Comics
Published July 11, 2025

Why Galactus Eats Planets

Learn all about Galactus and the role his hunger plays in upholding the cosmos in the Marvel Universe.

When Galactus gets hungry, the whole universe looks like a snack. With an eternal hunger that can only be satiated by consuming worlds, Galactus is a primal force of nature and a looming symbol of death and destruction across the universe.

Galactus’ hungry gaze has turned to Earth on many occasions, making him one of the most dangerous threats the Fantastic Four and Avengers have ever faced. Some cosmic forces, like the Silver Surfer, tried to steer him in less destructive directions, but Galactus remains a powerful cosmic entity whose appetite condemns entire worlds to death.

Let’s take a closer look at Galactus, why the World-Devourer eats planets, and how his appetite has evolved over time. We’ll also break down how Galactus plays a crucial role in maintaining the cosmic order of the Marvel Universe and keeping its memory alive forever.

WHO IS GALACTUS?

Galactus first appeared in one of the Marvel Universe’s most famous epics, FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #48 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. That story saw Galactus and his Herald, the Silver Surfer, set their sights on Earth, only to be outsmarted by the Fantastic Four. However, Galactus’ history stretches back even further in Marvel history, to a previous incarnation of the Multiverse called the Sixth Cosmos.

Born as Galan on the alien planet Taa, Galactus was the genetically engineered son of an influential scientist named Taaia. Galan grew up to become an intergalactic explorer just as a cosmic plague called the Black Winter began destroying his universe. As he tried to fly his ship into his reality’s point of collapse, Galan merged with the Sentience of the Sixth Cosmos, the living embodiment of that dying universe. He emerged to become Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds.

As Galactus incubated in a cosmic egg forged from his ship, the modern Marvel Universe began to take shape in the form of the Seventh Cosmos. After billions of years, Galactus emerged from his incubation period as one of the most powerful beings in the new universe and a great destroyer destined to end worlds.

WHY GALACTUS FEEDS ON PLANETS

Over the eons, Galactus destroyed an untold number of worlds. However, the Great Devourer bore no malice towards any planet he consumed and, on several occasions, even tried to limit his feeding to uninhabited worlds. Despite his intentions, Galactus continued to feed because his appetite plays a crucial role in maintaining the cosmic order of the Multiverse.

The Multiverse belongs to an endless cycle of death and rebirth, the likes of which destroyed the Sixth Cosmos that Galan hailed from and gave rise to the Seventh which Galactus feasted on. As Galactus fed on planets, he converted their matter into energy. The Planet-Eater dedicated his existence to generating enough energy to kickstart the Big Bang that would birth the next iteration of the Multiverse, the Eighth Cosmos. On his journey to fulfill his cosmic destiny, Galactus absorbed energy from powerful items like the M’Kraan Crystal but found that planets were the only energy source that sufficiently sustained him.

In some of Galactus’ more vulnerable moments, both the Watcher and Silver Surfer considered killing him, but they came to accept his role as a cosmic harvester. The Silver Surfer even helped his former master come back from the dead to fight more malicious threats such as the Reckoning. The all-seeing Uatu further added that every world, life, and culture consumed by Galactus would inform the next Multiverse and all subsequent realities.

HOW GALACTUS EATS PLANETS

Although Galactus is as tall as a building, he does not consume planets by simply taking bites out of them. The World-Devourer feeds by using several highly advanced devices that even Mister Fantastic barely understands. While he does not need these machines to feed, Galactus typically uses an elemental energy converter that drains worlds of their consumable energy. Once Galactus consumes a planet’s living energy, he moves on and leaves the world a lifeless husk.

Prior to feeding on a world, Galactus travels to the planet in his ship, the Star Sphere, and sends his Heralds to either warn or battle the planet’s residents while he makes other preparations.

Galactus initially only consumed planets on occasion, but he now needs to feed roughly once a month. Otherwise, he grows incredibly weak when he goes too long without eating.

WHAT PLANETS HAS GALACTUS EATEN?

Shortly after waking up from his incubation, Galactus’ cosmic hunger demanded that he immediately began feeding. In the middle of a battle between warring aliens, Galactus consumed Archeopia in THOR (1966) #162 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Galactus even used the planet’s remains to build Taa II, his solar-system-sized Worldship in SUPER-VILLAIN CLASSICS (1983) #1 by Lee, Kirby, Mark Gruenwald, and John Byrne. As he surveyed the planet-sized damage he caused, Galactus understood his place in the grand scheme of the universe and accepted his destiny to give rise to the next Multiverse.

Over many eons and dinner courses, Galactus fed on several landmark worlds around the Marvel Universe. He consumed Tarnax IV, the home of the shape-shifting Skrull Empire, kicking off a major reordering of the cosmic empires in FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #257 by John Byrne. Galactus also destroyed the home worlds of Beta Ray Bill, one of Thor’s closest allies, and the Impossible Man, one of the Fantastic Four’s most powerful foes. He also ate Sakaar, a gladiatorial world where the Hulk once reigned, but the Time Stone eventually restored the planet to the cosmos.

HOW GALACTUS STOPPED EATING PLANETS

Thanks to Earth’s heroes, Galactus stopped eating planets on a few occasions. When he initially tried to consume Earth, Mister Fantastic turned him away by threatening to use the Ultimate Nullifier, a machine that could wipe out all of existence. When a severely weakened Galactus tried to feed on Earth once more, Mister Fantastic used the power of Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, to save his life. In return, Galactus vowed to never consume Earth in FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #245 by John Byrne. The Planet-Eater has since largely spared Earth and has even on occasion teamed up with the Fantastic Four to save the universe from greater cosmic threats.

A group of heroes led by Blue Marvel still sought to find a permanent solution to Galactus’ hunger in ULTIMATES (2015) #2 by Al Ewing and Kenneth Rocafort. Known as the Ultimates, they forced Galactus back into his incubator and exposed him to Neutronium. When Galactus emerged, he re-entered the cosmos as the Lifebringer, a being who brought life to worlds instead of destroying them. Galactus restored Archeopia, the first planet he destroyed, and went on to help the Ultimates address various cosmic problems.

However, Galactus returned to his hungering ways when he consumed the planet Saiph to prevent Ultron from unleashing an infectious virus. His appetite helped the heroes again when he partially consumed Doom the Living Planet, a planet possessed by an alternate reality Doctor Doom. The Avengers later recognized Galactus as an honorary member to recognize his heroic efforts.

GALACTUS AND FRANKLIN RICHARDS

While Galactus links the past Multiverse to the present one, Franklin Richards, the son of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, is destined to link the current Multiverse to the next.

After helping his family save Galactus on a few occasions, an adult Franklin from another timeline realized that he and the World-Devourer would be the last two beings in universe in FF (2011) #16.

At the end of time, Galactus and Franklin spent this universe’s last moments together in HISTORY OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE (2019) #1 by Mark Waid and Javier Rodriguez. As the World-Devourer prepared to die, he reminded Franklin about their universe’s history. Galactus then turned into the energy that would cause the next Big Bang as Franklin prepared to take his role as the Devourer of Worlds in the next Multiverse. In their last moments, Galactus left Franklin with the duty to remember the Marvel Universe and preserve its knowledge in whatever the next reality may be.

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