10 Best Galactus Stories in Marvel History, Ranked

When Galactus made his debut, he was originally conceived as a one-off villain who, once defeated, would leave Earth, never to return. That’s because Galactus was meant to be literally unstoppable, and anything short of obliterating the entire universe wouldn’t be enough to take him down. However, as Galactus’ lore grew in Marvel Comics canon, it became clear that Galactus wasn’t as cosmically divine as he once seemed – making him infinitely more interesting.

With Galactus brought down to a more tangible level, the Devourer of Worlds was free to star in many more comic book story arcs. Sometimes he’d reclaim his role as a villain (just as he was introduced), while other times Galactus would be portrayed as a hero who would fight side-by-side with some of Marvel’s greatest superheroes of all time. Whatever role he plays, practically every Galactus story has one thing in common: they’re awesome. However, there are some that are better than the others, and these are the 10 best Galactus stories of the bunch, ranked!

10 Galactus’ Plans to Consume the Earth are Thwarted by… Squirrel Girl!

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #3-4 by Ryan North, Erica Henderson, and Chris Giarrusso

When Galactus returns to Planet Earth with the intention of actually consuming it this time, Squirrel Girl uses one of Tony Stark’s suits to meet the Devourer of Worlds in space. Squirrel Girl finds Galactus on the moon, at which point, she immediately launches an assault to take him down. However, despite an initial fake-out, Squirrel Girl’s attacks have no effect. But, that doesn’t mean she was powerless to stop him, as Squirrel Girl found an entire planet filled with nuts that was otherwise uninhabited, serving as a fantastic substitute for Earth.

This story is arguably the most fun Marvel has had with Galactus’ character, as it’s little more than a gag comic that also stays true to who Galactus is, though with a heightened level of meta awareness and lighthearted humor, making it a definite standout.

Superman/Fantastic Four by Dan Jurgens and Art Thibert

Superman/Fantastic Four is a subtle crossover, as it doesn’t go to any lengths to explain itself. The Marvel and DC universes are simply one, which means Superman specifically has a whole new slew of cosmic villains to take on – including and especially Galactus. Galactus was present for Krypton’s destruction, which is how he was able to mark Superman with the Power Cosmic when he was just a baby. Once Kal-El grew into Superman, Galactus knew right where to find him to then turn Superman into his most powerful Herald.

Just the sheer novelty of seeing Superman as Galactus’ Herald before inevitably turning on him to fight alongside the Fantastic Four is amazing in and of itself. While this story isn’t strictly in Galactus’ personal Marvel Comics lore, it’s still one of his coolest stories.

8 Marvel Comics Reveals Galactus Can Have Biological Children (& So Can His Children)

Galacta: Daughter of Galactus by Adam Warren and Hector Sevilla Lujan

Galactus was created by the cosmic energy that formed the entire Marvel Universe, as he was just a man named Galan before his universe was recycled into the Marvel Universe, and he was ‘recycled’ right along with it. In other words, Galactus is a wholly unique entity, not a race of beings – or, so fans thought.

Galacta: Daughter of Galactus ends with Galacta learning that she’s ‘pregnant’, just as Galactus was once ‘pregnant’ with her. Galactus (and his daughter) can reproduce asexually, meaning over time, there could conceivably be a flourishing race of Galactus beings loose in the Marvel Universe. While Galactus himself only makes a brief cameo appearance in this comic, Galacta: Daughter of Galactus is still a must-read, as it expands his lore greatly.

7 Galactus’ Terrifying Power is Put on Full Display While Fighting His ‘Son’

Cosmic Powers #6 by Ron Marz and Scot Eaton

While Galacta: Daughter of Galactus confirms that Galactus can produce biological offspring, he can also create life through a mixture of impossibly advanced technology and the Power Cosmic, which is exactly how he gave life to his firstborn son, Tyrant. And in Cosmic Powers #6, readers learn exactly how powerful Tyrant is, as he goes toe-to-toe with Galactus himself. In fact, their battle shows exactly how powerful Galactus is as well, with both titans exhibiting awesome cosmic power.

Galactus and Tyrant literally shatter galaxies during their battle, which was a display of strength readers had yet to see from the Devourer of Worlds at that time. Sure, Galactus regularly eats planets, but this fight is something else entirely – and utterly terrifying.

6 Galactus Officially Reveals the True Nature of His Cosmic Purpose

Fantastic Four: The Trial of Reed Richards by John Byrne

In The Trial of Reed Richards, readers are shown for the first time the horrifying scope of Galactus’ impact on the Marvel Universe. In a previous storyline, Reed saved Galactus’ life, and by doing so, doomed countless worlds. So, the universe’s greatest empires come together to put Richards on trial for his cosmic crime of saving Galactus. However, just as he was to receive a guilty verdict, Reed Richards is saved by the testimony of Galactus himself.

Galactus and the Watcher summon Eternity, who explains to everyone (including readers) that Galactus isn’t evil, but rather a force of nature necessary to keep the universe in check. The Trial of Reed Richards is perhaps the most significant Galactus story when it comes to fleshing out his character, making it an absolute must-read.

5 Galactus Merged with His Ultimate Universe Counterpart, Gah Lak Tus

Hunger #1-4 by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Leonard Kirk

When a rift is created between Earth-616 and Earth-1610 following the events of Age of Ultron, Galactus travels through the interdimensional opening in time and space, and finds himself in the Ultimate Universe. Once there, Galactus is attacked by his Earth-1610 counterpart, Gah Lak Tus, but rather than succumbing to the Gah Lak Tus swarm, Galactus merges with the hive-mind of cosmic drones, and even makes Gah Lak Tus his Herald.

Hunger introduces an all-new form for the Devourer of Worlds, truly turning him into the Ultimate Galactus. In this form, Galactus battles Ultimate Silver Surfer, Captain Marvel, and Rick Jones (who was imbued with unparalleled cosmic power by the Watchers), before taking on the entire Ultimate Universe single-handedly in the follow-up storyline, Cataclysm – which is also a great Galactus story to read.

4 Galactus Battles Celestials, Becomes a ‘Death Star’, & Wipes Out the Annihilation Wave in 1 Epic Event

Annihilation #1-6 by Keith Giffen and Andrea DiVito

Annihilation is one of the most action-packed Marvel Comics storylines to date, and Galactus’ role in the event is no exception. In the first issue, Galactus faces off against two Celestials, and while he fights well, the Devourer of Worlds is quickly subdued. Galactus’ body is then brought to Thanos, who uses Galactus as a power source for his ‘Death Star’-like space laser. This weapon siphoned Galactus’ Power Cosmic, giving Thanos (and Annihilus) the means to weaponize it as they saw fit.

Eventually, Galactus is freed from Thanos’ space laser, and immediately sets his sights on the one who was truly responsible for his imprisonment: Annihilus. Galactus uses his immense cosmic power to obliterate the Annihilation Wave, which brings an epic close to one of the greatest Galactus stories in Marvel history.

3 Galactus Defeats Dormammu in the Doctor Strange Villain’s Own Dimension

Doctor Strange #15 by Barry Kitson, Mark Waid, and Scott Koblish

Galactus has proven himself as one of the strongest beings in the Marvel Universe, but this story takes him to an entirely different dimension, only for Galactus to prove the exact same thing. Dormammu takes Galactus to his realm to make the Devourer of Worlds his Herald on the physical plane. However, Dormammu gets a bit more than he bargained for when Galactus consumed one of the celestial bodies in Dormammu’s dimension, thereby gaining the ability to wield dark magic on top of his mastery of cosmic science.

With his new Dark Dimension powers, Galactus becomes strong enough to consume Dormammu himself, thereby becoming even more of a dark-magic powerhouse. This ‘versus battle’ is one of the coolest matchups in Marvel history, and shows how truly powerful Galactus is, even when he’s up against magic.

2 Galactus Takes On Odin & His Asgardian Army for the Galactus Seed

The Mighty Thor #1-6 by Matt Fraction, Olivier Coipel, and Khoi Pham

When Galactus learns that the Asgardians have acquired the Galactus Seed, he immediately attempts to take it from them. By devouring the Galactus Seed, Galactus’ eternal hunger will finally be satiated. While that may sound like a good thing, Odin is determined not to let that happen. So, when Galactus arrives, Odin sends his entire Asgardian army – Thor included – to meet Galactus in battle. Odin even joins the fight himself, delivering a mighty headbutt right in Galactus’ face, downing the Devourer of Worlds for a time.

Just the sight of Galactus battling Odin, Thor, and the other Asgardian warriors is enough to make this storyline well-worth the read, not to mention the epic lore expansion this arc contains. Everything that makes Galactus great is put front and center, including some of Galactus’ coolest fight scenes ever.

1 “The Coming of Galactus” is Still the Devourer of Worlds’ All-Time Best Story

Fantastic Four #48-50 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

While the Marvel Comics storylines starring Galactus since his debut have ranged from lore-expanding to visually stunning, it’s still safe to say that nothing can top his original storyline, “The Coming of Galactus”. Galactus wasn’t just another cosmic character upon his debut, but an unbeatable god whose presence meant certain doom. That’s why the Fantastic Four had to threaten to destroy the entire universe with the Ultimate Nullifier to beat him, which only speaks to Galactus’ terrifying power.

Since then, Galactus has gotten a bit watered down in terms of power level. It used to be that nothing short of destroying the entire universe could beat him, but now, even the likes of Thor can take him down (which arguably defeats the purpose of his character). Galactus has never been more terrifying than he was during “The Coming of Galactus”, nor has he felt more like an unbeatable cosmic god, which is why this is the best Galactus story in Marvel Comics history.

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