Robert and his older brother
Richard were born to Charles and Gloria Rider. The family resided in Hempstead, New York. Richard developed an inferiority complex of Robert due to his remarkable scientific genius. Robert’s genius would eventually place in the position of researcher at Project PEGASUS where he would work with some of the greatest scientific minds on the planet, such as Dr. Evelyn Necker the inventor of the Death's Head Minion androids. Robert was present at Project PEGASUS when it was invaded by the extraterrestrial Skrulls, seeking to use the facilities’ advanced technology in their quest to conqueror Earth. The Skrulls, were eventually defeated by the combine efforts of Richard Rider,
Quasar,
Darkhawk and the Death's Head androids. Robert found himself once again in the shadows of his older brother, but that would all change when the Xandarian, Worldmind was separated for Richard and it selected Robert to be a member of the new
Nova Corps.