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10 Marvel Heroes Who Defeated Galactus, Ranked By Power

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As powerful as he is, Galactus isn’t unbeatable. Over the years, he’s lost numerous times to Marvel heroes. Most of the time, he isn’t beaten by a show of force, but there are definitely some powerful beings who have defeated the cosmic being. These ten Marvel heroes have taken down Galactus, some of them more powerful than others.

10) Dazzler

Image Courtesy of Marvel comics

Dazzler was Marvel trying to make some money off of disco in 1980, which was honestly a hilarious time for them to try that. The mutant had the power to make sound into laser energy, and had her own series for years, all while appearing in X-Men books and around the Marvel Universe. At one point in her series, Allison Blaire went up against Galactus and was able to “beat” him. While Dazz’s powers are pretty great against humans, she’s not even remotely on the same level as the World-Devourer, but she’s still pretty powerful.

9) Squirrel Girl

Image courtesy of Marvel Comics

Squirrel Girl has become a fan favorite, and she’s beaten Galactus, as well as heavy hitters like Doctor Doom and Thanos. She’s not actually powerful enough to overpower them, though. It’s really about how her powers work. It was eventually established that beyond the power to call on squirrels and have superhuman physical attributes, she was given the power to win any fight, mostly because she’s so friendly that her foes end up on her side. So, she did beat the giant purple planet eater, technically at least, but she’s not actually all that powerful.

8) The Ultimates

Black Panther, Spectrum, Blue Marvel, America, and Captain Marvel
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics

The Ultimates were able to defeat Galactus, putting him into a chamber that made him into the Lifebringer instead of the World-Devourer. The Ultimates are a very powerful team — Spectrum has complete control over energy, Blue Marvel has vast super strength and anti-matter powers, America can jump through universes and has super strength, and Captain Marvel has energy powers and super strength. That’s a pretty powerful team right there, but on the list of people who have beaten Galactus, they’re on the less powerful side (plus, if you want to get technical, their method used brains more than brawn).

7) Fantastic Four

Fantastic Four take Thing out of Heaven
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics

Galactus has appeared in many comics, but his first sparring partners were the Fantastic Four. The team has beaten him numerous times, and are much more powerful than they get credit for, especially the Storm siblings. Human Torch can burn as hot as a star, which is pretty amazing, and Invisible Woman can smash through Celestial armor (this was established in the ’90s, during the DeFalco/Ryan run, but I don’t remember the issue it was in, sorry). The Thing is almost on the Hulk’s level before the Jade Giant gets angry, and Reed is smart and stretchy. Most people don’t think of how powerful the team is because of how simple they seem, but they are truly heavy hitters (and I would say they are more powerful than Ultimates; none of them can smash Celestials).

6) The Age of Apocalypse X-Men

The Age of Apocalypse X-Men together
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics

“The Age of Apocalypse” is a Marvel legend, and fans wished that it could have continued back in the day. Fans got their wish in a 1996 issue of What If… that worked on the premise that Magneto was able to save the day from the nukes at the end of X-Men Omega #1. Eventually, Galactus and the Silver Surfer came to devour the Earth, with only the X-Men to stop him. Weapon X ends up killing Silver Surfer, and the rest of the team beats Galactus. The team contained members like Magneto, Rogue, Storm, Quicksilver, Exodus, Blink, and many more, a great mix of powers that make them an extremely powerful.

5) Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange standing with Sif and Angela
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics

Doctor Strange is a ridiculously powerful hero, but his defeat of Galactus is only a technicality. Basically, the World-Devourer was at his last ebb and attacked the Earth, trying to eat the planet so he could survive. Earth’s heroes fought back and because Galactus was weak, they were able to get an advantage over him. Strange stepped into the arena and used his powers to make Galactus see everyone he had ever killed. This broke his mind, and he was knocked unconscious. So, Strange didn’t do all the damage, he just got the last hit in. Strange is one of the most powerful magic users ever, though, and can take down gods, so he deserves his lofty place on this list.

4) Gravity

Gravity flying through New York City
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics

You’ve probably never heard of Gravity, but he’s very powerful. He was able to defeat Galactus with his gravity powers, hitting him with one of the four fundamental forces of the universe. Gravity hasn’t mastered his powers yet, but he can create black holes, which are one of the most powerful forces in creation. That’s a pretty high power level, and it proved to be more than enough to take on Galactus. He hasn’t been seen in a long time, but there’s plenty of potential with a hero as powerful as he is.

3) Silver Surfer

Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics

Silver Surfer played an important role in the first battle against Galactus, and has dealt with the cosmic being many times over the years. He’s defeated his former master several times on his own, most notably in Silver Surfer: Parable, Stan Lee’s finest moment as a writer (seriously, go buy it; the Moebius art is gorgeous and it really is Lee’s best work). Silver Surfer is a master of the Power Cosmic and is powerful on a level that most heroes on Earth can’t match. He’s incalculably strong, wields massive amounts of cosmic energy, can manipulate matter, and move faster than the speed of light. He’s way more powerful than a lot of Marvel fans realize.

2) Thor

Thor surrounded by energy, holding a glowing Mjolnir, his arms outstretched and hair blowing in the wind
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics

Thor is the God of Thunder and one of the most powerful beings to ever find his way to the Earth. He’s played a role in many battles against Galactus over the decades, but for a long time he wasn’t able to defeat him. However, after the death of Odin, the God of Thunder became the All-Father and gained the power of the Odin Force. He then volunteered to become Galactus’s Herald to help battle the Black Winter, than used his thunder god powers, the Odin Force, and the Power Cosmic to destroy his new master. This version of Thor, once called Cosmic King Thor, was the most powerful version of the hero, but he still wasn’t more powerful than the most powerful hero to defeat the World-Devourer.

1) Franklin Richards

Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics

Franklin Richards makes gods seem quaint. He’s defeated Galactus more than once, and that makes a lot of sense. Franklin has been creating universes since he was a small child; the first time he did it was after Onslaught’s battle against the X-Men, Avengers, and Fantastic Four. Later, he’d help recreate the multiverse after the Incursions alongside his family. Galactus is powerful, but even he can’t stand up to the kind of power that Franklin can bring to bear.

What other powerful Marvel heroes have beat Galactus? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

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