Galactus is one of the most terrifying Marvel villains in history. With his enormous stature and signature purple helmet, Galactus traverses the universe looking for planets to consume with the aid of one of his trusted heralds –  typically the Silver Surfer. He’s been part of some of the best Fantastic Four comics ever made because when Galactus is around, no one is safe. 

Even with his legacy, Galactus is generally portrayed as more of a force of nature than a malevolent entity at the end of the day. Consuming planets helps maintain a more balanced order in the universe, and in “Fantastic Four” #262 from writer/artist John Byrne, Reed Richards gets put on trial for sparing Galactus’ life. Richards is found innocent of any crimes because Galactus is a necessary yet destructive power that reality requires. In a sense, he’s cursed to end civilizations so that other places may prosper.

Of course, Galactus isn’t always presented as a sorrowful figure eating planets because he has to. He can still be downright vengeful when he wants to be, and there are certainly ample comic and film moments that show Galactus at his very worst. 

In “Thor” #169 from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Galactus recalls his origin to the God of Thunder, and to be honest, the whole thing kind of makes him sound like a jerk. He began life as Galan from the planet Taa, where disease is ravaging the population. It isn’t long until every resident of Taa is dead, but Galan proposes another solution — They should fly into the sun and die glorious deaths in flight. 

If you’re going to die anyway, a literal blaze of glory is as good as any other, we suppose. While everyone else aboard the craft does indeed die, something else happens to Galan. He becomes imbued with the Power Cosmic and transforms into Galactus, an entity so powerful that he requires the consumption of planets to sustain himself. Galan’s desire to fly into the Sun is what leads to Galactus, causing problems for countless worlds to come. 

Galactus gets help consuming planets by having a herald seek them out and warn the populace of his boss’ imminent arrival. At the beginning, this was Norrin Radd, aka the Silver Surfer, who was the subject of an underrated 1990s animated series with some “Star Trek” talent behind the scenes. But in “Silver Surfer” #48 from Jim Starlin, Ron Lim, and Ken Bruzenak, Silver Surfer learns a terrible truth of just how ruthless Galactus could be in his pursuit of a good meal.

After saving Earth from Galactus’ wrath, the Silver Surfer seeks him out once more to figure out why he never felt bad about sending so many worlds to their doom. Galactus reveals that he altered Norrin Radd’s soul so that he wouldn’t feel guilt — something that haunts the Silver Surfer immensely. In a way, this act could be seen as mercy, with Galactus wanting to spare Norrin Radd of a horrible truth. But it also shows what a toll being one of Galactus’ heralds can be, that something so drastic is required.

Maybe it’s not surprising to learn Galactus can be a bit of a sore loser. In “Fantastic Four” #50, written by Stan Lee with art from Jack Kirby, Silver Surfer betrays his boss to team up with the Fantastic Four to stop him from eating the planet. They’re ultimately successful, but Galactus doesn’t let Norrin Radd off the hook for his betrayal so easily. He strips the Silver Surfer of his Power Cosmic — which allows him to traverse the universe — so that he must remain on Earth. 

Norrin Radd may have come to like Earth, which is why he wanted to save it, but he technically hails from the planet Zenn-La. That’s where his beloved Shalla-Bal resides, but he’s cut off from her. It’s a particularly hurtful punishment, and even beyond Shalla-Bal, the Silver Surfer was simply a wanderer who wanted to see all that the universe had to offer. Perhaps that’s why he wants to see all of Earth before returning to the Fantastic Four. 

“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” fixes a mistake that’s been bothering Marvel fans for years. Namely, Galactus (Ralph Ineson) is finally a giant guy in space, whereas 2007’s “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” made the character a giant space cloud. It definitely feels at home in 2000s-era superhero movies where filmmakers were ashamed of the goofier aspects of the source material (like how the X-Men wear black leather instead of their more colorful outfits).

Fans naturally wanted to see a giant man with a purple helmet beginning to chow down on Earth, and if you look closely enough, you can kind of see Galactus within the cloud. The outline of his helmet is seen in one scene where the cloud is overtaking a planet, and when Silver Surfer (Doug Jones/Laurence Fishburne) confronts him, viewers can once again briefly see his helmet and face amongst the shadows. Still, it’s crumbs when we should’ve gotten the full meal years ago. At least the Marvel Cinematic Universe rectifies this disappointment. 

Galactus can technically get by with eating uninhabited worlds to satiate his hunger, which feels like a good middle ground to reach. However, the “Galactus the Devourer” series from Louise Simonson, Jon J. Muth, and Bill Sienkiewicz sees him become addicted to eating sentient life. The problem is that it never fully satisfies him, so he needs to perpetually eat more and more, going insane in the process, and he once again turns his sights on Earth.

Fortunately, the Silver Surfer, along with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, fend off the Devourer of Worlds as well as his new herald, Red Shift. With some extra help from the Shi’ar Empire, these heroes even manage to kill Galactus once and for all, but that only opens the doors for an even greater threat, Abraxas, to enter reality. If Galactus really wants to make sure the universe maintains harmony, he’d do well to keep his appetite in check. 

It would seem Galactus is also guilty of sloth sometimes, in addition to gluttony. While it isn’t canon, “What If…?” #15 from Roy Thomas, R.J.M. Lofficier, Greg Capullo, and Sam De La Rosa re-envisions the aforementioned “Fantastic Four” #262, where Reed Richards is put on trial for letting Galactus live. In this version, Galactus doesn’t show up to the trial with Eternity, a key Marvel character, to explain that while Galactus’ actions are horrific, he ultimately serves a greater purpose in protecting the universe from expanding too much. Without Galactus and Eternity speaking on his behalf, Reed is sentenced to death. 

Listen, no one likes getting a court summons. You have to take the day off work, and courthouses always have terrible parking. But it seems like the least Galactus can do is show up for a guy who literally spared his life. We can excuse the mass extermination of sentient life, but we draw the line at being too lazy to prevent one guy’s death.

[Cue “Community” meme: “You can excuse the mass extermination of sentient life?”]

Rom the Space Knight is an underrated Marvel hero who has his humanity removed and replaced with cybernetic parts to protect his world of Galador. Zak Penn was even working on a “Rom” movie at one point, but it didn’t pan out. Still, there are plenty of “Rom” storylines to pull from for a big-screen adaptation, including one dealing with Galactus. 

“Rom” #27 from Bill Mantlo, Sal Buscema, and Joe Sinnott sees Galactus show up at Galador looking for a snack. Rom agrees to be Galactus’ herald and leads him to a dark nebula that the latter can’t actually consume. As punishment for Rom’s treachery, Galactus moves Galador from where it was previously, meaning Rom can’t return home. Rom would eventually find Galador, but it would be a much darker place than he remembered it. It’s understandable that Galactus would be upset at Rom, but it’s a really great demonstration of just how petty the Devourer of Worlds can be. 

You could fill an entire list of the worst things Galactus has done with the countless planets he’s eaten. He’s wiped entire species off the map since that’s his whole M.O. However, few planets have had the same kind of ramifications as when he devoured the Skrull homeworld of Skrullos.

“Fantastic Four” #257, written and drawn by John Byrne, sees Galactus at a crossroads as to whether he should consume this planet or allow himself to die rather than wipe out another species. He picks the latter, but as comic book fans know all too well, this wasn’t the end of the Skrulls. In fact, Galactus destroying this planet has continued to have reverberations throughout the Marvel universe, as the Skrulls engaged in civil war following their planet’s destruction. Many made their way to Earth, leading to the “Secret Invasion” arc. 

When all is said and done, more probably die from the aftermath of Skrullos getting destroyed than when Galactus ate the planet. He may be a force of nature in many iterations, but Galactus’ actions definitely have consequences that the rest of the universe must deal with.

Galactus appears in the first arc of “Thor” Vol. 6 from Donny Cates and Nic Klein in one of his most devious forms to date. Galactus, along with his heralds, inform Thor of the arrival of Black Winter, an entity more powerful than Galactus with the ability to consume entire universes. The only one who can possibly hold off Black Winter is Galactus, and he must eat five planets to do so. Therefore, Thor helps evacuate those worlds so that Galactus can get the power he needs to fend off Black Winter, but Galactus isn’t telling the whole truth. He’s actually Black Winter’s herald to bring him into a new universe to consume. 

Thor winds up draining Galactus of all his power, but it really shows how wherever Galactus goes, death follows. He refuses to only eat uninhabited planets, and even when he dies or accumulates enough power, something worse ends up taking his place. He’s truly one of the most destructive forces in the Marvel universe, and it’d be wise going forward for characters not to trust what he has to say. 

The “Black Winter” arc isn’t the first time Thor has gotten into it with Galactus. 2011’s “The Mighty Thor” has a multi-issue arc written by Matt Fraction with art from Olivier Coipel, where Galactus goes to war with Asgard to acquire the Galactus Seed, which would allow the Devourer to plant the idea for the next iteration of the cosmos once the current one dies. Galactus fights Odin in epic fashion, and when all is said and done, the seed becomes lost to Galactus once more, as Loki hides it within the World Tree. 

All that war, all of that destruction. And for what? Galactus’ purpose may be to prepare this universe for the next one, but so much death and loss come from it. And in the end, Galactus doesn’t even get the seed. Stories like this really portray Galactus in a less sympathetic light; he may have a solemn duty to maintain order in the universe, but order and chaos are more closely linked than most would like to admit. 

Nu-World was meant to be a perfect replica of Earth, intended to support life once Earth was no longer hospitable. However, “Fantastic Four” #586 and #587, from Jonathan Hickman and Steve Epting, depict a race against the clock, as Galactus sets his sights on the planet as it’s being drawn into a black hole. Galactus allows Reed Richards to evacuate the planet if he can get there before he does because one way or another, he’s going to consume it. 

In many of his appearances, Galactus doesn’t technically “eat” planets. He converts their life force into energy, which he consumes, and in some cases, he leaves behind some lower life-forms to keep existence going on the worlds he visits. For Nu-World, he completely wipes it off the map, not sparing a single morsel. It’s an ideal showcase of how Galactus’ hunger is all-consuming and that he has no time for the consideration of other species. When he’s hungry, he’ll eat until he’s satisfied, and even that doesn’t last long. 

Numerous Marvel characters have served as Galactus’ heralds over the years. Norrin Radd is the most famous, but there’s also Nova, Terrax, and even Deadpool at one point. The thing about most of the heralds is that they tend to feel some level of remorse over playing a role in the destruction of countless civilizations. The same can’t be said for arguably the most brutal of Galactus’ subjects — Morg.

The biggest difference between Morg and other heralds is that everyone else at least tried to lead Galactus to planets that didn’t have any life forms. Morg specifically sought inhabited planets out. One such planet was called Bastion, which also just so happens to contain the Well of Life, making Morg even stronger. The former heralds fight Morg upon seeing how brutal he could be, and Morg kills Nova in the process. It’s one of the worst things Morg has ever done, but it all started on Galactus’ watch.

Ben Grimm gets the rawest deal out of the Fantastic Four. Whereas his teammates can still blend in among the general populace, Ben turns into a rock monster. This gives Ben an assortment of great powers, like being one of the strongest beings on Earth, but it’s hard on his self-esteem. One issue sees Ben Grimm lose his rocky exterior, but he’s still part of the Fantastic Four team thanks to Reed Richards making him an exo-suit that pretty much grants him the same powers he had before. 

Everything was looking great until “Fantastic Four” #175 from writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, where the Fantastic Four once again face off against Galactus. At one point, Galactus hits Ben with some eye-beams. He doesn’t think much of it at first, but gradually, Ben transforms back into his rocky body. There really wasn’t any reason for Galactus to do this other than being petty, and it’s proof that the Power Cosmic that Galactus possesses can have some truly bizarre properties.

Galactus is already a massive threat to any civilization, and yet there seem to be powers out there that rival or surpass even his strength. Marvel explored this with the “Annihilation” arc from writer Keith Giffen and artist Andrea DeVito. The villain Annihilus, who was almost in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” commands an army that ravages every world it comes across. Marvel’s cosmic heroes realize that the only way they’ll have a chance against this foe is to reawaken Galactus, and when they do, he proves why he shouldn’t be messed with. 

Galactus unleashes a blast so powerful, it becomes known as the Galactus Event. It takes out a sizable chunk of Annihilus’ army, but it also obliterates three star systems that presumably had a bunch of sentient life within them. It’s a perfect showcase of the intrinsic dual nature of Galactus. On the one hand, it was necessary to stop Annihilus. On the other hand, countless lives had to be sacrificed to do it. To Galactus, it’s a necessary elimination to ensure the greater good. 

It’s a big multiverse out there, and there are numerous alternate designs for Galactus. One version sees him as a giant platypus, and the 2024 animated film “Lego Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition” sees him as a big vacuum cleaner. However, the worst and most terrifying alternate design for Galactus might be from Earth-1610 in the “Ultimate Extinction” arc from writer Warren Ellis and artist Brandon Peterson. This Galactus (or, in this arc, Gah Lak Tus) consists of an army of robotic drones that go planet to planet, unleashing a flesh-eating virus that kills all those in its wake. 

As if a flesh-eating virus wasn’t bad enough, this swarm could also send a fear broadcast to a planet’s inhabitants that makes them go insane. So not only would they kill everyone on a given planet, but they would subdue them ahead of time to make evacuation all the more impossible. Galactus could at least be reasoned with, as evidenced by Norrin Radd agreeing to be his herald in exchange for mercy toward his planet. But these drones obliterated everything they came into contact with, probably making every other reality grateful they just have a big guy in a purple and blue suit to contend with.