Mr. Nicieza was kind enough to answer some questions about his work on Nova and the New Warriors. His work on New Warriors and Nova's 2nd series made the character popular to a new generation of comic book readers in the 1990's. I'd like to thank Mr. Nicieza for giving us his insights on Nova.

1) What was it about Nova that made you want to use him in the New Warriors?

The team roster was put together by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz. When I was named the writer of the monthly title, I inherited that cast of characters, but everything that happened from page one of issue one was my own ideas, etc.

2) Who was responsible for the name 'Kid Nova' and the red-jacketed uniform?

Tom and Ron. Nobody much liked it, but since there was a new Nova (Frankie Raye in FF) at the time, they thought it was necessary for trademark reasons, etc. We just treated it like a gag.

3) Was it always in your plans to have 'Kid Nova' go back to 'Nova' and the original costume or were the changes due to outside influences (fans, editorial, etc.)?

Totally my plan from my original proposal outline, but I turned it into a story and character-generated reason, as opposed to an obligatory, "I think Kid Nova is dumb so I'm going to change it with issue #1." We caught a lot of flack from Nova fans for the first year of the NW because they didn't see the forest for the trees. By the time the "real" Nova return around issue #15, they were all pretty happy and understood that there HAD been a plan all along.

4) Did you ever consult Marv Wolfman for insight on Nova?

No, because Marv's NOVA was written at a different time, was a different age and had a different range of experiences than the Rich Rider I inherited. I didn't make Rich a "Brooklyn dope" just because I wanted to distance myself from the original Nova as some thought, but rather because I wanted to show the "sad sack loser" aspect of the character having hit rock bottom.

5) Were there any Nova stories or aspects of the character that you wish you had explored but didn't have the opportunity?

Oh, if I had wanted to remain as monthly writer of the NW or the NOVA Vol. 2 book (before it got cancelled), there are lots of things I would have done with him, but I have a preference not to discuss storylines that never actually saw print, because quite frankly, they just don't matter.

6) How do you feel Nova has been handled by other writers?

I honestly haven't read Erik or Jay's work on the character yet, so I couldn't say. I think Evan Skolnick did a good job with Rich after he took over NW Vol. 1.

7) How would you like to see Nova handled in the future and do you have any interest in writing the character again?

It would always depend on the circumstances involved, but I'm pretty busy and satisified with my current projects, GAMBIT, THUNDERBOLTS and MAGNETO:Heaven & Earth Limited Series.