The Ultimate Universe version of the Silver Surfer is so terrifying that his eventual MCU version would need an R-rated movie. While the Ultimate Galactus was one of the most disappointing aspects of this popular alternate Marvel Universe, Silver Surfer's depiction as an alien suicide cult leader was very interesting, and way creepier and more dangerous than the original.

Back in 2006, Marvel's Ultimate Universe was at the peak of its popularity, riding on the success of Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimates, and Ultimate X-Men. When Marvel decided to introduce Galactus to the Ultimate Universe, adapting the original, iconic "Galactus Trilogy" by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby into three miniseries, fans were incredibly excited. While the first two parts served as setups, the last installment in the trilogy, Ultimate Extinction, finally showed the arrival of Ultimate Galactus (called Gah-Lak Tus). However, the excitement quickly turned into disappointment, as most fans found this depiction of the Devourer lackluster. The same cannot be said about Gah-Lak Tus' heralds, who are actually the stuff of nightmares in this universe.

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Ultimate Extinction, by Warren Ellis, Brandon Peterson, Justin Ponsor, and Paul Mounts, introduces the Ultimate version of the Silver Surfer, called the Silver Men. In this world, the Herald of Galactus isn't one being, but many: false angels who create cults preaching suicide in response to Gah-Lak Tus' arrival, in order to weaken the target planet. They are beings composed of energy, enclosed in malleable shells, and only take human form because they're dealing with humans. This means they can take a lot of punishment during their battles with Earth's heroes, and warp their bodies in response to threats - for example growing several rows of teeth to bite Captain Mahr-Vell in one iconic and disturbing panel from the series.

The Silver Men Are A Disturbing And Dangerous Version Of The Silver Surfer

ultimate silver surfer bites mahr-vell

Everything about Ultimate Silver Surfer is straight-up terrifying. The capacity of the Silver Men to change their appearance means they could be hiding anywhere, under the guise of common people or even world leaders. Their depiction as leaders of suicide cults ties into the reality of the many UFO cults and religions that exist in the real world (especially the infamous Heaven's Gate cult mass suicide of 1997). The Silver Men are also equipped with chemicals that can manipulate human pheromones, making them irresistible. Overall, this is an interesting spin on the original Silver Surfer concept, that takes the idea of the "savior from the stars" and twists it into the creepiest and most disturbing aspects of UFO lore.

ultimate silver surfer cult

Sadly, Ultimate Extinction signaled the beginning of the end for the Ultimate Universe, as the quality of the stories and of the characters introduced started declining from that point onward. Many of the issues with the late Ultimate Marvel comics are visible in this story, which failed to live up to its own hype and to make a new version of an iconic character (Galactus) actually interesting. However, despite later coming back with a completely different version unrelated to Gah-Lak Tus, the Silver Surfer seen in Ultimate Extinction is one of the most original Ultimate characters, which looks way more disturbing and dangerous than the original, and something that would work well in the MCU, since fans have already seen the original version imagined accurately on-screen.

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