Thor #162
Galactus is Born!
After driving Galactus out of the Black Galaxy, Thor and the Recorder return to the planet Rigel. There they are congratulated by the High Commissioner and Tana Nile. However, when they decide it is time to decommission the Recorder, Thor refuses to allow them to do so. He points out that even though the Recorder is a robot, the spark of life exists in him. The Rigellians are inclined to agree and thank Thor for his wisdom.
Thor then uses Mjolnir to create a vortex to teleport himself back to Asgard. There he is greeted by Heimdall who tells him that Odin has requested his audience. It just so happens the Warriors Three are passing by on horseback and Thor hitches a ride on Fandral’s mount.
Once they arrive in the palace they are greeted by Torger, Odin’s cosmic counselor. Torger explains that following Thor’s battle with Galactus, Odin has become interested in learning more about the world devourer in order to determine if he is a threat to Asgard. Odin soon arrives and orders that the activities of Galactus be pulled up on the spatial screen. They then witness as Galactus attacks another world. With their planet blasted by the weapons on Galactus’ ship, the aliens of this world flee. This allows Galactus to approach the planet and begin feeding himself on its energies. Having seen enough, Odin then summons up the image of the world where Galactus was born. There they are horrified to see a lifeless world that was once home to an advanced civilization.
Odin then turns back time so they can observe what happened to this planet. They witness that this world was on in the midst of a galactic conflict. It was during this battle that an incubation ship drifted near the planet. Seeking to destroy it before it could release the life inside, this alien race was too late to stop Galactus from emerging from within the incubation ship. The newly born world devourer used his cosmic power to annihilate the entire alien fleet before consuming the life energies on the planet.[1]
Although Odin has seen enough, he decides that he must learn more about Galactus and dismisses his son and the Warriors Three. Before they leave, Troger tells Thor that Sif had gone to Earth to defend it during his absence and fears something may have happened to her. Elsewhere, Balder wakes up in bed unable to get thought of Karnilla out of his mind. He cannot stop himself from loving her even though she is an enemy of the kingdom.[2] In order to get all thoughts out of her mind, Balder decides to enlist the help of his friend Thor. At that moment, the thunder god is heading back to Earth hoping he is not too late to save Sif from whatever danger may be waiting for him.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Heimdall, Odin, Balder, the Recorder, Tana Nile, High Commissioner, Galactus, Torger
Continuity Notes
This is a greatly abridged version of the origin of Galactus. The facts:
Galactus used to be a man named Galan from the planet Taa, a planet that existed in the universe that predated the Big Bang. With his world dying of a plague, Galan and the last of his people tried to die in a blaze of glory by flying into a nearby sun. Galan was the sole survivor and his body was found by Ecce the Watcher, who then placed him in the incubation ship that we see here. See Thor #168-169, Super-Villain Classics #1
Ultimates (vol. 2) #2-8 reveals that this was part of a universal rebirth process and that Galan merged with the Sentience of the Multiverse to become Galactus. The attack on his incubator mentioned above actually had huge ramifications. Galactus was supposed to be a life bringer, but the attack caused him to emerge prematurely, and thus why he is always hungry and had to consume worlds.
While the aliens who attacked the incubator are, as yet, unidentified. In the Galactus entry of Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #4, the alien world he destroyed was later identified in Archeopia, home of the Archeopians.
Balder spent an extended period of time in Karnilla’s realm from Thor #150-157. Smitten by Balder, the Queen of the Norns tried to convince him to become her consort. He rejected her flat out and later left to help repell an invasion of Asgard by Mangog.
