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Galactus changed into the heroic Lifebringer thanks to the work of the Ultimates, but was forced to become the Devourer again for the greater good.
While the Marvel Universe is full of larger-than-life characters, Galactus is in a league of his own. Originally a mere mortal named Galan, the last survivor of a universe from before the Big Bang, he merged with the entity known as the Sentience. Imbued with the Power Cosmic, Galan survived the collision and was reborn as Galactus, a destructive fixture in the cosmic order.
Dubbed the “Devourer of Worlds,” Galactus is driven by his unquenchable hunger for entire planets. Originally he sought out only uninhabited planets, but soon he became more ravenous and targeted any planet he could find–even ones with intelligent life. While not exactly evil, he’s caused no end of trouble for the heroes of the Marvel Universe, who contended with this seemingly overpowered antagonist time and again. Even Galactus himself is aware of his destructiveness and employed the Silver Surfer as his herald to scout out uninhabited planets for him to eat instead. But for a brief period, Galactus lost his status as a destroyer of worlds and became a force of creation.
In 2015’s The Ultimates #3, by Al Ewing and Kenneth Rocafort, the team of Ultimates had to contend with Galactus and his inherently destructive nature. Being that he was part of the order that literally held the universe together, he couldn’t be destroyed. Instead, they trapped him within his own incubator and reversed his powers, transforming him from a Devourer to a Seeder of Worlds.
Instead of destroying planets, Galactus–now dubbed the Lifebringer–could create new ones. In fact, his first act as the Lifebringer was to restore the first planet he ever devoured back into existence. With his old master’s hunger gone, Silver Surfer was relieved of his duty as his herald and was free to explore the universe. And nobody was happier than Lifebringer himself, finally freed from his unending hunger and destructiveness. Everything seemed perfect–the greatest threat to Earth’s existence was nullified, Lifebringer could go about a much happier, better life as an unambiguous hero, Silver Surfer could explore new worlds on his own, and the Ultimates could focus on other powerful enemies to fight. But some people–or godlike forces–weren’t keen on this change in Galactus’ nature.
Two powerful entities, Lord Chaos and Master Order, weren’t pleased with Galactus’ new form, believing that he was throwing off the natural cosmic balance. Lord Chaos and Master Order merged together to become Logos, and they nearly succeeded in reverting Lifebringer back to his former self. Lifebringer narrowly won, but the fight left him weakened and cost the life of his new herald, Anti-Man.
Matters weren’t helped thanks to Ultron, who transformed the entire planet of Saiph with a cybernetic virus that would spread and destroy billions of lives and planets. In Infinity Countdown #4, by Gerry Duggan and Aaron Kuder, the Silver Surfer pleaded for Lifebringer to become Galactus and devour Saiph to render Ultron powerless. Lifebringer didn’t want to return to his old form, but after acknowledging the devastating consequences Ultron’s virus would have on the entire universe, he made the painful choice to revert back into Galactus, devouring Saiph and neutralizing the threat of the Ultron in the process. Galactus was once again back to his hungry, unstoppable self, and Silver Surfer was again bound by duty to be his herald.
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