Heralds of Galactus (Earth-616)

Galactus, originally named Galan, is one of the oldest and most powerful beings in existence. He survived the death of his previous universe in the Sixth Cosmos and the birth of the current one in the Seventh Cosmos, but he is crippled by an insatiable cosmic hunger that drives him to consume the very life-energies of entire planets.^[13] Eons ago, Galactus realized that it was far more efficient to use advance scouts or "Heralds" to seek out desirable planets for him to consume. In the years that followed, Galactus created a succession of Heralds, each with very different backgrounds, motives, and personalities.

The Fallen One[]

Galactus' first Herald was the being now known simply as the Fallen One. Like the other Heralds that would follow him, the Fallen One was given a small fraction of the Power Cosmic; however, the Fallen One was too hostile and unpredictable for Galactus to control, so the Devourer of Worlds eventually imprisoned him. Over the millennia that followed, the Fallen One repeatedly escaped from his imprisonment and tried to fight Galactus, only to be defeated and imprisoned over and over again.^[14]

Unknown Herald[]

In A.D. 1582, an unidentified Herald accompanied Galactus when the Devourer of Worlds targeted Earth for the very first time, attacking the city of Rome. However, Earth was defended by Galileo Galilei and the Brotherhood of the Shield and, with help from Michelangelo, they warded off Galactus at the cost of two-thirds of the Brotherhood of the Shield. This was the birth of the "Greater Science."^[15][16]

The Silver Surfer[]

When Galactus threatened to consume the planet Zenn-La, one of its inhabitants, Norrin Radd, offered to become the Devourer of Worlds' servant if Galactus would spare his homeworld. Galactus agreed and imbued Radd with the Power Cosmic, transforming him into the Herald known as the Silver Surfer. As Galactus' new Herald, the Surfer was dedicated to finding uninhabited but energy-rich worlds for Galactus to consume.^[17]

The Silver Surfer served Galactus for many years, during which Galactus secretly altered the Surfer's mind and soul. With his emotions and memories repressed, the Surfer led Galactus to inhabited worlds without any guilt or remorse.^[18][19] When the Silver Surfer arrived on Earth, however, he encountered Alicia Masters, who sensed Radd's nobility and courage. Moved by Alicia, the Silver Surfer rebelled and joined forces with the Fantastic Four and Uatu the Watcher to drive Galactus away from Earth. Galactus punished the Silver Surfer for this betrayal by trapping Norrin Radd on Earth.^[20] Galactus would later reconsider this decision, but the Silver Surfer resisted Galactus' efforts to return to his service.^[21]

The Air-Walker[]

Searching for a suitable replacement for the Silver Surfer, Galactus eventually chose Gabriel Lan, the Xandarian captain of the Way-Opener, an exploration vessel, to become his next Herald. A member of the Nova Corps, Lan was brave and prone to wanderlust. He did not refuse Galactus' offer of immense power and unlimited freedom to travel the universe under his own power. Galactus gave Lan the Power Cosmic, transforming him into the Air-Walker.^[22]

The Air-Walker served Galactus faithfully for years and even befriended the Devourer of Worlds. The Air-Walker eventually sacrificed himself to protect Galactus from a fleet of Ovoid warships. Galactus was weak from hunger and could not protect or resurrect Lan, but eventually managed to transfer his consciousness into an android duplicate of the Air-Walker. Unfortunately, Lan's personality and passion for exploration did not survive the process and the Air-Walker automaton was a hollow image of Galactus' former friend and ally. Frustrated, Galactus sent the Air-Walker automaton to Earth to convince the Silver Surfer to return to his role as Galactus' Herald, but the Air-Walker automaton was badly damaged in a subsequent battle with the Surfer and the Fantastic Four.^[22][23] Galactus abandoned the Air-Walker automaton on Earth.^[24]

Firelord[]

Pyreus Kril was first officer aboard Gabriel Lan's Xandarian exploration vessel the Way-Opener and was present when his friend was kidnapped by the alien starship belonging to Galactus. Determined to rescue his captain, Kril took command of the exploration vessel and pursued Galactus' ship across the universe.^[22][25]

Years passed, but Kril did not give up his quest. Eventually, Kril located Galactus' starship and, unaware that Lan had already been slain battling the Ovoids, teleported aboard the massive vessel. Kril confronted Galactus and demanded that Lan be released. Impressed by the man’s courage, Galactus offered to reveal Lan's fate if Kril agreed to become his new Herald. Kril accepted the offer, receiving the Power Cosmic and becoming Firelord. Galactus told Kril of the Air-Walker's death and the apparent destruction of the Air-Walker automaton; however, he immediately altered Firelord's mind, suppressing the information that he had just imparted to his Herald.^[22][25]

Firelord's servitude to Galactus was short-lived, however. While on a mission to Earth, Firelord encountered Thor, who later negotiated with Galactus for Firelord's freedom. In exchange for releasing Firelord, Thor provided Galactus with an Asgardian construct known as the Destroyer.^[26] Although he retained the Power Cosmic and was free to roam the universe, Firelord's subconscious compelled him to remain on Earth, the last known location of the Air-Walker automaton.^[22]

Months later, the Machinesmith accidentally reactivated the Air-Walker automaton, and it gradually regained consciousness. The Air-Walker automaton set out to kill the Silver Surfer but was instead engaged by Thor, who destroyed its self-repair circuitry. Upon learning of the Air-Walker automaton's existence, Firelord's suppressed memories flooded back into him and he took possession of it. He buried the Air-Walker automaton – the only remains of his friend Gabriel Lan – on an asteroid in the Tranta System, near their homeworld of Xandar.^[27]

The Destroyer[]

In exchange for Firelord's freedom, Galactus was given a new Herald by Thor: the Asgardian Destroyer, an incredibly powerful but mindless enchanted suit of armor that Galactus animated with the Power Cosmic. With no will of its own, the Destroyer armor was more subservient than the sentient Heralds that Galactus had previously employed.^[10] However, the Destroyer was soon stolen by Loki for one of his numerous schemes,^[28] and Galactus, instead of trying to reclaim it, began searching for another Herald instead.^[29]

Terrax the Tamer[]

As Galactus' recent Heralds (the Silver Surfer, the Air-Walker, and Firelord) had been men of morality, which led to two of them leaving his service, Galactus hoped to find a ruthless, power-hungry being to be a new Herald who would have no qualms about identifying inhabited worlds for him to consume.^[30][31]

Galactus identified Tyros, the tyrannical dictator of the city of Lanlak on the planet Birj, as his next intended Herald. Tyros was already very powerful, as he had been born with a unique mutation that allowed him to animate stone. Galactus knew that he would need to first overpower Tyros before he could transform the despot into his new Herald. When the Fantastic Four came to Galactus for aid, he accepted their offer to help them defeat the Sphinx if they would in turn subdue Tyros. The quartet defeated Tyros as promised, and Galactus immediately brought Tyros under his cosmic control, forcibly imbuing him with the Power Cosmic. Thus, Tyros was reborn as Terrax the Tamer, whose complete control over stone allowed him to crush mountains and command thousands of meteors with ease.^[32]

As Galactus had hoped, Terrax had no concerns about guiding his master toward inhabited worlds;^[33] however, Terrax was also ambitious and had no sense of loyalty to Galactus. He eventually began conquering planets for his own selfish ends and only served Galactus out of fear.^[34] Seeking to kill his master, Terrax depleted Galactus' energy in a chase and fled to Earth, where he took Manhattan hostage and threatened to demolish the city unless the Fantastic Four helped him destroy the severely weakened and starved Galactus. In the ensuing battle, Galactus reclaimed the Power Cosmic that he had given to Terrax, something he had not done to any of his previous Heralds, and left Tyros for dead. Still, this was not enough to replenish Galactus and he was on the verge of death. Unwilling to let Galactus die, Reed Richards saved Galactus' life.^[35]

Nova[]

Although Reed Richards had prevented Galactus from starving to death, Galactus was still critically low on energy. Reed then attempted to locate uninhabited nearby planets for him to consume, but Galactus did not have the energy to survive an extended journey if he went to a suggested planet and it was found unsuitable; thus, Galactus once again contemplated about consuming Earth.^[36]

As Galactus had just lost Terrax, Frankie Raye offered herself to be Galactus' new Herald and guide him to planets. Frankie was in a relationship with Johnny Storm at the time and had similar powers as him, but she also yearned for freedom and cosmic grandeur. Galactus was pleased with her selfish motivation, as his previous noble Heralds did not suit their role, and she was not savage like the most recent one, Terrax. Galactus accepted Frankie's proposal and she gleefully escaped into space, leaving Earth, her old mortal life, and Johnny Storm behind.^[36]

Willingly becoming Nova, Galactus' latest Herald, she used her powers to seek out energy-rich worlds for Galactus to consume, notably the Skrulls' throneworld, Tarnax IV.^[37] She also encountered and teamed up with the Silver Surfer (whom she nicknamed "Silverado") on many occasions and they began a (somewhat rocky) romantic relationship.^[38][39][40] However, in one of their adventures, the Silver Surfer tricked Nova into admitting that she would offer up her own planet, Earth, to Galactus and Nova began to reconsider her choices.^[41] When she finally broke down,^[42] she tried to hide an inhabited planet from Galactus.^[11] Disappointed, he dismissed Nova from his service and found a new Herald, Morg the Executioner, who would soon end up killing her in battle.^[43]

Morg the Executioner and the Herald Ordeal[]

Galactus considered his past mistakes and recognized that he needed a Herald who was both merciless enough to lead Galactus to inhabited worlds without complications (like Terrax and unlike the other past Heralds) and pliable enough to remain loyal to his master (unlike Terrax). While consuming an unnamed planet, Galactus located Morg, a bloodthirsty court executioner. Evidently unconcerned with his planet's fate, Morg agreed to become Galactus' new Herald even after Galactus had destroyed his homeworld. As with all past Heralds, Morg the Executioner received the Power Cosmic. He later increased his powers even further by immersing himself in the Well of Life, thereby becoming Galactus’ most powerful Herald yet.^[44]

Morg quickly proved that he was also far more vicious than any of the previous Heralds and brought out the worst in Galactus. The Silver Surfer, Firelord, and Nova realized that Morg would cause the death of untold billions and agreed to join forces against their successor. To this end, they combined their powers to resurrect the Air-Walker automaton. Desperate, they also recruited the evil Terrax. The former Heralds battled Morg and seemingly killed him, though Nova was slain by Morg. The Surfer flew Nova's body into a nearby sun.^[43]

After Morg's apparent demise, Galactus reluctantly accepted both Firelord and the Air-Walker automaton back into his service as his first pair of Heralds. During this time, Firelord tried to revive Gabriel Lan's personality, which was still buried deep within the Air-Walker automaton. However, Galactus secretly resurrected Morg due to the latter's loyalty. Despite this, Morg was kidnapped by Galactus' old foe and "son," Tyrant. Galactus agreed to let Tyrant keep Morg in exchange for a truce between the two ancient enemies.^[45] When Morg eventually escaped,^[46] he returned to Galactus and attempted to kill the duo of Heralds; the Silver Surfer arrived in time to save Firelord and the Air-Walker automaton.^[47] Tyrant confronted Galactus soon afterward, and Morg proved his undying loyalty to Galactus by attacking Tyrant with the Ultimate Nullifier; however, a blast from the Nullifier seemingly nullified both Morg and Galactus.^[48]

Red Shift[]

Galactus survived the Ultimate Nullifier by escaping into another dimension, and later returned after consuming the power of Hyperstorm, a villain from an alternate timeline. After this ordeal, however, Galactus’ cosmic hunger only grew, nearly driving him insane. He became obsessed with consuming sentient life, but was yet again without a Herald. He quickly recruited Red Shift, a mysterious Herald about which very little is known, and planned to at last devour Earth. Sensing Red Shift’s use of the Power Cosmic, the Silver Surfer tried to convince the Herald that Earth should not be destroyed. Red Shift refused to listen to reason, and the two Heralds clashed. Red Shift used his powers to open a portal to a black hole, into which he hoped to send the Silver Surfer, but his plan went awry and both Heralds were swept into the trap. Their battle continued within the black hole until the Silver Surfer unleashed a massive explosion of cosmic energy. Red Shift lost his two swords – the weapons which enabled him to open his portals – and remained trapped in the black hole even after the Surfer barely escaped from it.^{[citation needed]}

The Invisible Boy[]

Sometime after Red Shift’s battle with the Silver Surfer, a federation of aliens from various worlds that had been consumed by Galactus arrived on Earth. These aliens had created a technology that could cloak and conceal other planets from the Devourer of Worlds. However, they feared that Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman. would become a pawn of Galactus, who would use her powers to make their devices useless. In an attempt to prevent this, the aliens planned to kill Sue, and they threatened to destroy Manhattan unless she was surrendered to them. To save his wife, Reed Richards used one of his own inventions to seemingly strip Sue of her powers. Convinced that Sue was no longer a threat, the aliens departed; however, it was soon revealed that Reed had really used his device to switch powers between Sue and her brother, Johnny Storm. Thus, Sue became the Human Torch II and Johnny became the Invisible Boy. ^[49]

Galactus, already intent on using Sue’s powers to thwart the alien federation, arrived on Earth soon after Johnny’s transformation. Discovering the switch, Galactus kidnapped Johnny and immediately infused him with the Power Cosmic. Although Johnny was initially overwhelmed by his new powers, he began seeking an uninhabited world for Galactus to consume while secretly rallying other worlds against Galactus. His delaying tactics allowed the Fantastic Four and Quasar to eventually catch up to Johnny. Using his new powers, Johnny analyzed Galactus and instructed Reed and Quasar in the construction of a device that removed Galactus’ cosmic energy. Galactus then temporarily reverted to his original form – that of the powerless Galan – and was brought to Earth. There, the Fantastic Four convinced Galan to exile himself into an energy-rich dimension.^[50]

Stardust[]

Galan eventually reverted back into Galactus and – for reasons of his own – left his self-imposed exile and returned to his home dimension. Again he sought a Herald, this time choosing a mysterious entity named Stardust as the recipient of the Power Cosmic. Although very little is known about Stardust’s history prior to her becoming Galactus’ Herald, she claims that she was already quite powerful even before meeting her new master. What is known is that Stardust quickly became the most fanatical of Galactus’ Heralds, worshipping her master as if he was a god. Her fanaticism led her to not only seek out new worlds for Galactus, but also hunt down any survivors of said worlds that were consumed by Galactus so that no trace of these civilizations would be left alive.^{[citation needed]}

While hunting down the last of the Korbinite race, Stardust clashed with their protector, Beta Ray Bill. During this battle, Stardust used her powers to open a dimensional gateway that she hoped would consume Beta Ray and the last of the Korbinites. Instead, Stardust unwittingly released a demonic entity from a “cosmic Hell” known as Asteroth. Realizing that Asteroth threatened the entire universe, Beta Ray and Stardust reluctantly joined forces to stop her. Meanwhile, Galactus revived Beta Ray’s predecessor – Alpha Ray – and ordered him to find Stardust and Beta Ray.^{[citation needed]}

To banish Asteroth, Stardust created a massive black hole. Alpha Ray arrived as the black hole was opening, and he drove Asteroth back into the rift. Both Alpha Ray and Stardust were also sucked into the void, but Stardust soon escaped and returned to Galactus’ service.^{[citation needed]}

Annihilation[]

Shortly after Stardust escaped from her black hole, the universe faced a major threat in the form of an insectoid armada led by Annihilus. Dubbed the Annihilation Wave, the armada began destroying every planet in its path as it made its way towards Earth. Across the universe, cosmic heroes and alien fleets began joining forces to combat the Annihilation Wave, but all seemed to be doomed to failure.^{[citation needed]}

The Annihilation Wave had a profound impact on all of Galactus’ former Heralds. The first to encounter the Wave was the Air-Walker automaton which, by now, had regained much of its former identity as Gabriel Lan. Sadly, the Air-Walker automaton fell during an attack on its homeworld of Xandar by a villain named Ravenous and his fellow Seekers. Without his stalwart partner, Firelord teamed up with Red Shift, who had recently escaped from his own black hole. When Galactus realized the danger posed by the Annihilation Wave, he ordered Stardust to combine forces with his two former Heralds. Meanwhile, Annihilus – intent on studying the Power Cosmic – captured both Morg the Executioner and Terrax the Tamer. Finally, in the chaos of the Annihilation Wave's events, the Fallen One escaped once again and joined forces with the two surviving Proemial Gods, "Tenebrous of the Darkness Between" and "Aegis, Lady of All Sorrows", both also ancient enemies of Galactus.^{[citation needed]}

During the war with Annihilus and his armada, events referred to as Annihilation, Galactus took the Silver Surfer as his Herald once more. The Surfer led Firelord, Red Shift, and Stardust in battle against the Annihilation Wave. Stardust and Red Shift later sacrificed themselves to allow Nova (Richard Rider) and his forces time to evacuate Daedalus 5.^{[citation needed]}

Hunger[]

Following Galactus' arrival at the universe of Earth-1610,^[51] the cosmic entity was merged with Gah Lak Tus and used portions of the collective of machines to fulfill the purpose of his Heralds.^[52]

Varies based on the Herald, but most are self-sufficient and rely on very little equipment. The Air-Walker possessed the “Horn of Galactus”, a golden trumpet-like device that could summon Galactus from across any distance.

A few of Galactus’ Heralds have utilized weapons. Terrax the Tamer and Morg the Executioner each wield a heavy axe, while Red Shift carried a pair of swords that allowed him to create portals in space, Stardust uses some kind of a spear, and Firelord uses a staff to channel his cosmic flame.

Each Herald traveled under their own power using the Power Cosmic. The Silver Surfer flies through the universe on a silver construct that looks much like a surfboard, while most of the other Heralds simply fly under their own power.

• Galactus and his Heralds were stated to be cosmic level threats.^[53]
• It is possible for Galactus to deploy multiple Heralds at once.^[54]
• In various alternate futures, Nova is still Galactus' Herald, suggesting that she either survived her encounter with Morg the Executioner or was somehow resurrected.
• Some sources make reference to a “gladiator” that Galactus coveted as a Herald for many years, but who was rescued from this fate by the Fantastic Four. The identity of this Herald is unknown, but may be the Shi'ar Empire's Imperial Guardsman Gladiator.
• Rom, the greatest of the Spaceknights of Galador, bargained to lead Galactus to another world to feed upon in place of his homeworld of Galador in Rom #27; however, he was not given the status of being a Herald. Rom led Galactus to Wraithworld in the Dark Nebula; however, Galactus was unable to consume either the planet or its Black Sun.

• Omnimax, the World Devourer in the Sixth Cosmos, also deployed Heralds.^[55]
• Galactus has associated four of his Heralds with the four elements of alchemy: the Silver Surfer with water, the Air-Walker with air, Firelord with fire, and Terrax the Tamer with earth.^[30]