Rikki Barnes
| Rikki Barnes | |
|---|---|
 Cover art to Nomad: Girl Without a World #1. Art by Rafael Albuquerque. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Heroes Reborn #½ (September 1996) |
| Created by | Jeph Loeb Rob Liefeld |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Rebecca Barnes |
| Species | Human |
| Place of origin | Counter-Earth |
| Team affiliations | Young Allies (Counter-Earth) Young Allies (Heroic Age) |
| Partnerships | Captain America |
| Notable aliases | Bucky Nomad Rikki Baines Becky Barnes |
| Abilities |
|
Rebecca "Rikki" Barnes is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in Heroes Reborn #½ (September 1996), where she was established as the Counter-Earth granddaughter of Bucky Barnes during the 1996 "Heroes Reborn" storyline. Rikki crossed over to Earth-616 in the 2008 Onslaught Reborn miniseries, in which she operated as Nomad for a time, later joining the Exiles in another reality after being repeatedly reincarnated in her grandfather's place, and then the Future Foundation in the mainstream Marvel universe.
Fictional character biography
[edit]Heroes Reborn
[edit]Rikki Barnes was first introduced in the Heroes Reborn series of books. She is native to this world that was created by Franklin Richards to save his family, the Fantastic Four, and the rest of the heroes who died fighting Onslaught. The heroes were healed and given new memories to adjust to this new reality. Rikki Barnes was a native to this world and granddaughter of Bucky Barnes.
Her brother John was involved with a radical group led by the Red Skull and through that contact she met Captain America, eventually becoming his protégé. He and the other heroes left this world when they realized the danger they presented to it in Heroes Return, and Rikki stayed behind. Through various events this world was eventually brought into the Marvel Universe proper and is now the new Counter-Earth. But the crossover caused great ecological change and half the world was submerged underwater. Rikki forms a group of like-minded individuals to bring order, called the Young Allies.
Onslaught Reborn
[edit]After the events of M-Day, Franklin is targeted by a resurrected Onslaught. Franklin encounters Rikki, who summons the Avengers to battle Onslaught. The fight against Onslaught leads to the Baxter Building, where Rikki sacrifices herself to push Onslaught into the Negative Zone. Instead of dying, Rikki is transported to the main universe, Earth-616.[1]
Nomad
[edit]After learning that Captain America (Steve Rogers) had died, Rikki feels lost again and clings to the only things she has: her heroism and her brother. While not technically her brother, she seeks out John Barnes of Earth-616 and falsifies an ID to stay close to him. Rikki later discovers a Nomad costume in her apartment and a note that it was for her. The next day, Rikki puts on the costume and assumes the mantle of Nomad to battle Flag-Smasher, who is attacking a military recruitment facility. Rikki makes further appearances as Nomad in the series Young Allies.[2][3][4][5]
Onslaught Unleashed
[edit]Some time later, Rikki begins having nightmares set in the jungles of South America, which foretell her teammate Toro being kidnapped. After traveling to Colombia and investigating a Roxxon facility, Rikki encounters Onslaught. He reveals that she is a construct created to act as his host, with the real Rikki having died in the Negative Zone. Rikki has Gravity kill her so that Onslaught cannot return.[6]
Reincarnated in the Multiverse
[edit]After her death, Rikki is reincarnated in several alternate universes, where she becomes the sidekick of each universe's Captain America.[7][8] She eventually ends up back on Earth-616, where she is imprisoned on the planet L'ar Gath Five. Rikki is freed by the Future Foundation, who are reassembling the scattered remains of Molecule Man. She confronts the Maker and meets Foundation member Julie Power, who she falls in love with.[9]
Other versions
[edit]In Exiles Vol. 3, after romancing Rikki's "Becky Barnes" reincarnation, Valkyrie encounters an alternate version of Becky who serves as a member of the pirate crew of Ben Grimm, both flirting with one another before Valkyrie is reunited with Rikki.[8] While later trapped in a vision by rogue Watchers, Rikki sees a reality where she is unhappily married to a man.[8][10]
Powers and abilities
[edit]Rikki is a natural athlete who was trained by S.H.I.E.L.D. and Captain America. She is a gifted fighter, marksman and acrobat with the familiarity with technological devices of a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.
Due to the special circumstances of her creation, which was influenced by Franklin Richards' idolization of both Captain America and his own mother,[9] Rikki is repeatedly reincarnated into another reality after death, with full memory of her past lives as well as selected injuries and scars and her trademark equipment.
Weapons and equipment
[edit]As Bucky she wore a bulletproof costume modeled after the original Bucky. She also made use of a vibranium-photonic energy shield along with vibranium-soled boots that allowed her to run up walls, move silently, leap great distances, and land from great heights. She also wielded a pistol.
As Nomad, she made use of much of the same equipment with a new costume based on the Nomad identity once worn by Steve Rogers. She retains the vibranium-photonic shield and now uses throwing discs used by previous Nomads. It is possible she still possesses the vibranium soled boots, though she no longer used the pistol in that new identity. With her subsequent rebirth, she has returned to using her old gear.
Collected editions
[edit]| Title | Material collected | Published date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nomad: Girl Without a World | Nomad: Girl Without a World #1-4, material from Captain America #600 | April 2010 | 978-0785144199 |
References
[edit]- ^ Onslaught Reborn #1–5 (January 2007-February 2008)
- ^ Paggi, David (June 22, 2009). "Writer Sean McKeever returns to the Marvel Universe and brings Rikki Barnes along with him". Marvel.com. Archived from the original on June 26, 2009. Retrieved June 22, 2009.
- ^ Rogers, Vaneta (June 21, 2009). "Heroes Con '09: New Girl in Town - McKeever Talks Nomad". Newsarama. Archived from the original on June 24, 2009. Retrieved June 22, 2009.
- ^ Phegley, Kiel (March 9, 2010). "McKeever Enlists "Young Allies"". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on March 11, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
- ^ Rogers, Vaneta (March 9, 2010). "YOUNG ALLIES Joins Marvel's Summer Youth Movement". Newsarama. Archived from the original on March 11, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
- ^ Onslaught Unleashed #1 - 3 (April - June 2011)
- ^ Future Foundation #3 (December 2019)
- ^ a b c Exiles (vol. 3) #8 - 12 (November 2018 - March 2019)
- ^ a b Future Foundation #5 (February 2020)
- ^ Holub, Christian (April 19, 2018). "Peggy Carter is Captain America in new Marvel comic". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 20, 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
External links
[edit]- Rikki Barnes at the Marvel Comics wiki
- Rikki Barnes at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)