One of Marvel Comics’ most powerful cosmic entities, Galactus was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966).
Initially, Galactus was just imagined as another super-villain that was to be bigger than the previous antagonists. But in order to differentiate him from the others and avoid delivering a stereotypical bad guy, Lee and Kirby decided to reimagine the character on a grander scale. The writer wanted him to be really evil. The artist went biblical. They wanted something new and created it. As a result, unlike typical antagonists, Galactus was not a villain in the traditional sense but a cosmic force of nature, an ancient being who consumes planets to sustain his existence.
This was different to the point of creating a shift in comic book storytelling at the time. But this article is not here to talk about Galactus’ impact on the medium, but to explain who he is as a Marvel character. As he is making another appearance on the big screen this summer, it’s the perfect moment to revisit his comic book origins.
Galactus’s First Appearances in the Comics
Also known as the Devourer of Worlds in the Fantastic Four comics, Galactus was at the heart of what is now called the “Galactus Trilogy,” which is composed of the three following issues: Fantastic Four #48 to #50 (part of our best Marvel comic to read selection).
That was supposed to be the end of his story, but Galactus became extremely popular to the point that Lee and Kirby felt prompted to bring him back (see Fantastic Four #120–123, #172–175, #208–213, or Thor #225–228). Those recurring appearances made the character a mainstay in the Marvel Universe.
Since then, many writers and artists worked Galactus into the Fantastic Four series, but also many others. However, in 1978, in the one-shot graphic novel The Silver Surfer: The Ultimate Cosmic Experience!, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby reunited to tell an out-of-continuity origin story of Galactus and the Silver Surfer without the Fantastic Four!
It would not be the last time the origins and motivations of the characters would be explored, though.
With the new Fantastic Four movie hitting the big screen, Marvel Comics published the following book as an introduction to Galactus for new readers:
- Fantastic Four Vs. Galactus
Collects Fantastic Four #48-50, 242-244.
What are the origins of Galactus?
Let’s put aside the publishing story of Galactus to focus on the in-universe story of his origins. A long, long time ago, before becoming Galactus, he was Galan, a humanoïd on the planet Taa, a wondrous paradise of scientific and social achievement. But Taa’s inhabitants were dying from a radiation-plague that couldn’t be stopped. As the universe was collapsing, Galan convinced some of his fellow survivors to die gloriously, flying a starship into the blazing cosmic cauldron. All died, but Galan was saved by the Phoenix Force.
One Multiverse disappeared, and a new one was created. Galan has been saved, but he was not the same. In this new universe, its essence was merged with the embodiment of the Sixth Infinity, the Sentience of the Cosmos, and thus Galactus was born. He didn’t have his final form from the beginning. At first, he was just raw energy contained by Galan’s starship that became an incubator. It took many centuries of evolution, but one day the craft found its way into orbit around a verdant planet called Archeopia. Years later, enemies of the Archeopian attacked the incubator and, as a result, awakened Galactus. He destroyed the assailants before consuming the life energies of Archeopia.
At first, Galactus could spend centuries without feeding himself with a new world—at that time, he was also seeking out uninhabited worlds. But things changed as hunger gradually grew and he had to feed more frequently. Seeing himself as a higher being, Galactus learned of a prophecy that justified the destruction he was responsible for. Also, after an encounter with Eternity and Death, the Devourer of Worlds took the position of being a balancing force between the two of them.
And Galactus Created the Heralds
Being what he is, Galactus was lonely and decided to have a companion for himself. He created a being in his own image, but this new creation, who became known as Tyrant, inherited the worst trait from his creator: he craved conquest. Taking down Tyrant was no easy task, but Galactus won and banished his creation.
After that, the Devourer of Worlds used mindless servants… Until the need for a herald rose. The first is known as The Fallen One. Empowered by dark energy, he was naturally cruel, and Galactus decided to quickly imprison him. The herald escaped and attacked his master and was defeated, but this is not the end of the story as the Fallen One escaped many times over the millennia.
The next Herald, the now famous Silver Surfer, followed a different path. Galactus was going to devour the planet Zenn-La, but one of its inhabitants offered him an alternative. In exchange for not destroying his planet, Norrin Radd volunteered to become a new herald. Galactus accepted and transformed Radd into the Silver Surfer.
The deal was beneficial to Galactus for a long time, as the Silver Surfer found numerous worlds for him to devour. But this ended when he came to Earth. Against his Herald and the Fantastic Four, Galactus was for the first time defeated. He spared Earth.
But this was only the beginning. Galactus remains one of Marvel’s most iconic figures in the comic book world to this day. Like all the best super-villains, he may have been created as a challenge for the heroes to defeat, but his story goes well beyond that.