The first teaser for "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" just dropped, kicking off Phase Six of the MCU and introducing an iconic Marvel villain to the big screen. So who exactly is Galactus and what kind of conflict might be brewing between him and our heroes?
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00:00The first teaser of the Fantastic Four first steps just dropped, kicking off Phase 6 of
00:04the MCU and introducing an iconic Marvel villain to the big screen. So who exactly is Galactus,
00:10and what kind of conflict might be brewing between him and our heroes?
00:14The teaser offers us a glimpse of the film's fantastic 60s retrofuturistic setting, and
00:18introduces us to Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm, aka The Thing.
00:24If superheroes are flexing their abilities and saving the local populace, that means
00:31trouble is brewing somewhere in their backyard. Sure enough, we get a glimpse of the big bad
00:35in the trailer looming over New York City. This is none other than the cosmic being Galactus,
00:39who is known for consuming entire planets in the comics.
00:42The time to feed grows near.
00:45Galactus was first introduced in 1966's Fantastic Four No. 48, in which the foursome is warned
00:51about the cosmic being's inevitable arrival on Earth. Galactus is no puny villain that
00:55can be easily overcome by brute strength. Rather, he existed even before the Big Bang,
00:59and is one of the most feared beings in the cosmos.
01:02At last, Galactus is here.
01:06Galactus has wiped entire civilizations completely off the galactic map due to his ravenous hunger,
01:11acting as a balancing force between death and eternity. There are likewise cosmic entities
01:15that serve as the physical manifestations of these respective concepts in the Marvel
01:19Comics universe. So what is Galactus doing here on Earth? And can the Fantastic Four
01:23succeed in curbing his primordial hunger?
01:26The retrofuturist aesthetic of First Steps might be a glaring hint that the movie does
01:30not take place on Earth-616, the version of Earth from MCU's Sacred Timeline. Instead,
01:35the film may take place in a parallel timeline doomed to be invaded and devoured by Galactus
01:39— except, that is, for the Fantastic Four, who will presumably find themselves hurdled
01:44onto the 616 version of Earth in that event.
01:47That's not a far-fetched theory, either, as world-ending robotic drones known as Galactus
01:51have devoured all life-bearing planets in their path in Marvel's comics, and even merged
01:55with Galactus in the Hunger series.
01:57Too much power. Too much to consume.
02:02Why is this assimilation incident important? To put it briefly, the Hunger comic books
02:05are part of Marvel's Cataclysm series, which takes place after a major post-Age of Ultron
02:10time-space rift that allows Galactus to travel to a version of Earth where he can regenerate
02:14himself. And which version of Earth did Galactus originally come from before his merger with
02:18the Galactus? That's right, Earth-616.
02:22If First Steps is indeed adapting aspects from this comic book storyline, then it would
02:26make sense for the Fantastic Four to force Galactus back to Earth-616 and defeat him
02:30there, putting an end to his destructive, unchecked behavior. The Fantastic Four First
02:34Steps hits theaters on July 25th, 2025.