Galactus’ Most Terrifying Form Is the Body-Horror Nightmare the MCU Needs

Galactus, Devourer of Worlds, is an amorphous abstract entity with no true form. While readers see the Great Devourer as a monstrously large bald man in a purple suit, Galactus can project any form he desires which could affect how the character is introduced in the MCU. However, if Marvel Studios is still working his design out, there is one Galactus variant that could become the MCU’s greatest eldritch horror.

Marvel Mangaverse, written and drawn by Ben Dunn, is a single-run limited series that debuted in April 2022. This adaptation of the Marvel universe subscribed to all the traditional Marvel tropes and characters but with the stylistic flair of early-2000s manga.

The series follows mild-mannered Marvin Elwood, this universe’s teenaged Captain Marvel, as he ignites a space-faring quest to stop Galactus from consuming Earth. However, this variant of the Devourer of Worlds isn’t anything close to what readers know his Earth-616 counterpart to be. This eldritch abomination is something far worse.

Mangaverse Galactus Is a Horrific Eldritch Terror

The MCU Could Benefit From More Horror

In most iterations of Galactus, he is known as a near-abstract being; an amorphous being who embodies abstract concepts like Eternity, Death, or Entropy. His dimensional existence is so incomprehensible that lesser minds see him as a member of their species, hence why readers always see him as human. Practically speaking, Galactus can look like anything he chooses, which is why the MCU should take the opportunity to introduce him as something more visually akin to the horror he really is. It wouldn’t be the first time Marvel Studios has successfully reinvented a character’s look.

In the Mangaverse, Galactus is a sentient super-weapon anti-life virusdesigned by the Skrull Empire using Mephisto’s personal planet as its body. The frontward-facing portion of its planetary form conceals a massive eye, stretching over a thousand miles in length. Flowing tendrils that protrude from the rear of the planet’s mass twist together like loose nerves on the back of an eye. This super-weapon is so dense that its gravitational field is strong enough to maintain an asteroid belt and large enough to house entire civilizations. At the core of this sentient world lies a densely formed beating heart.

Galactus Has No Form, So Why Can’t He Look Different?

A Cinematic Redesign Could Reaffirm His Legendary Status

The MCU has learned in the last few years that their products perform more successfully when the characters look like they belong in the comics. That said, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t room to momentarily transform some classic characters into evolved and adapted new forms. Galactus’s traditional Earth-616 design has never fully done the behemoth justice in depicting the apocalyptic scale of his destructive presence. Frankly, its willingness to present as a familiar face is a courtesy on his behalf, but any crueler variant of Galactus probably wouldn’t care to soften the horror of his victims’ demise.

Characters like Dormamu and Namor underwent some significant design alterations to better translate the character’s comic appearance to the big screen. Galactus doesn’t necessarily have to be a giant sentient eye planet forever, but allowing him to introduce himself to a wider audience in a form guaranteed to terrify viewers could cement his infamous status with a whole new generation of fans. Longtime fans of Galactus know that the Devourer of Worlds is not a being to scoff at, but with a little inspiration from the Marvel Mangaverse series, Galactus would once again become a household name for comics fans.