With the Fantastic Four inevitably headed towards the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the next few years, fans are already debating over which villains should appear in the new franchise, though there are a few characters that might be looking for cinematic justice.
Galactus has somewhat appeared on the big screen before, but the MCU has a unique opportunity if Galactus is featured in a Fantastic Four adaptation, as much like Thanos helped introduce his Black Order, Galactus could bring along a few characters as well. So today we’ll be exploring a few Galactus-related characters that could make an appearance in the MCU alongside him.
THE FALLEN ONE
Galactus uses beings he empowers with the Power Cosmic to become his Herald and search out suitable planets that would satisfy the hunger he constantly suffers, and he has chosen quite a few Heralds over the years.
Unfortunately, his very first attempt at making a Herald went terribly wrong with The Fallen One, who controlled Black Matter the way the other Heralds’ controlled Power Cosmic, though he relished the death and destruction his role brought him and sought eternal revenge on Galactus for dismissing him as his Herald.
SILVER SURFER
The most well-known Herald of Galactus is without a doubt the Sky-Rider of the Spaceways, Norrin Radd/Silver Surfer who was Galactus second, and some would say most triumphant attempt at making a Herald.
However, Silver Surfer’s own nobility was reawakened after finding Earth and meeting the Fantastic Four (and Alicia Masters), forcing him to turn on his former master. Silver Surfer’s story was previously explored in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer but suffered from the absence of a proper Galactus.
TERRAX
After deciding his previous Herald’s had all failed because of their own morality, Galactus then chose one that wouldn’t be burdened with their mission of destruction, so he settled on the despotic ruler Tyros as his new Herald.
Tyros already had the mutated ability to control earth and stone, which was amplified exponentially by Galactus’ Power Cosmic, and he became Terrax the Tamer. Terrax used a powerful cosmic axe to become one of Galactus’ most powerful Heralds, though he soon also turned on his master.
NOVA
Frankie Raye was the girlfriend of Johnny Storm/Human Torch when she discovered she could also burst into flame as a result of accidental exposure to chemicals by her stepfather, Phineas Horton, who invented the first robotic Human Torch.
When Galactus was forced to Earth to deal with his rebelling Herald Terrax, he threatened to consume the planet until Frankie volunteered to become his new Herald, and she became Nova after gaining the Power Cosmic.
AIR-WALKER
Gabriel the Air-Walker first appeared on Earth as an armored angel with fiery wings, however, he was soon revealed as the latest Herald of Galactus that was chosen after Silver Surfer broke away from his former master.
Air-Walker wielded the cosmic-powered Bow of Gabriel that was capable of terraforming worlds to make them more suitable for Galactus. When Air-Walker died in service to Galactus, he created a robotic duplicate that contained the consciousness of Air-Walker, though it lacked his personality.
FIRELORD
Like Gabriel before him, Firelord was a Xandarian who tracked down his former leader after he had been taken by Galactus and transformed into the Air-Walker, though he bartered his own freedom to learn about his friend and was transformed himself.
Firelord didn’t serve with Galactus as his herald for long after he was replaced by the mindless Asgardian Destroyer armor, but he retains most of his abilities and continues to play a part in most cosmic events.
MORG
Largely considered as one of Galactus’ worst and most bloodthirsty heralds, Morg was a former executioner who used his powerful double-edged battle-axe to focus his share of the Power Cosmic that was granted to him by Galactus.
Morg’s threat as a Herald became so great that Silver Surfer assembled a few of his fellow former Heralds to deal with Morg, who was so powerful he was able to defeat their combined forces, though he was later killed by yet another creation of Galactus.
STARDUST
Stardust is an ethereal being made of energy who became Galactus’ Herald and developed a devout loyalty to her master that drove her to take her role even further by attempting to eradicate all survivors from the planets Galactus had consumed.
This brought the fanatical Stardust into conflict with survivors like Beta Ray Bill, whose own people had been displaced by Galactus years before. Stardust is also basically immortal as she can reconstitute her energy form if destroyed.
AEGIS & TENEBROUS
While we’ve covered quite a few of Galactus’ heralds that could be easily introduced alongside the Devourer of Worlds, there are other incredibly powerful beings in the Marvel Universe known as Proemial Gods that have encountered Galactus a few times.
Cosmic siblings Aegis and Tenebrous each controlled a specific type of cosmic energy before being corrupted by another cosmic brother, forcing Galactus to imprison them for centuries before they escaped and Galactus was again forced to engage with the powerful beings.
ETERNITY
Of course, when speaking about powerful abstract entities of the Marvel Universe that have frequently appeared when dealing with Galactus, we have to bring up Eternity, Marvel’s personification of the entirety of the universe.
Every living being and planet and star and particle of space stuff resides within Eternity, and Galactus could be the small step that helps introduce the more abstract cosmic elements of the Marvel Universe onto the big screen.
