For most of the the series, Moore and Stewart combined to make psychedelic visuals, blending round, liquid line-work with vibrant colors, overwhelming the reader. But when the Surfer asks Galactus to remove his helmet and show his true face as Galan, Stewart mutes his colors and Moore chooses wide shots with symmetrical shapes. The change in art style gives the conversation between the Surfer and Galactus a sober tone, heightening its emotional stakes.
“What do I become?” Galan asks the Surfer, his plaintive face off-set by a light tan background. “Death,” answers the Surfer, looking fierce and righteous. The conversation lasts only a few pages, but it’s long enough for Galan to convince the Surfer that good does not spring from evil done against evil. These few pages reveal the depth of Galactus’s sorrow. In his desire to protect a planet he loved, he lost his identity as Galan. Worse, he must now inflict upon other planets the same fate done to his own, becoming what he hates.
The Multiversal Tragedy of Galactus
So necessary is this tragedy to the Galactus story that it reappears even in tales that don’t feature Galan as Galactus. In the 1999 alternate universe story Earth X by Jim Krueger, Alex Ross, and John Paul Leon, Reed Richards puts the universe in peril when he transforms Galactus into a star. Realizing that Galactus must be a universal constant, Reed’s all-powerful son Franklin takes the role, finally giving up his humanity.
During Jonathan Hickman’s wonderful Fantastic Four run from the 2010s, the team seeks help from Reed and Sue’s grown children Franklin and Valeria, who have been time-traveling with their father Nathanial. As in Earth X, Galactus is a universal constant, something that must be retained to defend reality from the Celestials. When the Celestials defeat Galactus, Franklin uses his powers to revive him and defeat the invaders. As a result, the adult Franklin takes the World Devourer role while Galactus becomes his herald.
Although out of main continuity, those last two instances may be important for The Fantastic Four. After all, we already suspect that the movie takes place during the 1960s in a universe alternate to the mainline MCU. And early plot rumors have suggested that Franklin plays a key role. Furthermore, we know that The Fantastic Four will feature Julia Garner’s Shalla-Bal as the Silver Surfer, not the traditional Norrin Radd. And Shalla-Bal’s most notable tenure as the Silver Surfer occurred in Earth X, as a herald for Franklin as Galactus.
Lastly, the current Multiverse Saga climaxes with the sixth Avengers movie, currently titled Avengers: Secret Wars. The most recent Secret Wars storyline, the one the MCU will most likely adapt, stems from Hickman’s Fantastic Four run, in which Galactus became Franklin’s Herald.