The Galactus Trilogy: A Classic Fantastic Four Comic Review and Comparison to the Movies

So first and foremost, I didn’t know that this story would be a Fantastic Four comic. I’ve never really followed them in comics, so I’m not very familiar with them or their enemies. I will say that I find some elements of how they talk and engage a bit different from what I’m used to. But, keep in mind that I am new to comics overall. So I’m reading something that was written a long time ago through the lens of a 2020 movie fan.

This story was quite a bit different than I expected. I think I set expectations based on the films I’ve seen without realizing that they are fairly different from the comics that inspired them. For example, even the Infinity Saga didn’t have Warlock as a main character and he is key in the comic version of it. Thor instead of Hulk was the main focus on “Planet Hulk,” and there are other differences as well.

I came across this trilogy as it was also recommended by our friends over at Variant Comics. It’s a pretty good story, although it is one of those older comics like the story I mentioned about Peter Parker and The Night Gwen Stacy died. The story is still entertaining and quite good, but the art style and the way it reads feel a bit dated compared to some modern comics.

In this original comic version, The Human Torch along with The Watcher play a huge role in saving the Earth. I do recall that in one of the older Fantastic Four movies, it was the Silver Surfer who was portrayed as the main character saving the world.

One interesting aspect of this trilogy is that Galactus is not portrayed as a villain in the traditional sense. He consumes energy the way we eat food for energy. Eating itself isn’t “evil”; it’s just a way to survive.

Galactus views planets and the energy they hold the same way. To him, he is not doing anything wrong; he is simply consuming what he needs. He is definitely an intriguing character, and I’d be curious to see how Marvel would handle him if they make another Fantastic Four film. In one movie, Galactus was depicted as something like a cloud of dust, which felt quite different from this portrayal.

As mentioned before, it’s clear that the movies take creative liberties and aren’t always faithful to the comics. There have also been issues surrounding character ownership, as we’ve recently seen with Spider-Man.

I will admit that I felt a bit disappointed with this story because I expected the battle and Galactus’s portrayal to be different. Still, I found it entertaining and would recommend reading it if you’re a comic book fan.