Film opinion: ‘Fantastic Four’ antagonist Galactus creates a dilemma for MCU villains
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is finally here, with Sue Storm, Reed Richards, Ben Grimm & Johnny Storm charging back onto our screens for the first time since 2015’s much-criticised adaptation of the comic book favourite.
A decade ago, there were hordes of unhappy customers, but director Matt Shakman’s version has audiences around the world taken aback by the quality on show.
Despite having already raked in over $250 million at the box office, Film News Blitz’s Joe Matthews thinks that one glaring problem may have passed some by: Galactus.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Who is Galactus?
Galactus, who first appeared in Fantastic Four #48 back in 1966, is a cosmic entity who travels the universe with his disciples, devouring entire planets in order to sustain his being.
To list some of his abilities, he has immense perception and understanding of the cosmos, he can manipulate energy and mass to create shields or energy blasts, and is often described as having near-invulnerability. Surpassing that, he isn’t even necessarily evil; he is quite literally a force of nature, as his actions are seen as important in maintaining balance in the cosmos.
So when turned against our heroes of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Galactus finds himself rapidly atop the list of the most dangerous and powerful supervillains even possible.
How, then, does this create a problem for future big-screen villains, I hear you ask?
The Galactus Dilemma- too powerful to defeat?
Put simply, with his otherworldly powers at hand and billions of years of experience, Marvel’s first family should not be able to defeat Galactus, at least not just in one film.
Whilst as a family, their powers of intelligence, strength, flight and energy manipulation are enough to defeat villains of a more manageable nature, Galactus does not come under that umbrella.
Surely over the lifetimes he has been alive, other planets with similarly gifted heroes have come in his way, meaning he has had to defeat them to move forward?
It seems dubious that the Fantastic Four would happen to be the strongest of those- ultimately, they are human beings at their core.
This then raises the question of striking the perfect balance between having a mightily powerful character, who is still realistically vulnerable to the powers of our heroes.
Enter Thanos- ‘perfectly balanced’
If you’re looking for a villain with believable motives, the ability to wield great power and amass an equal following, whilst also being defeatable with a combination of a group of heroes’ power, skill and fortune, look no further than Thanos.
Josh Brolin’s terrifying purple giant took the movie world by storm in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, becoming the titular villain in the second-highest-grossing film of all time (Avengers: Endgame).
His motives came from a personal disaster that he seeks to rectify for the rest of the universe, and he wishes to do so by gaining an army and seeking out the most powerful weapons of all, the Infinity Stones.
READ MORE: Box office news: Marvel’s ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ scores $218m global opening
Over the five and a half hours of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, we see the tussle between Thanos with his army, and the Avengers, who eventually, through a tedious method and devastating battle, manage to overcome him.
The reason it works is because, logically, it could’ve gone either way; whilst Thanos is extremely powerful, we knew that the combined strength of the Avengers could still win.
If we then use this logic to assess the balance of Galactus, it can certainly be said that it is not there in the same capacity.
Galactus is a being of such incomprehensible strength, so for him to be defeated in such a swift manner feels disappointing.
Thanos has set a high bar for supervillains, and it feels as though Galactus, who was one of the most anticipated and exciting characters since 2020, simply did not fit the billing.
Does this mean that ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ is a failure?
Absolutely not!
While Galactus could have been better utilised, The Fantastic Four: First Steps has still shed light on a gloomy period for superhero adaptations.
With superb acting and arguably the best portrayals of the main quartet to date, 2025’s blockbuster retro-futuristic superhero flick has undeniably met and exceeded overall expectations given to it.
Wonderful visuals, clean storytelling, and strong pacing make First Steps one of the films of the year so far- one can only hope that Galactus makes a return in Avengers: Doomsday alongside his new nemeses.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to release in December of 2026, so we will be keenly keeping an eye out to see if the cosmic villain is ready to fight back.
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