Galactus

Real Name
Galan

Occupation
Planet Destroyer

Citizenship
The planet Taa in the previous universe

Place of Birth
(Galan) Taa; (Galactus) the Cosmic Egg

Known Relatives
Unnamed parents from previous universe; Death and Eternity have been described as his figurative brother and father

Group Affiliation
Served by a series of heralds; occasional member of Cosmic Tribunal

Education
Billions of years of cosmic experience

Height
28'9" (variable)

Weight
18.2 tons (variable)

Eyes
Unknown (seen by many humanoids as a black background with a white figure similar to three sides of a square); originally brown

Hair
Unknown (seen by many humanoids as black)

Powers
Galactus possesses cosmic power beyond most forms of measurement (The Power Cosmic). He can levitate; restructure molecules; convert matter into energy and vice-versa; project energy with enormous concussive force; teleport himself, others, and objects across space, dimensions, and time; erect virtually impenetrable fields; restore others from any injury, even total disintegration; and endow or enhance powers within others. Even his heralds, imbued with the smallest fraction of his power, can manipulate matter and energy far beyond human comprehension. Though he generally avoids physical conflict, Galactus can bolster his own strength beyond any known system of measure. Galactus is telepathic, able to scan the thoughts of virtually any known being.

To sustain his immense power, Galactus requires energies derived from a biosphere, a planet able to sustain living beings, though life does not actually have to be present. Though Galactus can extract and absorb this energy himself, he generally employs his immense Elemental Converter to perform the process, as it is far more efficient and avoids the expenditure required of him. Sometimes the planets on which he feeds are left barely habitable; other times he consumes all life and water, leaving it devastated and barren; most often the process reduces the planet to space rubble. When Galactus was newly formed, the energy of a medium-size Earth-like planet sustained him for over a century. Now he needs to feed about once a month; in addition, when preparing for a massive expenditure of energy, he may absorb planets more frequently to amplify his power stores. Conversely, when he does not feed within his allotted time, his energies will dwindle, and he will even begin to physically shrink as they drop dangerously low. His body totally converts the energies he absorbs for his life functions and activities without any waste products.

Though seemingly destroyed on several occasions, Galactus is always restored to full power eventually. In addition, despite being a physical being, Galactus can adopt a manifestation (M-Body) from the Dimension of Manifestations in order to commune with abstract beings, such as Death and Eternity.

Abilities
Galactus has scientific knowledge beyond human understanding.

Other Info
Billions of years ago, Galactus was born as a humanoid named Galan on the planet Taa. However, his universe was in its final stages, with all matter plunging towards a central point via the "Big Crunch," collapsing into a new "Cosmic Egg" (a sphere of disorganized, compact primordial matter). Galan, a space explorer, discovered a radiation-plague threatening all of Taa. Despite the efforts of Taa's greatest scientists, no cure could be found, and the population began to die off. Galan convinced the handful of remaining survivors to die gloriously by flying a starship into the blazing cosmic cauldron. The others were killed by the intense radiation, but Galan was filled with new energy and saved by the Phoenix Force of the dying universe. The sentient energy spoke to Galan as it brought him into the Cosmic Egg. (To learn of the places and force above, just click on their names. Note: Beware of the picture of Jean Grey in a form-fitting outfit on the Phoenix Force's bio page.)

Later on, when the Big Bang occured, Galan was the sole survivor of the universe. And then one day, the Cosmic Egg matter exploded, eventually condensing into stars and planets. Galan then launched his ship back into space and ejected his lifeless companions into space. He then created a suit of armor to harness and regulate his awesome energies, and transformed his ship into an incubation chamber, where he spent countless centuries evolving into his current form. (This chamber is shown in the fourth picture posted.) Eventually his craft fell into orbit around a verdant planet, Archeopia. The advanced natives scanned the craft, detected its awesome energies, and wisely left it undisturbed. (To learn about the above planet, click on its name above.)

Years later, when interstellar war spread into that space sector, the Archeopians' unidentified enemies mistook the incubation chamber for a weapon and fired upon it. Emerging unscathed, Galan (now adopting the name Galactus) swiftly slaughtered invader and defender alike and then consumed the life-energies of Archeopia (the first of many worlds that would perish for his hunger); only a small fleet of Archeopians managed to escape. Surveying the destruction he had wrought, Galactus decided to create a world to outshine any other in existence. Though it took millennia, including breaks to replenish his energies, Galactus completed "Taa II" (an immense ship engulfing the entire Archeopian system) and made it his new home.

At first, Galactus went centuries between consuming planets, seeking out uninhabited worlds that could support life; however, he gradually hungered more frequently, and began consuming inhabited worlds if he could find no others. He rationalized these actions by deeming himself a higher being. In addition, he eventually encountered Eternity and Death, and the three beings hypothesized that Galactus represented a balancing force between the two opposites. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn more about them.)

Lonely, Galactus created a being in his own image known as Tyrant. However, while Galactus was content to survive, Tyrant craved conquest. Eventually, Tyrant battled Galactus, but Galactus was triumphant and he banished Tyrant to parts unknown. Since then, Galactus has used many mindless servants, chief among which are the Punishers (possibly living beings enslaved or created by Galactus and though they are under 5 feet tall, the Punishers are immensely strong, durable, and fast, and they can auto-repair and adapt to counter threats).(To learn of the different creations of Galactus, click on their seperate names above.)

Eventually, the world-devourer realized it was more efficient to send a herald to seek out worlds for him. Here is a list of the many heralds Galactus has used over his life: Air-Walker, Dazzler, Destroyer, Fallen One, Firelord, Human Torch, Morg, Nova, Red Shift, Silver Surfer, Stardust, and Terrax. Of these heralds, some rebelled against him, some he released willing, and some were heralds multiple times. (To learn more about these different heralds of Galactus, just click on any of their names. Note: Beware of a form-fitting/revealing outfit on the Dazzler's bio page.)

One time, the Silver Surfer led Galactus to Earth. However, Alicia Masters reached the Surfer's long-submerged emotions, convincing him to turn against his master. On Earth, Galactus had easily overpowered the Fantastic Four, but the Surfer's power delayed Galactus' meal long enough for Reed Richards to present Galactus with his first defeat using the Ultimate Nullifier. (Click on the above characters, team, and item above to learn about them.)

Soon after, Galactus sensed abundant energy sources within the enigmatic Black Galaxy, but Galactus was distracted when Dr. Doom usurped the Silver Surfer's power and crashed into Galactus' barrier. Sensing this disturbance, Galactus scanned Doom and found him beneath his notice; therefore, he sent Doom back to Latveria. (Click on the above highlighted names to learn more about the places and character.)

Later on, during another attack by Galactus, Reed Richards altered Galactus' ship controls. The resulting consequence sent Galactus into the Negative Zone, relieving the Silver Surfer of his service to Galactus. (To learn about the Negative Zone, click on the name above.)

It is interesting to note that even though the Fantastic Four seem to fight against Galactus many times, there has been times where the Fantastic Four have called upon Galactus' help in saving the Earth and in other problems. And there have been even times where Galactus has willing come to the rescue of the Fantastic Four. (Seems like a very strong love/hate relationship.)

Other famous characters/team who have gone up against Galactus include Dr. Strange, Thanos, and the Avengers. (To learn about the above characters and team, just click on their names. Note: Beware of a couple form-fitting outfits on pictures on the Avengers' bio page.)

At one point, Galactus was assaulted by the Elders of the Universe, who sought to destroy him and the universe, and to be reborn in the next universe as Galactus had been. The Silver Surfer and Nova helped Galactus defeat their plots, which included some battles and a trip into a black hole. However, they were victorious. (To learn about the Elders, click on their name above.)

There was a time where Galactus' hunger grew greater than ever, driving him mad with desire to consume sentient life. Galactus devoured world after world until a union of Earth's heroes and the armies of several races, including the Kree and Shi'ar, mounted an offensive against him. Ultimately, the Silver Surfer turned Galactus' own ship against him, and it consumed his form, dispersing him into inert energy. During his absence, one of Galactus' old enemies, Abraxas, now left without anyone to hold him in check, threatened to destroy a number of realities, including Earth-616 (mainstream Earth's timeline). However, Franklin Richards and Marvel Girl (the future Valeria Richards) combined their reality-altering powers to re-form Galactus, who then directed the Ultimate Nullifier's destruction of Abraxas, restoring the universes. (To learn about the above characters, races, or timeline, click on their names above.)

Later on, a group of survivors of Galactus' destruction discovered a means to shield worlds from him; however, they learned that a power on Earth could overcome this technology: the Invisible Woman. Zius led the survivors to Earth to prevent Galactus from obtaining the Invisible Woman. However, Reed Richards switched the powers of the Invisible Woman with theHuman Torch , deceiving Zius into believing he had neutralized her power. But, Galactus arrived almost immediately after and claimed Johnny as his new herald, amplifying Johnny's powers via the power cosmic. While pretending to fulfill his mission, Johnny sought to rally other worlds against Galactus, ultimately delaying him until the Fantastic Four and Quasar could arrive to help. Johnny's new powers allowed him to analyze Galactus' nature, and he instructed Reed and Quasar to form a device that temporarily transformed Galactus back to the powerless Galan. (Galactus as Galan is shown in the third picture posted above. Also, if you would like to learn more about the characters above, just click on their highlighted names.)

Galan was brought to Manhattan while Reed Richards' raced to find an alternate energy source for him, Galan was impressed with humanity's indomitable will and constant struggle against hardship, and he chose to exile himself extra-dimensionally rather than risk destroying it all when his power returned. However, after his power returned, Galan returned to his old ways and returned to being Galacus.

Beyond good and evil, forced to destroy entire worlds to survive, Galactus is intimately tied to the nature of the universe. He believes it is his destiny to ultimately give back to the universe much more than he has taken.

Although Galactus is usually represented in humanoid form, each sentient being perceives him having a form resembling that of their own race; therefore, humans see him as humanoid, Skrulls as Skrullian, etc. (To learn about the Skrull race, click on their highlighted name above.)

For much more information about Galactus, click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Galactus.