Fantastic Four Unveils Jaw-Dropping Galactus Redesign
Nicolas Ayala is a Senior Writer for the Comics team at ScreenRant, with over five years of experience writing about Superhero media, action movies, and TV shows.
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Marvel's new Galactus design is the best change to the Fantastic Four's biggest enemy since his comic book debut. Besides his immense power, Galactus is a unique Marvel antagonist because he represents the impartial cruelty of the universe, with no feelings of malice toward the civilizations he destroys. Galactus consumes entire planets simply to satisfy his agonizing hunger and provide equilibrium to the universe. His lack of emotion makes negotiation impossible, and his command over the Power Cosmic allows him to manipulate matter, create some of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Universe, and alter the way he's perceived by the populations he decimates.
Galactus' original appearance is a perfect summary of Jack Kirby's emblematic art style, but Marvel has dared to reimagine the Devourer of Worlds multiple times throughout the years. For example, Marvel's original Ultimate Universe strips away Galactus' giant humanoid appearance and reimagined him as "Gah Lak Tus," a planet-sized swarm of sentient drones that use flesh-eating viruses to wipe out life before consumption. The Marvel Mangaverse delivers an equally bizarre interpretation, with a Galactus that appears as a floating robotic eye surrounded by a fleet of planet-destroying starships. Galactus' movie debut followed suit when Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer depicted him as a space cloud.
Although Galactus' square-horned helmet and intricately-patterned armor is among the most iconic villain silhouettes in Marvel lore, he isn't locked to his purple-and-blue look.
Midnight Fantastic Four's Galactus Reveals His Appearance
Midnight Fantastic Four #1; Written By Benjamin Percy; Art By Kev Walker
Midnight Fantastic Four presents a version of the titular team that couldn't be further from being Marvel's First Family, gathered together only because Reed Richards' wild ideas provide an invaluable opportunity for scientific discovery, and logically, profit as well. The Midnight Universe's Fantastic Four are fated to become their classic selves' more grotesque counterparts, but before that happens, Galactus' first appearance in the Midnight reality already confirms his physical changes. This Galactus looks like an eldritch creature made of dark purple flesh, with glowing orange eyes, organic horns, and no mouth.
Promotional material for Midnight Fantastic Four has teased Galactus as a radiant entity composed entirely of pure light. This shimmering cosmic form might be another form that the Cthulhu-like deity shown at the end of issue #1 can access. In both forms, Galactus ditches his classic armor and his anthropomorphic anatomy, which makes him more of an abstract force of nature than usual. Described as a god by Sue Storm, Midnight Galactus might be able to switch between a tangible creature the size of a planet and an intangible spirit that infiltrates the planets he attacks.
The Midnight Universe Gives Galactus The Opportunity To Reclaim His Ominous Presence
Galactus Can Become A Terrifying Antagonist Once Again
After countless Marvel continuities turned the Devourer of Worlds into a villain that heroes and villains have to surpass or defeat in order to establish their power, the Midnight Universe can reset Galactus to his original status. Midnight Fantastic Four #1 introduces its Galactus at the center of a dark timeline that removes him from the bloated power hierarchy of Marvel's other timelines and suggests he'll be restored to his rightful place as the ultimate inescapable nightmare of the cosmos. If only a few select characters can distinguish his presence, Midnight Galactus may be impossible to stop through direct means.
The Midnight Universe uses a Lovecraftian aesthetic and what appears to be light-based powers to re-establish Galactus' authority in his new arrival. This new Cthulhu-like mass creature inhabits the Negative Zone, which may be what allows it to become living energy. If the Midnight Fantastic Four can't defeat Midnight Galactus the same way they usually do in most other timelines, then Marvel's new Galactus may end up becoming the main threat to the whole Midnight Universe, and rightly so.
Do you like Galactus' new design?
Midnight Fantastic Four #1 is available now from Marvel Comics
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