In addition to what is occurring in its current multi-title event, Avenger’s Standoff, Marvel is hinting at a return of a long missing member of their pantheon in recent years. There are currently three main contenders who might be making a big return to during this episode, though this is purely speculation as of now:
Richard Rider:
Rider was the first hero to hold the title of Nova as a member of the Nova Corps. This organization was Marvel’s equivalent to DC’s Green Lantern Corp, and the character quickly became a fan favorite. His last appearance came at the conclusion of The Thanos Imperative when he and Star Lord were trapped in the Cancerverse with Thanos.
Both Star-Lord and Thanos have returned to Marvel’s main canon, leaving Rider to await his own return. How his return fits into the overall story taking place is a little difficult to ascertain. Though it would be interesting to see him up the current Nova (Sam Alexander), who is looking for his father, who also happened to be a member of the Nova Corp.
Mar-Vell:
Mar-Vell was a Kree warrior who was also the first hero in the Marvel Universe called Captain Marvel, which led to an interesting lawsuit between Marvel and DC over their own Captain Marvel, now known as Shazam (who had been involved in an entirely different lawsuit between DC and Fawcett Comics). Mar-Vell lost his life to cancer he contracted during his exploits, his passing leaving a profound mark in the Marvel Universe.
If his return is the case during Avenger’s Standoff, there could be a conflict of interest between Mar-Vell and his former supporting hero, Carol Danvers, who is now the current Captain Marvel in their respective universe. It would be keen to see this hero return to a world that as more than moved on since his passing and how he tries to come to terms with this situation. Of course this would also go into territory frequented by Steve Rogers in many of his story arcs.
Genis-Vell:
The son of Mar-Vell and the third character to hold the Captain Marvel title. He was also a member of several groups, including The Thunderbolts, where he was trapped by Baron Zemo into an alternate dimension.
His return in the middle of a fire-fight headed by the baron would certain make the climactic fight a thrill to say the least. As he was using the moniker Photon during his last encounter with Zemo, there wouldn’t be a real problem with his return as there isn’t really a position his return might contest.
Of course, compared to his father and Rider, his doesn’t have the same public appeal, so his return might not have the same effect as would the other two if they made their return.
Regardless of who Marvel will bring back for the end of the Avenger’s Standoff arc, things will certainly be interesting as the dust settles from this critical moment in Marvel’s post-Secret War environment.
