Issue(s): Nova #6, Nova #7, Nova #8, Nova #9
Cover Date: Feb-May 77
Title: "And so... the Sphinx!" / "War in space! / Return to the stars! / Trapped -- 1,000,000 miles from Earth!!" / "When Megaman comes calling-- don't answer!" / "Fear in the funhouse!"
Credits:
Marv Wolfman - Writer
Sal Buscema - Penciler
Frank Giacoia - Inker

Review/plot:
This is actually two story lines tied together in an attention deficit syndrome sort of way.

Nova gets attacked by the Condor, Diamondhead, and Powerhouse.

Powerhouse continues to be a reluctant member of the bad guys' team.

The fight brings him back to the spaceship that Nova-Prime came to Earth in. The bad guys steal weapons from Nova's ship and head off to fight the ultra powerful Sphinx.

We learn that the Sphinx was Pharoah Ramses' wizard, who was banished after being defeated by Moses. He became the Sphinx when he found Ka, the Spirit Stone, during his exile. The Sphinx associates with the poorly named Sayge, and the Sphinx sees a horrible future fate in Sayge's hooded face.

Nova remains stranded on the ship and comes into contact with the Worldmind computer.

It shows him that his buddy Caps is in trouble. Nova basically forgets all about the Condor and crew and returns to Earth (in a one-time-only-you-can't-ever-come-back-to-the-ship-because-that-would-change-the-status-quo-of-the-book escape shuttle) and fights Caps' weird uncle...

..who calls himself Megaman and was mutated in an alternate Gerberverse.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 6 - 1st Sphinx. 1st Xandarian Worldmind (kinda sorta).

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• The Condor and Diamondhead teamed up after Nova #3.
  
• In issue #6, Nova flies past the Statue of Liberty, and remarks that they've done a good job fixing it since the Hulk destroyed it "the other day" in Hulk #206.
  
• Nova previously fought the Condor in Nova #2.
  
• Nova-Prime came to Earth in Nova #1.
  
• Nova considers asking Daredevil how he manages his secret identity related problems. Nova met Daredevil in Daredevil #142.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Bill Mantlo has a letter in #6.

Sayge is actually the same character as Veritas, first appearing in the Strange Tales 147-156 arc (specifically, #154): http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/sayge.htm

Thanks Thanos6. I've tagged "Sayge" in that entry and added some scans of him as Veritas. I guess it's confirmed they're the same character in one of the New Warriors stories? I haven't tracked a reference back to ST #154 so far.

New Warriors 47, apparently.

While Sayge *must* be intended to be Veritas, given the similarities, it's sort of odd that Wolfman changed his name and never footnoted the old Doctor Strange stories. Not having the letters pages of Nova at hand, is any mention made there about it?

Also, another Wolfman pet plot (after the one seen in issue #2): he really likes having heroes get caught in between two opposed sets of villains. The same plot idea turns up in Fantastic Four when Diablo and Darkoth team up to undermine Doctor Doom.

A similar idea was also the basis for his "Chemistro II/Big Brother/The Baron" storyline in Power Man, the introduction of *snicker* the Big Wheel in Spider-Man as a guy who hated the Rocket Racer. Even the resolution of the Sphinx storyline has the FF using Galactus to take him out. And then in his Teen Titans he set the Brotherhood of Evil against Madame Rouge and later against Brother Blood in various stories.