Thor #169
The Awesome Answer!
Thor has been sent on a mission to learn the origins of Galactus. Learning of this quest, Galactus decides to tell the thunder god what he wishes to learn. Previously, Galactus showed Thor a scene from centuries ago where a Watcher located the remains of a plague ship.[1] Galactus goes on to say that among the dead aliens the Watcher found, he discovered a lone survivor sleeping in a metal sarcophagus.
Thor correctly deduces that this lone survivor was Galactus. However, admitting this angers the world devourer who refuses to remember himself in such a weak form. He lashes out, thinking Thor is mocking him, but the thunder god manages to calm him down enough to continue his story. Although, he dreads the memory of who he used to be, he continues his story.
Galactus tells Thor that the crew of the ship came from a distant world called Taa. Taa was a scientifically advanced utopian society. The man who became Galactus was a great scientist and one day he discovered that a strange plague was spreading across the universe killing all life and that it will eventually reach the planet Taa.[2] The scientist tried to come up with a cure, but the plague was quickly spread to Taa and began killing off the population. The last survivors decided to go out in a blaze of glory and they — including the scientist who would become Galactus — flew a ship into the nearby sun. The crew began being bomarded with radiation that killed everyone but the scientist who discovered that it was instilling him with new life. Ultimately, the ship was sling shot around the sun and sent out into deep space.[3]
The crash landing was observed by the Watcher who began examining the scientist’s body. That’s when he awoke and broke free from containment, turning into a being of pure energy at the time. Seeing the destructive forces at play, the Watcher who then sealed fledgling Galactus in a ship that was sent into space. Using his new power, Galactus created his iconic armor and converted the ship into an incubator that allowed his powers to grow and gestate until it was time for Galactus to emerge.[4]
Learning all of this, Thor decides that Galactus is a threat to all life in the universe and prepares to attack. He is stopped when Odin contacts him telepathically to tell the thunder god that his mission is complete. He also tells his son that there is a danger on Earth and teleports Thor back to his adopted home. There, Balder and the Warriors Three are locked in battle with the Thermal Man, who proves more powerful than they could imagine.
Recurring Characters
Thor, Galactus, Odin, Balder, the Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Thermal Man, Ecce (flashback)
Continuity Notes
This Watcher is not identified by name here. He is named Ecce in the Watcher’s entry in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #12.
The real name of Galactus is not revealed here. Super-Villain Classics #1 reveals that his name used to be Galan. That same story also reveals that Taa existed in the universe prior to the Big Bang. Ultimates (vol. 2) #2-8 details that the Earth-616 universe goes through universal resets over time and that this was the sixth such universal reset.
Super-Villain Classics #1 clarifies that this radiation was actually Cosmic Rays. It also reveals that Galan’s ship actually plunged into the sun where he was transformed by the Sentience of the Universe. He wasn’t so much sling-shoted from Taa’s sun as it became an Cosmic Egg that exploded causing the Big Bang.
As we previously saw in Thor #162, the incubator was attacked causing Galactus to emerge and destroy his attackers and feed on his first world. This was the home of the Archeopians, as identified in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #4. Ultimates (vol. 2) #4-8 reveals that the incubation process was interrupted hence why Galactus is a world devourer, instead of a life bringer as he was originally intended to be.
