Who the Clix? Galactus

Posted November 27th, 2020 by Joe Pangrazio


Who the Clix? is a series of articles featuring information on comic book characters that have been made into figures for the popular tabletop game Heroclix. These articles are meant to help Heroclix players learn more about the characters behind their favorite pieces.

For the full Who The Clix? archive, click here. To support us on Patreon, click here.

Appearances in Heroclix: Wizkids Marvel, Galactic Guardians, Avengers, Critical Mass
First Appearance: Fantastic Four #48
Team Affiliantions: Ultimates
Created by: Jack Kirby and Stan Lee 

Artwork and character is copyright/trademark Marvel; used under Fair Use

In the pre-Big Bang Universe, on the planet of Taa lives a scientist and explorer by the name of Galan. Galan and his people discover a cosmic event that is slowly destroying their universe. To try and escape it, Galan, his wife and a friend attempt to escape in a specially design spacecraft. Unfortunatley, the craft is not enough and the ship is trapped in the Big Crunch. During the Big Crunch, the ship and Galan become a cosmic egg the gestates, bonding with a portion of the sentience of the universe. The egg remains gestating even after the Big Bang for billions of year until Galactus emerges. A Watcher is there as Galactus' rebirth and feels his immense hunger but cannot interfere. Galactus is starving upon his rebirth and consumes the nearest planet, Archeopia, before constructing his grand ship that also serves as his adoptive “home world,” the Taa ll.

A group of “Proemial Gods” that form during the early days of the universe squabble among themselves and attract Galactus' attention. A group of them try to remake the young universe in their own image, leading Galactus to defeat them and imprison them in the Kyln.

After devouring planets for untold centuries upon centuries, Galactus realizes that imparting a small portion of his power to a herald can save him energy and require him to feed less often. His first herald, Tyrant, attempts to rebel against his master and is considered an abysmal failure. He empowers a second herald, the Fallen One, but rejects that herald after he proves too violent. Years later, Galactus approaches the planet of Zenn-La and is moved by the self-sacrifice of Norrin Radd. Radd offers to become Galactus' herald if the cosmic destroyer will spare his home world. Galactus accepts and the Silver Surfer is born.

The Surfer serves Galactus loyally for years before leading him to the planet Earth. As Galactus arrives, the Watcher assists the Fantastic Four in the discovery of the Ultimate Nullifier and the heroes are able to reason with Silver Surfer's humanity and turn him against his master. Galactus admits defeat and swears to never try to consume the Earth again but not before trapping his former herald to remain on the planet for his betrayal.

Galactus eventually returns and attempts to regain the Surfer's service. The Surfer refuses and goes on to aid the Fantastic Four in defeating Galactus' new herald the Air-Walker. In order to help Galactus, and hopefully spare billions of lives, Mr. Fantastic programs Taa ll to be able to travel to the Negative Zone. He explains that the Negative Zone is full of hundreds if not thousands of uninhabited worlds that can provide sustenance without leading to the genocide of races. Galactus again returns to Earth after his new herald, Firelord, travels there to seek aid in being freed of his service. Thor offers Galactus the Destroyer Armor, an empty vessel that can be animated with the Power Cosmic, to act as his new herald. Galactus accepts this and frees Firelord.

Galactus battles the High Evolutionary while trying to devour Counter-Earth. He is eventually contacted by the Fantastic Four and offered a bargain. He will be free to return to the Earth if he will help them defeat the Sphinx. Galactus agrees if they can convince a being named Tyros to act as his new herald. The team agrees and Tyros becomes Galactus' new herald, taking the name Terrax the Tamer. Together they travel to Egypt and vanquish the Sphinx quickly. Galactus is about to begin feeding when Mr. Fantastic threatens Galactus with a (fake) Ultimate Nullifier. Unable to see through Reed's deception thanks to the Watcher, Galactus leaves the Earth alone again.

Some time later, Terrax travels inside a black hole to hide from his master. Unable to find his herald, Galactus empowers the mutant Dazzler as a temporary herald. She is able to find and defeat Terrax before delivering him back to the devourer. Her mission done, she demands Galactus return her to Earth and he does. Rom tries to wipe out the Dire Wraiths by fooling Galactus into devouring the Black Nebula, their home. However, the Dark Sun proves strong enough to hold Galactus at bay. Terrax continues to refuse to lead Galactus to new planet, leading to Galactus growing weaker without feeding. Galactus follows his rebellious herald to Earth before stripping the alien of his powers but still remaining near death. The Fantastic Four and Avengers join together to save Galactus' life as Galactus finds a new herald on Earth: Nova. Soon after this, Galactus devours the Skrull home world.

The Shi'ar later put Mr. Fantastic on trial for saving Galactus' life and allowing him to continue to rampage through the universe. Eternity intervenes during the trial and allows all the beings present to achieve cosmic awareness, showing them how Galactus is a necessary part of the cosmic order. This leads to Mr. Fantastic's acquittal and release. During the original Secret Wars, Galactus attempts to consume Battleworld in hopes that the Beyonder would free him of his eternal hunger. This plan is ultimately foiled by Doctor Doom, leaving Galactus to continue devouring planets. The Silver Surfer aids Galactus in his battle against the Elders of the Universe and the In-Betweener and in return, Galactus frees Surfer and Nova from Mephisto's realm. Galactus is among those cosmic entities that battle the mad Eternal Thanos after he gains the Infinity Gauntlet.

Galactus goes through several heralds after this, including new Heralds Morg and Red Shift as well as a return by Tyrant. Red Shift and Galactus, together, decide that Galactus should only feed on the energy of living beings which brings him into conflict with all the sentient races of the universe and the heroes of Earth even more than before. This leads to a massive confrontation with the ancient one near the Shi'ar home world where the Silver Surfer is able to turn Galactus' own machines against him. This starves Galactus and results in him collapsing into a new star. This victory is short lived, however, as Galactus' death releases Abraxas, a powerful being of pure destruction and counterpart to Eternity. Abraxax ravages the multiverse, killing alternate universe versions of Galactus again and again until the Richards' children Franklin and Valeria nearly burn out their powers to resurrect Galactus. Galactus gives Reed the Ultimate Nullifer and shows him how to reset reality and prevent Abraxas from ever escaping in the first place.

After eons of feeding, Galactus is stricken by how many lives he has ended in his own search for sustenance. He attempts to feed on the Infinity Gems but this inadvertently releases the Hunger, which feeds on entire galaxies as a time. Thanos and Galactus are able to defeat the Hunger together in a massive confrontation. An alien race develops a technology that makes planets invisible to Galactus and this leads the cosmic being to enlist Johnny Storm, who temporarily has the invisibility powers of his sister, as his herald. The Fantastic Four, alongside Quasar, free the Torch and transform Galactus back into his humanoid Galan form. Galan and Reed work together to discover an energy-rich alternate dimension where Galan can be exiled. Therefore, even if he becomes Galactus again, he will feed on the free flowing energy without endangering planets.

Galactus returns and gains a new herald, Stardust, that leads him to the Korbinite home world which he soon devours. Annihilus attacks the Kyln after declaring war on the universe and frees the gods that Galactus imprisoned there eons ago. Galactus frees Stardust and re-enlists Silver Surfer, hoping his old herald can prove more helpful against these foes. This does not work out, however, as the ancient villains are able to defeat both Galactus and the Surfer before delivering them to Annihilus who intends to use Galactus to destroy all life in the universe. Drax frees Galactus, however, and the great cosmic being destroys Annihilus before sending the Surfer after Aegis and Tenebrous, the ancient gods. Surfer is able to draw them into the barrier between the Negative Zone and universe, which tears them apart.

Beta Ray Bill seeks vengeance for the death of the Korbinite world from Galactus and after temporarily calming the irate warrior, Galactus creates a female Korbinite as a peace offering. Galactus soon after consumes the warrior world of Sakaar. The Silver Surfer discovers the corpse of what he assumes is a future Galactus under New York City and summons Galactus to Earth to investigate. Reed Richards explains that a group of heroes from a distant future kill him and then escape to the present day. When Galactus discovers that these heroes live on Nu-Earth, he destroys it as punishment for his own future murder.

When the Cancerverse invades the universe via a tear in space-time caused by the Annihilation Wave, Galactus, the Celestials and the resurrected Tenebrous and Aegis join forces to battle it. They are ultimately successful in destroying the Galactus Engine which was built from the corpse of the Cancerverse's Galactus. During Chaos War, Hercules summons Galactus to Earth in order to battle the Chaos King. While the heroes battle the Chaos King's forces, Galactus and Amadeus Cho build a machine that can move the Earth to a sealed-off continuum but instead decide to use it to trap Chaos King in that dimension as an endless prison.

Galactus encounters the High Evolutionary and decides that he must find a way to sate his hunger once and for all. To that end, he invades Asgard determined to retrieve an artifact that can achieve this and spare countless civilizations. Odin accuses Galactus of not wanting to be replaced in the next universe and the Silver Surfer intervenes to act as mediator. He agrees to remain on Earth to guard the artifact so long as Odin agrees that Galactus can have it once Asgard eventually goes through Ragnarok and ceases to be. Soon after, the Mad Celestials from Earth-4280 invade and Galactus is able to kill one before the others overpower him. Franklin Richards arrives and revives Galactus before the pair are able to destroy the remaining Celestials. After, Galactus and the young man have a conversation that brings great comfort to the destroyer: he will no longer have to witness the end of the universe alone, as Franklin will be there to watch it with him.

Galactus is later pulled through a tear in space-time to the Ultimate universe and finds his counterpart there: the hive mind Gah Lak Tus. The two entites merge into a more powerful being and travel to the Ultimate Earth with the intention of finally devouring it. The Ultimate heroes travel to Earth-616 to learn about Galactus and are able to concoct a plan to send Galactus to their Negative Zone where he will eventually starve because he is unable to feed on anti-matter. Galactus falls into a coma from hunger and is eventually found by the Eternals and Aarkus, who intend to use him in their war on the Kree.

Galactus eventually returns to the universe after encountering Squirrel Girl and is tricked into his original incubator by the Ultimates. Their plan is to leave Galactus incubating for billions of years again, sparing planets for the entire span of time. Instead, Galactus emerges in his final form, the Life Bringer. His first act in this new form is to restore the first planet he ever destroyed, Archeopia. Eternity enlists Galactus to save the Ultimates before informing the Life Bringer that he, Eternity, has been chained by some unknown power. During this time, Lord Chaos, Master Order and Molecule Man all wish that Galactus would become the World Destroyer again in order to bring balance to the universe. Galactus makes Anti-Man into a herald of life and sends to him reunite the Ultimates so that they can discover who Eternity's captor is. They eventually learn that it is actually the First Firmament, the first form of the cosmos. Lord Chaos and Master Order are able to successfully petition the Living Tribunal and bring Galactus to trial before it. Galactus is able to sway the Tribunal, convincing it that his old role is obsolete in the new Multiverse. An enraged Chaos and Order, empowered by the First Firmament, destroy the Living Tribunal and battle with Galactus. They soon decide to establish a new cosmic order over which they will rule and merge together with the In-Betweener to form Logos. Logos destroys several Celestials before transforming Galactus back into the Destroyer against his will. Anti-Man is able to reverse the process by sacrificing his life and the energy gifted to him by Life Bringer Galactus.

Some time later, the Surfer requests Galactus' aid in defeating the Ultron/Hank Pym creature by devouring a world. Galactus reluctantly agrees and finds that his hunger returns once he has finished consuming the world. The Surfer feels it is only right to again become Galactus' herald and tries to lead him to uninhabited planets.

Galactus is again drawn to Earth, this time by Doctor Doom who plans on using Galactus as an energy source. After being freed from Doom's trap, Galactus is banished to a mystical realm by an alien sorcerer. Galactus begins to consume magical energy and eventually even consumes Dormammum alongside other mystical entities. The power begins to drive Galactus mad, resulting in him changing reality at a whim. Doctor Strange, with the help of Eternity and a resurrected Living Tribunal is able to reverse the effect but it leaves Galactus injured.

Login

Quick Search

Seperate terms with "|" to search multiple terms

© 2024 ClixNexus - All Rights Reserved.