Nova, Volume 5: AXIS

Nova (2013) (Collected Editions)

by Gerry Duggan (Writer), David Baldeón (Illustrator), John Timms (Illustrator)

Nova squares off against the Hulk! Find out why they're fighting and learn just how Sam thinks he has a chance!

Collecting: Nova 23-27

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

120 pages, Paperback

First published April 21, 2015

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad addition to this run, as long as you keep in mind that this a a very kid-friendly comic book. Which is good, because sometimes you need to be able to recommend something to parents of tweenagers, who are looking for something suitable.
I know, I know! Comic books AREN'T for kids!



Anyway, this volume (obviously) has the Axis tie-in, so you get to see Sam deal with the during/after effects of all of that mess.

He fights a Hulk during Axis...



He fights Carnage after...



And he deals with his helmet going on the fritz...



I didn't think anything was wrong with this volume, but I guess I wasn't really super-excited about it, either. But it's still cute, and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a clean comic with a likable teenage superhero.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another solid volume. I just wish it was better though.

So axis is a weird storyline. Some stuff I loved, some I didn't. Nova stuff is in the middle.

Watching Sam take on Hulk was entertaining to say the least. I think it's the first major battle he's been in where he suffered injuries. The fight was fast paced and exciting at times, but some of the hulk dialog was terrible and the end wrapped up to quickly.

The next arc, while only one issue, was great. Focused on Sam accepting he's not the best, and he's growing, while taking a little tour with the Avengers. I personally really enjoyed this volume and love character growth.

Last arc is the weakest. Basically Carnage comes back into town and wants Sam's head. No real reason other than to kill him. Kind of lame and not all that fun. Well, the fights were, the rest was just borderline okay.

Think the worst part is Nova is a fun character who can have great stories, but keeps getting dragged into these fucking events. Let the boy just live his life goddamn you! 3/5

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor Nova. His book keeps getting interrupted by dumb crossover events. In this case, it's the incredibly dumb Axis event, which results in Sam trying to fight evil Hulk. The difference between evil Hulk and good Hulk is that he's intentionally destroying small cities, instead of doing it on accident. I think. That part of the book... I'll go with ok. There's nothing really special or interesting about it. And there's nothing really special or interesting about Carnage's sudden vendetta against Sam. But the parts where Sam is dealing his concussion, that's actually pretty interesting. This has kind of become a pattern on this book: some really interesting and unusual bits of story interrupted by bland crossovers and barely passable dialog. It's still better than a lot of books that apparently take themselves far more seriously, though, and I think that's because there's an actual emotional heart here, based on something deeper than the publisher's need to make more money.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gerry Duggan is becoming one of Marvel's best writers. This book is fun! Sam Alexander is a typical kid that makes mistakes. In this story line he deals with concussions, which would be a very real issue for a superhero.

[Tiag⊗ the Mutant · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ah, the All-New phase, Sam Alexander, a teenage boy, beats a Hulk and Carnage with a broken Nova Corps helmet and a brain concussion, Peter Parker and the Avengers gotta be a bunch of retards to have so much trouble with them. Was it fun? Sure, but all kinds of dumb.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. So back in Axis, Hulk was twisted into a new version. That version shows up here in Sam’s hometown. Sam takes care of him but not without gettin his helmet damaged and getting a concussion. Also in Axis, Carnage was flipped into being a good guy. Here he has reverted back to evil and is coming after Nova. Hence the name of this volume being, yup you guessed it, Axis. This series continues to remain pretty fun with some solid art. Time for the finale!

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another great volume for Sam Alexander, the new Nova.

I'll be honest; I was a big fan of the Richard Rider Nova and was initially strongly against replacing Rich with a younger model. However, over the last 27 issues (it doesn't feel possible this book has been going that long) I've grown to really love the new kid. In fact, Sam Alexander and Miles Morales (over in Ultimate Spider-Man) have completely changed my outlook on legacy heroes... for the better, obviously.

Gerry Duggan is doing a great job on this book (the Axis tie-in even worked and actually had real consequences for a change) and I hope for a long, long run for the new Nova.

[Judah Radd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty damn great! It’s no secret that I love this title, and this volume is definitely no exception.

I loved how Sam defeated Hulk, I loved his dynamic with his mother, and I especially liked his showdown with Carnage.

Duggan has a great handle on this character, David Baldeon’s art was really good. I didn’t love the Johns Timms art as much, and the change was a bit distracting, but it still worked. I like how we’re getting to know an older Sam, although his aging was a bit abrupt.

I also like the heroes journey that his asskicking by Hulk and ensuing concussion started him on.

This title rules and I’m definitely not ready to say goodbye.

[Koen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the Carnage angle - Always a fan of both Venom and Carnage.. Too bad the story was a bit flimsy :(

[Belinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I do believe Sam did some growing up here. He's really growing into a fine hero and a good kid. Duggan is doing a good job with the coming-of-age story, and that issue with all of the Avengers was THE BEST. Honestly, it's nice just reading these whenever I'm in the mood for something light and fun with a lot of action.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another solid volume in the life of Nova Jr. Been a good series so far. Here he's made an Avenger by Capt. America himself. Also, we get a visit from Carnage, one of the least interesting villains around. Do hope that's the last we see of him in this title.

[Alex E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sam faces his toughest opponent yet - the freaking Hulk!

So Gerry Duggan has been doing a good job with this title and even though it gets a bit sidetracked here by the Axis event, the manges to weave the event into the title in a way that feels logical and not jarring - well not too much at least. Because while we all want to see Sam do his own thing, this Axis event really hit close to home -with Nova being so closely associated with the Avengers and the Champions, it made sense for this to touch his life too.

With that being said, Sam has to somehow go up against a crazed Hulk and sustains some pretty bad injuries because of the fight. Good on Duggan to add some consequences to the story, as alot of times with superhero comics, there seems to be a lack of those for some reason. But the concussion he receives and the damage to the suit are something that Duggan leans on to make the interactions with other characters more interesting. Duggan takes the time to show us Sam when visiting and contemplating the Avengers and where his place is in all this - and it gets very introspective. He realizes he's still young and learning, and things won't be smooth all the time.

For some reason the volume then shifts over to Carnage trying to kill Sam... which was kind of out of left field and random. To me this was the weakest part of the volume.

Overall, some great character work from Duggan make this one that you should read if you're a Nova fan.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of good fun moments in this one, and they're nicely balanced with real consequences like Nova's concussion and getting evicted. It's cool to see the character struggle and grow up in his non-superhero life while he is also becoming more of an official and competent hero - he moves from being lucky and over powered to at least thinking through his actions even though he does still screw up quite a bit too.
The Black Vortex tie-in was a cool snapshot of this character with his interesting take on the temptation (asking why he should submit instead of what he would get), his motivation not to submit (with amusing backstory), and Kaelynn's potential brush with cosmic power (some day maybe - her moment with the Nova helmet was a good one in the last collection). Also great was the moment when Old Cap tells Nova to stay away from Deadpool because he is "not for kids".

[Tyler Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this one was a lot of fun. Probably more so a 4.5/5 rounded down honestly. The Axis event was much bigger and played a much larger role for Sam’s solo story. That event affected him and his family a great deal with his secret identity almost coming out and Sam learning the consequences of being a hero. A fight with a possessed Hulk nearly kills Sam and he has to live with the concussion and broken arm it gives him. But his helmet is damaged as well which causes him to short circuit and lose his powers every so often. It adds a lot of risk to his fights. I’m very excited to dive into volume 6 and end this solo run for Sam Alexander’s first outing as Nova.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm usually not all that impressed with Nova. But this one was a pretty good one. And that's even though it's part of the good guys and bad guys flip story-line. Sam fight the Hulk and it goes about as expected plus some cleverness. And then he gets to deal with a concussion, which is handled pretty well. And Carnage, sigh which makes the book a bit more annoying. But all and all a book that has me like Sam and the writers just a little bit better. 3.5 of 5.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I really hated AXIS, this tie-in was decent. Duggan's Sam is getting better every issue he just keeps getting thrown in the middle of so many crossover events that he doesn't get the time he needs to grown on his own. I liked Sam's brains for once during both his fights this time but his dealings with Cap and the Avengers felt very forced. The art was still very good. Overall, I like Sam more than I like his adventures right now but this is still worth your time.

[Villain E · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was just thinking about how the Lee-Ditko Spider-Man would get his butt kicked in the first act and have to pick himself back up to beat the bad guy. Then I read this. Sam gets beaten pretty badly by the evil Axis Hulk and has to pick himself up and keep fighting. And there are actual repercussions for his concussion. So I found this to be pretty good. Definitely best collection so far.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good return to what makes this series work best, Sam being in over his head and finding some way to come out on top. The beginning of the book has a good triumph that takes a lot more out of our hero than that would usually imply, sets up an interesting bit of story for the next few issues followed by Carnage coming to town because reasons. Fun read.

[Valerio Pastore · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh! Purtroppo, e non da poco ormai, questi eventi editoriali come Axis, se non stai seguendo la testata principale, trasformano i crossover in strani piatti in cui non capisci che ingredienti ci sono. Ne esce tutto molto piatto, senza spessore. Succedono cose, e tutte telegrafatissime. Questa raccolta, narrativamente parlando, è il punto più basso della serie.

[Damian Burford · Rating 4 out of 5]

The carnage stuff was..... Dumb and other than this tying into bigger storylines, this was still a lot of fun. Sam wanting to make Spiderman and Cap proud had tears in my eyes. I don't think that's a spoiler?

[Bekka · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art style wasn't my favourite in this, and I'm not the greatest fan of Carnage, who takes up a LOT of this story, but I still enjoyed seeing Nova take more responsibility for his superhero alter-ago!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as single issues

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a reminder that no one knows what to do with Carnage.

And what happened to Sam Alexander?

[Frans Kempe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nova goes of against the Hulk in the Axis storyline and the in the aftermath has to protect his identity from Carnage

[Garrett Ballendine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ouch.

This run got hit BAD by events.
Original Sin to Axis to Black Vortex.

[Ming · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume is kind of a mess, but is boosted by the really fun chapter in the middle where Sam gets an Avengers card.

[Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every time I read any Sam Alexander Nova I enjoy it. It doesn’t seem to matter who’s writing.

[Wing Kee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the best arc yet, though that's not really saying much.

Finally an arc that is focused on one point of Sam's life and give it some development. It's still fairly surface level and there are a lot of development that happens between the pages, but it's still much better than what came before.

World: The art is fine, it's nothing really special. I did like the carnage fight and seeing Avengers Mansion was nice, but yeah the art is okay. The world building is much more focused this time around and I love it. Since the book is so much more focused on his home and we get to see it it's great. Then there is the world building with the bigger picture with the Avengers, it's good. This book has taking a lot of missing pieces of world building due to the fact that Nova has been in so many events and tie-ins but this arc succeeded in creating a place for Sam that's more than just superficial.

Story: The story is much more focused this arc, the Hulk stuff was good and so was the Avengers story. The Carnage one was a bit of a let down but at the same time did offer some good character development and it being set in his hometown gave me a sense of grounding the previous books did not. Sam taking a break was the best thing for the character, it allowed for him to grow as a character and also for story development. There is still a lot that happens between the panels which should have been in the book, like the Cassie development and the interactions with Mom but it's still good. We've not had this and I felt that this was missing in the book, this little break actually is the best thing for the series so far.

Character: There is a lot more character development this time around for Sam, he's slowly growing. I like that he's making mistakes and he's learning it's a journey and this journey is interesting. I liked that he's injured and gets to slow down his life so he sees what's important to him. I would have liked more time with Mom and Cassie and talking and just being a kid. But this is a superhero book so I guess they don't want to do that (but Miles does it all the time and his book is amazing). It's the best one yet because of the character development. I also liked the introduction of Steve Rogers, it allows for Sam to have direction and someone to play off of and a mentor (which I've been saying since arc 1).

It seemed much more focused. With Sam grounded it really allowed for some much need character development. However is this too little too late? The next arc is the last one before 'All New All Different'

Onward to the next book!

[Richard Pittman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the best of the Nova books I've read so far. I know a lot of people don't like this series, and their criticisms are fair. It is a book that is primarily written for children, in the old tradition of comic books rather than in the new style of writing more for a mixed adult/youth audience. I think most people's problem with the book isn't the book itself but that Marvel has sidelined the previous Nova to make room for this one, right when the Richard Rider Nova was getting good stories and popular traction. Still, taken on its own merits without those external problems, this was a solid book.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Volume of Nova contains two really good fights: vs Hulk and vs Carnage. In the fight with Hulk, Nova's helmet gets damaged and it seems as if he will be searching for a way to fix it in the next Volume. Perhaps a multiverse Nova will arrive to help?
Great outing overall for Nova again. This book is really consistently good.
Recommend