Fans of Marvel movies got to know a little about Galactus in Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer, but as any Marvel Comics fan will reveal, that was not what the big guy is really like in the comics. In both, he is all-powerful and used a herald to find planets to feast on. However, that is where the similarities end.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has hinted at beings as old as the universe itself, and that is what Galactus truly is. Making his debut in Fantastic Four #48 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Galactus first appeared as a monstrous villain and has since become a force of nature in the Marvel Universe.
Galactus was once a humanoid just like the people of Earth today. His name was Galan and he lived on the planet Taa in the sixth incarnation of the multiverse. However, there is a life cycle for the multiverse, and his was coming to an end.
As a scientist on one of the most technologically advanced planets in his multiverse, he set out to try to find a way to save Taa, and when he failed to find it, his planet was the last to fall, with Galan as the only survivor of the entire multiverse.
When the sixth multiverse experienced its big bang, the seventh multiverse formed. Since Galan was the only survivor of his world. he was the first living being in the new seventh multiverse, the one that exists to this day.
As the new multiverse formed, Galan found himself powered with the Power Cosmic and he soon learned of his role. He became Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds, and was an important part of the new multiverse, a force to ensure its survival.
With Galactus as one of the first entities of the new multiverse, along with the Sentience of the Multiverse who embedded him with his powers, new beings began to form to keep the cosmos aligned and in order. These were the Elders of the Universe, with the first two bring Eternity and Infinity.
Eternity and Infinity are the embodiments of the multiverse itself. Along with these two, the Celestials formed, as did beings such as the Grandmaster, Collector, and Phoenix Force. Each of these cosmic beings, Galactus included, remains integral to the survival of all things.
Most people consider Galactus to be a villain. He consumes planets and kills entire populations. He never seems to have remorse, and no one can truly stop him; they can only contain him or deter him from his goals. However, he is not evil nor even a true villain.
Early in his existence, a Watcher considered destroying Galactus but chose not to. This is because Galactus is a force of balance in the cosmos. Galactus has died before, and when he was gone, the multiverse itself was thrown out of balance. He consumes worlds, but he does so as a way to keep the universe balanced between Eternity and Death.
Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer displayed Galactus as a bunch of drones in outer space buzzing toward Earth, which displeases Marvel Comics fans who wanted to see the big guy in his iconic purple costume. However, even that isn't what Galactus really looks like.
While Galactus used to be a human-looking individual, he is now a cosmic force, and his size and shape are something that no human or alien has seen before. The physical form he takes is simply what the human mind can comprehend. Upon one of his deaths, Galactus turned into a sentient star.
While Galactus is not evil, he is someone who has no limit to his hunger. Galactus must always eat, and this is why he often consumes worlds that are still thriving and full of life. He has to find new worlds to consume on a regular basis or he will die.
Galactus has said at various times that he finds no pleasure in destroying worlds. However, as his hunger grows more fierce, he has to find a planet with life on it to satiate himself. In other words, for Galactus to live, billions must die.
Galactus often weakens when he does not eat, so he has to find planets that have enough sentient life to keep him healthy and alive. For this, Galactus has always needed a herald. It is these heralds that Galactus sends out to find him new worlds, and that is why the choice of a herald is so important.
The most famous of his heralds is the Silver Surfer, who traded the life of his planet for his servitude. The Surfer then tried to locate planets that had enough life forces for Galactus to consume while ensuring the worlds were not thriving. Other heralds have not been so choosy.
Galactus has very few fears in his life. One of the things he fears more than any other is the reason he has never consumed Earth. This is a weapon known as the Ultimate Nullifier. The first time that Galactus went to Earth, the Fantastic Four had to stop him.
Uatu the Watcher was sworn to never interfere in the planet's events, but he wanted to stop Galactus from consuming Earth, so he sent Johnny Storm on a mission to the far reaches of the universe. Johnny returned with the Ultimate Nullifier, and Reed Richards was able to convince Galactus to leave because this weapon could rewrite all of reality, including erasing Galactus from existence.
While Galactus is not willing to die, and he will fight for his own survival, he would also give up his role as the Devourer of Worlds if he could. He proved this in the 2020 series Fantastic Four: Antithesis by Mark Waid and Neal Adams. The Fantastic Four battled by Galactus's side, and Reed Richards betrayed him and stole his power.
Reed's idea was that he could control the hunger, and Galactus reverted to Galan. When asked to retake his role, Galan refused and said he was happy to be rid of it. However, Susan Richards got through to her husband and tricked Galactus into retaking his place as the Devourer of Worlds, much to his chagrin.
In the pages of Marvel Comics, Galactus is dead once again. His death came at the hands of the God of Thunder, Thor. In Thor vol. 6, Galactus went to Thor for help, and the God of Thunder agreed to become his new herald to fight the oncoming Black Winter.
What happened next was shocking. The Black Winter claimed he gave Galactus his powers and that Galactus was once his herald. All he wanted was to kill Galactus, but Thor wouldn't allow it. Thor used the Power Cosmic to destroy both the Black Winter and Galactus. After this, Thor took Galactus' helmet back to Asgard and set it up as an entry arch to his lands.
source https://screenrant.com/galactus-marvel-comics-things-only-fans-know/
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