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Summary
When it comes to power in the Marvel Universe , it does n’t get much more impressive thanGalactus- a gigantic energy being who consumes entire worlds to satiate his never - cease hungriness . However , as godlike as Galactus is , he ’s not totally unknowable , and over the years , Marvel has reveal a issue of cosmic truths about his function in the universe and his larger ' species . ' .
One such reveal comes in 2010’sGalacta : girl of Galactus , by Adam Warren and Hector Sevilla Lujan . Thestory follows Galactus ' girl , who it ’s give away life on Earth , having assert to only feast on non - native beingness . In recitation , this means she hunts down exotic invaders , consuming them to keep herself alive on a cosmic starvation diet . However , that changes when she developsa"tapeworm cosmic"- a parasitical energy being which siphon off her energy , making her athirst and more dangerous than ever .
However , the comic ends with the reveal that Galacta ’s verbal description of the ' cestode ' is n’t quite right -Galactus explains that the leechlike wave form is really how their ' species ' reproduces , and that Galacta herself was once a similar energy leech which manifested within his own wavelength . The horrifying , insect - similar creature that lover have see throughout the issue is n’t a parasite that feed on Galactus ' mintage - it ’s their larval form .
After yr of treating 1 scoundrel like an well-to-do - to - beat jape , Marvel Comics finally made its premier ' big defective ' terrifying again ( just like his debut ) .
Galactus ' parasite material body is n’t new - moderately much everywhere but the mainstream comics , Marvel has select to limn Galactus as some variety of cosmic insect .
Galactus Reproduces in the Freakiest Way Possible
His ‘Species’ Start Out as “Cosmic Tapeworms”
WhileGalactais of questionable canon in the Marvel Universe ( though her recentinclusion in the gameMarvel Rivalshas kick in her more prominence than ever before ) , the idea of Galactus procreate via self-generated push parasites makes sense given the way he moves through the universe , feasting on populated satellite . Indeed , in everything fromFantastic Four : Rise of the Silver Surferto alternate realities likeTimeslip , the Marvel Mangaverse , the Ultimate Universe , and the Cancerverse , Galactus is redesigned as on the dot the variety of insectoid parasite that Galacta finds herself ' pregnant ' with .
However , while many different strip have imagined Galactus as a hirudinean - corresponding threat to world , the truth in Marvel ’s principal continuity is even stranger -the Devourer of Worlds does n’t have a ' real ' coming into court , with each species see him in a dissimilar room .
The Marvel Universe is full of powerful god - like beings , and now the hierarchy of power has changed with the introduction of a new god .
Galactus is n’t really a gargantuan man in purple armour - that ’s just how humans see him , with different species assure their own forms .
Galactus' Appearance Changes According to Who Can See Him
However, the Devourer of Worlds' Helmet IS Real
Galactus is a being of thoroughgoing energy , and thus has no actual ' appearance ' other than blaze out light . The giant purple human that fans know isjust how human race see Galactus , since his cosmic mien exists on a level beyond literal inclusion .
Every species sees Galactus as something conversant , with various comics ( most magnificently John Byrne and Glynis Wein’sFantastic Four # 262 ) confirming that he has a entirely different visual aspect in the eyes of different metal money . This even cover to animals , withThe UnbeatableSquirrel Girl # 4(from Ryan North , Erica Henderson and Chris Giarrusso ) confirming that to squirrels , Galactus appear as a giant squirrel , though still in his traditional armor . This make believe sense , given that unlike his ' human ' form , Galactus ' armordoesexist in some real fashion .
Galactus ' power is so utmost that he really has to tamp down his cosmic significance , withGalactus : The Origin(by Stan Lee , Jack Kirby , Vince Coletta , and George Klein ) confirming thathe created his iconic helmetin decree to suppress his full power . While the ' true ' form of his armour is confutative ( since the reader is only seeing the rendering of Galactus they can comprehend),the Devourer of Worldsdoeswear some kind of armour to assist him rein in his godlike Power Cosmic .
wonder ’s Avengers Beyond introduces a newfangled god , the Lost One , who do Galactus and all the other cosmic beings look weak , let in the Beyonders .
Every cycle of creation has its own Devourer , with Galactus being the 6th in the lineage - precede by Omnimax and What - Must - Be , and destine to be followed by the Fantastic Four ’s Franklin Richards .
Galactus Doesn’t Technically Have a ‘Species,’ But He Also Isn’t the First
Omnimax and What-Must-Be Reveal Galactus' Lineage
While Galactus does n’t really have a larger ' specie , ' he is a ' case ' of being rather than a truly unique cosmic entity . Over the years , Marvel has revealed that Galactus does n’t just live to destroy . He ’s actually storing energy which - come the end of the current version of the cosmos - will be used to kickstart the next cycle of creation . presently , Marvel exists in its Eighth Cosmos , with the recentDefendersfrom Al Ewing and Javier Rodriguez revealing much of what came before .
Marvel ’s multiverse is always evolve , andit all start with the First Cosmos- a simple , archetypical world where a prosperous hero of creative activity and fateful dragon of demolition were interlock in combat . When that Cosmos end , a fresh one was birth , and on and on , with each adding something raw to the nature of reality , including skill , magic , and plurality ( the existence of multiple universe within a wider multiverse . )
Like most cosmic concepts in Marvel Lore , each Cosmos has a sensation , andthey band together as the Ultimate Ultimateswhen the hertz of creation face a big enough threat .
Each Devourer of Worlds is created by meld with the kick the bucket sum of the Cosmos in which they exist as a mortal . In Galactus ' event , heused to be the scientist Galan of Taa , becoming the modish Devourer of Worlds after merging with the sentience of the dying Sixth Cosmos . Of of course , this suggests there had been five prior Devourers , and buff have encounter several of them .
Galactus ' mother Taiaa just learn the truth about her son becoming the Devourer of Worlds , and has a surprise reaction to the shocking revelation
Before Galactus , the Devourer of the Sixth Cosmos was Omnimax- formerly the sorcerer Moridun . Marvel ’s first Sorcerer Supreme , Moridun was born in the Fifth Cosmos , which was the cycle of instauration which brought magic trick into existence . Even earlier was What - Must - Be / What - Can - Be - a atrocious being from the Fourth Cosmos ( a human beings of potent archetypes rather than actual individuals ) , which oscillate between a destroyer and healer personality .
Galactus is vital to the cycle of creation - if his major power is ever steal by the Cthulhu - esque One - Below - All , then all of reality will for good grind to a arrest .
Galactus may just be thelatestDevourer , but there are still ways in which he ’s unparalleled . One agency in which this is unfeigned is that he retains far more of his humans than anterior Devourers . It was revealed inDefenders # 2(Ewing and Rodriguez ) that this is because theSilver Surfer encountered a young Galanwhile travel through clock time , using the Power Cosmic to make certain that Galactus always retains some likeness of human ethics . This has allow Galactus to be reasoned with on many occasions , but it also meanshe live with some sense of the suffering and death he causes .
Mark Waid and Javier Rodríguez’sHistory of the Marvel Universeconfirmed that Franklin Richards(the Word of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman ) is destined to become the Devourer of the Ninth Cosmos , taking Galactus ' place in the cosmic order . However , Al Ewing and Joe Bennett’sImmortal Hulkrevealed a possible timeline where the Hulk ( possessed by the hellish being the One - Below - All ) drink down Franklin and demand the major power for himself , corrupting the role and ending the cycle of origination incessantly . This express how lively Galactus in reality is - if he does n’t do his ' job , ' then all of reality will end for upright .
Marvel ’s current Eighth Cosmos is an exact transcript of the Seventh , due to the events of 2015’sSecret Wars , where the cosmos was destroy and then recreated . This makes Galactus the first Devourer to hold the role over two different Cosmos rhythm .
Even the mighty Galactus , Devourer of Worlds and master of the Power Cosmic , venerate one specific Marvel villain who could erase him with a opinion .
Galactus is so sinewy , an entire cosmic coinage has germinate to act as as a ' consistence ' for him when he wants to manifest on the physical sheet .
Galactus Was Designed as ‘God,’ But Got More Complex
The Devourer of Worlds Is Part of a Cosmic Ecosystem
Of naturally , even an vertex predator exists in an ecosystem , and over the years Galactus ' position in the cosmos has been expanded and clarified . Notably , Galactus serves to protect his domicile reality from multiversal threats -predators like Abraxas and Hungerare retain at bay by Galactus fend guard at the walls of reality . The Ultimate Ultimates helped to excuse the large Hz of each cosmos ' Devourer , while the introduction of the Black Winter confirmed that Galactus ' reincarnation was n’t as simple as it seemed , and thereareforces which can alter or preclude the birth of each new Devourer .
There are also symbiotic species like the Manifestations - a cosmic exotic species which create ' M - Bodies ' for eminent lifeforms like Galactus , basically play as a body for them to inhabit on the physical realm when they need to take a unmediated manus in cosmic affairs . The existence of this mintage - revealed in Mark Gruenwald and Greg Capullo’sQuasar # 37- revealedhow potently alien Galactus actually is . Not only does he lack a true strong-arm body , but an full species has evolved to serve the need for him to manifest , feed off his extra Power Cosmic in the process .
The One Below All is Marvel ’s ultimate force of evil , and now the Hulk has uncovered his cosmic origin , redefine Marvel lore .
As Galactus ' co - creator Jack Kirby stated in many interview ( and as noted byThe Jack Kirby Museum),Galactus was conceived as the Marvel Universe ’s take on an omnipotent , untellable God- something that was more of a natural , cosmic process than a villain . However , superhero strip never kibosh building on a good thought , and while Galactus retains much of his reverence - revolutionize position , today he ’s a far more complex entity who may seem divine to humans , but can be interpret as one part of a necessary process going back to the daybreak of creation .
It ’s easy for Galactus ' victims to see him as a parasite - indeed , even Galacta herself made that assumption about her own mintage - but ultimatelyGalactusis both necessary and unknowable , embodying the infinite mystery that makes the Marvel Universe so unique .
Source : The Jack Kirby Museum
