Villain Profile: Galactus

He's really got a thing for purple

Ever since the Theory of the Big Bang was first proposed a question that has followed it, “If there was a beginning, will there be an ending?” A lesser question that follows a similar line of thought, “If there was a beginning, what happened before this universe?” There is one comic book character I know of that gives us a possible answer to what happens when a Universe dies. Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds.

Like most fictional characters, Galactus’ origins were humble. He was born on the planet Taa, a peaceful world that existed in the Universe prior to our own. At the time he was known as Galan, an explorer. Things were fine on Taa, it was basically a utopia. But, like most utopia’s chaos was about to befall the world. A cosmic event known as the Big Crunch began, gradually destroying all life in his universe. For those who don’t know the theory, the Big Crunch is based on the idea that at some point the Universe is going to hit a maximum size. At that point, the universe will follow a basic rule of nature, what goes up must come down. The Universe collapses in on itself, returning to the super dense, super-hot ball of matter that it once was. Realizing that they were beyond screwed, Galan proposed a literal blaze of glory ending to the survivors of Taa. They all got on a space ship and drove right into the heart of the dying Universe. As best they could approximate it.

Unassuming little man, ain't he?
Hard to believe he will be Galactus

For everyone else, their story ended. For Galan, it has just began. Galan fused with the primordial energies of the Universe and was…transformed. He spent the next few billion years gestating, finally awakening to find an entirely new Universe around him. Upon awakening Galan was overcome with an immense hunger. He consumed a nearby world, sating his hunger for a time. Filled with a new power over the Universe, Galan constructed a colossal ship he named Taa II. Thus Galactus, and his unending hunger, was born.

Clarification, he doesn’t eat the planet in the traditional sense. You don’t see giant bite marks or anything. Instead, he absorbs the energies from planets. Originally, Galactus tired his best to only devour worlds that were uninhabited but as his hunger grew, he was forced to eat populated worlds. He employs one or more ‘Heralds’ to search for suitable worlds for Galactus to eat. He didn’t originally LIKE to do this, but over the eons he developed a ‘higher organism’ complex. “Other beings exists to feed my hunger,” sort of mindset.

Galactus’ power is known as the Power Cosmic. It’s a cosmic energy that can pretty much do whatever Galactus wants it to do. Transform matter, bending time and space, reviving the dead, and of course, destroy things. Why he can’t use a portion of that power to ensure the planets he devours can eventually live again to be devoured a new, I’ll never know. He can infuse an organism with a portion of this power, transforming them into one of his Heralds. Also, Galactus appears to us as an enormous armored human with a weird head gear. This is in fact an illusion, Galactus is a being of pure energy with no real corporeal form. He appears to be a colossal version of whatever creature looks at him. To humans he looks humans, to Skrull he looks Skrullian, etcetera.

It's a really, really big head.

Galactus appears in a number of Marvel works. He usually battles the Fantastic Four, but he has battled just about every hero on Earth. Being a metaphorical God of Destruction will do that. I’ve seen two versions of this character, Talking Galactus and Silent Galactus. Talking Galactus appears most often. When he speaks it’s with the grandeur and pompous nature you’d expect from a cosmic organism. A lot of speeches about how he’s inevitable and a force of nature tend to follow. This is the most common version of Galactus. As seen on just about every Fantastic Four or Avenger’s based TV or Game.

Silent Galactus is exactly what it sounds like, he no speakie. And, when you think about it, this seems more fitting. Galactus is a cosmic organism, more powerful then we can ever imagine, and as such would you think he’d waste time talking to creatures he believes are so far below him. Do you talk to the bacteria in a cow’s intestines before its slaughtered and turned into steak? No, that’d be silly. I’ve only ever seen this version in Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and it’s my favorite version of the purple Devourer. Shocking, right?

A version of Galactus appeared in Fantastic Four 2. This version was awful, don’t look into it, save yourself some time. Galactus is portrayed as a death cloud of black smoke, seen for only a few minutes, his end is anticlimactic, and makes no sense.

I like Galactus mostly because he really isn’t a villain. He’s a cosmic entity, a force of nature equivalent to a Galactic Tornado. He sometimes helps people if it suits him, he sometimes hinders people, and mostly just ignores those he deems unworthy. And, much like Apocalypse, you never really stop him, you just stall him for a little while longer. He’s terrifying, he’s destructive, he is Galactus. Next time, Thor, the Prince of Thunder.

Galactus, the oldest, most powerful, and, ultimately, the loneliest being in the universe.

 http://marvel.wikia.com/Galactus_%28Earth-616%29

 http://marvel.wikia.com/Galan_%28Earth-0%29

http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles-7/superman-silver-age-vs-galactus-376254/
http://marvel.wikia.com/Galactus