The MCU Just Set Up How Terrifying Galactus Will Be | Screen Rant

Warning: Contains spoilers for Marvel’s What If…? episode 8.

In showing how powerful Ultron is in What If…? episode 8, “What If…Ultron Won?,” the MCU teased Galactus and how deadly he could be. What If…? episode 8 finally confirmed that the series had been building to a crossover between the multiverses already established in the series. For that plan to work, they had to set up a villain worthy of bringing those forces together across the multiverse boundaries.

Galactus has an extensive history in Marvel Comics, having been first introduced by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in The Fantastic Four comic issue #48 in 1966. The figure was eventually given a full backstory that included a version of him existing before the big bang. Galactus was a break from previous villains that had been written as he was intended to not be necessarily evil but purely fulfilling his need to survive. Galactus is known as the Devourer of Worlds because to gain the essence he needs to live he must consume entire planets. His arrival is often preceded by one of his heralds, the most famous of whom is Silver Surfer.

Related: Thanos’ MCU Fight With Ultron Has An Infinity War Timeline Plot Hole

In What If…? episode 8, with Ultron having nuked Earth and claimed the Infinity Stones from Thanos, his power seems nigh-unstoppable as he roams the cosmos destroying all life he can come across from Asgard to Ego the Living Planet. However, after he destroys the universe, Ultron becomes aware of The Watcher, Uatu (Jeffrey Wright), and breaks from his multiverse to have a multiverse spanning fight with the figure. In doing so, he shows that he can use the power of the Infinity Stones to grow himself to an immeasurable size and appears to take a giant bite from a solar system. The allusion to Galactus, both in the action of eating planets and some similarities between Galatcus’ comics depiction and the way that Ultron’s robotic parts frame the synthetic body’s head, make the connection particular evident as a tease for audiences familiar with the comics.

The MCU has been teasing larger cosmic beings who might come in the wake of Thanos and they could already be looking at villains for beyond the Kang variants. Celestials, an extraterrestrial race of cosmic beings, have made some appearances in the MCU already. Ego in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a Celestial and the Knowhere, home of the Collector, is located within the severed head of a dead celestial’s avatar. The upcoming Eternals is set to further include Celestials, which could have additional hints. While Galactus is not a Celestial himself, he shares a lot of powers with the race and has a similar appearance.

Now could be the perfect time for the MCU to be setting up the inclusion of Galactus in the future. Galactus appeared in 20th Century Fox’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer at a point when Fox owned the right to the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Silver Surfer, Doctor Doom, and Galactus. More recently, Disney has acquired 20^th Century Fox and with it the rights to those characters, allowing for their use in the MCU. Marvel has a new Fantastic Four movie coming up in their MCU roster, which could be a chance to redo the villain’s appearance. This small tease in What If…? could just be the first glimpse of a major upcoming villain in the form of Galactus.

Next: How Ultron Travels The Multiverse – New Powers Explained

Marvel’s What If…? releases new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.

About The Author