[1] Like every member of the original Runaways, Nico is the child of two of the super-powered villains calling themselves "the Pride"; in her case, she is the daughter of dark wizards.
Nico uses her talents to make up for her parents' villainous actions and to prevent anyone from assuming the Pride's place at the top of Los Angeles organized crime.
[2][3][4][5][6][7] Nico Minoru was portrayed by Lyrica Okano in the Hulu streaming television series Runaways, set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Nico appears as one of the main characters in A-Force, an all-female Avengers spin-off launched by G. Willow Wilson, Marguerite Bennett, and Jorge Molina during Marvel's Secret Wars crossover.
[16] In 2007, the magic-related crossover event Mystic Arcana fills the gap between Runaways #17 and #18, during Nico's brief time at Father Flanagan's Home for Unwanted Goth Kids.
[18] As Nico must deliver blood in order to produce her Staff, fire and sacrifice prove to be very similar to Tarot's Minor Arcana suit of "wands".
After returning to their lair beneath the La Brea Tar Pits, Xavin realizes she had publicly exposed their location, drawing the attention of Iron Man and S.H.I.E.L.D.
[25] At the 2009 Emerald City ComiCon, writer Brian Bendis implied that Nico might be one of the magicians sought by former Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange, seeing as the search "is not done yet.
"[26] Although the title went to Brother Voodoo, her image appeared as one of the many candidates the Eye of Agamotto considered to assume the role of the new Sorcerer Supreme.
[29] The Staff of One has its power drastically reduced for an unexplained reason, preventing her not only from being able to act out against Arcade or the island, but also requiring "dozens of spells" just to successfully grow food to eat.
[30] After mounting a frontal attack on Apex and Juston Seyfert's Sentinel, Nico loses the Staff of One when she is dismembered by Chase (now in possession of the Darkhawk armor) and thrown off a cliff.
[31] The Staff then resurrects her, using her massive blood loss as a sacrifice to grant her enough power to disarm Deathlocket, destroy the Darkhawk armor, and defeat Apex by trapping her underground.
[35] Cammi gives Chase the amulet again when Apex unleashes bugs, sentient typhoon, and weaponized sand to attack the remaining teens on Murderworld.
In Astoria, Oregon, A-Force tracks a dragon from Battleworld named Countess and discover that she is being pursued by an alternate version of Dazzler that belonged to the Thor Corps.
As the fight with She-Hulk takes the team away from the city and their powers return, the Countess has Minoru turn their feet into cement shoes and drag them under water.
Minoru convinces Countess to have a change of heart as Dazzler Thor succumbs to the compounded effects that the Terrigen Mist are having on her otherworldly system.
[40] During the "Civil War II" storyline, after She-Hulk is gravely wounded in a battle with Thanos, Danvers tells Minoru that the Inhuman Ulysses had a vision of her killing a woman named Alice.
Bloodstone informs Minoru that the attack is the result of an infection that is turning the populace into insects and takes her to meet Janine, whose daughter Alice has gone missing during the commotion.
[49] In Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways, Nico successfully cast a tunneling spell using a Latin phrase supplied to her by Vision without knowing its meaning.
[44] As the series progressed, Nico found alternative ways to make herself bleed, including brushing her gums for extended periods of time[51] and having Gert's Deinonychus Old Lace bite her arm.
[55] In the Mystic Arcana series, Nico is said to have far greater magical potential than even she had realized, as the last living heir to the Clan Minoru; Nico overwhelms Marie LaVeau in a matter of moments, despite all of Marie's magical experience and power, and discovers that the roots of her family legacy are deeper than even she imagined, with her being the only person alive capable of unlocking the Black Mirror.
[65] Despite this, Nico proves her loyalty to the Runaways when Alex betrays the group and offers her a seat in the new world promised by Pride's Biblical benefactors, the Gibborim.
However, the group organizes a mass escape from their homes to begin life as full-time vigilantes; Nico is generally accepted as the team leader.
[53] In another incident where the Punisher was holding them at gunpoint and was seriously injured by being punched in the stomach by Molly, when the others expressed concern about his condition, Nico flatly stated that she "wasn't going to waste a healing spell" on him.
Her insecurities and confusion over her romantic life comes to haunt her in a dream, where her deceased parents berated Nico for acting like a "slut" (for kissing Alex, Topher, Chase and Victor).
Nico became very isolated and unstable after the events of Avengers Arena, where she was dismembered, resurrected, and ultimately survived Murderworld, having almost no contact with the Runaways, even ignoring Molly's birthday.
She explains she was destroyed after the events of the Arena, she was terrified of her new powers and was likely suffering from severe PTSD, and seeing Chase return to normal after the experience only made her hurt more.
Months later, Chase catches Nico strewing Karolina's clothes about her floor for remembrance's sake and tells him, "I didn't hurt this bad when Alex betrayed us.
However, Karolina rejected her, due to her wanting to be faithful to her girlfriend, Julie Power, and dismissed it as Nico's habit of seeking physical comfort in times of stress.
[77] The pair maintain a strong respect for each other despite often disagreeing over major group decisions, including Gert's burial site and allowing Victor to join the team.