<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Galactus is an alien being of incredible power, a fictional comic book character owned by Marvel Comics and created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. He first appeared in Fantastic Four #48 (March, 1966), and has been a recurring character, usually portrayed as an awesome threat, pitting himself against the Fantastic Four and other cosmic players in the Marvel Comics Universe. He is a universe-wide predatory life form who has an almost limitless hunger for "biospheric energy", which he sates by consuming entire planets.

Galactus is the sole survivor of a previously existing (now long gone) universe. In trying to save his own universe, he penetrated something called the Cosmic Egg, the primal sphere of disorganized, dense, compact matter of the universe. This experience changed him fundamentally, and plunged him into the Big Bang that began our universe. For eons, Galactus incubated and developed, until disturbed by an attacking space armada from the planet Archeopia. The awaking Galactus not only destroyed the armada but absorbed the energy of the planet of its origin. Here, he recognized that this fed a primal hunger of his, and has spent time ever since on a never-ending search for planets to sate his hunger.

Since transforming Norrin Radd into the Silver Surfer, Galactus has taken on a number of “heralds” to help him scour the universe for planets capable of meeting his needs. Other heralds have included Air-Walker, Firelord, Terrax, and Nova (Frankie Raye).

His first encounter with Earth as a possible food source was the subject of the famous “Galactus Trilogy” which ran through Fantastic Four #s 48-50. Galactus is said to be a cosmic predator, whose action are no more to be characterized as “good” or “evil” than a hungry lion preying upon an antelope. There is some suggestion that he is part of a kind of cosmic food chain, meant to reduce the universe’s number of planets, like hunters keeping the deer population in check.

Galactus possesses cosmic power beyond human measure. When he imparts even a small part of his limitless power to one of his heralds, that being gains amazing abilities; like molecular and matter manipulation, energy emission and manipulation far beyond human comprehension. And yet, these beings are like drops in the ocean of Galactus’ power. Galactus must wear a suit of extraterrestrial armor just to keep his energy under his control. For this reason, he appears as a giant armored humanoid.

Galactus consumes planets with a biosphere, which means that they either have life or the potential for it. Though he is able to extract the energy from the planet himself, he generally uses an array of technological devices to help make the conversion more efficient. For the same reason, he employs his own giant starship to travel, always seeking to conserve his precious energy. It seems he must feed on a new world about once a month, and, when he does, he consumes all the biospheric energy, leaving the world a lifeless husk.