| Rikki Barnes | |
|---|---|
 Cover art toNomad: Girl Without a World #1. Art byRafael 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 inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Created by writerJeph Loeb and artistRob Liefeld, the character first appeared inHeroes Reborn #½ (September 1996), where she was established as theCounter-Earth granddaughter ofBucky Barnes during the 1996 "Heroes Reborn" storyline. Rikki crossed over toEarth-616 in the 2008Onslaught Reborn miniseries, in which she operated asNomad for a time, later joining theExiles in another reality after being repeatedly reincarnated in her grandfather's place, and then theFuture Foundation in the mainstream Marvel universe.
Rikki Barnes was first introduced in theHeroes Reborn series of books. She is native to this world that was created byFranklin Richards to save his family, theFantastic Four, and the rest of the heroes who died fightingOnslaught. The heroes were healed and given new memories to adjust to this new reality. Rikki Barnes was a native to this world and granddaughter ofBucky Barnes.
Her brother John was involved with a radical group led by theRed Skull and through that contact she metCaptain America, eventually becoming his protégé. He and the other heroes left this world when they realized the danger they presented to it inHeroes Return, and Rikki stayed behind. Through various events this world was eventually brought into the Marvel Universe proper and is now the newCounter-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 theYoung Allies.
After the events ofM-Day, Franklin is targeted by a resurrected Onslaught. Franklin encounters Rikki, who summons theAvengers to battle Onslaught. The fight against Onslaught leads to theBaxter Building, where Rikki sacrifices herself to push Onslaught into theNegative Zone. Instead of dying, Rikki is transported to the main universe,Earth-616.[1]
After learning thatCaptain 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 aNomad 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 battleFlag-Smasher, who is attacking a military recruitment facility. Rikki makes further appearances as Nomad in the seriesYoung Allies.[2][3][4][5]
Some time later, Rikki begins having nightmares set in the jungles ofSouth America, which foretell her teammateToro being kidnapped. After traveling toColombia and investigating aRoxxon 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 hasGravity kill her so that Onslaught cannot return.[6]
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 theFuture Foundation, who are reassembling the scattered remains ofMolecule Man. She confronts theMaker and meets Foundation memberJulie Power, who she falls in love with.[9]
InExiles 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 ofBen Grimm, both flirting with one another before Valkyrie is reunited with Rikki.[8] While later trapped in a vision by rogueWatchers, Rikki sees a reality where she is unhappily married to a man.[8][10]
Rikki is a natural athlete who was trained byS.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 andhis 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.
As Bucky she wore a bulletproof costume modeled after the original Bucky. She also made use of avibranium-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.
| Title | Material collected | Published date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nomad: Girl Without a World | Nomad: Girl Without a World #1-4, material fromCaptain America #600 | April 2010 | 978-0785144199 |