nova could fly at near light-speed through interstellar space. (Flying at such speeds near planetary bodies could cause devastating gravitational disturbances among the planets.) Nova was also able to traverse hyperspace with no danger to herself.
In one alternate future, Nova has been shown capable of transforming back to her original appearance at will. It is not known whether or not the Nova of present-day "mainstream" reality was capable of doing this as well.
Before she was transformed by Galactus Nova possessed superhuman
powers virtually identical to that of the Human Torch. Except that Storm could achieve
higher temperatures and flying speeds, whereas Frankie Raye could maintain her flames
longer and had more precise control over the range of temperatures she could achieve.
Superhuman Source of Power: Physical transformation by the cosmic power of Galactus
Written by Marvelite, Red Norvell, and Mark Thomas
Image created by Lord Thanos, Character drawn by John Buscema
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