Galactus

Origin

Galactus is the only survivor of the universe that existed before the Big Bang. He was actually born billions of years ago on the planet Taa. Taa was a paradise world, the most technologically advanced in all the universe. Galactus was born during the last years of his universe just as the Big Bang was approaching. He was a scientist and informed his people of the impending doom to not only Taa, but the universe itself. The very atoms of the universe were changing and they watched as civilizations died.

Soon, residents of Taa began dying of radiation poisoning and even their advanced skills could not stop it. He persuaded some crewman to fly with himself in a space vessel into the terminal point of the universe as a sort of last act of Heroism to his people. Everyone else on the ship died and that's when a cosmic being calling itself the sentience of the universe told him they both must die. The being combined with Galan and became part of the new Universe as a cosmic egg.

Galactus was created along with his starship and the embodiments of Death and Eternity. He stayed here, inert, for billions of years. A Watcher found the ship to be interesting and brought it down out of a planet's orbit, thus breaking his oath of non-interference. He awoke the incredibly powerful entity on-board. He had one chance to destroy it but did not interfere, knowing that this entity must live.

Galactus learned to control his power and created a unique body suit to help regulate his awesome energies. His ship became an incubation chamber and Galactus stayed there for several hundreds of years. The ship eventually fell into orbit over Archeopia, and the residents dared not tamper with it. During a space war, his ship was fired upon and Galactus was awakened, his incubation complete. This was the first time Galactus fed upon the energy of a planet. The survivors of this planet who escaped became known as the Wanderers.

He looked upon the ruin he had created. But he knew he had the power of creation as well as annihilation. He began to reconstruct the world, taking millennia to finish it. When completed, it was enormous, so that planets orbited it as though it were a sun. The world-ship became Galactus' home and he named it Taa II.

At this time, he could go centuries before he needed to feed again. He started out feeding upon the energies of uninhabited worlds. Soon, his hunger grew more quickly and the time between feedings grew shorter. At first, Galactus felt much guilt for his destruction. Eventually, he stopped worrying about only feeding upon uninhabited worlds as he felt he was above other beings.

When he came across Death and Eternity, it was believed that Galactus served as the balance between the two forces.

Creation

Galactus was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Galactus made his first comic book appearance in the Fantastic Four #48.

Character Evolution

First Creations of Galactus

Galactus created himself some companionship in the form of Tyrant, a being equal in size and almost equal in strength. But Galactus only took what he needed to survive, while Tyrant had the urge to conquer and dominate. When Galactus learned of this, he reduced Tyrant's size and power and helped to banish him to the edges of the universe after beating him in a battle that destroyed untold galaxies.

Galactus' first attempt at finding new worlds to devour was a self-replicating program known as the Cosmos Automation Program. This was a data-loop that would travel to distant planets and prepare them for his consumption. The program sought out great minds of the planet to create an artificial life form that would absorb cosmic energies and then turn against the defenses of the world and make it easier for Galactus to consume.

After several worlds found a way to manipulate the creation and use it to fight Galactus, he abandoned the program after using it for over thirty millennia. (The Cosmos Automation Program did reach Earth, were it compelled the Mad Thinker to make a cosmic powered robot of the Hulk).

Galactus soon decided it would be more efficient to have others search out the worlds with compatible energies rather than seek them out himself. This was the start of his heralds. His first herald, the Fallen One, didn't work out so well due to its corrupt nature. He was forced to imprison the Fallen One at the edge of the universe. For some time, he retired the idea of a herald.

The Silver Surfer

When Galactus was about to feed upon the planet Zenn-La, it was Norrin Radd, a native of the planet, that persuaded Galactus to spare the planet. Galactus claimed he may be able to avoid the destruction of populated planets if he only had a herald to seek planets out for him. Norrin agreed to become his new herald. Galactus empowered Norrin with the Power Cosmic and even went so far as to suppress his morals to prevent inhabited planets from being overlooked. Thus the Silver Surfer was born.

Coming upon planet Earth, Alicia Masters was able to reach the Silver Surfer's morality and compassion. He chose to stand up against Galactus along with the Fantastic Four. With the help of Uatu, they were able to obtain the Ultimate Nullifier, a weapon of incredible power. Standing defeated, Galactus decided to bind the Silver Surfer to Earth as punishment for his betrayal. No longer could he surf the vast reaches of space. He spent several years bound to Earth.

Having broke his promise, Galactus returned to Zenn-La, where in a rare moment offered it's inhabitants 24 hours to leave the planet. Galactus consumed Zenn-La's biospheric energies, leaving the planet a dead husk.

Galactus continued to feed upon worlds and created other heralds to assist him. It is Galactus' belief that he is beyond the scope of being good or evil. He truly believes that he serves a purpose in the universe and will eventually give more back than he has taken.

New Heralds of Galactus

Galactus chose Gabriel Lan as his next herald, thus creating the Air-Walker. When Galactus traveled into Ovoid space they attacked him to protect their world and subsequently killed his new herald. Galactus then transferred Gabriel's consciousness into an android body and sent it to Earth in an attempt to regain the Surfer as his herald. The Surfer destroyed the android and with the help of the Fantastic Four, turned Galactus away.

Having chased his friend Gabriel across the universe, Pyreus Kril then met Galactus. He agreed to be the next herald and was dubbed Firelord. Originally, Firelord blamed the Silver Surfer for what had happened to his friend, claiming that if the Surfer never disobeyed Galactus that Gabriel would not be dead.

Firelord served as herald but after an agreement with Thor, Firelord offered the Destroyer as his replacement. Galactus accepted. The Destroyer was merely temporary, as he chose Tyros to replace it, making him Terrax the Terrible. Terrax proved to ambitious and rebelled. Galactus nearly exhausted all of his power following Terrax across the universe.

Terrax ran to Earth and took Manhattan into space, threatening to kill everyone in the city unless the Fantastic Four defeated Galactus for him. Galactus easily returned the island and removed Terrax's cosmic power from him. But this brought Galactus to unsafe power levels and he needed to feed, choosing the planet he was currently on - Earth. The Fantastic Four along with the Avengers and Doctor Strange were able to defeat Galactus in his low state of energy, causing him to begin shrinking.

Realizing that Galactus was about to die, Reed Richards and Captain America decided that they could not let him die, despite his actions. Reed constructed a machine that recycled Galactus' energy and restored him, but he still did not have the energy to reach the nearest suitable planet. It seemed they were back where they started until Frankie Raye, a friend of the Four, appeared and offered to become his newest herald. Although he didn't have enough energy to make her a powerful herald, he did touch her mind and give her cosmic powers to help her with her new duties. Thus, she came to be known as Nova.

Nova was then captured by the Skrulls, who tried to use her as a bargaining chip to make Galactus destroy Kree worlds for them. Galactus could have easily rescued her, but my have destroyed her in the process. At the same time, the Silver Surfer had managed to escape the barrier of Earth and made a deal with Galactus. In exchange for saving Nova, Galactus allowed the Surfer to remain free of Earth and pardoned him for his rebellion.

Near Death

The Elders of the Universe had formulated a plan to kill Galactus and restart the universe, making themselves Galactus-like beings. They gathered the Infinity Gems and with the power nearly drained him of his life force. He was saved by his former herald, the Silver Surfer, and his current herald, Nova. Nova created a black hole to another dimension by destroying a star and some of the Elders fell into it, be he stopped the rest from falling in when he absorbed the energies of supernova. He then consumed the Elders as punishment but Death would not allow them to die. They attacked him from the inside bringing him again to death's door.

He called for the Surfer to help him once again. He told the Surfer the only ones who can help were Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman. The Surfer retrieved them and they traveled through the black hole to obtain the Infinity Gems. But the plot thickened, and the Elders residing in the hole had formed an alliance with the In-Betweener. The Elders and the In-Betweener escaped and planned to finish off Galactus. The In-Betweener did not come through on his end of the bargain and instead sent Galactus into his dimension so that the In-Betweener could rule in his.

The Silver Surfer pleaded to the rulers of this dimension, Lord Chaos and Master Order. They removed the Elders from Galactus and restored his strength. Mr. Fantastic arranged their escape. Back in their reality, Galactus defeated the In-Betweener with the assistance of the Elders, the Surfer, Nova, Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman.

Major Story Arcs

Infinity Gauntlet

For More Information: Infinity Gauntlet

When Thanos obtained the Infinity Gems he became a threat to the universe, which included Galactus.

Thanos' anger and frustration was awesome in force. The psychic wave of power rose from the stellar monument of love and washed out into the ether. The first heavenly body that encountered the wave was a 20,000,000 year old red giant star. Every law of nature revolted against this Jewel's continued existence. Its end was breathtaking. Yet it was but one of many that will fall before the wrath of Thanos, who with the Infinity Gauntlet, was the supreme being of the universe and reality.

A planet Galactus was about to consume crumbled beneath the Titan's rage. This was the second banquet of which Thanos had cheated Galactus. Yet, Galactus kept his anger in check because he had to. For he realized that even his staggering might was nothing compared to the near infinite power that Thanos wielded. But Galactus did not have plans to turn tail and run.

Galactus is a being of power and intellect. Plans must be conceived and alliances formed. Only then may he savor the cold feast of vengeance.

The readings on Thanos' destructive psychic emanations were astounding. The wave devastated nearly a quarter of the galaxy. It was at only 2% of its peak strength when it hit the planet Norrin Radd convinced Galactus out of consuming (Earth).

Galactus then met with Earth's cosmic defenders. He joined forces with Adam Warlock against Thanos. At first he had objections to allowing a mortal to lead them but when the other cosmic beings agreed, Galactus did as well. This contingent of cosmic entities challenged Thanos' might. The very conflict was more than the fragile reality could bear. However, this attack failed and Thanos destroyed the cosmic defenders and usurped Eternity, becoming reality itself.

Thanos was eventually stopped when Nebula attained the Infinity Gauntlet. Although Nebula also made quick work of the cosmic entities as well, she was much less experienced with the gauntlet and Adam Warlock managed to take it from her grasp.

Infinity War

For More Information: Infinity War

Galactus sensed an upcoming threat which was soon revealed to be the Magus. Galactus sought a mage to assist him and sought out Doctor Strange, sending Nova ahead of him. Upon his arrival, Galactus blocked himself from the view of the citizens of New York City. But when Strange refused to help him because Galactus would not answer his questions, Galactus began destroying parts of the city and battling Strange, claiming that he was not asking for Strange's assistance. With all the destruction and no hope of victor, Strange agreed to help. He also gained the help of the Silver Surfer through Dr. Strange's request. They were able to determine the source of the energy fluctuations Galactus had sensed and went after their origin.

With Doctor Strange attached to his ship, they were able to navigate through dimensions to follow the source. Believing they would arrive too early, the Magus destroyed the ship, but Galactus was able to reform it with his incredible power. They arrived a few dimensions short of Magus, precisely where he had intended. They came upon Earth's heroes battling Thanos and the Infinity Watch. Galactus stopped the battle and used his power to read all of their minds to understand the situation. When Adam Warlock brought the Infinity Gems together into the gauntlet to defeat the Magus, the gems lost their power. This was the doing of the Living Tribunal. Galactus took Gamora to meet with the Tribunal in an attempt to reinstate the gems' power.

The Tribunal cannot re-power the gems without the consent of Eternity, who is in a catatonic state. He uses Gamora to awaken him, which Gamora is not pleased by. The power is reinstated, but unknown to Galactus is that the Magus now obtains the Infinity Gauntlet. He returns to him ship and realizes the grave error he has done. To help Earth's heroes he destroys all of the doppelgangers.

Fortunately, Thanos and Warlock tricked Magus, the gauntlet only containing a copy of the Reality Gem. Warlock was able to defeat him.

The Herald Ordeal

For More Information: Silver Surfer

Nova and her sudden lack of loyalty have become bothersome to Galactus. She has begun lying in order to save innocent lives, which matter not to Galactus. To show her a lesson he takes her to a planet to witness it's destruction. He comes across an executioner that has the qualities he desires - ruthlessness, fearless and obedient. He frees Nova of his service and creates a new herald, to rival even the Silver Surfer's power - Morg. Morg's first duty is to rid Galactus of an unwanted guest, the Silver Surfer.

The Surfer vowed to stop Morg at all costs. He was too bloodthirsty and unworthy of becoming a herald. He found Firelord and Nova to assist him. Together they resurrected Air-Walker, who was able to locate Galactus. Before they went into battle they sought one more - Terrax. After battling him they agreed to free him from his imprisonment if he assisted. They retrieved his axe from where the Surfer left it and headed to face Morg.

When they arrived, Morg proved too powerful for all of them. Terrax suggested that the only one who can stop him is Galactus, so the Surfer must convince him. He pleaded with Galactus, telling him Morg was too evil and even if they are all destroyed others will follow for eternity. He agreed that he must be undisturbed in order to survive. By the time they reached the battle, Air-Walker was severely damaged, Firelord and Terrax wounded. Before Galactus could arrive, Morg killed Nova. This angered Galactus who removed his cosmic power from him. Firelord and Air-Walker agreed to be his temporary heralds afterward.

Return of Tyrant

For More Information: Silver Surfer

In private, Galactus hid the fact that he was resurrecting Morg from his new heralds. He had plans for Morg and sent him after Terrax to retake his axe, which was a part of him. In the process, he and Terrax were captured by Galactus' former servant, Tyrant. When Morg did not return, Galactus sought him out and traced him to Tyrant's Fortress. He demanded the release of his herald. Rather they recreate the age old battle they once had and create massive amounts of damage to the universe, Galactus fell to the demands of Tyrant, and allowed him to keep Morg. He stated that he will deal with Tyrant when the time was right.

When Morg escaped Tyrant, he immediately returned to Galactus, killing his herald Air Walker and severely injuring Firelord. Galactus tells Morg to finish Firelord but he is stopped by the Silver Surfer. The Surfer defeats Morg and offers a deal to Galactus. Although Galactus need not make deals with any being, he agrees so he does not have to deal with the annoyance of the Surfer. He revives Air Walker and Firelord. Air Walker is downloaded to essentially become Galactus' ship while Firelord is pardoned from his position.

Eventually, Tyrant planned to met with Galactus, who knew the time had come for a final battle between the two of them. Every time Galactus fed on the biospheric energies of a planet, Tyrant grew weaker. Galactus always knew this time would come. Tyrant arrived on Galactus ship and they began their final confrontation. Galactus attempted to integrate Tyrant into his ship, but Tyrant had control over technology and escaped. He then used the ship to drain Galactus of his biospheric energy, leaving him extremely weakened.

Tyrant had the upper hand, but soon Morg emerged to save his master with the Ultimate Nullifier. Galactus and Tyrant both feared the Nullifier and it's power soon began to consume Morg. The Silver Surfer arrived, sensing his former master's peril and Galactus had him try to stop Morg. The power of the Nullifier was finally more than could be handled and Galactus told the Surfer to escape while he stayed behind in an attempt to contain the energy of the explosion, for the Nullifier was under his protection. The ship exploded, killing everyone on board, Galactus assumingly included.

Rebirth & Redemption

For More Information: Silver Surfer

Galactus eventually resurfaced and took his place in the universe once again. His next herald was Red Shift. Upon his return, Galactus began to consume planets with intelligent life purposefully. This nearly lead Galactus to Earth once again, but Red Shift was stopped by the Silver Surfer and trapped in a black hole. But Galactus was still crazed and not in his right mind, forcing the Silver Surfer to turn against him.

The Surfer took control of Galactus' ship and opened a warp, which turned Galactus into pure energy. Taken into the warp, Galactus calms and tells the Surfer that he had felt his madness coming for eons. He had chosen the noble Surfer as his herald so that when the madness consumed him, the Surfer would do what needed to be done. Before his death, Galactus warned of a greater horror to come.

This horror came in the form of Abraxas, an extremely powerful entity that was kept in check by the existence of Galactus. After merging and nearly destroying all realities, Franklin Richards and Valeria found their purpose and used their powers together to resurrect Galactus, whose essence was located in the heart of Eternity.

When Galactus arrived, he showed the ability to call the Ultimate Nullifier to himself at will, claiming it is a part of him. Galactus gave the Nullifier to Reed Richards who then used it on Abraxas and set the multiverse back to it's normal state.

Galactus soon stumbled upon a way to sustain his appetite indefinitely with the Infinity Gems, for Galactus had long wished to be released of his hunger that causes the deaths of billions. But he was coerced by an extra-dimensional being known as the Hunger. The Hunger made Galactus believe the Gems had the same energy Galactus required in order to build a device known as the Crux. The Crux, when completed, would help the Hunger enter Galactus' reality.

Thanos attempted to stop Galactus, but Galactus would not believe him because of his deceitful past. When Galactus powered up the Crux, the Hunger was released. Only with Thanos' help could Galactus defeat the Hunger. Galactus had been tricked and would still have to continue to consume planets and destroy lives, despite what he wanted. Thanos told him to continue his path and eventually those in the universe will destroy him, Thanos included.

More Heralds

An alien being named Zius set out to save any other planets from Galactus' destruction. He developed a device capable of making planets invisible to the world devourer, which he quickly spread across the universe. But Zius soon learned of the Invisible Woman, and that she had the power to see through the shields. He set out to kill her. Reed learned of this, and to protect her, he swapped her powers with Johnny's. But Galactus figured this out himself, killed Zius and took Johnny as his new herald, giving him the Power Cosmic.

Unlike other heralds, Galactus left Johnny's mind the same. Johnny did not wish to kill billions in order to feed Galactus, so he stalled for as much time as he could. Eventually, the remainder of the Fantastic Four arrived with the help of Quasar, and Johnny devised a plan to stop Galactus, who had now found a world with Johnny's help.

Building a device similar to the one Reed used to swap Sue and Johnny's powers, Johnny focused his Power Cosmic into it and the result was as he had hoped: the essence of Galactus had been separated from Galen. They took Galen back to Earth in an attempt to restore some of his humanity before the essence of Galactus returned to him. But everywhere Galen looked on Earth, he only focused on their primitive culture and shortcomings as a race.

Reed constructed a dimensional portal in the hopes of finding an energy realm capable of sustaining Galactus' hunger, but it was too dangerous and would be a threat to the Earth. But Reed's talk with Galen set a spark in him, that humanoid species deserve the chance to become better over time, and who was he to destroy it? Galen locked himself in the device and initiated it to send him to the other dimension. Eventually, the essence of Galactus would find him wherever he went, but for now Earth and as many other possible species would be spared from the hunger of Galactus.

Galactus next servant was the creature known as Stardust. A being of pure energy, it was faithful to Galactus. The first planet it led Galactus to was New Korbin, which Galactus consumed. This would eventually lead to later events with the Korbinite Beta Ray Bill. When Stardust faced Beta Ray Bill, they accidentally released a being of pure evil known as Asteroth into the universe. Galactus revived Alpha Ray and gave him some Power Cosmic in order to assist against the threat.

Annihilation

For More Information: Annihilation

During Annihilation, the positive zone was growing and actually wound up crossing over into the Negative Zone, where Annihilus ruled. The first attack was on the Kyln, a prison at the edge of the universe. This is where Galactus' first herald the Fallen One was imprisoned. As always, the Fallen One went straight to get his revenge on his former master, but Galactus defeated him, but once again did not kill him.

Annihilus went over to the positive zone with the rest of the Annihilation Wave and was taking over the positive zone to get the planets that he conquered back from the positive zone. This conquering frenzy was disturbing the balance that the mighty Galactus had fought so hard to maintain.

The ex-heralds of Galactus ( Firelord and Red Shift) were followed by Stardust to go find and inform Galactus' favored herald the Silver Surfer that he was summoned. The world devourer imbued his herald with more cosmic power and demanded him to fight off their attackers, which were beings known as hunters who were as powerful as the original Surfer.

Galactus and Surfer fought them off, however in a deal with Thanos, Aegis and Tenebrous who were imprisoned by Galactus, attacked the Ravager of Worlds and his herald. Galactus was defeated, and given to Thanos along with the Silver Surfer and were converted into energy sources for the Wave.

Galactus not only powered the Annihilation Wave but became a planet destroying weapon in their hands. They could use Galactus to destroy a planet and take it's energies for themselves, giving Galactus only enough energy to continue to hold the Silver Surfer captive and enough to keep Galactus from starving to death. But Annihilus planned to use Galactus to destroy all life in the Positive and Negative Zone. Once Thanos learned this, he went to set Galactus free, since he was the only one capable of doing so.

Drax The Destroyer, after slaying Thanos, freed the two Cosmic entities and unleashed an enraged, hungering Galactus on the universe. A weakened Galactus revived Silver Surfer by giving him more cosmic power. In a fit of rage, the mighty Galactus single-handedly (in a weakened state) destroyed the Annihilation Wave. The event was known as the "Galactus Event".

Shortly afterwards, the ravager of worlds began his search for Aegis and Tenebrous by sending out the Surfer after them. The Surfer single handedly defeated Galactus' foes by tapping into the power source of the universe known as the Crunch and thus, Galactus' vengeance, fulfilled. Due to his imprisonment, the world devourer's insatiable hunger doubled, causing Galactus to have two heralds, Silver Surfer and Stardust.

Malnourished and Hungry

Galactus' hunger had doubled since the events of Annihilation and he sought out new sources of energy fast. When Stardust found a good energy source, the Heralds summoned Galactus. Normally the devourer of worlds, Galactus prepared to consume the energy of the cosmic being Epoch.

Epoch was temporarily saved by the Fantastic Four (with Black Panther and Storm acting as members) and both of Galactus' heralds were defeated. But Galactus had already set his device upon Epoch to absorb her energies and there was little the Four could do to stop him. It wasn't until Gravity, who Epoch had just resurrected as Protector of the Universe, decided to step in to save the one who brought him back to life.

With his new power, Gravity was able to harm Galactus, but chose a different route. He expired all his energy bestowed by Epoch, using it to feed Galactus. As a thanks, Galactus spared Epoch and left to search for more nourishment.

Galactus continued to feed and eventually came to a planet known as Orbucen to feed. The planet contacted the Nova Corps and the Centurion Richard Rider was sent to help them evacuate. On the planet he encountered a psionic being that was possessing people and feeding off of their fear and death known as Harrow. Nova also learned that Galactus' gravitational fields were disrupting the engines of the inhabitants evacuation ships.

Nova went to Galactus to try to get him to stall his meal so the ships could be repaired, but the Silver Surfer removed him from Galactus' presence. With the blink of an eye, the Surfer repaired the ships and told Nova to leave the planet. But Nova went after Harrow again and in the process became stranded on a planet about to be destroyed to fulfill Galactus' hunger.

Nova escaped to Galactus' ship, the nearest safe place he could reach. He soon learned that Harrow was also on the ship, having stowed away on the ship after the Trial of Galactus and feeding on the suffering of those in Galactus' path. When Nova began to battle Harrow, the Surfer intervened and removed the barrier that keep Harrow hidden from him and Galactus so long. Once Galactus learned what Harrow had been doing, Galactus instantly vaporized him. Galactus spared Nova and the Surfer warned him to never cross Galactus again.

Godhunter

For More Information: Godhunter

After Galactus consumed New Korbin, he gained himself a new enemy in Beta Ray Bill. Unable to allow Galactus to continue to destroy other races as he had done to the Korbinites, Bill set out on a mission to destroy Galactus once and for all. Bill was able to get Galactus' location from SWORD agent Abigail Brand.

Unable to defeat Galactus head on, Bill planned to starve Galactus to death. He caught up to Galactus at the planet I'Than IX, which was being evacuated by the I'Than at the time. Stardust was unable to stop Bill from destroying the world before Galactus could feed on it's energies. Stardust then led Galactus to I'Than Prime. Bill again destroyed the planet with the use of Voidian's arsenal.

Extremely weak and lacking sustenance, Galactus was led to yet another planet. But he know had to contend with the massive armada of the I'Than as well as Bill. Both of Galactus' heralds tried to buy time for Galactus, but this was still not enough. Bill realized that the legacy of his race should not be remembered with the death of Galactus and helped to fight the armada, giving Galactus the time he needed to consume to world. Galactus then destroyed the armada with a wave of his hand.

Galactus used some of his power to help revive a Korbinite named Ti Asha Ra for Bill to continue his race and left to feed on more planets, not yet fully sustained by the energies.

The Old Power

Galactus then sets his sights on the planet Sakaar, which contains an energy known as the Old Power that will satisfy his hunger for a hundred thousand years. He sends the Silver Surfer in advance, but Skaar does not wish to evacuate his home. He plans on giving Galactus more of the Old Power than he can handle, making him hungrier than ever.

Caiera learns of this and opens a portal to Earth which she pushes Skaar through. Galactus consumes Sakaar, and having filled his hunger, falls into a deep sleep. But in his last act before falling through the wormhole, Skaar fulfills his promise and wakes Galactus with his Old Power. This causes Galactus to crave the energy and hunger as never before.

The Silver Surfer attempts to stop this from happening, but with a gesture Galactus sends him light years away, dismissing him as herald. A slave of Sakaar known as Hiro Kala soon finds himself filled with the remnants of Sakaar's Old Power, and he is the true Sakaarson. He approaches Galactus, and warns him that he will make him pay for what he has done.

Galactus then goes to Doarj'n, another planet filled with the Old Power and consumes it. Meanwhile, Hiro Kala travels to Giausaur, a planet originally given the Old Power by the Shadow. Hiro makes himself into a god here but then offers the planet to Galactus and for himself to become his new herald.

But this is all a deception. Hiro never believed himself a god. He just finally understood the Old Power. By becoming a god on the world, Hiro had in turn poisoned Galactus with the Old Power. After consuming the planet, Galactus felt the screams, fear and pain of a hundred billion souls. Screaming in pain, Galactus expels the spirits of those binded by the Old Power.

Although Galactus still craves the energy, Hiro informs him that if he consumes it ever again he will die. This is the punishment Hiro leaves with Galactus, that what he craves most he shall never taste again. Galactus' body became poisoned by the Old Power, turning him into a slave to the energy. The Old Power concentrated inside him, Hiro Kala planned to use him to help obliterate the Old Power of the universe. He planned to destroy countless planets in the Microverse when Galactus released this energy, but Arcturus Rann used the Enigma Force Nullifier to prevent the Microverse's destruction by altering history.

The Thanos Imperative

For More Information: Thanos Imperative

After releasing the Old Power, Galactus regained his composure and reunited with the Silver Surfer. Another threat was looming and the fate of the universe was at stake. After the War of Kings, a massive fissure in space-time known as the Fault opened, connecting the universe to another corrupted universe known as the Cancerverse. In this universe, there was no death and its inhabitants planned on removing death from Galactus' universe as well. Realizing the danger to his universe and all other universes, Galactus, the Celestials and many other abstract powers formed an alliance to stop the invasion of the attackers.

But the Cancerverse had an answer to their alliance - a massive version of the Galactus Engine, an extremely powerful weapon of destruction created out of the Galactus of that universe. Galactus was able to hold the line but was slowly failing. The Silver Surfer claimed that if Galactus could not stop the Engine then it would not be stopped.

When Death returned to the Cancerverse, she killed it's inhabitants and her return made the universe collapse on itself, thus destroying all it's inhabitants and closing the Fault.

Chaos War

For More Information: Chaos War

During the Chaos War event, Galactus and the Silver Surfer were summoned against their will by the now omnipotent Hercules, using his new sky-father powers, and became members of the second incarnation of his team; the God Squad. Galactus aided in the battle against the evil Mikaboshi and his forces. Mikaboshi used Zeus, the dead Olympian All-Father to fight Galactus. Galactus underestimated the power of Zeus and was dispatched by the Olympian with surprising speed and ease.

Later, when all seemed lost and the death of the multiverse appeared inevitable, Galactus constructed a device to transport the survivors to a pocket universe known as "Continuum" to ensure his own survival. Fortunately, Hercules whose power had been increased even more, engaged Mikaboshi and fought him to a standstill until he was able to actually trap Mikaboshi himself in the "Continuum Universe." The resulting effort taken by Galactus left him in a severely weakened state once again. In order to replenish his master's energy, the Silver Surfer placed him in Earth's Sun to absorb it's energy and regain his strength. This was stated to shorten the life span of the star by a billion years.

The Galactus Seed

Galactus has recently returned to Earth with his Herald, The Silver Surfer, to retrieve a unique seed known as the Worldheart created by The All-God discovered by The Asgardians that he claims would forever end his hunger. Odin refused to hand over the seed, setting the stage for an all-out war between The Asgardians and The Devourer of Worlds. The battle was short lived and Loki took the seed back to the roots of Yggdrasil.

To watch the seed, Galactus left behind the Silver Surfer, tethering him to Earth. He created a new herald that would become known as the Praeter to assist in his world searching.

Forever

Thanks to both the War of the Four Cities and Mr. Sinister tampering with the Dreaming Celestial, Galactus has returned to Earth to protect it from being destroyed. As destroying the planet will awaken the seed and will replace Galactus and bring doom to the Universe.

Powers & Abilities

Galactus is empowered by the virtually limitless power of the Power Cosmic. As such, Galactus manifests a range of powers and abilities depending on his need and desire. Galactus also possesses technology that works with his biology, which is of a degree of complexity that even the greatest minds may not be capable of understanding. However, Galactus is not omnipotent. When Galactus tried to assault the mighty Beyonder, Galactus was repelled like a bug. The true form of Galactus is not known. He is perceived as the species of whoever is looking at him. To a human, he appears human. To an alien, he would appear the same as them. Galactus's true form is a golden glowing humanoid body of energy with energy surrounding him, he wears his armored suit to sustain his immense power.

The power cosmic allows him to manipulate creation, matter, energy, and universal sources. Galactus can erect nearly impenetrable fields, project devastating energies powerful enough to blow up planets and split them apart, shoot lasers or give off radiation, open wormholes or portals to other dimensions and time, transport beings across the universe and again even time, teleport, read minds across the universe, levitate matter via telekinesis, reconstruct matter or transmute it like turning water into ice, turn matter into energy or vise versa, manipulate elements and elements of the Periodic Table, blast meteors or comets, erase memories through manipulating souls, bestow power, repair or heal living tissue, or even resurrect the dead.

The Hunger of Galactus

Galactus possesses an insatiable hunger for energy that is satisfied by energies derived from energy and life rich planets. Galactus' great hunger is the greatest motivating force in his life, consuming his complete attention and motivating his every action. He uses energy from the core of planets and universal sources to sustain the energy and biology of his body.

Galactus often uses advanced technology from his ship to harness the biospheric energies her requires. Sometimes, he does not use any technology he simply devourers the world by his touch. The technology he uses is a more complete or efficient way to take the energy in, as Galactus has to use energy to consume a planet without it. The main device Galactus uses is a massive energy converter, which changes the biospheric energies into energy that is then consumed by Galactus.

The energy Galactus consumes not only powers him but nourishes him as well. Galactus can starve to death if he does not continue to consume planets. If Galactus were to perish by starvation, it is stated that he would explode and take a 50 light year radius of the galaxy he is in with him.

Characteristics

• Height: 28'9" (varies)
• Weight: 18 tons (varies)
• Eyes: Black (varies)
• Hair: Black (varies)

Alternate Universes

Earth-552 - Galactus the Healer

In one of the universes that the Exiles had visited there was a plight that ravaged planets, destroying all life on them. In this universe, Galactus did not destroy worlds by consuming them, but instead healed broken worlds, nurturing them back to health. In this universe Norin Radd had destroyed his home planet, and became Galactus' herald the Silver Surfer in hopes that he could convince Galactus to heal his home world Zenn-La. Since Zenn-La's destruction was artificial, Galactus refused to heal the planet sending the Surfer into a rage against his master, destroying anything that came in his way. With the help of the Exiles, the Imperial Guard was able to defeat the Surfer, and Galactus was able to continue healing worlds (this time including Zenn-La).

Earth-691 - War of the Worlds

In this reality, Nova never died and continued to be Galactus' herald for centuries. Eventually, his hunger led him once again to Earth. He was challenged by the Silver Surfer (now Protector of the Universe), Firelord and Dargo. Together they launched a singular attack meant to bring Galactus down, but Nova sacrificed herself to save her master. This gave Galactus pause and he absorbed her into himself to be with her forever. One herald dead and two former heralds having turned against him, Galactus vowed to never commission another.

After failing to save an exploding Zenn-La because of his battle with Galactus, the Silver Surfer vowed vengeance on Galactus, pinning every bad thing in his life on the world devourer. He attacked Galactus, but even with the Quantum Bands proved no match. The anguish Galactus had for the death of Nova showed and he destroyed the Surfer's board and stripped him of the Power Cosmic, leaving him for dead.

Soon, Galactus was purposefully starved by a being known only as the Keeper. Whoever this Keeper was, he was always one step ahead of Galactus, removing any life and energy from the planets Galactus targeted. Galactus grew weaker than any time in his existence. He fooled the Keeper in to thinking he would target Earth, but instead targeted Arima, a planet surrounding Alpha Centauri.

He was challenged by Firelord, interim Protector of the Universe, and soon the Guardians of the Galaxy. But soon the Keeper would reveal himself - his former herald the Silver Surfer! Having greatly increased his power with the Quantum Bands and the weakened state of Galactus allowed for his defeat, but Eon stayed the Surfer's hand. Eon revealed that he gave the power to the Surfer to be Galactus' equal and to help him get the energy he required.

The Surfer helped Galactus to his feet and they showed a mutual respect for one another. The Surfer took his place beside Galactus once again. Galactus would grow angry over the lack of nourishment he received from the lifeless worlds the Surfer chose for him, as well as his insubordinate and controlling attitude. Enraged, Galactus struck out at the Surfer, nearly killing him. Galactus left to feed on worlds of his own choosing.

Earth-829

In this universe, Galactus has an alien Silver Surfer as herald. Galactus found a strange solar system with much energy in the Andromeda Galaxy, but his feeding started a chain reaction, forcing him to consume even more energy than he could take in. This caused Galactus to increse in mass and become a black hole.

The citizens of Andromeda developed a white hole bomb in an attempt to reverse the process. Hercules delivered the bomb and succeeded in detonating it, freeing Galactus at the cost of his life. In the process, part of Galactus separated and joined with the essence of Hercules, creating the Bringer of Worlds - Cosmos. Galactus also accepted Hercules' granddaughter Juno as his new herald, giving her the appearance of the Silver Surfer as well.

Earth-982 - MC2 Universe

In the MC2 reality the Silver Surfer merged with Galactus to create a new being.

Earth-1298

In the Mutant X reality, Galactus was to be imprisoned by the Celestials, but was killed by the Goblin Queen, Madelyne Pryor.

Earth-1610 - Ultimate Universe

In the Ultimate Marvel Universe, Gah Lak Tus is a fleet of sentient ships capable of collective thought coordinating their actions. Ultimate Gah LaK Tus has a profound hatred of organic life, and seeks to destroy sentient beings thought the universe. It does so by destroying planets one-by-one, by first eliminating all life on the planet and finally draining all energy from the planet itself. Every known species that has tried to stand up to the threat of Gah Lak Tus has failed with the exception of the inhabitants of Earth, who were willing to repel the attack using a massive psychic attack against the fleet.

Earth-2012

In this reality, Galactus has several incarnations of the Silver Surfer as heralds. He was killed by the Council, a large group that is assembled from many versions of Reed Richards, all from different realities.

Earth-2149 - Marvel Zombies

In the Marvel Zombie universe, every super human, heroes and villains alike, become zombies after an infection brought by the Sentry. During this time, Galactus comes to Earth to feed on it. He comes down to see the zombie heroes all together. Galactus asks them where the Silver Surfer was and they reply this question by telling Galactus that they ate the Silver Surfer. Galactus gets shocked by this information and the zombies attack him, for they wanted to eat more food. They attack Galactus, but Galactus simply fends them off with the Power Cosmic.

The zombie heroes retreat to think of a plan to defeat Galactus and Iron Man, Hulk as Bruce Banner, and Spider-Man all build on a machine that would defeat Galactus while the others attack Galactus to buy them some time. While the zombies attack Galactus the three zombie heroes Iron Man, Hulk, and Spider-Man finish the machine and all the heroes that had obtained Silver Surfer's power combined their powers into the machine and shoot beams of the Power Cosmic at Galactus. Galactus is weakened by this and they shoot a couple more shots, ultimately subduing Galactus to the ground.

The heroes then fight with the villains to determine who would eat Galactus and they fight continuously. After the fight, the heroes are victorious because of the Power Cosmic, but soon Galactus awakens and slowly struggles to get up. The zombie heroes subdue Galactus once again and they feed on Galactus alive, and they all ultimately receive Galactus's power after Galactus is completely consumed.

Earth-2301 - Marvel Mangaverse

In the Marvel Mangaverse, Galactus is a planet-size, octopus-like life form with a single eye. Its tentacles are used for eating the planet, and it also has lifeforms within the tentacle called "Galactus Spores" that aids the creature in feeding.

Earth-8436

Reality 100 million years from now. Galactus battles Ecce the Watcher for thousands of years until the universe dies, after which only Galactus and Nova ( Frankie Raye) remains. Galactus releases his energies, creating a new Big Bang and Nova becomes the Galactus of the newly formed universe.

Earth-9997 - Earth X

In this universe Mr. Fantastic's son, Franklin Richards became Galactus. He had been transformed into Galactus by his father after he realized who and what Galactus really was. The previous Galactus had been destroyed.

Heroes Reborn

In the Heroes Reborn world, Galactus is still the devourer of planets and refers to consuming a planets energy as 'harvesting.' Throughout the universe, Galactus plants machines on barren planets that give life to them for future harvesting. This version of Galactus has five heralds, the Silver Surfer, Firelord, Terrax, Air-Walker and Plasma. He had set up the Earth for future consumtion, his life giving device the source of the Terrigen Mists. On Earth he is worshiped along with his heralds by the Inhumans.

When Earth was ready for harvesting, Galactus sent his heralds and approached. Despite the interference of the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, SHIELD and Doctor Doom, he was successful in consuming Earth. Doom traveled back in time 24 hours to try again and failed with Earth's heroes on two more occasions.

On Doom's final attempt, the Silver Surfer agreed to help stop his master. With Mr. Fantastics Nullifying device, Doom's power siphoning armor and Captain America's shield, the Surfer was able to destroy Galactus, but at the cost of his own life.

In Other Media

Television

Fantastic 4

Galactus appeared on the animated Fantastic 4, begun by Hannah-Barbera in 1967. Galactus was voiced by Ted Cassidy.

Fantastic Four Animated Series

Galactus appeared in the 1994 animated series of the Fantastic Four in the first and second season. Galactus was voiced by Tony Jay.

Silver Surfer Animated Series

Galactus made several appearances on the short-lived Silver Surfer Animated Series which began in 1998. Galactus was entirely CGI in the series which was a breakthrough for the time. Galactus was voiced by James Blendick.

Super Hero Squad

Galactus made his first appearance of the Super Hero Squad series in the episode 'Last Exit Before Doomsday,' when he came to consume the Earth with his heralds Stardust, Terrax and Firelord. Galactus was voiced by George Takei of Star Trek fame.

In the continuing episode and season finale, 'This Al Dente Earth!,' the Super Hero Squad realized they were no match for Galactus, and even his heralds betrayed him. Galactus made a machine to consume the insides of the Earth first and they attacked it to stall for time. Iron Man gathered all the Infinity Fractals and rebuilt the Infinity Sword, but it too had no effect on Galactus.

Galactus only spared the Earth when the Silver Surfer agreed to be his herald once again. In the series, Galactus claimed to be a fan of sports, ate planets as though they were cookies, and his helmet concealed his strange ears (which were the same shape as the side pieces of his helmet).

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (2010)

Galactus makes a short appearance in the episode "Prisoner of War" where he eats Skrullos, the home world of the Skrulls. Galactus makes a full appearance in the episode "Avengers Assemble" and arrives at earth to eat it. He sends out his four heralds (Terrax, Firelord, Air-Walker, Stardust and each are energy constructs) to four locations but are defeated by Earth's Heroes. Galactus is sent to the Negative Zone where he will feed endlessly on the Anti-Matter.

Movies

Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer

Galactus made a live appearance in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

The sequel to the Fantastic Four movie, introduced Galactus (Gah Lak Tus in the movie). Gah Lak Tus sent the Silver Surfer to Earth so that he may consume it. The Fantastic Four even get the Surfer to be on their side to stop Gah Lak Tus. The Silver Surfer then sacrifices himself to destroy Gah Lak Tus and to save the Earth.

Video Games

• Galactus appears in the 1990 Silver Surfer NES game.
• Galactus appears in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance voiced by Gregg Berger.
• Galactus appears in the PSP and PS2 versions of Spider-Man: Web of Shadows. He appears as an assist character who will step on the enemies.
• Galactus appears in the 2009 game Marvel Super Hero Squad as an unvoiced minor character in a Silver Surfer cutscene.
• Galactus appears in the Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet video game, voiced by George Takei.
• He makes a minor appearance in LittleBigPlanet's Marvel level pack, in the first level.
• He serves as the final boss in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, voiced by Jonathan Adams.His abilities include creating Silver Surfer style copies of villains from the game that the player must fight while a timer counts down as Galactus destroys Earth.