Marvel Finally Got Galactus Right
He’s not evil. He’s just hungry.
One of the most striking things about The Fantastic Four: First Steps is that the movie’s big bad isn’t actually evil. Instead, the massive space god known as Galactus is gripped by an insatiable hunger for entire planets. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Galactus in live-action, but it is the first time we’ve seen a version of him that perfectly represents the comic book character. In the 2007 film Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, for example, Galactus was represented as a large energy cloud, rather than his classic helmeted self.
Now, in First Steps, we get a version of Galactus that would do creators Jack Kirby and Stan Lee proud. The movie even hints at his original comic book origin, and how it’s all tied to young Franklin’s powers. Here’s how Galactus is explained in First Steps and why his motivations could lead to a Marvel multiverse consolidation. Spoilers ahead.
What is Galactus’ Origin Story?
Galactus appeared on the cover of Fantastic Four #49 in 1966.
In First Steps, Galactus tells the Fantastic Four that he was “once like you,” meaning that he had a mortal body, and was a wee bit smaller. So what happened? Well, Galactus has been in Marvel lore since The Fantastic Four #48 in 1966, and his origin story has pretty much remained the same. Originally an explorer named Galan from the planet Taa, he existed in a version of the multiverse that was around before the Big Bang. Essentially, Kirby and Lee asserted that the universe is cyclical; Galan was part of the Sixth Cosmos, while the current Marvel multiverse is the Seventh Cosmos.
Before the Sixth Cosmos was destroyed, Galan merged with the Sentience — an embodiment of the entire Sixth Cosmos — which allowed them to survive into the Seventh Cosmos and be reborn as Galactus the Devourer of Worlds. Galactus doesn’t want to feed on worlds because he’s evil, but because he’s cursed.
Why does Galactus want baby Franklin?
The head of Galactus in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Across Marvel lore, Franklin Richards' powers range from the ability to warp reality to controlling the cosmos itself. In First Steps, Galactus suggests that Franklin has the “power cosmic,” which means Galactus thinks that Franklin has a similar power to his own. Like a genie cursed to live inside a lamp, Galactus is looking for someone to free him, and thinks Franklin’s powers could do that.
If Galactus is correct, and Franklin has a connection to the basic sentience of the current MCU multiverse, the seeds to a massive timeline reset could be within Franklin. Marvel boss Kevin Feige has recently indicated that after 2027 and Avengers: Secret Wars, Marvel movies will conclude the sprawling multiverse saga and condense down to a “singular timeline.”
Because Galactus predates the existing multiverse and Franklin might be able to control reality, we might be seeing the MCU move toward the reconciliation of various realities. The Fantastic Four may have pushed Galactus through a massive portal, but some reckoning for this version of the multiverse is coming.
