Move over Thanos, Galactus is Marvel Universe's real cosmic threat, but can the Fantastic Four villain revive MCU?
Galactus, the antagonist of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, is in every way a bigger villain than Thanos. And Marvel Cinematic Universe needs that right now.
A few years ago, when IGN, the paragon of American pop culture, unveiled its list of the top 100 comic book villains of all time, there were quite a few surprises. For one, Joker was not ranked number 1, to most readers' horror and surprise. However, Magneto sitting at the top spot did placate many. It was Galactus' entry at number 5 that raised a few eyebrows. Behind only Magneto and Doctor Doom, Galactus was effectively rated as the third-greatest Marvel villain in the list. To fans of the comics, this was not a surprise. But to an entire generation that has grown up on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he was an unknown commodity. Well, that is about to change!
The aura of Galactus
Allow me to be the whiny Millennial for the duration of this piece. Among the many things that the modern vernacular has 'ruined' is the word aura. It is, frankly, overused now. But you can't talk about a villain of Galactus' stature and use any other word. A world-eater, a threat of cosmic proportions, Galactus is perhaps one of the most overpowered comic book villains ever. Thanos had been presented as the overarching nemesis in the MCU's first three phases. But in the comics, he was nothing more than a filler. In the same list where Galactus was number 5, Thanos languished at number 47. That should say all!
The Fantastic Four: First Steps brings Galactus to the big screen after a gap of just under two decades. The 2007 Sony film, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, featured the villain, and promptly managed to butcher him. Instead of the helmet-wearing cosmic entity we are used to, what we got was a cloud bigger than Earth. First Steps is out to rectify this. Not only does Galactus look comic-accurate here, but he feels so, too. Through the teaser and trailers alone, First Steps has managed to set Galactus up as a threat of unprecedented scale, something Marvel could not do effectively with the Celestials in Eternal. It is a pleasant change.
Can Galactus save the day?
Traditionally, villains are out to ruin the day, and it is up to the heroes to save it. But for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Galactus needs to be the saviour. The peak of the MCU - the Infinity Saga - worked because of the looming threat of Thanos. His machinations were present in every villain's effort, in every hero's fight. Marvel has been unable to recreate that looming threat, partially because of Kang's untimely exit from plans, and partly because of Doctor Doom's forced return. Enter Galactus!
MCU has plenty of heroes right now, a little too many if you ask me. Before watching any film, a casual viewer wonders what all they need to watch before embarking on this project. Those are the pitfalls of a shared cinematic universe. But The Fantastic Four: First Steps busts that trend by setting this story in a parallel universe untethered to the other MCU stories. It allows the MCU to achieve some freshness in the middle of a season of superhero fatigue. The promise is there. Now, it's time for delivery. And more than the titular superhero team, it is for Galactus to deliver. A villain of his size and stature (literally and figuratively) needs to bring the heft needed to bring audiences back to the theatre, and infuse some life into the MCU. Only that can set the stage up for greater adventures in the future.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps marks Marvel's first family's entry into the MCU. The film stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the titular team, along with Ralph Ineson as Galactus and Julia Fox as the Silver Surfer. The film, first of MCU's Phase Six, will release in theatres on July 25.
