Galactus

>

{{Marvel Database:Character Template
 * Image                  = Galactus46.jpg
 * RealName               = Galactus
 * CurrentAlias           =
 * Aliases                = Galan, Ashta, Devourer of Worlds, Ravager of Planets, The Great Destroyer, The Devourer, Maker
 * Identity               = Secret
 * Alignment              = Neutral
 * Affiliation            = Heralds of Galactus
 * Relatives              = Galan ("father"), Galacta (Daughter)
 * Universe               = Earth-616
 * BaseOfOperations       = Worldship (aka Taa II); though he is generally mobile throughout the universe via his spherical starship in search of suitable planets to consume.

Although Galactus is usually represented in humanoid form, each sentient being perceives him having a form resembling his own. Hence, humans see Galactus as an enormous armor-clad humanoid, while an amoeba-like species, for example, would perceive Galactus in an enormous amoeba-like form. Although as Galan, Galactus was indeed a humanoid, his true current form is unknown. Although it is not entirely clear why beings from different sentient races perceive Galactus differently; this unique trait is likely due to the mortal races of the universe lacking the sufficient level of consciousness to grasp his partially abstract nature; thus the sentient being subconsciously projects an appearance similar to it's own onto Galactus in an attempt to comprehend what they behold.
 * Gender                 = Male
 * Height                 = 28'9"
 * Height2                =  (variable)
 * Weight                 = 18.2 tons
 * Weight2                =  (variable)
 * Eyes                   = Brown
 * Eyes2                  =  (originally); Currently unknown
 * Hair                   = No Hair
 * UnusualFeatures        = Galactus' base height and weight will diminish when he is greatly in need of life-giving energy. Galactus has the ability to increase his size and mass at will, the extent of which is unknown (he once grew to a stature so great he eclipsed a sun).  Additionally, Galactus' base size will increase if he "overeats", in an alternate future where Galactus was consuming the universe he was as large as a galaxy and growing.


 * Citizenship            =
 * MaritalStatus          = Single
 * Occupation             = Planet Devourer, Third Force of the Universe - balance between Eternity and Death, Nullifying Abraxas' Influence on the Multiverse, Third Face of the Living Tribunal - representing Equity
 * Education              =


 * Origin                 = Super Villain Classics #1 (1983)
 * PlaceOfBirth           = Galan - Planet Taa, Galactus - The Cosmic Egg
 * Creators               = Stan Lee; Jack Kirby
 * First                  = Fantastic Four #48

However, this universe was in its final stages of collapse. Originally, like all universes in the Marvel Comics continuum, this universe had been a "Cosmic Egg" &mdash; a primal sphere of disorganized, dense, compact primordial matter. The sphere underwent a "Big Bang," an explosion that hurled the matter outwards, where much of it eventually condensed into stars and planets. This universe expanded in size for billions of years, and then contracted, undergoing a "crunch" over the following billions of years. All of the matter of that universe was plunging towards a central point, where it was collapsing into a new "Cosmic Egg." Taa's civilization was one of the last still in existence. Lethal radiation caused by the "Big Crunch" this universe was experiencing was wiping out all life across the universe. Galan, a space explorer, was dispatched to travel through the cosmos to find a means of saving Taa, but he found none. The radiation eventually killed off all but a tiny fraction of the population of Taa. Knowing their deaths were inevitable, Galan proposed to the remaining survivors that they die gloriously by piloting one of their starships directly into the heart of the "Cosmic Egg." As the starship containing Galan and his fellow survivors approached the focal point of the Big Crunch, the heat and radiation killed all the passengers except Galan, who strangely found himself filled with new energy. At the moment Galan's universe met its end, the 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 equivalent to Eternity — to meet with Galan. Within the "Cosmic Egg" the Sentience of the Universe revealed itself to Galan and informed him that though they both would die in the final moments of the universe, they would both survive through a joint heir born into the next universe. The Sentience of the Universe merged itself with the mortal Galan and thus Galactus, the devourer of worlds, was conceived. Eventually the "Cosmic Egg" underwent another "Big Bang," thus creating the current universe. Eternity and Death, the ethereal embodiments of the new universe, were created in this "Big Bang," and the newborn Galactus was simultaneously hurled outward in his recreated starship. The nascent Galactus drifted in his starship for eons as life began to come into existence in the universe, including the races that would give rise to the Elders of the Universe. Eventually the nascent Galactus's starship was sighted by Ecce of the Watchers, an ancient species who possess vast psionic and energy manipulation powers who had undertaken to observe the events of the universe. Ecce drew the starship down to his planet to study it. There he learned that the being within it had power beyond comprehension and would eventually be forced to consume entire worlds to satiate his hunger for life-sustaining energy. Realizing the danger the nascent Galactus posed to the cosmos, this Watcher considered destroying the entity &mdash; who was still vulnerable due to his metamorphic state &mdash; but instead decided to abide by the Watchers' oath of non-interference, and let the nascent Galactus depart in his starship. Although over time the Watcher race has come to understand that Galactus is an intrinsic and necessary component to the natural order of the cosmos, Ecce has expressed guilt over his decision those billions of years ago and feels partially responsible for the destruction Galactus has caused since. The nascent Galactus employed his vast power and created a suit of armor to help him regulate his raging internal energies. He then transformed the starship of Galan into a kind of incubation chamber, where Galactus spent thousands upon thousands of years evolving into his current form. Finally, the incubation ship drifted into orbit around the inhabited planet Archeopia. The Archeopians themselves did not disturb the strange ship, but years later a marauding space fleet, nearing Archeopia and thinking Galactus's ship to be a weapon, attacked it. Galactus, with his metamorphosis complete, emerged and with a gesture destroyed the invading fleet. Galactus, realizing his uncontrollable hunger for energy, turned his attention upon the energy-rich Archeopia below. Galactus immediately consumed the life energies of the Archeopia, only a small fleet of Archeopian ships managed to escape the planet in time. (The Archeopian race would later be fully exterminated by the living planet Ego). Over the following millennia Galactus constructed for himself an immense home, the world-ship he calls Taa II, which engulfs the Archeopian solar system as a tribute to both his homeworld and to Archeopia, the first planet he ever consumed. For several billion years Galactus consumed only planets uninhabited by sentient lifeforms, Archeopia being the only exception, and centuries passed between his "feedings". However, as ages passed, the intervals between feedings decreased considerably in length, and Galactus found himself needing to consume worlds inhabited by sentient races if he could find no other worlds possessing the energy he needs in time to sustain himself. Galactus has succeeded in suppressing his sympathy for intelligent beings who are similar in nature to the entity from which he was birthed, and, realizing himself to be a higher kind of being than they are due to his intrinsic role in the natural order, is willing to destroy their lives to continue his own. Moreover, he is aware that he is meant to one day give back to the universe infinitely more than he has ever taken from it. At one point Galactus threatened to destroy the planet Zenn-La, home of a civilized, humanoid race. One of that world's inhabitants, Norrin Radd, persuaded Galactus to spare the planet by volunteering to become his "herald" and search out uninhabited worlds for him to consume. Galactus agreed, and transformed Norrin Radd into the Silver Surfer. Eventually, however, Galactus grew determined to consume the energy-rich planet Earth. The Surfer rebelled as a result, and Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four thwarted Galactus by threatening to use an alien device called the Ultimate Nullifier on him, a weapon that could lay waste to the universe and kill even Galactus. Galactus was forced to vow to spare Earth in exchange for the Nullifier's return, and he punished the Surfer for his betrayal by erecting an undetectable energy barrier that prevented the Surfer from leaving Earth. Eventually freeing himself from his pledge to Richards by defeating the nearly omnipotent Sphinx (who was further empowered by the secrets of the universe downloaded from the Living Computer of Xandar), Galactus returned several times to Earth to consume it, but was always narrowly thwarted. Meanwhile, he consumed numerous inhabited worlds throughout the known universe to sate his hunger, and was feared as a menace to all known star faring races. Galactus also took on a succession of new heralds. During his last attempt to devour Earth, Galactus had gone so long without "feeding" that his energies were the lowest they had ever been and he was near death; thus a large number of Earth's superhuman defenders actually succeeded in defeating him in battle. Galactus lay dying, succumbing to his own hunger, but Reed Richards saved his life with the help of Thor's mystic hammer Mjolnir. The grateful Galactus pledged his friendship to Richards and sincerely gave his word never to attack Earth again. Galactus has steadfastly abided by this oath ever since. During this visit to Earth Galactus recruited his latest herald, Nova. Galactus continues to prey upon other worlds, and recently he destroyed the Skrull throneworld, thereby plunging the Skrull Empire into chaos. There is an account of a far distant alternate future, in which man no longer exists on Earth, and Galactus, therefore no longer feeling bound by his oath, consumes it at last. At some point afterward, Galactus was targeted by the alien organization called the Elders of the Universe, who believed his death would trigger a new Big Bang and recreate reality. In this new reality, the Elders believed they would become a race a Galacti, each with infinite cosmic power with which to endlessly pursue their special interests. His former herald, Silver Surfer, the Fantastic Four, Franklin Richards, and his herald Nova managed to upset the Elders' plans. When Nova finally rebelled as his herald, Galactus created another in the alien Morg, who ultimately murdered Nova on his own volition. Morg in turn was defeated by the collection of his heralds, leaving Galactus alone again. More recently, Galactus' appetite became such that he would only devour the life forces of sentient beings and leave the planets on which they lived intact. He began to consume more and more frequently, because unlike the life essences of the planets he normally feeds on the life forces of mortal beings offer him no sustenance; thus his addiction left him perpetually starving, weakened and demented. He created a new herald, Red Shift, to help him succeed in devouring all of the sentient life forces he came upon. He approached Earth once more, and had to be driven off by a large contingent of Earth's superheroes, and Red Shift was defeated by the Silver Surfer. Finally, the Silver Surfer agreed once more to become Galactus' herald and to search for planets with sentient life to consume. Almost immediately, the Silver Surfer led Galactus to the homeworld of the Shi'ar Empire, perhaps the most technologically advanced in the known universe, in hopes they would have the forces to repulse the weakened planet devourer. The Shi'ar quickly joined with other races and several of Earth's superheroes to battle Galactus. During the conflict, the Silver Surfer managed to turn Galactus' own energy-siphoning machines on Galactus himself, fatally weakening him. Galactus died, warning that the madness which had consumed him was a precursor to another greater horror. As he passed away, Galactus was converted to energy by his own planet-destroying machines, revealing his true form, that of a sentient star. As Reed Richards noted, his energy would radiate forever outward, so he could never again reform. Galactus' "death" allowed the being known as Abraxas, the metaphysical embodiment of destruction and the antithesis of Eternity, to emerge from his imprisonment. He soon began to cut a swath of terror through various alternate realities, including the murder of parallel versions of Galactus. He used the decapitated head of one alternate reality Galactus to target and home in on the prime reality Earth and to plant a mole in his version of the Herald known as Nova. On Earth, Abraxas attacked Uatu the Watcher, left him comatose, and stole half of his signature medallion. Abraxas taunted the Fantastic Four with the inevitability of his coming, enticing the team to search for the Ultimate Nullifer, the clues to the location of which were scattered among alternate realities. Ultimately, the Four found the Nullifer when Abraxas suddenly appeared and stole it from them. Abraxas called forth an army of Novas to attack Earth, and the Fantastic Four held no hope of defeating him. Instead, Franklin Richards, the son of the Four members Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, combined his Celestial-level cosmic powers with those of his sister Valeria and returned Galactus to his natural state and thus restored balance to Eternity, at the cost of forever burning out his powers. Galactus easily wrenched the Nullifer from Abraxas, but due to interference from the army of Novas the Nullifier fell to Reed Richards, who used the weapon to destroy the multiverse. The result served to re-create the multiverse in which Abraxas had never escaped, and since all that was had ended, all that is was realigned, it allowed Mister Fantastic to survive along with all those who died in Abraxas' reign of terror.
 * HistoryText            = Galactus is the sole survivor of the universe that existed prior to the current universe. Originally Galactus was a humanoid named Galan, who was born on the planet Taa, a paradise-like world whose civilization is said to have been the most advanced of any of the known universe of that time.

Annihilation
During Annihilus' ambition of "conquering" the universe, Galactus was vengefully attacked by the freed surviving Proemial Gods, "Tenebrous, of The Darkness Between" and "Aegis, Lady of All Sorrows", leaving him badly weaken and was, along with the Silver Surfer, captured by Thanos, who was responsible for bargaining the gods into fighting the World Devourer. Galactus and the Surfer were brought to Annhilus and were experimented upon as weapons in Annhilus' war. Galactus was used as a sort of cosmic weapon, capable of destroying whole planets, and his the Surfer's cosmic power were fueled as potential weapons for the Annihilation Wave. Eventually Annhilus' overall plan was to used Galactus as a 'bomb' capable of destroying every life-form in the universe and thus fulfilling his desire of being the only being in the known universe. However, Annhilus' plan was foiled by the efforts of Moondragon, Drax and the Silver Surfer as they successfully freed Galactus. After teleporting Moondragon and Drax to safety and in his rage, Galactus proceeds to unleash a massive, omnidirectional blast that later becomes known as the "Galactus event." Silver Surfer is sent ahead of the blast by Galactus to herald the imminent destruction, as the unleashed "Galactus obliteration perimeter" wipes out the majority of the Annihilation Wave, more than three star systems and even vaporizes a Watcher. Galactus' action ultimately stop the war and forcing the remaining warring parties to form a truce.

Post-Annihilation
Following the end of the Annihilation war, Galactus became more hungrier than before and have requested his Heralds to find planetary substance to his hunger. It is revealed at some point in the early years of the creation of the universe that Galactus became involved in a civil war between the Proemial Gods. He slayed Diableri the leader of the opposing faction of gods who attempted to gain total control of the universe, and imprisons the remaining surviving gods in the Klyn. Angered and concerned of the freed Proemial Gods Aegis and Tenebrous, Galactus ordered the Silver Surfer in finding and defeating the gods once and for all. After the Surfer kills the gods by luring them into the Crunch, the all-destroying border of the universe, Galactus saved a heavily beaten and exhausted Surfer in which both of them honor their gratitude to each other, and the Surfer once again become a Herald to Galactus.

More recently the Surfer lead Galactus to the planet Sakaar where he destroyed the planet after easily defeating both Skaar and and the Surfer who was being controlled by Skaar. He became addicted to the Old Power after devouring the planet and set out to find all the planets that possesses the Old Power within in them.




 * Powers                 = Galactus possesses the immeasurable Power Cosmic and is one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe. He has even been referred to as "the most powerful creature in the universe." As such, Galactus is able to employ the limitless cosmic energy within him to produce virtually any effect he desires. A few of the abilities he has displayed are:


 * Levitation: Galactus can make himself float and move through the air.
 * Size-Alteration: Ability to alter the physical size of persons or objects.
 * Molecular Restructuring: Ability to physically alter persons or objects through the manipulation of their comprising molecules.
 * Matter Transmutation: Ability to directly convert one form of matter into another form of matter. e.g. turning lead into gold.
 * Cosmic Teleportation: Ability to teleport beings and objects&mdash;even entire galaxies&mdash;across space and time. This ability also allows him to teleport himself.
 * Cosmic Force-Fields: Ability to erect completely impenetrable energy shields.
 * Cosmic Energy Projection: Ability to project energy with incalculable force.
 * Interdimensional & Intradimensional Portals: Ability to create wormholes between dimensions and within dimensions.
 * Cosmic Telepathy: Ability to read or communicate with other minds across universal distances.
 * Cosmic Telekinesis: Ability to move virtually unlimited amounts of mass through mental concentration.
 * Cosmic Awareness: Ability to sense disturbances or changes within the cosmic ether on a universal scale.
 * Resurrection: Ability to raise the dead. This ability also allows him to raise himself from death.
 * Creation: Ability to create complex, sentient, biological life-forms from nothing.
 * Soul Manipulation: Ability to manipulate the souls of living beings.
 * Recreation: Ability to remake even an entire Solar System, including populations, the planets etc in every detail.
 * Power Bestowal: Galactus' heralds, whom he has endowed with a minuscule fraction of his cosmic power, are able to manipulate matter and energy in ways far beyond human comprehension.
 * Vitakinesis: Galactus is able to heal himself and others from all physical wounds although this may simply be molecular reconstruction.


 * Abilities              = Galactus, as the oldest known living entity in the universe, arguably possesses the universe's most advanced intellect. Reed Richards has admitted an inability to fully comprehend even the most rudimentary devices found within Galactus' Worldship Taa II. The Worldship itself is a solar system-sized construct that is said to surpass any natural world in beauty and splendor and yet within it's computers is contained knowledge so unfathomable and far reaching it can grant awesome power to those who come into contact with it. (see Korvac)

Cosmic Hunger: Galactus requires unknown energies obtainable only from a certain type of planets in order to sustain his life. The suitable type of planet need not to be one where life is present, but it must have the potential to support life. When recently sated Galactus is effectively omnipotent; however, the longer he goes without feeding the more his strength, power, and cosmic awareness wane. Indeed, over one month after consuming a suitable planet his power will have already been reduced exponentially, although in such a hungered state his powers are still far beyond mortal comprehension. In recent times Galactus has been known to go without feeding for numerous months at a time bringing him to the brink of death and reducing his power to such a degree he actually becomes partially susceptible to direct attacks from superhuman teams such as the Shi'ar Imperial Guard, Avengers, the Fantastic Four etc although even in this significantly weakened state of power, he is still more powerful than the superhuman teams combined and still one of the most powerful beings in the Universe. When the universe was still young, Galactus could go without feeding for over century before his hunger weakened him to a significant degree, why the intervals between his feedings has decreased over the millenia is unknown.
 * Strength               = Incalculable, when sated Galactus possesses a level of strength beyond the human ability to measure of quantify. Additionally, Galactus can use the Power Cosmic to further enhance his strength to truly infinite levels.
 * Weaknesses             =


 * Equipment              = Galactus often employs his Elemental Converter when devouring planets to help him in the conversion of matter into energy. Although he does not require this device to devour planets and will forego its use in certain scenarios, it makes the conversion of energies more efficient. Galactus also wears a full-body suit of armor constructed from an unknown material of his own design that helps him to regulate and control his personal energy. If he were to remove the armor for an extended period, his vast cosmic energies could run rampant and potentially give him the appearance of a star.
 * Transportation         = Although Galactus is capable of space travel via his own power, he disdains the needless expenditure of power and prefers to travel in starships of his own design. Though Galactus has many different starships in his personal fleet his preferred long range vessel is his sphere-shaped starship (over a mile in diameter) which is capable of trans-light speeds and interdimensional travel. Galactus has even on rare occasions been shown to travel in his solar system-sized Worldship, Taa II.
 * Weapons                = Galactus often employs a robot called the Punisher&mdash;which possesses vast superhuman strength, speed, and durability&mdash;to battle adversaries whose power levels do not warrant his direct attention. Galactus also keeps in his possession a weapon called the Ultimate Nullifier. This weapon has the ability to destroy any target the wielder can mentally envision. In the hands of Galactus, due to his nearly omniscient and cosmically aware intellect, the Ultimate Nullifier is capable of destroying entire universes and even entire timelines from beginning to end. It was revealed in the Abraxas story arc that the Ultimate Nullifier is actually an aspect of Galactus himself.

}}
 * Notes                  =
 * Trivia                 = * Galactus is not a wholly physical being; his "daughter" Galacta refers to her corporeal self as an "embodiment," a "Power-Cosmic waveform," a "waveform matrix," and "the Power-Cosmic fieldweave of my bodily infostructure." This implies that Galactus's physical form (malleable as it is) is something akin to an M-body, an avatar for cosmic entities. This explains Galactus's remark to the Fantastic Four that he cannot be harmed in any meaningful physical sense: his physical being is subjective.
 * Galactus does not have a 'true form' because he is "no longer a being in the absolute, physical sense," "each mind that views him struggles as best as it can to perceive that unguessable force as an image it can comprehend" (according to Gali, she and her father seem to wear purple because "that's merely what your crude little cortexes perceive," due to "the color's royalty symbolism" from "ancient mythopoetic cultural sludge encrusting your merely mortal minds"). This is the same "neurocensoring FX" that causes the mortal brain to see "Kirby crackles" ("odd black circles in/around [it] ... artifacts from your mortal brain's inability to directly perceive PowerCosmic [sic] (or whatevs) reality distortion ... Yr [sic] neurology cannot fully visualize god-lvl [sic] powers, so you often see black circles interspersed about 'em: a brain-imposed censoring effect ... seen around high-power energy manifestation").
 * Not all Galacti share Earth-616's physical and metaphysical characteristics; the Galactus of Earth-2149 was physically eaten by zombies, whereas a counterpart
 * The Galactus of the Mangaverse (Earth-2301) was a vast eye-like parasite that literally fed on planets through enormous city-sized tendrils. Where its tendrils touched the surface of a world, "spores" would be thrown off, and these spores took the form of monsters such as Fin Fang Foom. The Mangaverse equivalents of the Inhumans lived on Galactus' surface, as did a race of Lava Men and a Skrull enclave led by a Super Skrull. As Earth's heroes fought the spores, Galactus was finally drained of life by that reality's incarnation of Captain Marvel.
 * An entity named Gah Lak Tus threatened the Ultimate Universe in 2005-2006. It seeded planets with energy siphons that bore a visual resemblance to the helmet of the Marvel Universe Galactus.
 * In the Sonic the Hedgehog comics by Archie Comics, a villain named EVE is encountered in space by Sonic. She was likely inspired by Galactus, as she goes from planet to planet and strips them of their raw materials, eating them.
 * Links                  =

}} Galactus is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Jack Kirby, the character first appears in Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966), the first part of a three-issue story later known as "The Galactus Trilogy."
 * image=Galactus.PNG
 * imagesize=
 * converted=y
 * caption=Galactus features on the variant cover for Son of Hulk #14 (Oct. 2009). Art by Mitch Breitweiser.
 * character_name=Galactus
 * publisher=Marvel Comics
 * debut=Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966)
 * creators=Stan Lee Jack Kirby
 * alter_ego=Galan
 * species=
 * homeworld=Galan: Taa Galactus: Cosmic Egg
 * alliances=Heralds of Galactus
 * aliases=Ashta, Ravager of Worlds, Devourer of Worlds
 * supports=
 * powers=Possessor of the Power Cosmic
 * cat    =cosmic entities
 * subcat =Marvel Comics
 * sortkey =Galactus

"The Galactus Trilogy"
In 1966, nearly five years after having launched Marvel Comics' flagship superhero title, Fantastic Four, creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby collaborated on an antagonist designed to break from the archetypal mold of supervillains of the time, and be instead a being of god-like stature and power. As Lee later explained, "I created Galactus after we had done so many villains and wanted something different. I wondered, 'How could we get something bigger than a villain? Let's do a guy who's like a demigod — I like the name 'Galactus'. He comes from outer space and eats planets, or some stupid thing". This culminated in the introduction of Galactus in Fantastic Four #48-50 (March-May 1966), now known as "The Galactus Trilogy".

Kirby described his Biblical inspirations for Galactus and an accompanying character, an angelic herald Lee dubbed the Silver Surfer: My inspirations were the fact that I had to make sales. And I had to come up with characters that were no longer stereotypes. In other words I couldn't depend on gangsters anymore, I had to get something new. And ... for some reason, I went to the Bible. And I came up with Galactus. And there I was in front of this tremendous figure, who I knew very well, because I always felt him, and I certainly couldn't treat him the same way that I would any ordinary mortal ... and of course the Silver Surfer is the fallen angel. ...[T]hey were figures that have never been used before in comics. They were above mythic figures, and of course, they were the first gods.

Kirby further explained that "Galactus in actuality is a sort of god. He is beyond reproach, beyond anyone's opinion. In a way he is kind of a Zeus, who fathered Hercules. He is his own legend, and of course, he and the Silver Surfer are sort of modern legends, and they are designed that way."

The trilogy culminated in Fantastic Four #50 ( May 1966), which featured the Silver Surfer interceding for humankind against Galactus. After the trilogy, Kirby had not intended for Galactus to reappear, in order to preserve the character's tremendous presence. Popularity among fans, however, prompted Lee to petition Kirby for Galactus' reappearance, and the character eventually became a mainstay in the Marvel Universe. Galactus returned for a cameo in Thor #134 (Nov. 1966), which hinted at a confrontation between Galactus and another Lee and Kirby character, Ego the Living Planet. The plot-line was left unresolved in the subsequent issues, as Kirby put the character on hiatus. Galactus reappeared more than a year later, in a flashback cameo in Daredevil #37 (Feb. 1968) before starring opposite the Fantastic Four in Fantastic Four #72-77 (March-Aug. 1968) at the request of Lee, and then in flashback in The Silver Surfer #1 (Aug. 1968). He eventually returns to Earth, however, seeking the Silver Surfer.

Lee and Kirby then featured Galactus in a storyline in Thor #160-162 (Jan.-March 1969), which resolved the plot-line from issue #134. Issue #162 began the transition to Galactus' origin story, but the character makes an unexplained departure from the storyline. The absence of the character may be explained by miscommunication between Kirby and Lee; Kirby may have wanted to directly write Galactus' origin, while Lee may have had his own interpretation of the character's beginnings. Galactus' origin finally appeared in Thor #168-169 (Sept.-Oct. 1969).

===1970s and 1980s=== Two appearances showcasing new heralds followed in Fantastic Four #120-123 (March-June 1972) and Thor #225-228 (July-Oct. 1974), and subsequently appeared in Fantastic Four #172-175 (July-Oct. 1976) and #206-213 (May-Dec. 1979). In 1983, writer Mark Gruenwald, pencillers John Byrne and Ron Wilson, and inkers Jack Abel and Vince Colletta collaborated to produce a more in-depth, 23-page origin story titled "Galactus", which appeared in Super-Villain Classics #1 (May). While mostly identical to the previous origin, the story featured additions, edits, and deletions, and was later reprinted as Origin of Galactus #1 (Feb. 1996). As before, Galactus was Galan, the last survivor of a highly advanced civilization, which had died from a plague, but rather than being transformed by immersion in a massive star, he was presented as an inhabitant of the previous cosmos, who at the end of the universe, enters a cosmic egg. Within the Cosmic egg, the Sentience of the Universe reveals itself to Galan and informs him that though they both will die in the impending cataclysm, they will survive through an heir born into the next universe. The Sentience of the Universe then unites with Galan, establishing him as the sole survivor of the ensuing Big Crunch. After the Big Bang and the birth of the present reality, Galactus gestates in a cocoon of cosmic energy in order to complete his metamorphosis, and after an undetermined period of time emerges as an entity of vast cosmic power who is essential and intrinsic to the newly formed universe. This version added information to the origin present in Thor #168, and included Galactus constructing Taa II in homage to his dead homeworld Taa out of the remains of Archeopia.



The character returned in Fantastic Four #242-244 (May-July 1982) and then Fantastic Four #257 (Aug. 1983), where his relationship with other cosmic entities was developed further. The entity Death notes that Galactus is "my husband and father, my brother and son." This is followed by an appearance in Fantastic Four #262 (Jan. 1984) and the appearance of the entity Eternity, who asserts that Galactus is essential to the natural order of the cosmos. The necessity of Galactus and his role in the universe is developed over the next two decades and his representation as 'the type of evil that we can celebrate as a catalyst for the long-term good of all creation'.

'''

Epic Illustrated
'''

The same year, the anthology comics-magazine Epic Illustrated #26-34 (Oct. 1984 - Feb. 1986) published the first nine serialized installments of a projected 10-part tale, "The Last Galactus Story", by writer-penciler John Byrne and inker Terry Austin. Each ran six pages, with the exception of part eight, which ran 12 pages. The magazine was cancelled at this point, leaving the story unfinished. According to notes at Byrne's website, the conclusion of the story would see a dying Galactus releasing his power causing a new big bang and transforming his herald Nova into the Galactus for the new universe.

The following year, Galactus would place an important appearance in the limited series Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars (May 1984 - April 1985), and then again in Silver Surfer vol. 3 (1987 - 1998). The concept of the need for Galactus was revisited during a conflict with the entity the In-Betweener when Galactus states that he exists to rectify the imbalances of Eternity and Death.

1990s
Galactus featured prominently in the Infinity series of the 1990s, specifically Infinity Gauntlet #1-6 (July-Dec. 1991) and Infinity War #1-6 (June-Nov. 1992), and starred in the six-issue miniseries Galactus the Devourer (Sept. 1999 - March 2000), written by Louise Simonson and illustrated by John Buscema, which climaxed with the character's death. Simonson had originally conceived of the story arc to take place in third volume of the Silver Surfer, but the title was canceled due to dwindling sales. Simonson instead proposed a separate limited series, and at the time was initially doubtful that Marvel would approve what she believed to be a "radical" idea concerning "why the very existence of the Universe depends on the health and well-being of Galactus." The series concludes with the death of Galactus at the hands of the Silver Surfer. As Galactus' body disperses, he warns that his death will allow a great evil to surface.

2000s
After his death, Galactus' remains take the form of a star. When the Fantastic Four later learn that much of the energy Galactus harvests from planets is devoted to keeping the cosmic entity Abraxas imprisoned — thus preventing him from destroying the multiverse — Franklin Richards and Valeria Von Doom resurrect Galactus. Galactus is instrumental in defeating the unleashed Abraxas.

Galactus appears prominently in the series Thanos #1-12 (Dec. 2003 - May 2004), wherein the character displays remorse for the many inhabited planets he has consumed, and actively seeks alternate sources of nourishment. It also introduced Galactus' first herald, the Fallen One. In another appearance, a weapon designed by Reed Richards and Johnny Storm succeeded in splitting Galactus into his two core components — Galan and the Power Cosmic. Galan then exiles himself in another dimension, hoping that this act will prevent the Power Cosmic from finding him. The ruse fails; however, as the alien warrior Beta Ray Bill encounters a fully reformed Galactus shortly afterward.

Galactus was also a central character in the Annihilation crossover, first appearing as a co-star in the four-issue miniseries Annihilation: Silver Surfer (June-July 2006) followed by a pivotal role in the six-issue Annihilation limited series (Oct. 2006 - Mar. 2007). Galactus then appears in the two-issue epilogue Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus (April-May 2007). Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus added further detail to the character's back story with the introduction of the "Proemial Gods". A faction of these beings attempted to gain total control of the universe during its formative years, causing a civil war. The war eventually involves Galactus, who slays the faction's leader and imprisons the surviving members in the Kyln. Escaping during the Annihilation wave, the remaining Proemial Gods Tenebrous of The Darkness Between and Aegis Lady of All Sorrows attack and defeat Galactus and the Silver Surfer. An incapacitated Galactus is then imprisoned by Annihilus – the creator of the Annihilation Wave – who plans to use Galactus' Power Cosmic as a bomb to destroy all life in the universe. Drax the Destroyer manages to free Galactus who in retaliation unleashes a blast that destroys most of the Annihilation Wave and more than three star systems. This forces the surviving parties to form a truce.

In the mini-series Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter the alien warrior Beta Ray Bill seeks revenge against Galactus for the events depicted in the limited series Stormbreaker: The Saga of Beta Ray Bill.

In 2009, Galactus was ranked as IGN's 5th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.

Powers and abilities
Galactus is the product of the union between the "Sentience of the [previous] Universe" and Galan. He has been described as "the physical, metamorphosed embodiment of a cosmos" and "the most awesome living entity in the cosmos." Galactus wields the Power Cosmic and can employ it to produce nearly any effect he desires, including the molecular restructuring and transmutation of matter, the teleportation of objects &mdash; in one instance a galaxy &mdash; across space or time, size-alteration, the projection of energy with indeterminable destructive force, the erection of nearly impenetrable force fields, the creation of interdimensional and intra-dimensional portals, telepathy, telekinesis, and a form of cosmic awareness. Galactus has even shown the abilities to create sentient life, simultaneously reconstitute himself and others from complete physical destruction, resurrect the dead, manipulate mortal souls as well as memories and emotions, and restore dead planets along with their population.

Galactus considers himself a higher being than all non-abstracts and maintains his existence by devouring planets that have the potential for supporting life. In so doing, he has consumed countless worlds, resulting in the elimination of entire extra-terrestrial civilizations.

As a living force of nature set between the conceptual entities Eternity and Death, Galactus' true form cannot be perceived by most beings, and so each species perceives Galactus in a form they can comprehend, usually in a form similar to that of their own species. However, he has consciously appeared as a humanoid star at certain occasions. Galactus also requires his armor to help regulate internal energies. As Galactus must continuously feed to sustain himself, his power levels are inconsistent throughout any given period. For this reason, Earth's heroes have been able to achieve various degrees of success in repelling, or defeating, a starving, weakened Galactus. A starving, weakened Galactus has shown susceptibility to the Images of Ikonn spell, which forces him to recall all of the beings he has destroyed as a result of his feeding.

As the oldest known living entity in the universe, Galactus employs science that the most brilliant minds on Earth cannot begin to grasp. Examples include the Ultimate Nullifier, and the solar system-sized Taa II. Reed Richards once speculated that Taa II—the Möbius strip-shaped, solar system sized home of Galactus—was the greatest source of energy in the universe.

Galactus has appointed a number of beings to act as his Herald, with each bestowed with a small fraction of the Power Cosmic. .Galactus is somewhat similar to the giant alien robot Kronos featured in film)Kronos.Kronos (Ravager of Planets) is a 1957 black and white science fiction film directed by Kurt Neumann, a 1957 science fiction film otherwise known as Kronos,Destroyer of the Universe,in abilities absorb energy from planets.It's a good possability,this where Stan Lee and Jack Kirby got the idea of an alien absorbing energy from the earth or other worlds.Galactus-Devourer of Worlds and Destroyers of Worlds is just to close to Kronos (Ravager of Planets)or Kronos, Destroyer of the Universe to just be co-incidence.

Earth X
In the limited series Earth X, Galactus is one of the three essential entities in the universe keeping the cosmic entities the Celestials in check. By destroying planets - actually "eggs" of the Celestials - Galactus prevents the Celestials from overpopulating the universe. Franklin Richards eventually adopts the identity of Galactus.

Exiles
An alternate universe version of Galactus appears in the title Exiles, and restores rather than destroys worlds.

Heroes Reborn
Galactus features in the second volume of Fantastic Four, appearing in the pocket universe created by Franklin Richards (after the events of the Onslaught saga). This version of the character has several Heralds simultaneously and all are worshipped by the Inhumans.

Manga Universe
The title New Mangaverse depicts Galactus appears as a gigantic, planet-sized life-form, complete with a single massive eye and tentacles to drain the life from planets. It is covered in various life-forms (referred to as "Galactus Spores") which aid its digestive process.

Marvel Zombies
The limited series Marvel Zombies focuses on the Earth-2149 universe, which is infected by a virus that turns sentient beings into flesh-eating zombies. The Silver Surfer is caught and devoured by "zombified" versions of Earth's heroes, who consume the Silver Surfer, and use advanced technology, to wound and eventually defeat Galactus. The zombies gain a portion of the power cosmic as they devour Galactus.

MC2
The MC2 imprint title Last Planet Standing features a future version of Galactus with a new Herald called Dominas.

Ultimate Galactus


Under the Ultimate Marvel imprint three limited series, Ultimate Nightmare; Ultimate Secret and Ultimate Extinction were published, dealing with the introduction and eventual threat of the entity Gah Lak Tus. First mentioned by the robot Ultimate Vision, Gah Lak Tus is revealed to be a group mind of city-sized robotic drones that attack worlds via envoys similar to the Silver Surfer, followed by a flesh eating virus. Written by WARREN ELLIS Penciled by BRANDON PETERSON Cover by BRANDON PETERSON It's time for the coming of Gah Lak Tus! And his arrival could mean the end of all life on this planet! Not even the power of S.H.I.E.L.D or the brilliance of Fantastic Four leader Reed Richards seems able to stop its inexorable march to Earth. What role do ..

Television
Galactus appears in one episode of the 1967 version of The Fantastic Four, voiced by Ted Cassidy; the 1994 version of The Fantastic Four, voiced by Tony Jay and the Silver Surfer cartoon series, voiced by James Blendick.

Film
The character features in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, based upon the character's debut and his Ultimate incarnation. The official novelization of the film names the character as "the Gah Lak Tus".

20th Century Fox's rationale for having the character as a cloud was to keep him discreet. Visual effects studio Weta Digital convinced Fox to add physical hints of the comic book incarnation, such as a shadow and the fiery mass within the cloud resembling Galactus' signature helmet. Director Tim Story claimed he made Galactus a cloud so that the future Silver Surfer spin-off film would have a chance to be unique and introduce the character as he normally appears. J. Michael Straczynski, the spin-off's writer, confirmed Galactus is in his script and that "You don't want to sort of blow out something that big and massive for one quick shot in the first movie."

Video games

 * Galactus appears in the Silver Surfer NES game (1990); Marvel: Ultimate Alliance voiced by Gregg Berger (2006) and Spider-Man: Web of Shadows (2008).

Toys

 * Toy Biz released a figure of Galactus in 1995 as part of their Fantastic Four line.
 * Toy Biz also released a figure as part of the Silver Surfer line.
 * In 2005, Toy Biz also produced Galactus as the first "build-a-figure" in the Marvel Legends line-up.
 * Galactus has appeared twice in the Heroclix CMG.
 * Galactus appears in the Vs System TCG.