Editing Galactus (section)

==Publication history==
Created by writer-editor [[Stan Lee]] and artist-coplotter [[Jack Kirby]], the character [[First appearance|debuted]] in ''[[Fantastic Four (comic book)|The Fantastic Four]]'' #48 ([[cover date]]d March 1966, the first of a three-issue story later known as "[[The Galactus Trilogy]]").<ref name="TR">Thomas, Roy, ''Stan Lee's Amazing Marvel Universe'' (Sterling Publishing, New York, 2006), "Moment 29: The Galactus Trilogy", pp. 112–115. {{ISBN|1-4027-4225-8}}; {{ISBN|978-1-4027-4225-5}}</ref><ref name="kirbycollector1">{{Cite journal|last = Hatfield|first = Charles|title = The Galactus Trilogy: An Appreciation|journal = The Collected Jack Kirby Collector|volume = 1|page = 211|date = February 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Rovin |first=Jeff |title=[[The Encyclopedia of Super-Villains]] |date=1987 |publisher=Facts on File |isbn=0-8160-1356-X |location=New York |pages=135–136 |authorlink=Jeff Rovin}}[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofsu0000rovi_h5r9/page/134/mode/2up]</ref>

===Origin===
{{Main|The Galactus Trilogy}}
In 1966, nearly five years after launching [[Marvel Comics]]' flagship [[superhero]] title, ''Fantastic Four'', creators [[Stan Lee]] and [[Jack Kirby]] collaborated on an antagonist designed to break the [[supervillain]] mold of the tyrant with god-like stature and power.<ref name="kirbycollector1"/> As Lee recalled in 1993,

{{Blockquote|Galactus was simply another in a long line of super-villains whom we loved creating. ...[W]e felt the only way to top ourselves was to come up with an evil-doer who had almost godlike powers. Therefore, the natural choice was sort of a demi-god, but now what would we do with him? We didn't want to use the tired old cliche about him wanting to conquer the world. There were enough would-be world conquerors in the Marvel Universe and in all the other comic book galaxies. That was when inspiration struck. Why not have him not be a really evil person? After all, a demi-god should be beyond mere good and evil. He'd just be (don't laugh!) hungry. And the nourishment he'd require is the life force and energy from living planets!<ref>Lee, Stan. "Introduction" (second page, unnumbered) 1993, ''Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four Vol. 5''<!--as spelled in copyright indicia--> (Marvel Publishing: second edition, second printing, 2007) {{ISBN|978-0-7851-1184-9}}</ref>}}

Kirby described his biblical inspirations for Galactus and an accompanying character, an angelic herald Lee called the [[Silver Surfer]]:

{{Blockquote|My inspirations were the fact that I had to make sales and come up with characters that were no longer stereotypes. In other words, I couldn't depend on gangsters. I had to get something new. For some reason, I went to the Bible and I came up with Galactus. And there I was in front of this tremendous figure, who I knew very well because I've always felt him. I certainly couldn't treat him in the same way I could any ordinary mortal. And I remember in my first story, I had to back away from him to resolve that story. The Silver Surfer is, of course, the fallen angel. When Galactus relegated him to Earth, he stayed on Earth, and that was the beginning of his adventures. They were figures that had never been used before in comics. They were above mythic figures. And of course they were the first gods.<ref>{{cite video|people = Viola, Ken|title = The Masters of Comic Book Art|medium = VHS|publisher = Viola, Ken|location = USA|date = 1987}}</ref>}}

Kirby elaborated, "Galactus in actuality is a sort of god. He is beyond reproach, beyond anyone's opinion. In a way he is kind of a Zeus, who fathered Hercules. He is his own legend, and of course, he and the Silver Surfer are sort of modern legends, and they are designed that way."<ref>Christensen, William A., and Mark Seifert. [http://www.reocities.com/brenni_au/JackKirby.html "The King"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101007232709/http://www.reocities.com/brenni_au/JackKirby.html|date=7 October 2010}}, ''[[Wizard (magazine)|Wizard]]'' #36, August 1994, via Brenni_Au/JackKirby (fan site).</ref>

Writer [[Mike Conroy (writer)|Mike Conroy]] expanded on Lee and Kirby's explanations: "In five short years from the launch of the ''Fantastic Four'', the Lee/Kirby duo ... had introduced a whole host of alien races or their representatives ... there were the [[Skrull]]s, the [[Watcher (comics)|Watcher]] and the [[Stranger (Marvel Comics)|Stranger]], all of whom Lee and Kirby used in the foundations of the universe they were constructing, one where all things were possible but only if they did not flout the 'natural laws' of this cosmology. In the nascent Marvel Universe, characters acted consistently, whatever comic they were appearing in. Their actions reverberated through every title. It was pure soap opera but on a cosmic scale, and Galactus epitomized its epic sweep."<ref>Conroy, Mike. ''500 Comicbook Villains'', Collins & Brown, 2004.</ref>

This led to the introduction of Galactus in ''Fantastic Four'' #48–50 (March–May 1966), which fans began calling "[[The Galactus Trilogy]]".<ref name="TR"/><ref name="kirbycollector1"/><ref>{{Cite book|last=Fein|first=Eric|title=The Creation of the Fantastic Four|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|year=2006|isbn=978-1-4042-0765-3|page=48}}</ref><ref>[[Roy Thomas|Thomas, Roy]]. ''Stan Lee's Amazing Marvel Universe'' ([[Sterling Publishing]]: New York City, 2006), p. 113. {{ISBN|1-4027-4225-8}}; {{ISBN|978-1-4027-4225-5}}</ref><ref>[[Stan Lee|Lee, Stan]], in Thomas, ''Stan Lee's Amazing Marvel Universe'', audio commentary #37</ref> Kirby did not intend Galactus to reappear, to preserve the character's awe-inspiring presence.<ref name=kirbycollector2>{{Cite journal|last = Alexander|first = Mark|title = Galactus, Pillager of the Planets! Kirby's First Demi-god|journal = Jack Kirby Collector|date = December 1998}} Reprinted in {{cite book|author-link=TwoMorrows Publishing|editor-first=John|editor-last=Morrow|title=The Collected Jack Kirby Collected Volume 5|year=2006|publisher=[[TwoMorrows Publishing]]|location=[[Raleigh, North Carolina]]|isbn=978-1-893905-57-3}}</ref> Fan popularity, however, prompted Lee to ask Kirby for Galactus' reappearance,<ref name=kirbycollector2/> and the character became a mainstay of the Marvel Universe.

===1960s===
To preserve the character's mystique, his next two appearances were nonspeaking [[cameo appearance|cameos]] in ''[[Thor (Marvel Comics)|Thor]]'' #134 (November 1966), and ''[[Daredevil (Marvel Comics series)|Daredevil]]'' #37 (February 1968), respectively. Numerous requests from fans prompted the character to be featured heavily in ''Fantastic Four'' #72–77 (March–August 1968).<ref name="kirbycollector2"/><ref>[http://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/effect/2012/06/19/a-failure-to-communicate-part-two A Failure to Communicate, Part 2], Jack Kirby Museum, 19 June 2012 (accessed 14 February 2015)</ref> After a flashback appearance in ''Silver Surfer'' #1 (August 1968), the character returned to Earth in ''Thor'' #160–162 (January–March 1969). Galactus' origin was eventually revealed in ''Thor'' #168–169 (September–October 1969).

===1970s and 1980s===
The character made appearances in ''Fantastic Four'' #120–123 (March–June 1972) and ''Thor'' #225–228 (July–October 1974). These two storylines introduced two new heralds for Galactus. Galactus also featured in ''Fantastic Four'' #172–175 (July–October 1976) and 208–213 (July–December 1979).

[[Stan Lee]] and [[Jack Kirby]] reunited for the origin of the Silver Surfer and Galactus in the one-shot [[graphic novel]] ''The Silver Surfer: The Ultimate Cosmic Experience!'' in 1978. This [[Marvel Fireside Books|Marvel Fireside Book]], published by [[Simon & Schuster]], was an out-of-continuity retelling of the origin story without the Fantastic Four.

The full Lee-and-Kirby origin story was reprinted in the [[One-shot (comics)|one-shot]] ''Super-Villain Classics'' #1: ''Galactus – The Origin'' (May 1983), inked by [[Vince Colletta]] and [[George Klein (comics)|George Klein]], lettered by [[Jack Morelli|John Morelli]] and colored by Andy Yanchus. While nearly identical to the previous origin, this story featured supplemental material, edits, and deletions by writer [[Mark Gruenwald]], pencillers [[John Byrne (comics)|John Byrne]] and [[Ron Wilson (comics)|Ron Wilson]] and inker [[Jack Abel]]. Rather than traveling into a dying star, the character enters the [[Cosmic egg|core of the collapsing universe]] before the [[Big Bang]]; the story was later reprinted as ''Origin of Galactus'' #1 (February 1996).

The character guest-starred in ''[[Rom the Space Knight|Rom]]'' #26–27 (January–February 1982). Galactus featured in two related storylines in ''Fantastic Four'' #242–244 (May–July 1982) and later #257 (August 1983), in which writer-artist [[John Byrne (comics)|John Byrne]] introduced the conceit of Galactus feeling remorse for his actions, and the weight of his genocides. In the issue, [[Death (Marvel Comics)|Death]] assures Galactus of his role and purpose as one of shepherd and weeder in guiding the universe to its proper purpose, and Galactus remains resolute. Byrne further elaborated on this concept in ''[[Fantastic Four]]'' #262 (January 1984), which sparked controversy. At the end of the story, [[Eternity (Marvel Comics)|Eternity]], an abstract entity in the Marvel Universe, appears to validate the existence of Galactus as necessary for the natural order and essential to prevent an even more catastrophic fate; [[Howard University]] professor of literature Marc Singer criticized this, accusing the writer-artist of using the character to "justify planetary-scale genocide."<ref>Singer, Marc. [http://www.whiterose.org/howlingcurmudgeons/archives/005911.html "Byrne's Fantastic Four, or Optimism"] Howling Curmudgeons (fan site), 18 May 2004. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110112075706/http://www.whiterose.org/howlingcurmudgeons/archives/005911.html WebCitation archive].</ref> Byrne and Stan Lee also collaborated on a one-shot Silver Surfer story (June 1982) in which Galactus returned to Zenn-La after the Surfer's rebellion and drained it of energy after allowing the populace to flee.

Writer-penciller [[John Byrne (comics)|John Byrne]] and inker [[Terry Austin (comics)|Terry Austin]] produced "The Last Galactus Story" as a serial in the anthology comic-magazine ''[[Epic Illustrated]]'' #26–34 (October 1984 – February 1986). Nine of a scheduled 10 installments appeared. Each was six pages with the exception of the eighth installment (12 pages). The magazine was cancelled with issue #34, leaving the last chapter unpublished and the story unfinished; however, Byrne later published the conclusion on his website.<ref name="byrnerobotics.com">[[John Byrne (comics)|Byrne, John]], [http://www.byrnerobotics.com/FAQ/listing.asp?ID=3&T1=Questions+about+Aborted+Storylines#57 "Exception to the rule #1: 'The Last Galactus Story'"], "Frequently Asked Questions – Questions about Aborted Storylines", Byrne Robotics, 15 February 2005. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110222183511/http://www.byrnerobotics.com/FAQ/listing.asp?ID=3&T1=Questions+about+Aborted+Storylines WebCitation archive].</ref> Galactus played a pivotal role in the [[Limited series (comics)|limited series]] ''[[Secret Wars]]'' #1–12 (May 1984 – April 1985), and became a recurring character in ''Silver Surfer'' (vol. 3) (beginning with issue #1 (July 1987)).

Stan Lee and artist [[John Buscema]] also produced the 64-page hardcover graphic novel ''Silver Surfer: Judgment Day'' (October 1988), in which Galactus clashes with the demonic entity [[Mephisto (Marvel Comics)|Mephisto]].

===1990s===
Galactus was featured in the miniseries ''[[The Infinity Gauntlet]]'' #1–6 (July&nbsp;–December 1991), ''[[The Infinity War]]'' #1–6 (June&nbsp;–November 1992) and ''Cosmic Powers'' #1–6 (March&nbsp;–August 1994). The character starred in the six-issue miniseries ''Galactus the Devourer'' (September 1999&nbsp;–March 2000), written by [[Louise Simonson]] and illustrated by John Buscema, which climaxed with Galactus' death. Simonson originally conceived that the [[story arc]] would occur in ''Silver Surfer'' (vol. 3), but the title was cancelled due to dwindling sales. She proposed a separate limited series, and at the time was initially doubtful that Marvel would approve what she considered a "radical" idea concerning "why the very existence of the universe depends on the health and well-being of Galactus."<ref>[http://marvelite.prohosting.com/surfer/galactus/interview1.html "Questions & Answers With Writer Louise Simonson: Part 1: In The Beginning..."], Galactus: The Devourer (fan site), n.d. Retrieved 14 April 2008. [https://web.archive.org/web/20101216060826/http://marvelite.prohosting.com/surfer/galactus/interview1.html WebCitation archive].</ref>

===2000s===
The consequences of Galactus' death are explored in the issues ''Fantastic Four Annual 2001'' and ''Fantastic Four'' (vol. 3) #46–49 (October 2001 – January 2002) written by [[Jeph Loeb]] and culminate in Galactus' revival, bringing resolution to Simonson's cliffhanger from the ''Devourer'' story arc. The character features in the first six issues of the limited series ''[[Thanos]]'' (December 2003 – May 2004), written by [[Jim Starlin]]. Issues #7–12 (June–November 2004), written by [[Keith Giffen]], introduce the [[Annihilation (comics)#Annihilation: Silver Surfer|Fallen One]], who is retroactively presented as Galactus' first herald.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/king-thanos-god-of-thunder-silver-surfer/|title=Thanos Introduces Marvel's Future God of Thunder|date=1 March 2018|website=CBR}}</ref>

Galactus' origin is re-examined in ''Fantastic Four'' #520–523 (October 2004 – April 2005), in which the character is temporarily reverted to his mortal form. After appearing in the limited series ''Stormbreaker: The Saga of Beta Ray Bill'' #1–6 (March–August 2005) Galactus was a central character in the "[[Annihilation (comics)|Annihilation]]" storyline, appearing in the limited series ''[[Annihilation (comics)#Annihilation: Silver Surfer|Annihilation: Silver Surfer]]'' #1–4 (June–September 2006), ''Annihilation'' #1–6 (October 2006 – March 2007) and the [[epilogue]], ''[[Annihilation (comics)#Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus|Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus]]'' #1–2 (February–April 2007).

Galactus was an antagonist in ''Fantastic Four'' #545–546 (June–July 2007), where he tried to devour fellow cosmic function [[Epoch (Marvel Comics)|Epoch]]. In ''[[Nova (Richard Rider)|Nova]]'' (vol. 4) #13–15 (May–July 2008), the character had no dialogue. Author [[Andy Lanning]] said that he and co-writer [[Dan Abnett]] were "treating Galactus like a force of nature; an inevitable, planetary catastrophe that there is no reasoning with, no bargaining with and no escaping."<ref>Rogers, Vaneta. [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=153225 "Galactus, and Surfer and Skrulls – Oh My! Abnett & Lanning on Nova"], ''[[Newsarama]]'', 10 April 2008 [https://archive.today/20101222004808/http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=153225 WebCitation archive].</ref> Galactus also appeared in the limited series ''Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter'' #1–3 (June–August 2009), a sequel to ''Stormbreaker: The Saga of Beta Ray Bill'' #1–6.

===2010s===
Galactus and the Silver Surfer appeared as antagonists in both ''[[Skaar (character)|Skaar: Son of Hulk]]'' #7–12 (March 1, 2009 – August 1, 2009) and ''[[Hiro-Kala|Son of Hulk]]'' #13–17  (September 1, 2009 – January 2010), and as protagonists in the miniseries ''[[The Thanos Imperative]]'' #1–6 (June–November 2010). Galactus was a member of the God Squad in the miniseries ''[[Chaos War]]'' #2–5 (December 2010 – March 2011). After an appearance in ''Fantastic Four'' #583–587 (November 2010 – March 2011), the character returned to Earth in ''Silver Surfer'' (vol. 6) #1–5 (January–May 2011) and was the antagonist in ''The Mighty Thor'' #1–6 (April–September 2011). Galactus played a supporting role in the storyline "Forever" featured in ''Fantastic Four'' #600–604 (November 2011 – March 2012) and ''FF'' #16 (March 2012) by Johnathan Hickman, where Hickman introduced the concept of a shared destiny between Galactus and [[Franklin Richards (character)|Franklin Richards]]. Writer [[Mark Waid]] would subsequently develop this concept further (see below).

The character played a central role as antagonist in ''[[Cataclysm (comics)|Hunger]]'' #1–4 (2013), in which the mainstream Galactus of the primary Marvel continuity merges with his counterpart from the [[Ultimate Marvel]] publication imprint, [[Galactus#Ultimate Marvel|Gah Lak Tus]]. Writer [[Joshua Hale Fialkov]] commented that his intent was to use Galactus as a means to place the characters from the Ultimate Marvel imprint into a completely unexpected crisis: "What I hope comes across is the sense of wonder that's being brought into the Ultimate Universe...with the smart, modern tone [[Brian Michael Bendis|Brian]] has established."<ref name="hunger">{{cite web|url= https://www.cbr.com/bendis-fialkov-grow-ultimate-hunger/|title= Bendis & Fialkov Grow Ultimate "Hunger"|author= Kiel Phegley|date= 20 June 2013|publisher= CBR|access-date=18 March 2019}}</ref>

Following his appearance in ''Hunger'', Galactus was a major supporting character in ''The [[Ultimates (2015 team)|Ultimates]]'' (vol. 3) #1–6 (January–June 2016), where writer [[Al Ewing]] fundamentally changed the nature of Galactus' character. During the events of the story, Galactus is transformed into "the Lifebringer", a being who is compelled to infuse dead planets with life-sustaining energies, thus altering the character's primary motive for the first time since Galactus' debut in 1966. Elaborating on what inspired the change, Ewing explained "What inspired it—a mixture of wanting someone big on or allied with the team—originally, we thought about Odin, but he's a bit busy—and my usual preoccupations with atonement, redemption, growth and change. So what can [Galactus] do now? Well, whereas before he was taking in vast amounts of energy, now he's putting out vast amounts of energy—pure life energy. He always said he was going to give back more than he took out of the universe—now he's making good on that, one dead world at a time."<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.cbr.com/ewings-ultimates-transform-galactus-travel-outside-the-known-marvel-universe/|title= Ewing's "Ultimates" Transform Galactus, Travel "Outside" the Known Marvel Universe|author= Dave Richards|date= 5 January 2016|publisher= CBR|access-date=18 March 2019}}</ref> The themes of redemption and change were received well by columnist Mark Peters, who described Ewing's work on ''Ultimates'' as "one of the best Galactus stories ever."<ref>{{cite magazine|url= https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/07/why-arent-you-reading-the-ultimates-by-al-ewing-ke.html|title= Why Aren't You Reading The Ultimates by Al Ewing & Kenneth Rocafort?|author= Mark Peters|date= 20 July 2016|magazine= Paste|access-date=18 March 2019}}</ref>

Galactus featured prominently in a direct sequel series to ''The Ultimates'' (vol. 3) #1–6 titled ''The Ultimates 2'' (vol. 2) #1–10 (November 2016 – August 2017) which focused on the Lifebringer Galactus as the de facto leader of the Ultimates. Galactus in his Lifebringer persona made his final appearance in ''Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur'' #26–30 (December 2017 – April 2018) before being reverted to his "Devourer of Worlds" persona by writer Gerry Dugan in ''[[Infinity Countdown]]'' #4 (June 2018).

Set at the end of the primary Marvel continuity, the miniseries ''History of the Marvel Universe'' #1–6 (July 2019 – December 2019) by Mark Waid depicted Galactus as the in-story narrator. The story features Galactus recounting all the major events that have occurred in Marvel continuity to Franklin Richards as the universe experiences its final moments. Confirming the series as occurring within the primary Marvel continuity, Waid elaborated that "[t]here is a framing device, yes. We wanted it to be a story, not just a long Wikipedia entry. As established in [[Jonathan Hickman]]'s ''Fantastic Four'' run, there comes a point when Galactus and Franklin Richards stand together at the end of time, and now we get to see exactly what they were doing there."<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.newsarama.com/46074-mark-waid-on-the-history-of-the-marvel-universe.html|title= MARK WAID Becomes a Proverbial Watcher with THE HISTORY OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE|author= Chris Arrant & George Marston|date= 17 July 2019|work= Newsarama|access-date=29 January 2020}}</ref>

===2020s===
Galactus was killed by Thor during the "Herald of Thunder" story arc in ''[[Thor (Marvel Comics)|Thor]]'' (vol. 6) #1–6 (March–August 2020). Galactus reappeared after a two-year hiatus in ''[[Fantastic Four (comic book)|Fantastic Four]]'' (vol. 6) #45 (July 2022)—the final issue of the event "[[Reckoning War]]"—where he is resurrected by his former [[Galactus#Heralds|heralds]].