Marvel Studios just nerfed Galactus' space-faring powers in his MCU debut in Fantastic Four: First Steps. The gargantuan comic book threat finally made his proper live-action debut with the release of First Steps, appearing in all his plum-costumed glory for the first time as opposed to being adapted for screen into something not even resembling the character like he was for 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
While the character may finally look as he does in beloved comic book runs from names like Jack Kirby or Jonathan Hickman, his powers were significantly tamped down from those of his comic book counterpart. This resulted in an MCU villain who ultimately served as nothing more than a towering terror without really any of the galactic tool kit that makes him one of the most feared names in Marvel Comics.
Fantastic Four: First Steps comes from WandaVision director Matt Shakman, finally bringing Marvel's First Family to the MCU for the first time. The film stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as its central team, as they contend with the villainous Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his herald, the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner).
What Was Wrong With Fantastic Four's Galactus?
After years of waiting, Fantastic Four: First Steps finally gave audiences a Galactus that at least looks like the version of the character from Marvel Comics; however, his powers have been severely nerfed (aka toned down).
The version of the character seen in the movie has been severely powered down from his comic book counterpart, removing some of his key powers.
While First Steps mentions the character's use of the mysterious Power Cosmic (as well as the baby Franklin Richards' ability to use the all-powerful force), audiences do not really get to see the movie version of the character using this power.
In the comics, this ability allows the character to change sizes, teleport across the galaxy, and use superhuman speed. However, in the movie, it is clear that this take on the iconic villain does not possess any of these powers.
One of the film's biggest narrative beats, defeating the tyrannical titan, actually centers around this lack of superhuman abilities.
With Galactus slowly moving through New York City, the Fantastic Four devise a plan to teleport the villain across the galaxy by shoving him through one of Reed Richard's Bridge teleporters.
If Ralph Ineson's Galactus were as brimming with power as his comic book version was, this final teleportation moment would be nothing more than a minor setback to his planet-eating plan.
In the comics, if the same thing had happened to Galactus, he would have just blinked himself back across the universe to fight Fantastic Four yet again, rendering their teleportation plan completely useless. Instead, thanks to a well-timed push from Julia Garner's Silver Surfer, Galactus is shunted through the intergalactic portal, ending his reign on Earth.
Perhaps, the movie was hiding these bigger powers for the next conflict with the star-hopping bid bad, but for now, he ends First Steps looking like a run-of-the-mill Godzilla-like monster in a funny purple suit.
What Are Galactus' Powers In Fantastic Four: First Steps?
So, without some of his comic book powers at the ready in Fantastic Four: First Steps, one might wonder what sort of abilities this nerfed version of Galactus got in the movie? Well, not too many.
The impression coming out of the movie is that this version of Galactus is essentially a giant man with a big planet-eating ship. It is this ship, the Taa II, that seems to feed the villain in this version of the character, doing the planet-eating itself and then pumping the remains of each planetary body through large tubes on his back.
This is a marked difference from the comics, where Galactus has been seen eating entire planets himself, turning whole solar systems into his own bowl of cosmos-sized cocoa puffs.
The movie Galactus also seems to draw his powers from the Power Cosmic, like he does in the comics, but what that actually means is not really demonstrated for Galactus specifically in the movie.
His other movie powers include a kaiju-like form, immortality, super strength, superhuman durability, as well as a visor on his helmet that lets him detect the power level of other beings (like discovering the ultra-powerful Franklin in Sue Storm's belly aboard the Taa II).
The power most prominently featured in the film is his telekinesis and bio kinesis, which he uses to flick the Silver Surfer from her board as well as induce Sue Storm into labor to hopefully give birth to Franklin before she escapes his massive ship.
