Profile
- Real Name: Frankie Rayes
- AKA: Frances Hyatt, Human Torch
- Family: “Thomas Raye” (Phineas T. Horton, stepfather, deceased); Thomas Raymond (Toro) (possible biological father); Lanette Raye (mother, deceased)
- Base of Operation:
- Identity:
- Citizenship:
- Martial Status: Single
- Occupation:
- Education:
- Gender: Female
- Height: 5′4″ (1.63 m)
- Weight: 130 lbs (58.97 kg)
- Eyes: Blue, White (As Nova)
- Hair: Red, No Hair (As Nova)
- Unusual Feature: Gold skin, Flames in place for hair
- Origin: A human exposed to Horton Cells in her youth, which laid dormant until she came into contact with Human Torch (Johnny Storm), activating her powers. She was later enhanced further by Galactus’ Power Cosmic.
- Universe: Marvel Prime Universe (Earth-616)
She yearn for so much freedom that she would volunteer to become Galactus’ herald. Introduced in Fantastic Four #164 (1975) by Roy Thomas and George Perez, Frankie Rayes is the possible daughter of the first Human Torch’s sidekick, Toro as well as the step-daughter of the Torch’s creator, Phineas T. Horton, though he had changed his name to Thomas Rayes. Frankie grew up unaware of her heritage and would accidentally be dosed in the formula that gave the Torch his powers. This gave her the Torch’s fire powers but her step-father, fearing she would receive the same treatment as the Torch, hypnotized her to forget this experience. She would grow up unaware of her powers and developed pyrophobia. However, she had a attraction to Johnny Storm and the two would date. She would learnt of her powers and was convinced by Sue to join the F4 as a second Human Torch.
However, a weaken Galactus arrived to feed on Earth. Seeing an opportunity to escape Earth and despite the warning of what the job entails, Frankie volunteered to become Galactus’s latest herald, taking the name Nova. With the freedom she was given and the powers she receive, Nova began to lose her empathy and would feed Galactus inhabited worlds, the most famous being the Skrull homeworld Tarnax IV. The Silver Surfer had become worry about his new friend and test Nova by bringing her to an inhabited world, asking her would she feed it to Galactus. When she said yes, Surfer explained that he had brought her back in time to her home planet Earth. This cause her to re-evaluated her role.
However, Galactus didn’t approve of her new compassion and dismissed her from her role. He replace her with Morg, a more ruthless herald. Together with Surfer and previous heralds, they tried to defeat Morg. However, in the ensuing battle, Nova was blasted in the back by Morg. As punishment, Galactus stripped Morg of his powers. While Surfer would entombed her body in a star, she would eventually return to Earth where she would be found by the Fearless Defenders with none of her memories. After meeting with Johnny and having her power reactivated she would join the Defenders.
This Nova has been one of the Heralds that many people have request as a action figure for years. This may be due to her role in both the 90’s F4 and Silver Surfer cartoon, usually replacing Surfer as Galactus herald. She would eventually receive a figure was one of the extra tiers for the Haslab Galactus project.
Herald of Galactus – Nova
Recommend Figure: Hasbro Haslab Exclusive Marvel Legends Galactus – Nova pack-in with Galactus, Silver Surfer and Morg
- Background:
- The first human to become a herald and already a fire element hero, when Frankie became a herald her powers would a major boast in power given the Power Cosmic. As if a nod to the Surfer, she would also gain a golden appearance.
- Why you need it for your collection?:
- If you backed Galactus (or have an insane amount of money in the secondary market), you will get this figure as a free add-on. For those did, you will need this for your F4 collection (for member, allies or rogues) and Fearless Defenders. However, the collection you should have it for is for the Heralds of Galactus, joining Surfer and the rest.
- Does it need a remake?:
- No.
Needs
Below you will find a gallery of suits that still need to be made. I have included what I think are the possibilities of them being made. Note that these are my personal opinions and not facts. Please let me know if I have missed anything.
Near Complete Set 