Review & Commentary On The New Marvel - Phile Return of the Nova Corps 2 Annual 2019 For The Marvel Super Heroes Rpg

 "Just in time to close out 2019, the UCP is proud to present the 2019 Marvel-Phile Annual, featuring the Nova Corps! This one was selected by a contest winner (Bryan A. Gibbs... sorry for it taking so long!)... so who knows what the 2020 annual will consist of? Enjoy!

Link" 

 So way back in 2014 when Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy film hit the theaters the Nova Corps made an appearance as background film characters. I had to explain who these intergalatic police & peace keepers were. Then the Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy film comes out & players wanted to be the a member of the Nova Corps. Back about 2019 'The New  Marvel Phile Annual Wirh  Write-ups by Andrew Goldstein, Ben Reilly, George Henson, and Steve Jolly, with assistance from Killian Grey came out. So what is it about the champions of Xander that seems to capture people's imagination. And why does the New Marvel Phile The Return of the Nova Corps seem to hit the Marvel Super Heroes rpg players buttons?! 

Clocking in at thirty three pages  the New Marvel Phile The Return of the Nova Corps  hits all of the major and minor players of the latest incarnation of the Nova  corps. Now I've seen the Nova corps by Marvel compared to the DC comics Green Lanterns. There are some very glaring differences. First of is the fact that Xander is a world frought with intergalatic warfare. And then there's the fact that they are a full on military organization unlike the Laterns who are  interstellar cops. According to the Nova Corps wiki entry; "The Nova Corps were originally a space military and exploration group for the planet Xandar. It consisted of 500 soldiers ranging in rank from Corpsman up to Centurion and its leader Centurion Nova Prime. The source of the Nova Corps power is called the Nova Force which is an unlimited energy generated by a living computer called the Xandarian Worldmind. The Nova Corps police the known universe, under the directive of the Pans World Treaty"  The Nova Corps was created by writer Marv Wolfman. Richard Rider, the first member, appeared in The Man Called Nova #1 (September 1976). The Corps first appeared in Fantastic Four #205 (April 1979). The Nova corps members have access to the power of the world mind of Xander that grants them power;" The source of the Nova Corps power is called the Nova Force which is an unlimited energy generated by a living computer called the Xandarian Worldmind. The Nova Corps police the known universe, under the directive of the Pans World Treaty."
The Return of the Nova Corps  goes over the history, structure, ranks,  major player NPC's, equipment, Xander homeworld and one of the iconic corps villains. All in all it's a solid overview of the Nova corps an organization that been destoryed three times and reformed. 

The Return of the Nova corps book is a solid overview of the organization & role that the Nova corps plays in the Marvel Super Heroes rpg game. We've used them in both DC and Marvel games as a back up to the Green Lanterns especially after some of the drama with the lanterns. And the corps have appeared in our current Ascendant Rpg campaign with one of our number being loosely connected to the corps. 
The Return of the Nova Corps is a solid entry to the New Marvel Philes with smooth layout, good fonts, and really well done background on the Nova corps. 

The Return of the Nova Corps gives the DM everything he needs to add in a PC hero whose a member of the Nova corps to his or her party of heroes. There's tons of background, history, etc. on the Nova corps and all of it's very well done by the Marvel Super Heroes RPG: The Unofficial Canon Project.