The MCU’s Fantastic Four movie is happening and Galactus is heavily rumoured to be the movie’s main menace. If you’re wondering just who is Fantastic Four’s Galactus in the Marvel Universe, here’s what you need know.
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Galactus is a towering, massively powerful being who travels around the universe, draining planets of their life. He was first introduced in Fantastic Four #48, back in 1966, and has cropped up regularly, mostly as a foe and occasionally as an ally.
Guided by a herald, often the Silver Surfer (though he’s had several other heralds), he rocks up to a planet and either drains the planet himself or assembles a machine that he uses to suck it dry. Even if he doesn’t outright destroy the planet, it’s typically so barren it’s incapable of maintaining life.
Those who encounter Galactus see him as a member of their own species, wearing a purple and blue costume. Though the World Devourer, as he’s sometimes known, was once a man. Named Galan, he existed in a pre big-bang universe and, encountering a phenomenon known as a ‘Cosmic Egg’ was reborn into the new one as Galactus.
He’s often depicted as a matter-of-fact individual. His hunger must be sated, and the death of those on the planets he drains are inevitable. So how did the Fantastic Four kill him? They didn’t. With help from The Watcher, they created a weapon so dangerous that Galactus was persuaded to leave and feed elsewhere.
Yes, the best they could do was make him some other planet’s problem and while other heroes have encountered him since then, it’s rare that he’s actually killed. Often he’s banished and that, as part of the ‘cosmic balance’, killing him would have profound consequences for the universe.
Aside from the main Marvel 616 Galactus, Marvel has given us several different takes on Galactus. Here are just a few.
Gah-Lak-Tus – Featured in Marvel’s Ultimate Comics run, this was a gigantic swarm of robotic drones that were driven off but not destroyed. They later merged with the 616 Galactus to become something much, much worse. The Zombie Galactus – In Robert Kirkman’s Marvel Zombies, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Wolverine and the other surviving Marvel Zombies devoured Galactus. They acquired his powers and went on to ravage their universe. Weird Space Cloud Galactus – Galactus featured in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, where he was depicted as a scary space cloud. It didn’t go down well with fans. The Lifebringer – Galactus was briefly turned to a life-giving version of himself, travelling the universe and restoring those planets he had once destroyed.
If Galactus does indeed feature in the Fantastic Four film, the designers will have their work cut out for them. Rise of the Silver Surfer’s Galactus may have been mocked, but what works in comics doesn’t necessarily work on-screen.
I’ve always found the Ultimate Comics’ Gah-Lak-Tus to be scarier than the main universe’s Galactus. He might regard you as an insect but at least you’d have a chance of communicating. The Gah-Lak-Tus swarm was a galactic force of destruction that just washed over everything it encountered.
The Fantastic Four movie isn’t out until mid 2025, so there’s still time for Marvel to settle on the World Devourer’s final form. But if he does figure into the first FF movie, Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny are going to be in for the fight of their lives.
That’s the answer to who Fantastic Four‘s Galactus is in the Marvel Universe.
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If you have no idea who Galactus is supposed to be in the Marvel universe, here’s everything you need to know. Read More