Galactus may have just made his debut, but two unexpected MCU projects actually set him up years ago. The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduced the cosmic enтιтy as its main villain, with the Silver Surfer marking the Fantastic Four’s world for Galactus’ consumption. Known as the Devourer of Worlds, Galactus needs to eat planets to sustain his life force.

The early Fantastic Four trailers gave fans a glimpse of Galactus’ scale. It was a relief to see the villain done justice in the actual film, but it shouldn’t have been a surprise considering how the MCU has handled other cosmic enтιтies in the past. Though there’s no one quite like Galactus, two previous MCU films perfectly set up the concept of a cosmic enтιтy like him.

Two Unlikely Movies Help Set Up Galactus’ MCU Debuts In Some Major Way

The concept of cosmic enтιтies needing to destroy planets to cement their power was underlined for fans way before Galactus’ Fantastic Four debut. It may not have been done with direct references to the Devourer of Worlds, but two unlikely MCU films featured their own powerful beings that give some context to Galactus now.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 introduced Peter Quill’s father, Ego. A living planet, the Celestial’s goal was to remake the entire universe. By planting seeds on other planets, he waited for them to grow into extensions of himself. He ultimately wanted to take over every world until there was no other life in the universe besides himself.

Celestials also feature heavily in Eternals, with the film highlighting a Celestial’s life cycle. Celestials gather their energy from a host planet with large populations, which is why Celestial seeds are planted across various worlds. Eternals showed that Celestials are born during an Emergence, but it’s a terrifying process for the world’s population as it destroys their planet.

The MCU Setting Galactus Up Helps Make Him Look Even More Powerful

Ego may be ᴅᴇᴀᴅ now, but his expansion of the universe was terrifying. The Eternals managed to defeat a Celestial in their film too, but they’re going to face mᴀssive consequences from Arishem the Judge. The MCU has already teased the sheer strength of these cosmic enтιтies, which makes Galactus’ display of power even more impressive.

Galactus is not a Celestial, but he looms over the universe with the intimidation of one. With the number of planets that he needs to consume to sustain himself, Fantastic Four manages to make him seem even more powerful than Ego or the Celestials ever were. It’s a big feat, considering just how powerful the Guardians and Eternals villains were.

With his intent to consume worlds, Galactus was always going to be an intimidating villain. However, the MCU really did him a favor by introducing the concept of cosmic enтιтies needing to destroy planets early on. Ego and the Celestials were already terrifying enough, and that context makes it easier for fans to see how Galactus stacks up.