The MCU finally introduced the cosmic supervillain Galactus, one of the strongest entities in the Marvel universe, in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The film also delved somewhat into how Galactus came into existence. Comic-accurate in most respects, the movie gave a brief explanation of Galactus that resembled his origin in the comics.
How did Galactus get so huge in The Fantastic Four: First Steps?
In The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Galactus’s story was revealed through a conversation. The MCU’s Galactus states that he was a mortal at one point. He came from another universe around 14 billion years ago. However, he came into possession of the Power Cosmic, which gave him an insatiable hunger. This hunger led him to devour planets to satisfy it.
By devouring planets, he accumulated massive cosmic energy, which slowly changed his form into the huge Devourer of Worlds. He eventually arrived at a planet called Zenn-La, where a scientist, Shalla-Bal, offered her services as his scout to save her planet. Galactus transformed Shalla-Bal into the Silver Surfer and used her to locate and consume more planets.
Galactus also offered to spare planet Earth in exchange for Sue’s baby, Franklin, who could take his place as the consumer of planets.
His origin story is quite similar to the one in Marvel comics. Even in the comic Marvel universe, Galactus was once a mortal named Galan. He gained his powers by passing near a star. This origin was later altered by writer Mark Gruenwald. In that version, Galan existed before the Big Bang. He turned into Galactus when he merged with the Sentience of the Universe.
Either way, since then, he has consumed planets to survive. The film did not delve very deeply into Galactus’s origin. But if Galactus returns in the future, Marvel may reveal more about him and how he became the Devourer of Worlds in that universe.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is now playing in theaters.
