This scene is all the proof I need that Nova is now Marvel's number 1 Cosmic hero. I look back on Rich in the past, and have trouble even realizing that this is the same character. Rich has really come a long way. I can only wonder what will happen when Abnett and Lanning inevitable leave the book.
I remember when Marvel relaunched the series with Erik Larsen at the helm. I don't resent Larsen for what he did, as he just wrote Rich exactly as he was back in his original solo series (which Larsen was apperently a big fan of). But that was not good enough. Rich had grown up some over the course of New warriors, and this version just didn't make sense any longer.