Silver Surfer knows Marvel’s secret:
Marvel has started the new decade with a bang…quite literally. The Overlords at Marvel Comics had warned the readers that Marvel will undergo some serious changes this year and the current decade will see Marvel entertain some truly serious tones. They have stayed true to their promise. The next couple of issues of our favorite Marvel Superheroes stand to prove that point. The one we are talking about will reveal a deep, dark secret that Marvel thought it could keep buried but alas, it has come out at last!! Presenting – Silver Surfer knows Marvel Universe’s greatest secret and it could end the Universe!!
SPOILER ALERT: Major Spoilers for Thor #1 up ahead. Enter at your own risk……
In the pages of Thor #1 by Donny Cates and Nic Klein, Thor sees a massive object crash land onto Asgard. The Realm Eternal that Thor is now the King of is taken aback by the explosion. That ‘object’ turns out to be Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds. Galactus and Asgard have an uneasy truce under which Galactus has agreed to never set foot on Thor’s territory. So why has he come back? Why has Galactus violated the agreement?? Galactus reveals that he did not come to Asgard looking for a fight. He came to warn Thor and the rest of the heroes that something far more dangerous is coming.
It is called the Black Winter aka the Star Plague.
The Black Winter is an apocalyptic event that could destroy an entire universe. Before Galactus absorbed the power of the Big Bang and became a Cosmic Force of nature, he was just a regular guy who went by the name Galan. Galan was an inhabitant of the old Universe, the one that existed before the Big Bang. That Universe was devastated by the Black Winter and the cataclysm destroyed the Cosmos. That Black Winter event is returning to repeat the same for the mainstream Marvel Universe. Galactus was the only being in an entire universe who managed to escape the Black Winter. So he knows how to defeat it. But Galactus is severely weakened and he needs nourishment. And that is where the Silver Surfer comes in.
Thor gathers up his table of heroes that had ever had the chance of serving Galactus as his Herald. All of the heroes that fit the criteria attend the meeting. The one that should have been there first hand but was not anywhere to be found was the Silver Surfer. He soon joins in later. He is no longer a Herald of Galactus and his once signature silver coated skin is now charred to black after Donny Cates’ run on the Surfer titled Silver Surfer – Black. Silver Surfer reveals that the only being in the whole wide universe that has a smidgen of chance at defeating the Black Winter is Galactus. But in his weakened state, he is useless. Silver Surfer reveals that the first Galactus needs to “feed”.
The Surfer reveals a set of five planets. It is a map of the universe that possesses the location of the planets. These planets have unique energy signatures that can boost Galactus’ power levels to near-infinite amounts. That would, according to the Silver Surfer, be enough to stop the Black Winter in its tracks.
But the Question that remains is – Should they even trust Galactus with that level of power? There was a reason the Surfer did not reveal the location of the five planets to him. He already consumes planets for a living and he has gone up against several superheroes that stood in between him and his hunger. Even if the Black Winter is defeated, what happens next?? Will Galactus, who now has powers’ beyond anybody’s comprehension, stay quiet and not create a ruckus?? Will the Devourer of Worlds become the Devourer of the Universe?!?! The Star Plague or the Black Winter could be the least of their worries at this point. The implications and consequences of letting Galactus gain access to that level of power is something the heroes need to ponder on and decide as soon as possible. It is a risky gamble. Will the heroes take the chance?
