Meet the Heralds of Galactus, the Cosmic Omens for Doomed Worlds

Galactus might bring death and destruction to the worlds of the Marvel Universe, but he never shows up unannounced.

For almost as long as Galactus has roamed the cosmos, his Heralds have found worlds for him to feed on. Galactus imbues his Heralds with vast amounts of cosmic power, turning them into some of the strongest beings in the universe. While some Heralds used those vast powers to find uninhabited planets for Galactus to consume, others relished dooming worlds to Galactus’ eternal hunger.

Now, let’s take a closer look at some of Galactus’ Heralds across space, time, and the Multiverse. Whether they evolved into heroes or became universal, these Heralds continued the grim task of satisfying Galactus and his planet-sized appetite.

SILVER SURFER (NORIN RADD)

Norrin Radd became the Silver Surfer to save his planet, Zenn-La, and his romantic partner, Shalla-Bal, from Galactus' vicious appetite. When Galactus faced the Fantastic Four for the first time, the Silver Surfer acted as his Herald in FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #48 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Once the Silver Surfer turned against his master, Galactus temporarily trapped his Herald on Earth where he became a wandering hero and co-founded the Defenders.

Although he developed relationships with humans like Alicia Masters and Dawn Greenwood, the Silver Surfer returned to the stars and battled cosmic threats like Thanos, Knull, and the Annihilation Wave. The Silver Surfer even returned to his role as Herald on occasion, where he tried to steer the World-Eater towards unpopulated planets.

SILVER SURFER (SHALLA-BAL)

In a few different realities, Shalla-Bal also became a Herald of Galactus. She became the Silver Surfer in EARTH X (1999) #12 by Jim Krueger, Alex Ross, and John Paul Leon, a reality where Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) turned Galactus into a star. However, Norrin Radd realized that the universe needed Galactus to keep the cosmos in balance. As a result, Franklin Richards agreed to become the new Devourer of Worlds and made Shalla-Bal his Herald.

After surfing through the spaceways, Shalla-Bal traveled to Earth to help Galactus fight the god-like Celestials. While the Silver Surfer died in battle, she traversed to the Realm of the Dead where she eventually reunited with Norrin.

THOR

Shortly after Thor fulfilled his destiny to take Odin's place as Asgard’s All-Father, he stepped into one of his most unlikely roles as a Herald of Galactus in THOR (2020) #1 by Donny Cates and Nic Klein. Thor became the Herald of Thunder to help Galactus fight a universe-killing entity known as the Black Winter, which threatened the entire Marvel Universe.

After taking Galactus to feed on five planets that super-charged his cosmic power, Thor confronted the Black Winter with the World-Eater. However, the Black Winter claimed that Galactus was its Herald. Furious, Thor absorbed all of Galactus’ power and turned the World-Eater’s body into a bomb that destroyed the Black Winter.

COSMIC GHOST RIDER

In a reality where Thanos destroyed most of the galaxy, Frank Castle became the new Ghost Rider and lost his mind while wandering through a dead Earth. When a wounded Galactus fell to Earth, he transformed Frank into his last Herald, the Cosmic Ghost Rider, in THANOS (2016) #16 by Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw. The pair then confronted Thanos, but the Mad Titan decapitated Galactus and made Cosmic Ghost Rider his assistant. After dying and coming back to life, the Cosmic Ghost Rider unsuccessfully tried to raise an infant Thanos to be less evil. However, he failed to change history.

Cosmic Ghost Rider eventually travelled the Multiverse to Earth-616 where he joined a group of cosmic heroes called the Dark Guardians. This band of heroes tried to stop Thanos’ reincarnation and hunted down the galaxy’s worst criminals.

TERRAX

While many served Galactus to try protect others, Terrax the Tamer became the Great Devourer's Herald due to his cruel nature. With his earth-manipulating power, Terrax brutally ruled a small city called Lanlak in FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #211 by Marv Wolfman and John Byrne. As a favor to Galactus, the Fantastic Four defeated Terrax and brought him to the World-Eater.

Wielding the Cosmic Axe, Terrax helped Galactus find and destroy many worlds. However, the power-hungry Terrax quietly rebelled against Galactus a few times by taking over small civilizations. When Galactus decided that Terrax caused too much trouble, he released him from his duties as Herald. Since then, Terrax has consistently seeded destruction across the galaxy.

MORG THE EXECUTIONER

Morg the Executioner never took issue with sentencing people to death, even in his debut in SILVER SURFER (1987) #69 by Ron Marz, Ron Lim, and Kevin West. Galactus took note of this trait and made the unashamed killer his new Herald. At his most powerful, Morg defeated the Silver Surfer and several other former Heralds in battle. However, as Morg's power levels shifted, Terrax and the powerful robot Tyrant killed the Executioner. However, Morg did not stay dead for long. More recently, Jean Grey used the Phoenix Force to stop Morg from killing Nova (Richard Rider) as he tried to escape from a cosmic prison.

NOVA (FRANKIE RAYE)

Frankie Ray began life as the daughter of Phineas Horton, the inventor of the original cybernetic Human Torch (Jim Hammond). After she developed fire-controlling powers, Frankie briefly dated Johnny Storm and joined the Fantastic Four. But when Galactus released Terrax from his duties as Herald, Frankie jumped at the opportunity to fill in the role in FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #244 by John Byrne.

Eager to explore the universe as Nova, Frankie led Galactus to several worlds like Tarnax IV, the densely populated center of the Skrull Empire. However, after befriending the Silver Surfer, Nova began hiding populated worlds from Galactus. Once she left Galactus and returned to Earth, she died helping the other Heralds battle Morg. She was eventually resurrected and joined a short-lived team called the Fearless Defenders.

HUMAN TORCH

To protect the Invisible Woman from an alien scientist, Johnny Storm briefly swapped powers with his sister in FANTASTIC FOUR (1998) #519 by Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo. As the Human Torch adjusted to his invisibility powers, Galactus traveled to Earth and turned Johnny Storm into his Herald. Although Johnny enjoyed some aspects of his cosmic power, he refused to lead Galactus to any world populated by living creatures. With help from the rest of the Fantastic Four and the cosmic hero Quasar (Wendell Vaughn), Johnny used up his cosmic power in a massive blast that temporarily turned Galactus back into the human-sized scientist known as Galan.

AIR-WALKER

After the Silver Surfer left him, Galactus chose a Xandarian explorer and Nova Corps member named Gabriel Lan to become his next Herald, Air-Walker. Although Galactus appreciated Air-Walker's thirst for discovery, the aliens known as the Ovoids killed his Herald. Galactus subsequently built a perfect robot replica of Air-Walker, who debuted in FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #120 by Stan Lee and John Buscema. Despite the robotic Air-Walker retaining his predecessor’s memories and heroic nature, Galactus abandoned him on Earth. Air-Walker was subsequently destroyed, but Silver Surfer and the other Heralds rebuilt him, and he helped them protect the universe.

GAMBIT

In WHAT IF…? GALACTUS TRANSFORMED GAMBIT (2025) #1 by Josh Trujillo and Manuel Garcia, the card-carrying mutant Gambit became a Herald of Galactus instead of joining the X-Men. Just as Remy LeBeau stopped working for the villainous Mister Sinister, Galactus hand-picked the master thief to steal a relic from the Collector. Gambit used his newfound cosmic powers against a legion of Galactus’s Punisher cyborgs, crashing one of the Collector's parties in search of a perfect miniature replica of Taa, the lost world where Galactus was born. Using his explosive energy-manipulating powers, Gambit destroyed the Collector's ship and left him unable to move. Galactus saw the artificial Taa, condemned the Collector to that empty world, and gratefully released Gambit from his service.

FIRELORD

After Galactus turned his friend into Air-Walker, Nova Corps member Pyreus Kril tracked down the World-Eater across the universe. Galactus witnessed Pyreus’ dedication and turned him into his newest Herald, Firelord, in THOR (1966) #225 by Gerry Conway and John Buscema. As the Herald to the Devourer of Worlds, Firelord wielded vast fire-controlling abilities and an always-burning cosmic staff.

However, Galactus released Firelord from his duties during a mission on Earth, where he met Thor and learned what happened to Air-Walker. After being severely beaten by Spider-Man, Firelord returned to space, became a frequent ally to the Silver Surfer, and helped reactivate Air-Walker. During Annihilus’ attack on the universe in ANNIHLIATION (2006), Firelord also played a crucial role in battling his Annihilation Wave.

DEADPOOL

When Deadpool needed a new job, he found an unlikely gig as a Herald of Galactus in DEADPOOL TEAM-UP (2009) #883 by Skottie Young and Ramon Perez. Once Deadpool accepted the role, Galactus gave him cosmic power and a giant board with an oversized hot-rod style engine on the back. Although the Merc with the Mouth was happy to find worlds for Galactus to eat, his constant talking annoyed the World-Eater. The Silver Surfer also took issue with Deadpool and confronted him in a galaxy-shaking battle, convincing the mercenary to stop working for Galactus. Once Deadpool relinquished his powers, he attended a support group for former Heralds of Galactus, where they bonded over losing their cosmic abilities.

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