The
History of the
In 1966, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby formed the best thing since sliced bread, the best conception since peanut butter and jelly, they created the Silver Surfer! In Fantastic Four #48, the world met Galactus, Devourer of Worlds, and his herald, the Silver Surfer. In #48, the Silver Surfer came to planet Earth to summon his master, Galactus, so he might devourer our world. But by the end of the three issue saga titled, the Coming of Galactus, Silver Surfer was touched by a young woman named Alicia Masters. The Silver Surfer betrayed Galactus, so that Earth might be saved. But at what cost? The cost of his freedom. Galactus punished the Silver Surfer's betrayal by surrounding the earth with a barrier, which prevented only the Silver Surfer from leaving the planet.
Fans loved the Silver Surfer! Within, the next months the Silver Surfer made several appearances in other titles, until he finally received his own title in 1968 by Stan Lee and John Buscema. There, we saw how the Silver Surfer became who he is. Silver Surfer #1revealed that the Silver Surfer was from a planet far away called Zenn-La. No, not every one has a silver complexion on Zenn-La, in fact, no one did. But when Zenn-La, a society not used to violence or war was invaded by the mighty Galactus, only one man stood to save them, the young Norrin Radd. Norrin Radd offered to become Galactus' herald, in return Zenn-La would be spared. Galactus agreed and transferred the young Zenn-Lavian into the Silver Surfer! The Silver Surfer left his beloved Shalla-Bal on earth and searched the spaceways for planets that Galactus may feed on. Now, who knows how many years, decades, or centuries later, the Silver Surfer was exiled on Earth.
In issue #3 he met one of the most evil characters seen in comics, Mephisto. This guy was 100% evil! And he was after the Silver Surfer's soul. And from then on he would become the Silver Surfer most hated foe. There he found that these humans weren't as peaceful as he thought. He discovered the violence, the evil, the arrogance in man. So much so that he flips out, and so did the fans. Fans weren't into the sophisticated nature of the title. (Although this fan thinks it's the best reading material in the world!)
The Silver Surfer's popularity wasn't as big as it was when he first appeared. Fans wanted him back as the supporting character, and that's what they got. Silver Surfer wouldn't have his own title again until 1982, with a one-shot by Stan Lee and John Byrne, then in 1987 with a new title written by Steve Englehart. Finally the Silver Surfer had a title that lasted. In issue #15, Ron Lim jumped on as the new penciller and instantly was a big success through out the comic market. In #34, Jim Starlin became the new writer, bringing back Thanos of Titan from the dead and taking Silver Surfer to the top with the success of the Infinity Gauntlet, easily the best crossover ever made. In issue #51, Ron Marz joined on as writer, doing most of the issues from then until #100! Ron Lim also left the title at issue #92.
In issue #101 it was time for a change. Through out the next year, the Silver Surfer would stop meeting up with the same old villains every other issue. In issue #111, George Perez jumped on board as the new writer in the Uni-Lord saga, as the Surfer traveled to the other end of the universe, but when he returned his world had changed. Zenn-La was destroyed and the Surfer was ready for another change. J.M. DeMatteis jumped on as writer and took the Silver Surfer back to the past with penciller Ron Garney. There the Silver Surfer learned that the Zenn-La he knew for the last fifty years was nothing but an image created by Galactus after a new race of beings, the Other, destroyed it. With Zenn-La in his past, the Silver Surfer has come upon a new life. Since learning of Zenn-La's destruction, he has spent more time on Earth, with his new love, Alicia Masters.
The Silver Surfer has also expanded his horizons with an animated series, which premiered in February of 1998, but saw a untimely end due to differences between Marvel Comics and Saban. Still, the 13 episodes which have aired from the series have brought new fans to the Silver Surfer, and Toy Biz says they will continue plans for a Silver Surfer toy line, despite the show's end.
Unforetunately, his own regular series also came to an end last year, but the Silver Surfer will return in a new mini-series titled, Galactus: The Devourer.
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