Galactus

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Galactus
Galactus Art by Andrea Di Vito
Publisher Marvel Comics First appearance Fantastic Four vol. 1 #48 (March 1966) Created by Stan Lee Jack Kirby
Characteristics Alter ego None Homeworld Taa II Affiliations Heralds of Galactus Notable aliases Ashta Abilities - Possessor of the Power Cosmic - Control over the four fundamental forces of the universe - Ability to manipulate all forms of matter and energy - Ability to defy all known Laws of Physics - Universal awareness

Galactus, sometimes called the Devourer of Worlds or Ravager of Planets, is a fictional comic book cosmic entity within Marvel Comics' universe. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby — prompted by Lee's suggestion to Kirby to "have the FF fight God" ^[1] — he first appeared in Fantastic Four #48.

Contents 1 Fictional character history 1.1 Rebirth 1.2 The Devourer of Worlds 1.3 Heralds 1.4 Attempts to Devour the Earth 1.5 Temporary Death 1.6 "Rising Storm" 1.7 Annihilation 2 Powers and abilities 3 Physical appearance 4 Alternate realities 4.1 Epic Illustrated 4.2 Amalgam Comics 4.3 MC2 4.4 Earth X 4.5 Ultimate Marvel 4.6 Heroes Reborn 4.7 Mangaverse 4.8 Marvel Zombies 5 Appearances in other media 5.1 Television 5.2 Video games 5.3 Movies 6 Influence 7 Appearances in Pop Culture 8 References 9 See also 10 External links

[edit] Fictional character history

[edit] Rebirth

Originally named Galan of the planet Taa, Galactus is the sole survivor of the Big Crunch of the universe that existed prior to the current Marvel Universe.

Galan was a space explorer investigating the impending end of his universe. His original intent was to discover a means to protect his planet from radiation that was destroying all life in the universe, but he was unable to do so. Eventually, most of Taa was engulfed and rendered dead. As Galan approached the Cosmic Egg, the focal point of the Big Crunch and the source of the life-destroying radiation, his ship and crew were promptly destroyed. At the moment Galan's universe met its end, the incarnation of that reality's Phoenix Force amassed the positive emotions of all living beings in the cosmos to preserve them from eternal damnation, enabling the Sentience of the Universe — the previous universe's incarnation of Eternity — to meet with Galan. ^{[2] [3]} Within the Cosmic Egg the Sentience of the Universe revealed itself to Galan and informed him that though they both would die in the impending cataclysm, they would survive through a joint heir born into the next universe. The Sentience of the Universe then merged itself with the mortal Galan, establishing Galan as the sole survivor of the ensuing Big Crunch. This union ultimately led to his rebirth in the current universe as Galactus. ^[4]

After the Big Bang of the current universe, to complete his metamorphosis, Galactus was encased in a cocoon of enormous cosmic energies. After millions of years, he emerged as an entity of vast cosmic power who was also necessary for the existence of the newly formed universe. ^[5]

Galactus is considered one of the five essential entities within the Marvel Universe alongside Eternity, Death, Infinity, and Oblivion. Galactus has been referred to as the "third force of the universe"^[6] and "one corner of that great triangle which is the universe" by Eternity and Death, respectively. Eternity and Death each consider Galactus a peer and a sibling, with Death actually referring to Galactus as "husband, father, brother, and son." ^[7]

[edit] The Devourer of Worlds

Galactus requires unknown energies obtainable only from certain types of planets in order to sustain his life. The suitable type of planet need not be one where life is present, but it must have the potential to support life. Galactus usually employs a herald to scout the universe for those suitable types of planets. When the suitable planet is found, Galactus will usually land on the planet's surface and assemble his Elemental Converter, a colossal machine capable of draining all life energy from the planet within minutes. Galactus has been known to devour planets without the aid of his Elemental Converter on occasion, but the device makes the process more efficient. ^[8] Galactus, seeing himself as a higher being, usually will not avoid a suitable planet simply because it is home to sentient life. Thus, over billions of years he has become one of the most feared beings in the universe, his vast power allowing him to lay waste to innumerable extra-terrestrial civilizations in his quest for sustenance.

Nevertheless, he is not an evil being, but rather a force of nature whose feedings are necessary for survival. It is known that Galactus plays a necessary role in the continuum of the Marvel Universe, bringing balance between the two opposing universal forces of Death and Eternity; who are in essence the Yin and Yang of the Marvel universe. Eternity has stated that the universe would fail, falling into stasis then collapsing without Galactus' presence to balance it. ^[9] It has been suggested by some that his purpose in the universe is to devour planets that have reached an evolutionary peak, although alternative information suggests that he will create a whole new universe at the end of this one, a universe which will be immeasurably greater than the total of the planets he has devoured; thus giving back far more than he has ever taken. ^[10]

[edit] Heralds

Main article: Herald of Galactus

Galactus has appointed a number of entities as his heralds, imbuing them with a minuscule portion of his Power Cosmic and sending them to search for edible worlds. Most of his heralds have either rebelled against him, betrayed him or been cast aside for some reason.

Among his heralds are the Fallen One, Silver Surfer, Terrax, Firelord, Air-Walker, the Air-Walker robot, an Earthwoman named Frankie Raye later known as Nova, Morg, Red Shift, the Asgardian Destroyer armor, Human Torch, and Stardust. Gladiator and Tyrant were possibly heralds.

In stories in alternate and parallel realities, Galactus also used other heralds: Plasma, Dark Angel, Superman, Dazzler, Golden Oldie, the Fantastic Four, Thor, Ardina, Starglow and Dominas.

In the Ultimate Marvel storyline Gah Lak Tus, as he is known in the Ultimate Universe, has used the Ultimate version of the Silver Surfer as a herald as well. The ultimate version of the Vision was built as a warning system for the coming of Gah Lak Tus.

[edit] Attempts to Devour the Earth

Galactus has threatened to destroy the Earth on several occasions. On the first, the Fantastic Four (aided by the Watcher Uatu and by Galactus' rebellious herald, the Silver Surfer) defeated him by threatening him with the Ultimate Nullifier. Galactus vowed to never again try to harm the Earth.

Nevertheless, he has returned on several occasions, in one instance weakened enough for the Fantastic Four, the Avengers and Doctor Strange to defeat him. Rather than watch him die of hunger, Mister Fantastic saved him, for which he later went on galactic trial.

[edit] Temporary Death

In the Galactus: The Devourer limited series (1999-2000), Galactus — starving to death due to his addiction to the life forces of living beings which offer him no sustenance — was seemingly killed after a battle against the united forces of the Silver Surfer, Avengers, Fantastic Four, Jean Grey, Starjammers, the Shi'ar Empire and an armada of other united planets (including even a Kree starship) when his own Elemental Converter was turned against him. He died with an ominous warning that his death would allow a great evil to surface. After his death, Galactus' true form was revealed, that of a sentient star.

That great evil emerged in Fantastic Four Annual 2001 in the form of Abraxas, the universal embodiment of destruction and the antithesis of Eternity. It was revealed that most of the energy that Galactus takes from planets was devoted to keeping him imprisoned. If released, Abraxas would eventually destroy the entire multiverse. Abraxas was defeated only after it was revealed in Fantastic Four (vol. 2) #49 (vol. 1) #478; January 2002) that Galactus was not truly dead but in his incorporeal star form he would be forever unable to rein in his energies and reclaim form. Franklin Richards and Valeria Von Doom pooled their vast, Celestial-level powers and reconstituted Galactus, but permanently burned out their powers in the revival. Once reconstituted, Galactus easily reclaimed the Ultimate Nullifier from Abraxas and Reed Richards used it to remake the multiverse into one in which Abraxas never escaped. It was in this issue that the Ultimate Nullifier was revealed to be an aspect of Galactus himself.

[edit] "Rising Storm"

In the 2005 Fantastic Four storyline Rising Storm, Reed Richards built a weapon that was designed to strip Galactus of the Power Cosmic - this was made possible due to input from Johnny Storm who was cosmically aware at the time. Johnny Storm, as Invisible Man - Herald of Galactus, managed to keep Galactus occupied long enough for Reed and Quasar to complete construction of the weapon. The weapon actually succeeded in separating the two aspects that comprise Galactus, thus Galan was freed from the Power Cosmic and reduced to his mortal, humanoid form. In tribute to "the indomitable spirit of the humanoid order", Galan willingly exiled himself into an other-universal realm, with the hope that this act would delay the Power Cosmic in finding him.

This did not last long, however, and as Galactus, he encountered Beta Ray Bill in the Stormbreaker mini-series shortly after. The manner in which the Power Cosmic found Galan and reformed Galactus was never revealed.

[edit] Annihilation

In the Annihilation: Silver Surfer miniseries, written by Keith Giffen, it was revealed that Galactus was not always the sole member of the "Cosmic Balance"; it has been suggested that Galactus was but one of several beings similar to himself. Due to differing opinions of the powers they had been blessed with, the Balance all but destroyed itself in civil war, with only three remaining - Galactus the Devourer of Worlds, Tenebrous of the Darkness Between, and Aegis the Lady of All Sorrows. Able to subdue his darker brethren in the first Kyln, Galactus remained the only extant member of the Balance, until the Annihilation Wave ruptured the Crunch, freeing Tenebrous and Aegis. Knowing of their escape, Galactus has augmented the Silver Surfer, who is in his employ as Herald once more, and has stated that Tenebrous and Aegis will move against him, indicating awareness. In Annihilation #1, Tenebrous and Aegis seemingly defeat the Silver Surfer and Galactus. In the subsequent issue, the incapacitated Galactus and Silver Surfer are revealed as captives in Thanos' starship, where Annihilus has tasked Thanos with discovering the secret of the Power Cosmic. Annihilation #3 finds Galactus in an unconscious state, while Thanos has harnessed Galactus' cosmic might to utilize him as a weapon of destruction on a large scale. In Annihilation #4, Thanos attempts to release Galactus from his bonds, as the Titan discovers that Annihilus plans to use Galactus as a cosmic bomb to destroy all life in both the 616-universe and the Negative Zone. As he works to free Galactus, Thanos remarks that he would teleport away once the planet eater was released, as he would not want to be on the receiving end of devourer's wrath. However, Thanos meets an untimely end at the hands of Drax the Destroyer before he can release Galactus.

[edit] Powers and abilities

Galactus wields the immeasurable Power Cosmic and is one of the most powerful entities within the Marvel Universe; he has even been described as "the most powerful creature in the universe." ^[11] As such, Galactus is able to employ the limitless cosmic energies within him to produce nearly any effect he desires.

Galactus has displayed a vast array of abilities at his command, which include: size-alteration, the molecular restructuring, conversion and transmutation of matter, the projection of energy with incalculable concussive force or heat, the teleportation of objects — even entire galaxies — across space and even time, the erection of impenetrable energy-screens and force fields, the creation of interdimensional and intradimensional portals and wormholes, virtually unlimited telepathic and telekinetic ability, and cosmic awareness on a universal scale. Galactus has even shown the ability to create sentient life, resurrect the dead, manipulate mortal souls, and remake dead worlds — including their populations — in every detail.

Even Galactus' heralds, whom he has endowed with a minuscule fraction of his awesome power, are able to manipulate matter and energy in ways far beyond human comprehension. Indeed, Galactus is so powerful he must always wear his armor to help him regulate his internal energies or else they could run rampant with the potential to change him into a star.

Since Galactus must continuously feed to sustain his energies, his power levels are inconsistent throughout any given period of time. When Galactus' hunger has been recently sated, his powers at the very least rival those possessed by the Celestials. A fully satiated Galactus however, as explained in the Secret Wars saga, has universal awareness and power levels that are on par with those of Eternity himself, though it should be noted that Galactus is almost never satiated to full capacity. As such, the longer Galactus goes without feeding, the more his strength, power and universal awareness wane. Within just one month of consuming a suitable planet Galactus' power reduces exponentially-yet even in such a depleted state his powers are still far beyond human comprehension. Going several months between feedings, as he has done on a few occasions in recent years, can bring him to the brink of death and leave him so weakened that he proves vulnerable to direct assaults from superhuman teams such as the Shi'Ar Imperial Guard, Avengers and the Fantastic Four.

In the universe's earlier years, Galactus could go without feeding for a century before his hunger substantially weakened him. It is currently unknown why the intervals between his feedings have decreased over millennia.

As the oldest known living entity in the universe, Galactus possesses arguably the most advanced intellect of all lifeforms in the cosmos. Over the eons and epochs of his existence, Galactus has amassed cosmic knowledge of such universal depth that there is little knowledge that he does not possess. He is aware of every event of cosmic importance, and being an inherent part of the universe, has often and repeatedly confronted entities and events that would comprimise the existence of the universe as he knows it.

Galactus has created and employed perhaps the most advanced technology ever developed. His constructs are of such sophisticated design and engineering that they often replicate some of his inherent abilities, such as intra and inter-dimensional travel and the transmutation of matter on a massive scale. While the capabilities of other beings, such as the Celestials, are widely regarded as one of the most highly evolved and advanced technologies in the cosmos, the sheer scope and magnitude of Galactus' works are unmatched. The Ultimate Nullifier, itself an aspect of Galactus, endows the user with the power to effectively "nullify" anything and everything within the user's ability to conceptualize. Taa II, the home of Galactus, is of such immense size that its expanse encompasses an entire solar system. Indeed, so astounding is Taa II that Reed Richards--considered to be the most brilliant man on Earth--stated that he could spend the entirety of his life studying just one of the rudimentary machines installed by Galactus.

It can be argued, however, that with such staggering might and vast intellect, Galactus is prone to over-confidence and underestimation of his foes, as he has often been defeated by lesser beings.

[edit] Physical appearance

Although Galactus is usually depicted in humanoid form, each sentient being perceives him having a form resembling his/her/its own. Hence, humans see Galactus as an enormous armor-clad humanoid, while an amoeba-like species, for example, would perceive Galactus as a gigantic amoeba-like entity. As Galan, Galactus was indeed a humanoid, but his true current form is unknown. As a being who is both abstract entity (e.g. Death, Eternity, et al) and physical creature, Galactus's true form and nature are beyond the capability of any mortal to fully comprehend.

[edit] Alternate realities

[edit] Epic Illustrated

Epic Illustrated published "The Last Galactus Story" by John Byrne.^[12] Set 100,000,000 years in the future, Galactus devours a now uninhabited Earth. Accompanied by Nova, Galactus then begins a search for a number of inhabited worlds that have disappeared. The story's conclusion was never published, although John Byrne has provided information on his website.^[13]

[edit] Amalgam Comics

In the Amalgam Universe, Galactus merged with Brainiac to create Galactiac, who devoured planets to replenish his energy cells, but simultaneously shrank parts of them to study at his leisure, much like the early, pre-Crisis Brainiac had done with the city of Kandor.

[edit] MC2

Galactus, accompanied by a new herald named Dominas, appears in the MC2 universe, in the Last Planet Standing limited series. ^[14]

[edit] Earth X

Galactus also appears in the non-canon Earth X series. In Earth X Galactus was one of the three essential entities in the universe as he kept the Celestials in check. By destroying planets, which were really "eggs" of the Celestials, he prevented the Celestials from overpopulating the universe. In its previous incarnation, the universe was brought to a premature end by the overpopulation of Celestials. ^[15]

[edit] Ultimate Marvel

Ultimate Galactus, called Gah Lak Tus, was introduced in the Ultimate Galactus trilogy written by Warren Ellis. Gah Lak Tus is first mentioned by Ultimate Vision, now an early warning system for worlds under threat by Gah Lak Tus. Gah Lak Tus is an immense (approx. 100,000 miles long) group mind of city-sized robotic drones, and attacks worlds with envoys (resembling the Silver Surfer) and then a flesh-eating virus which destroys all life. After this the entity breaks open the dying world and sucks all thermal energy from the core. Gah Lak Tus considers all forms and expressions of organic life to be so abhorrent it believed itself desecrated when telepathically contacted by Professor X.^[16]

[edit] Heroes Reborn

Galactus appears in the pocket universe created by Franklin Richards - after the events of the Onslaught saga - and deploys several heralds at once and actually succeeds in consuming the Earth twice, although this is undone by Doctor Doom with use of his time machine. ^[17]

[edit] Mangaverse

Like his Ultimate counter-part, the Mangaverse incarnation of Galactus is also wildly different from the original. Manga Galactus appears as a gigantic, planet-sized lifeform (similar to Ego the Living Planet ) and once fed upon the planet Earth millions of years ago, causing the extinction of the dinosaurs.

[edit] Marvel Zombies

Galactus appears in his "classic" form and battles the Marvel Zombies. A weakened Galactus threatens the group, but is overwhelmed and eaten. ^[18]

[edit] Appearances in other media

[edit] Television

• Galactus appeared in the 1967 version of The Fantastic Four.

• Galactus appeared in the 1994 version of The Fantastic Four with Silver Surfer. Many other Marvel heroes make an appearance, and Galactus is defeated by Ghost Rider's penance stare. He was voiced by the late Tony Jay.

• Galactus also regularly appeared as a Silver Surfer cartoon series on FOX Kids Network in 1997, being one of the only characters on the show to be CGI-based. He is voiced by James Blendick.

[edit] Video games

• Galactus appears as a boss in the videogame Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.

[edit] Movies

• Galactus will appear in the upcoming movie Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer which is due to be released in 2007.

[edit] Influence

A faceless Galactus was featured on the cover of 1969's Monster Movie, Can's debut album.

The Tick animated series had an episode ("Alone Together") featuring a character named "Omnipotus" which was an obvious parody of Galactus, down to the eating of worlds, although much less intelligent and having really small feet. After being shot into space, the Tick briefly becomes the herald of Omnipotus, analoguous to The Silver Surfer, rebelling and later convincing Omnipotus to spare Earth (although he did take a bite out of the moon to tide him over until he could find another world). He also appeared with the Tick's comic-book incarnation.

The Savage Dragon comic-book series by Erik Larsen featured a massive extraterrestrial villain named Universo, drawn in the distinctive Kirby style, who proceeds to eat the planet Earth. The character even had a herald, the controversial Mother Mayhem. Since the Savage Dragon makes use of multiple realities, it is explained that Dragon's original world is destroyed while he is in the one he currently resides in.

The Transformers character Unicron plays a very similar role in the series' comic book mythos, even to the point of parodying his origins and featuring heralds such as Galvatron. However, unlike Galactus, Unicron is thoroughly evil, and is more or less considered to be the Transformers' equivalent to the devil (with his counterpart, Primus, being the equivalent of God). The cartoon continuity of the series (including the feature-length movie) created a completely different origin, far removed from the Galactus overtones, though the character still had many Galactus-like traits. In fact, Unicron's first appearance in the Transformers mythology (The Transformers: The Movie) bears many similarities to Galactus' first appearance in the Fantastic Four comics. Whether or not this was intentional or coincidental remains unknown.

The syndicated comic Brewster Rockit: Space Guy! had a storyline featuring a giant humanoid alien named Cosmicus who is attempting to devour the Earth.

The Darkstalkers character Pyron the eater of worlds has the same physical build as Galactus as well as having thin horns on the side of his head. Pyron is made of solar plasma, which can be considered like Galactus since he turns into a star without his armor. In the games Pyron is the last boss and here as well as the Anime, Manga, and Udon comic books is depicted as a planet eater. The only exception to this is the American made cartoon series where Pyron is the collector of worlds and lacks most of his video game powers

[edit] Appearances in Pop Culture

• In the episode of "Fairly Oddparents" on Nickelodeon, called "Mighty Mom and Dyno Dad", Timmy Turner wishes himself to be a great superbeing called Galactimus, the eater of planets, so he can make his parents vulnerable to magic. Cosmo and Wanda then turn themselves into silver beings who ride on skateboards, in a parody of the Silver Surfer.

• In a comedic issue of Marvel's What If? series, Galactus was banished to earth and lands outside a trailer park, suffering from amnesia. After he is discovered by a local, she declares that he looks exactly like a young Elvis Presley. Galactus/Elvis begins a music career but when he is finally confronted by a galactic being and given his memory back, he chooses to remain on Earth as the king of Rock N' Roll.

• In another What If? short, Galactus is depicted as the nephew of Ben and May Parker (instead of Peter Parker), who casually resurrects Uncle Ben after he is shot and turns the murderer into a puddle of protoplasm.

• In a "What The!? Comics Presents" story (Written by Scott Lobdell), Galactus has been forced to go on a diet and runs a casually murderous hotel that has various super heroes as both guests and staff. Hijinx ensues as Galactus finds the hotel inspector killed twice while under cover.

• The Dexter's Laboratory backup series Dial M for Monkey once included a battle between the heroes of Earth and Barbequor, a cosmic entity who eats worlds with barbeque sauce, and who had a herald called the 'Silver Spooner'.

• In the 1997 FOX Kids cartoon "Sam and Max: Freelance Police"; the character of Galactus was also spoofed in the form of the character 'Lactose the Intolerant'.

• See also Mister Nebula, a DC Comics villain who clashed with the Justice League and was a parody of Galactus.

• An episode of Duck Dodgers contained a parody of Galactus. In the episode "Consumption Overruled" features a planet-eating being named Hungortus who eats planets with a mouth on his stomach and whose shape and armor resembles Galactus.

• Archie Comic's Sonic the Hedgehog series briefly mentions a Galactus look-alike twice, first in one of their alternate-universe storylines (which, itself, is reminiscent of the What If? series). Robolactus looks exactly like classic Galactus except that his face resembles Dr. Robotnik. Robolactus also has a herald character known as "Silver Snivley", after Snively Kintobor. The second is in a story made up by Miles "Tails" Prower in issue #38 featuring Sonic, Sally Acorn, Rotor Walrus, and Tails as a group of Fantastic Four-esque superheroes who face off against a Galactus-like enemy, this one too bearing similarity to Robotnik, though with the name "Robotnicus" and operating on his own.

• In an episode of the Adult Swim show Minoriteam, a character named Balactus (voiced by Michael Clark Duncan), intends to destroy the whole world. The color scheme, appearance, and actions of the character are highly similar to those of Galactus. A notable difference in the appearance is that Balactus is black (as the name suggests), and has an afro.

• In The Jimmy/Timmy Power Hour 3: The Jerkinators, the appearance of The Villain Whose Name Isn't Shirley is related to the look of Galactus.

• In the Fairly Odd Parents Movie the character Mr. Crocker transforms into a super villain that appears to be a cross between Galactus and Apocalypse and sporting Archangel's wings.

• In the Adult Swim show Venture Bros. episode titled Twenty Years to Midnight the characters encounter a character named The Grand Galactic Inquisitor who was going to judge and destroy their planet. He looked like a cross between Galactus, a Celestial, and DC's Mr. Nebula (albeit on a much smaller scale - only about 12 feet tall).

• On the cartoon Network show Ben 10 in the episode titled "Big Tick" they go up against a giant tick alien that burrows tendrils into planets and consumes them this way (similar to the Marvel Mangaverse version of Galactus). While not being the same shape as Galactus the creature's original color scheme before shedding was the same as the original Galactus.

• On an episode of The Daily Show, in reference to Pluto being downgraded from a planet, "resident expert" John Hodgman suggested the criterion "Would Galactus eat it for food?" as a way to determine if a celestial object was a planet or not.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Heralds of Galactus
• Taa II
• Ultimate Nullifier
• Cosmic entities (Marvel Comics)
• Marvel Universe Concepts

[edit] External links

• Galactus on the Marvel Universe Character Bio Wiki
• Gah Lak Tus on the Marvel Universe Character Bio Wiki
• MDP: Galactus - Marvel Database Project
• Marvel Directory - Galactus
• GameFAQ's Comic Book FAQ: Marvel Cosmic Entities
• GALACTUS 3 minute MOVIE