During the Annihilation War, the Nova Corps was decimated in the first few hours of the war. The only remaining Nova, Richard Rider, managed to safeguard the Worldmind in his body, along with the entire Nova Force. However, he was unable to handle such tremendous power. Only with Drax's help, was he able to control it.

In the aftermath of the war, Rider went on a nonstop run across the galaxy, responding to any emergencies, despite the Worldmind's advice to restore the Corps or at least slow down. By accident, they arrived on Earth, where society had changed due to the Superhuman Registration Act. As Rider slept, Worldmind secretly took control of his body, frightening Rider's parents. Eventually, Rider decided to leave the home he had considered to have gone mad to return to patrol the universe.

The first call Rider responded to was the Kree Empire. Unfortunately, Worldmind determined that the Kree have been subverted by the Phalanx and urged Rider to turn around and warn the rest of the cosmos. However, Rider ran into the energy barrier barring the Kree galaxy from the rest of the universe. He ended up falling on Drez-Lar, where Worldmind deputized a Kree captain Ko-rel to protect Rider until he was fully healed. But Rider was soon infected by the Phalanx. Refusing to let the Nova Force and itself become slaves to the Phalanx and urged Ko-rel to end Rider's misery. Ko-rel hesitated when Rider was vulnerable, resulting in Gamora killing her. Worldmind managed to suppress the transmode virus, though it took the majority of the Nova Force to do so. After a few escapees to the edge of the universe and the Technarchy homeworld of Kvch, Rider and the Worldmind are able to find a cure to the virus.