Anath-Na Mut is a magician in the court of Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II. Defeated in a duel of magic by the prophet Moses, the magician is exiled into the desert for his failure. The title "Nova" recounts in flashback how Anath-Na discovers the alien Ka Stone, which grants him immortality and a host of other powers. Using the alias the Sphinx, Anath-Na wanders the Earth for thousands of years, and eventually becomes bored with his immortality. After learning the origins of the hero Nova, a human empowered by the aliens of the planet Xandar and possessing the subconscious knowledge of Xandar's Living Computer, the Sphinx theorized that the machine may be able to find a way to end his immortal life.