Warning: This article contains spoilers for Fantastic Four: Antithesis #4
The latest Fantastic Four limited series, Fantastic Four: Antithesis has been making some pretty big waves, especially were where Marvel Comics’ world-eating Galactus is concerned. It's not exactly surprising, considering the heavyweight creative team behind the book, a team up of two greats: Neal Adams and Mark Waid. The series is billed as “A New Story From A Classic Era,” and that’s exactly how it reads—for better or for worse. It’s a blast from the past that has managed to sneak in some pretty awesome insights into the Marvel Comics Universe’s singular power source.
For a being so old, whose power and intelligence is matched only by his hunger to consume worlds, it’s odd that Galactus is so dependent on others. Unfortunately, one thing he can’t do is be everywhere at once. Considering the infinite size of the universe, the vast reaches of empty space, and his singular dietary needs, Galactus must entrust his power to beings capable of seeking out planets ripe for consumption. Nevertheless, the question remains: why does Galactus regularly grant his servants so much power that they could be a threat to him? Apparently that's just how the Power Cosmic works.
In the last issue of the series, Fantastic Four: Antithesis #4, Reed Richards—aka Mr. Fantastic—is accidentally transformed into Galactus. Now, his intention wasn’t to absorb so much power as to become the next World-Eater, but just enough to rejuvenate his mind. This is when Richards stumbles upon something hitherto unknown about the energy which fuels some of Marvel’s most powerful beings: the power cosmic cannot be sipped, and to accept it is to be filled by it.
Whether it was Adams and Waid’s intention or not, this throwaway line illuminates an important flaw in the process of imbuing someone with the Power Cosmic. It explains the decades old conundrum of how the Silver Surfer could be so powerful as to turn on his master and—for all intents and purposes—get away with it. Keep in mind, the power can be ascribed a certain level of volition because it flows from the Sentience of the Universe. As other comics have established, within the power cosmic lies the raw essences of both creation and destruction. Considering this, sampling it would be comparatively as futile as trying to obtain a tablespoon of the Niagara Falls.
Come to think of it, is it really a flaw? Or is it perhaps a failsafe? It’s a mechanism designed to make sure that the power is kept in check, and that the universe remains in balance. It’s been established at this point that Galactus—and every other host of the Power Cosmic—serves a purpose necessary to the continuance of the universe. It would be interesting to think of his heralds as more than just servants pledged to abate his enormous hunger. In the case of the Fantastic Four: Antithesis series, they are the means by which he might one day achieve redemption.