The new Fantastic Four: First Steps teaser trailer has given us our first glimpse of iconic Marvel antagonist Galactus’ MCU debut. It’s a big reveal, unless you’re one of the fans currently complaining about Galactus’s size in the First Steps teaser.
According to these folks, the MCU version of the legendarily oversized Galactus is “so small.” One disgruntled franchise devotee even likened him to a “toddler” in comparison to other cosmic beings in the MCU, such as Eternals‘ Celestials. Another complained that the so-called “Devourer of Worlds” is too tiny to live up to his planet-chomping reputation. The general sentiment is that Marvel Studios has scaled back Galactus’s stature and threat-level from what it is in the comics.
And it’s true that the few shots we see of Galactus in the Fantastic Four: First Steps teaser, he’s far from the biggest unit the MCU has to offer. Sure, he can cast a shadow across New York City. But compared to Arishem the Judge or Tiamut the Communicator – beings who loom large over the Earth itself – he’s kinda shrimpy. Yet none of that matters, because not only is Galactus’s canonical size far more fluid in the comics than some people realize, but it also has nothing to do with how he eats planets.
How Big Is Galactus in the Comics?
Let’s start with how big Galactus is in the comics. When Stan Lee and Jack Kirby first introduced the Fantastic Four’s notoriously gut-motivated foil in Fantastic Four #48, he was tall – but not that tall.
At least, not by superhero comics standards; while Kirby didn’t necessarily draw Galactus exactly the same size in every panel, he was typically about as big as a small skyscraper. Indeed, for Galactus’ big confrontation with the FF, he’s standing on a skyscraper! It wasn’t until Galactus’s subsequent Marvel Comics appearances that he regularly took on more Celestial-sized proportions.
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In-universe, Marvel has explained away any size-related discrepancies as Galactus using his near-limitless power to increase or decrease his frame at will. But in reality, it’s a by-product of comic book creators adjusting the Big G’s stature for dramatic reasons – or even practical ones. As artist Rachael Stott cheekily observed on Bluesky: “Galactus is however big the artist chose to draw him that week in order to fit the dialogue balloons in the panel.”
Now, it remains to be seen whether the MCU’s Galactus shares his comics counterpart’s size-changing abilities. It seems likely, but we don’t know for certain until Marvel Studios says otherwise. Yet even if he doesn’t, his dimensions as depicted in the Fantastic Four: First Steps teaser are still well within the range established by the comics over the years.
Galactus Doesn’t Literally Eat Planets
That’s Galactus’s size covered. Next, let’s clear-up the confusion around his culinary habits. Despite the whole “Devourer of Worlds” nickname, Galactus doesn’t actually chow down on planets in the conventional sense. Instead, he consumes their life force by combining his innate energy-absorbing abilities with the Elemental Converter: a super-advanced machine that makes the process run more smoothly. Bottom line? There’s zero chewing involved.
To quote Stott again: “People really asking why Galactus is so small as if they think he eats the planet by chomping on it like a Granny Smith.” And she’s right: since Galactus doesn’t need to fit his jaw around Earth in Fantastic Four: First Steps, it doesn’t really matter how big or small he is. Heck, he could be human-sized and achieve the same result. All he needs is the Power Cosmic and the Elemental Converter.
Galactus’ Size IS Important – But Only Symbolically
Of course, that doesn’t mean Galactus should be human-sized. On the contrary, his towering figure is a crucial aspect of his character as set out in the comics – but for symbolic reasons. Lee and Kirby’s original conception of Galactus was as a stand-in for God. He’s beyond the Fantastic Four (and everyone else on Earth) in every sense imaginable; they can’t hope to beat him, or even win him around to their own, mortal point of view.
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Galactus’s massiveness – of form and of appetite – is simply a tangible way of communicating an otherwise intangible underlying concept. So, as long as Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ Galactus stays true to this core idea of what he’s supposed to represent, his exact size (and how he eats) really doesn’t matter.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives in cinemas on July 25, 2025.
Published: Feb 8, 2025 09:00 am