The 15 Worst Issues Marvel’s Galactus Has Ever Finished

Galactus is likely one of the most terrifying Marvel villains in historical past. Along with his huge stature and signature purple helmet, Galactus traverses the universe searching for planets to eat with assistance from one among his trusted heralds –  sometimes the Silver Surfer. He is been a part of a number of the finest Incredible 4 comics ever made as a result of when Galactus is round, nobody is protected. 

Even together with his legacy, Galactus is usually portrayed as extra of a power of nature than a malevolent entity on the finish of the day. Consuming planets helps keep a extra balanced order within the universe, and in “Incredible 4” #262 from author/artist John Byrne, Reed Richards will get placed on trial for sparing Galactus’ life. Richards is discovered harmless of any crimes as a result of Galactus is a mandatory but damaging energy that actuality requires. In a way, he is cursed to finish civilizations in order that different locations might prosper.

After all, Galactus is not all the time offered as a sorrowful determine consuming planets as a result of he has to. He can nonetheless be downright vengeful when he desires to be, and there are actually ample comedian and movie moments that present Galactus at his very worst. 

In “Thor” #169 from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Galactus recollects his origin to the God of Thunder, and to be sincere, the entire thing sort of makes him sound like a jerk. He started life as Galan from the planet Taa, the place illness is ravaging the inhabitants. It is not lengthy till each resident of Taa is useless, however Galan proposes one other resolution — They need to fly into the solar and die superb deaths in flight. 

If you are going to die anyway, a literal blaze of glory is nearly as good as some other, we suppose. Whereas everybody else aboard the craft does certainly die, one thing else occurs to Galan. He turns into imbued with the Energy Cosmic and transforms into Galactus, an entity so highly effective that he requires the consumption of planets to maintain himself. Galan’s need to fly into the Solar is what results in Galactus, inflicting issues for numerous worlds to come back. 

Galactus will get assist consuming planets by having a herald search them out and warn the populace of his boss’ imminent arrival. Originally, this was Norrin Radd, aka the Silver Surfer, who was the topic of an underrated Nineteen Nineties animated collection with some “Star Trek” expertise behind the scenes. However in “Silver Surfer” #48 from Jim Starlin, Ron Lim, and Ken Bruzenak, Silver Surfer learns a horrible reality of simply how ruthless Galactus could possibly be in his pursuit of a great meal.

After saving Earth from Galactus’ wrath, the Silver Surfer seeks him out as soon as extra to determine why he by no means felt dangerous about sending so many worlds to their doom. Galactus reveals that he altered Norrin Radd’s soul in order that he would not really feel guilt — one thing that haunts the Silver Surfer immensely. In a method, this act could possibly be seen as mercy, with Galactus eager to spare Norrin Radd of a horrible reality. Nevertheless it additionally exhibits what a toll being one among Galactus’ heralds may be, that one thing so drastic is required.

Possibly it isn’t shocking to be taught Galactus is usually a little bit of a sore loser. In “Incredible 4” #50, written by Stan Lee with artwork from Jack Kirby, Silver Surfer betrays his boss to group up with the Incredible 4 to cease him from consuming the planet. They’re finally profitable, however Galactus would not let Norrin Radd off the hook for his betrayal so simply. He strips the Silver Surfer of his Energy Cosmic — which permits him to traverse the universe — in order that he should stay on Earth. 

Norrin Radd might have come to love Earth, which is why he wished to reserve it, however he technically hails from the planet Zenn-La. That is the place his beloved Shalla-Bal resides, however he is minimize off from her. It is a significantly hurtful punishment, and even past Shalla-Bal, the Silver Surfer was merely a wanderer who wished to see all that the universe needed to provide. Maybe that is why he desires to see all of Earth earlier than returning to the Incredible 4. 

“The Incredible 4: First Steps” fixes a mistake that is been bothering Marvel followers for years. Specifically, Galactus (Ralph Ineson) is lastly a large man in area, whereas 2007’s “Incredible 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer” made the character a large area cloud. It undoubtedly feels at residence in 2000s-era superhero films the place filmmakers have been ashamed of the goofier features of the supply materials (like how the X-Males put on black leather-based as a substitute of their extra colourful outfits).

Followers naturally wished to see a large man with a purple helmet starting to chow down on Earth, and for those who look carefully sufficient, you possibly can sort of see Galactus throughout the cloud. The define of his helmet is seen in a single scene the place the cloud is overtaking a planet, and when Silver Surfer (Doug Jones/Laurence Fishburne) confronts him, viewers can as soon as once more briefly see his helmet and face amongst the shadows. Nonetheless, it is crumbs once we ought to’ve gotten the total meal years in the past. At the least the Marvel Cinematic Universe rectifies this disappointment. 

Galactus can technically get by with consuming uninhabited worlds to satiate his starvation, which seems like a great center floor to succeed in. Nevertheless, the “Galactus the Devourer” collection from Louise Simonson, Jon J. Muth, and Invoice Sienkiewicz sees him change into hooked on consuming sentient life. The issue is that it by no means totally satisfies him, so he must perpetually eat increasingly more, going insane within the course of, and he as soon as once more turns his sights on Earth.

Luckily, the Silver Surfer, together with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, fend off the Devourer of Worlds in addition to his new herald, Pink Shift. With some additional assist from the Shi’ar Empire, these heroes even handle to kill Galactus as soon as and for all, however that solely opens the doorways for a fair better risk, Abraxas, to enter actuality. If Galactus actually desires to verify the universe maintains concord, he’d do nicely to maintain his urge for food in examine. 

It could appear Galactus can also be responsible of sloth generally, along with gluttony. Whereas it is not canon, “What If…?” #15 from Roy Thomas, R.J.M. Lofficier, Greg Capullo, and Sam De La Rosa re-envisions the aforementioned “Incredible 4” #262, the place Reed Richards is placed on trial for letting Galactus reside. On this model, Galactus would not present as much as the trial with Eternity, a key Marvel character, to elucidate that whereas Galactus’ actions are horrific, he finally serves a better objective in defending the universe from increasing an excessive amount of. With out Galactus and Eternity talking on his behalf, Reed is sentenced to loss of life. 

Hear, nobody likes getting a courtroom summons. You must take the day without work work, and courthouses all the time have horrible parking. Nevertheless it looks as if the least Galactus can do is present up for a man who actually spared his life. We will excuse the mass extermination of sentient life, however we draw the road at being too lazy to stop one man’s loss of life.

[Cue “Community” meme: “You can excuse the mass extermination of sentient life?”]

Rom the House Knight is an underrated Marvel hero who has his humanity eliminated and changed with cybernetic elements to guard his world of Galador. Zak Penn was even engaged on a “Rom” film at one level, however it did not pan out. Nonetheless, there are many “Rom” storylines to drag from for a big-screen adaptation, together with one coping with Galactus. 

“Rom” #27 from Invoice Mantlo, Sal Buscema, and Joe Sinnott sees Galactus present up at Galador searching for a snack. Rom agrees to be Galactus’ herald and leads him to a darkish nebula that the latter cannot truly eat. As punishment for Rom’s treachery, Galactus strikes Galador from the place it was beforehand, which means Rom cannot return residence. Rom would finally discover Galador, however it might be a a lot darker place than he remembered it. It is comprehensible that Galactus could be upset at Rom, however it’s a extremely nice demonstration of simply how petty the Devourer of Worlds may be. 

You would fill a complete listing of the worst issues Galactus has performed with the numerous planets he is eaten. He is wiped total species off the map since that is his entire M.O. Nevertheless, few planets have had the identical sort of ramifications as when he devoured the Skrull homeworld of Skrullos.

“Incredible 4” #257, written and drawn by John Byrne, sees Galactus at a crossroads as as to if he ought to eat this planet or permit himself to die reasonably than wipe out one other species. He picks the latter, however as comedian e book followers know all too nicely, this wasn’t the tip of the Skrulls. In reality, Galactus destroying this planet has continued to have reverberations all through the Marvel universe, because the Skrulls engaged in civil warfare following their planet’s destruction. Many made their method to Earth, resulting in the “Secret Invasion” arc. 

When all is claimed and performed, extra most likely die from the aftermath of Skrullos getting destroyed than when Galactus ate the planet. He could also be a power of nature in lots of iterations, however Galactus’ actions undoubtedly have penalties that the remainder of the universe should take care of.

Galactus seems within the first arc of “Thor” Vol. 6 from Donny Cates and Nic Klein in one among his most devious kinds up to now. Galactus, alongside together with his heralds, inform Thor of the arrival of Black Winter, an entity extra highly effective than Galactus with the flexibility to eat total universes. The one one who can presumably maintain off Black Winter is Galactus, and he should eat 5 planets to take action. Subsequently, Thor helps evacuate these worlds in order that Galactus can get the ability he must fend off Black Winter, however Galactus is not telling the entire reality. He is truly Black Winter’s herald to convey him into a brand new universe to eat. 

Thor winds up draining Galactus of all his energy, however it actually exhibits how wherever Galactus goes, loss of life follows. He refuses to solely eat uninhabited planets, and even when he dies or accumulates sufficient energy, one thing worse finally ends up taking his place. He is actually one of the vital damaging forces within the Marvel universe, and it might be sensible going ahead for characters to not belief what he has to say. 

The “Black Winter” arc is not the primary time Thor has gotten into it with Galactus. 2011’s “The Mighty Thor” has a multi-issue arc written by Matt Fraction with artwork from Olivier Coipel, the place Galactus goes to warfare with Asgard to amass the Galactus Seed, which might permit the Devourer to plant the thought for the subsequent iteration of the cosmos as soon as the present one dies. Galactus fights Odin in epic trend, and when all is claimed and performed, the seed turns into misplaced to Galactus as soon as extra, as Loki hides it throughout the World Tree. 

All that warfare, all of that destruction. And for what? Galactus’ objective could also be to organize this universe for the subsequent one, however a lot loss of life and loss come from it. And in the long run, Galactus would not even get the seed. Tales like this actually painting Galactus in a much less sympathetic mild; he might have a solemn obligation to keep up order within the universe, however order and chaos are extra carefully linked than most want to admit. 

Nu-World was meant to be an ideal reproduction of Earth, meant to assist life as soon as Earth was now not hospitable. Nevertheless, “Incredible 4” #586 and #587, from Jonathan Hickman and Steve Epting, depict a race towards the clock, as Galactus units his sights on the planet because it’s being drawn right into a black gap. Galactus permits Reed Richards to evacuate the planet if he can get there earlier than he does as a result of a technique or one other, he will eat it. 

In lots of his appearances, Galactus would not technically “eat” planets. He converts their life power into power, which he consumes, and in some instances, he leaves behind some decrease life-forms to maintain existence happening the worlds he visits. For Nu-World, he utterly wipes it off the map, not sparing a single morsel. It is a great showcase of how Galactus’ starvation is all-consuming and that he has no time for the consideration of different species. When he is hungry, he’ll eat till he is happy, and even that does not final lengthy. 

Quite a few Marvel characters have served as Galactus’ heralds through the years. Norrin Radd is probably the most well-known, however there’s additionally Nova, Terrax, and even Deadpool at one level. The factor about a lot of the heralds is that they have an inclination to really feel some degree of regret over enjoying a job within the destruction of numerous civilizations. The identical cannot be stated for arguably probably the most brutal of Galactus’ topics — Morg.

The most important distinction between Morg and different heralds is that everybody else a minimum of tried to steer Galactus to planets that did not have any life kinds. Morg particularly sought inhabited planets out. One such planet was known as Bastion, which additionally simply so occurs to comprise the Properly of Life, making Morg even stronger. The previous heralds battle Morg upon seeing how brutal he could possibly be, and Morg kills Nova within the course of. It is one of many worst issues Morg has ever performed, however it began on Galactus’ watch.

Ben Grimm will get the rawest deal out of the Incredible 4. Whereas his teammates can nonetheless mix in among the many common populace, Ben turns right into a rock monster. This offers Ben an assortment of nice powers, like being one of many strongest beings on Earth, however it’s exhausting on his shallowness. One situation sees Ben Grimm lose his rocky exterior, however he is nonetheless a part of the Incredible 4 group due to Reed Richards making him an exo-suit that just about grants him the identical powers he had earlier than. 

All the things was trying nice till “Incredible 4” #175 from author Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, the place the Incredible 4 as soon as once more face off towards Galactus. At one level, Galactus hits Ben with some eye-beams. He would not assume a lot of it at first, however step by step, Ben transforms again into his rocky physique. There actually wasn’t any motive for Galactus to do that apart from being petty, and it is proof that the Energy Cosmic that Galactus possesses can have some actually weird properties.

Galactus is already an enormous risk to any civilization, and but there appear to be powers on the market that rival or surpass even his energy. Marvel explored this with the “Annihilation” arc from author Keith Giffen and artist Andrea DeVito. The villain Annihilus, who was nearly in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” instructions a military that ravages each world it comes throughout. Marvel’s cosmic heroes notice that the one method they will have an opportunity towards this foe is to reawaken Galactus, and after they do, he proves why he should not be messed with. 

Galactus unleashes a blast so highly effective, it turns into often called the Galactus Occasion. It takes out a large chunk of Annihilus’ military, however it additionally obliterates three star methods that presumably had a bunch of sentient life inside them. It is an ideal showcase of the intrinsic twin nature of Galactus. On the one hand, it was essential to cease Annihilus. Alternatively, numerous lives needed to be sacrificed to do it. To Galactus, it is a mandatory elimination to make sure the better good. 

It is a large multiverse on the market, and there are quite a few alternate designs for Galactus. One model sees him as a large platypus, and the 2024 animated movie “Lego Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition” sees him as an enormous vacuum cleaner. Nevertheless, the worst and most terrifying alternate design for Galactus is likely to be from Earth-1610 within the “Final Extinction” arc from author Warren Ellis and artist Brandon Peterson. This Galactus (or, on this arc, Gah Lak Tus) consists of a military of robotic drones that go planet to planet, unleashing a flesh-eating virus that kills all these in its wake. 

As if a flesh-eating virus wasn’t dangerous sufficient, this swarm might additionally ship a worry broadcast to a planet’s inhabitants that makes them go insane. So not solely would they kill everybody on a given planet, however they’d subdue them forward of time to make evacuation all of the extra not possible. Galactus might a minimum of be reasoned with, as evidenced by Norrin Radd agreeing to be his herald in change for mercy towards his planet. However these drones obliterated every little thing they got here into contact with, most likely making each different actuality grateful they simply have an enormous man in a purple and blue swimsuit to cope with.