SHIRO NOVA	BIOGRAPHY
Created by Benjamin Raab and Rick Burchett

PERSONAL DATA

Occupation: Bounty hunter, assassin
Homeworld: Unknown
Marital Status: Married
Known Relatives: Syra, Anica, Lula (wife, daughters)
Group Affiliation(s): Black Circle Syndicate
Gender: Male
Eyes: White
Hair: None
First Appearance: Green Lantern Vol. 3 #166 (August 2003): "The Blind Part One"
Creators: Benjamin Raab and Rick Burchett

HISTORY

One of the most feared assassins in Space Sector 2814, Shiro Nova killed without question or remorse. He wields many weapons with great skill, some very similar to Earth weapons such as the chained mace, swords and shotguns. Additionally, Shiro Nova is an excellent hand-to-hand fighter. His starship, the Sanctuary, is his home away from home, and considered as deadly as Shiro Nova himself. Indeed, it is held that to see Shiro Nova’s face is to see death.

Despite his fearsome reputation, Shiro Nova has one weakness, his family.

The criminal organization known as the Black Circle Syndicate took Shiro Nova’s wife and two daughters as prisoners, to ensure the bounty hunter’s loyalty to the Circle. - Green Lantern Vol. 3 #166- #167

Under the leadership of Magnate Commander Amon Sur of Ungara, the Black Circle had aligned itself with the Weaponers of Qward. Together, they were creating the Blind, a weapons system that caused the destruction of entire stars, and the worlds which orbited the doomed stars.

Following the destruction of the planet Mellifera, Amon Sur’s contact within the Cosmic Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) warned of Green Lantern Kyle Rayner’s interference with the deployment of the Blind. Shiro Nova was contracted to deliver the ring wielder’s head to Amon Sur. - Green Lantern Vol. 3 #166

He struck the Green Lantern of Earth by surprise, while the ring wielder was trying to prevent the Blind from destroying the Earth’s sun. Green Lantern was then brought on board the Sanctuary to face Shiro Nova in person. Despite Shiro Nova’s impressive skills, Green Lantern overcame the bounty hunter, leaving Shiro Nova webbed inside the ship while Rayner ended the threat of the Blind.

Neither Green Lantern nor the Black Circle would know that Shiro Nova had freed himself and would have killed the Green Lantern had he not been visited by Lianna, arguably one of the new Guardians of the Universe. Lianna warned Shiro Nova not to harm the Green Lantern, claiming Green Lantern would someday save the lives of Shiro Nova’s family. - Green Lantern Vol. 3 #166

Amon Sur was displeased with Shiro Nova’s failure. Kerina, Amon Sur’s assistant and lover, threatened Nova’s family should the bounty hunter fail a second time.

When Shiro Nova drew a sword on Kerina, at least four members of the Black Circle sprang to her defense, but all were cut down by the bounty hunter. Shiro Nova promised to slay the Green Lantern and Kerina as well, should she harm Nova’s family. - Green Lantern Vol. 3 #168

Unfortunately for Shiro Nova, there were no sightings of the Green Lantern. For all intents and purposes, it seemed his quarry had disappeared. By chance, Shiro Nova happened to be at an outpost bar visited by Professor Tipanius Terpis of the research vessel Tsunami. Terpis and his crew planned to make their way back to Space Sector 734 when they stopped at the outpost for supplies. Shiro Nova overheard Terpis mentioning how he had helped Green Lantern defeat the Blind. It appears he convinced Terpis to give him information about Green Lantern’s most recent exploits. - Green Lantern Vol. 3 #172

Using the Blind, both Amon Sur and the Weaponers of Qward had the ultimate goal of eliminating the Green Lantern Corps by destroying the planet Oa. Once the Blind's targeting system was completed and the weapons system was fully deployed, Oa would be obliterated, and the planet Qward would be transferred into the positive matter universe, allowing the Weaponers a base from which to launch their bid for domination of this new universe.

To thwart their plans, Green Lantern had infiltrated the Black Circle by posing as a bounty hunter / assassin, Mr. Vasquez. Shiro Nova caught up with the disguised Rayner on board the massive Blind generator, but the power ring was quicker than the sword. Though the Green Lantern gambled correctly that Shiro Nova would change sides to protect his wife and daughters, he had underestimated Kerina and Amon Sur. Both Shiro Nova and Rayner were caught by an energy snare wielded by Kerina and taken prisoner. - Green Lantern Vol. 3 #174

Soon after their capture, Kerina was accidentally slain by Amon Sur. Working with a number of former Green Lanterns, Kyle Rayner was able to destroy the Blind generator. A massive wave of entropy erased the installation and Amon Sur was killed shortly thereafter. The fate of Shiro Nova and his family has yet to be revealed. - Green Lantern Vol. 3 #175

CHRONOLOGY

For a definitive list of appearances of Shiro Nova in chronological order click here