It is common knowledge that Galactus Is one of the greatest villains in the history of Marvel Comics, as he has almost destroyed the world several times, murdered trillions of life forms, and remains one of the most dangerous entities in the universe. But then again, is Galactus really a villain? The question has stumped fans for decades, but with just four words, the truth about whether Galactus is a hero or a villain is permanently settled.
In the four-part miniseries Hunger By Joshua Hale Fialkov and Leonard Kirk, Galactus crosses into the Ultimate Universe after a rift is created between Earth-616 and Earth-1610 following the events of Age of Ultron. While the event ended with the heroes of Earth-616 saving their reality, they nearly doomed the Ultimate Universe in the process. Galactus not only crossed over into the Ultimate Universe, but once there, he merged with his Earth-1610 variant, Gah Lak Tus, and became even more cosmically powerful.
Out of everyone in the Ultimate Universe, there were only three heroes strong enough to challenge Galactus: Silver Surfer, Captain Marvel, and Rick Jones (who was chosen by the Watchers and given god-like cosmic powers). The first to meet Galactus was the Silver Surfer, who first tried to settle with the Devourer of Worlds before resorting to violence. However, after looking into Galactus’ mind, Silver Surfer realized that Galactus could not be reasoned with Galactus, as Noreen Rudd said out loud the reason why:You have no choice“.
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Galactus has no choice but to devour worlds, meaning he is not a villain
The ultimate Silver Surfer is, indeed, excited by the realization that Galactus truly has no choice but to devour worlds, especially since this is not the way in the Ultimate Universe. On Earth-1610, Gah Lak Tus is an android hive-mind consisting of countless drones that swarm planets like bugs and devour them for energy, only to go and do the same thing again. Gah Lak Tus was created by the Kree eons ago, meaning it is not an agent of universal scale, but a man-made monster that should not exist.
Earth-616’s Galactus, on the other hand, is basically a force of nature. Being the sole survivor of the universe that came before the Marvel Universe (when Galactus was a man named Galan), Galactus was imbued with cosmic purpose by the universe itself, as he was tasked with keeping the cosmos in balance. By consuming worlds. Galactus serves something greater than himself, and he really has no choice but to fulfill his eternal mission. Therefore, Galactus is definitely not a villain – but is he a hero?
Galactus is not just ‘not a villain’, he is a legitimate hero
Galactus is forced to devour worlds, but he constantly chooses to be a hero
It is established that Galactus has no choice when it comes to his cosmic duty to devour worlds, meaning that these acts cannot be considered villainous. So, there is only one question to ask when considering if Galactus is more than just ‘not a villain’, but a real hero: what does Galactus do when he has a choice? Over the years, Galactus has fought side-by-side with Marvel’s greatest heroes against threats that required the help of a cosmic entity like himself, including when Galactus battled the likes of the Annihilation Wave, Dormammu, and Doom the Living Planet.
Galactus did not choose to be an immortal being cursed to consume planets, but he constantly chooses to use his vast power for the overall good of the universe. When given the choice, Galactus chooses to be a hero, despite a reputation as one of Marvel Comics’ greatest villains—and Galactus‘ Tragic existence can be summed up in just four words: “You have no choice“.