While Marvel Comics fans know that Galactus is a cosmic remnant of a long-dead universe cursed with consuming planets for the sake of universal balance, many may not know that there are actually two of these entities floating around in the cosmos–well, sort of.
Galactus was originally a humanoid life form who existed before the start of Marvel’s 616 Universe named Galan. During a multiversal renewal cycle, Galan flew his ship towards the center of the cosmic disturbance only to be folded into the next universe upon his original universe’s obliteration. When this happened, Galan fused with the essence of this new reality and became the World Devourer, Galactus. Given his truly unique origin, it is hard to imagine that this happened to another being. In fact, it would be impossible to consider that this happened to someone else because it didn’t, Galactus is a one-of-a-kind force of nature cursed with consuming worlds because he was lucky enough to survive the annihilation of his original universe. So, how are there two?
In Quasar #37 by Mark Gruenwald and Greg Capullo, the space hero Quasar is introduced to an entity called Anthropomorpho–a member of a species known as the Manifestations who are effectively symbiotic beings that form the bodies of universally abstract entities who don’t have physical bodies, like Eternity. To be clear, Manifestations aren’t copies of these entities but are quite literally the manifestations of them–this species simply retains its own consciousness separate from the beings they are manifesting. Unlike the Klyntar, this is actually a perfect cosmic symbiosis–though some people are inclined to abuse this god-tier system.
There's Technically a Second Galactus, and the Reason Why is Hilarious
Throughout Marvel Comics, Galactus isn’t always shown decimating entire worlds and swallowing up planets at his leisure. Galactus also has a seat among the other cosmically powerful entities in the Marvel Universe. Within a plethora of Marvel comic books dealing with the further reaches of the Universe, Galactus can be spotted sitting among the pantheon of Marvel’s gods–but this issue of Quasar confirms that’s not always him. Quasar #37 confirms that many cosmic beings who do have physical forms still use the Manifestations to act as their proxy in certain situations–and since Manifestations literally are the entities they take the form of, every time Galactus uses one, he is effectively creating two Galactus’ in the universe.
This revelation is absolutely hilarious as it implies that Galactus finds the gatherings of Marvel's cosmic gods so mind-numbingly tedious that he’d rather recruit the help of a species designed to function as living embodiments of sentient functions of the universe just to get out of them. Apparently, Galactus can’t be bothered to show up to a cosmic-god meeting once in a while, so he just uses some entity whose existence is beyond human understanding in the most insultingly trivial way imaginable. So, yes, there is technically sometimes a second Galactus in Marvel Comics, but the truth behind the second one’s existence is hilariously absurd.