Silver Surfer

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This article is about the comic book character. For other uses, see Silver Surfer (disambiguation).
Silver Surfer
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    The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first appeared in the comic book Fantastic Four #48, published in 1966.

    The Silver Surfer is a

    Universe X, Shalla-Bal, Norrin's lover and the empress of Zenn-La, is depicted as joining him as a second Silver Surfer, both serving as the twin-heralds of the second Galactus
    .

    In 2011, IGN ranked the Silver Surfer 41st in its "Top 100 Comic Heroes" list.[6] The Silver Surfer was portrayed by Doug Jones and voiced by Laurence Fishburne in the 2007 film Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

    Creation

    Jack Kirby commented on the character's creation during an interview stating "My conception of the Silver Surfer was a human being from space in that particular form. He came in when everybody began surfing — I read about it in the paper. The kids in California were beginning to surf. I couldn't do an ordinary teenager surfing so I drew a surfboard with a man from outer space on it."[7]

    Kirby further elaborated on the narrative role the character was created as "My inspirations were the fact that I had to make sales and come up with characters that were no longer stereotypes. In other words, I couldn't depend on gangsters, I had to get something new. For some reason I went to the Bible, and I came up with Galactus. And there I was in front of this tremendous figure, who I knew very well because I've always felt him. I certainly couldn't treat him in the same way I could any ordinary mortal. And I remember in my first story, I had to back away from him to resolve that story. The Silver Surfer is, of course, the fallen angel. When Galactus relegated him to Earth, he stayed on Earth, and that was the beginning of his adventures."[8]

    Publication history

    Further information: Silver Surfer (comic book)

    Created by Jack Kirby, the character first appears in The Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966), the first of a three-issue arc that fans call "The Galactus Trilogy".[9][10]

    Early appearances

    The Silver Surfer debuted as an unplanned addition to the

    Marvel Method": the two would discuss story ideas, Kirby working from a brief synopsis to draw the individual scenes and plot details, with Lee finally adding the dialogue and captions. When Kirby turned in his pencil art for the story, he included a new character he and Lee had not discussed.[11] As Lee recalled in 1995, "There, in the middle of the story we had so carefully worked out, was a nut on some sort of flying surfboard".[12] He later expanded on this, recalling, "I thought, 'Jack, this time you've gone too far'".[13] Kirby explained that the story's agreed-upon antagonist, a god-like cosmic predator of planets named Galactus, should have some sort of herald, and that he created the surfboard "because I'm tired of drawing spaceships!"[14] Taken by the noble features of the new character, who turned on his master to help defend Earth, Lee overcame his initial skepticism and began adding characterization. The Silver Surfer soon became a key part of the unfolding story.[11]

    Following the Surfer's debut, Lee and Kirby brought him back as a recurring guest in Fantastic Four #55–61, 72, and 74–77 (ranging Oct. 1966 – Aug. 1968). The character made his solo debut in the backup story of Fantastic Four Annual #5 (Nov. 1967).

    Beginning in August 1968, Lee launched the solo title The Silver Surfer.[15] John Buscema was penciller for the first 17 issues of the series, with Kirby returning for the 18th and final issue. The first seven issues, which included anthological "Tales of the Watcher" backup stories, were 72-page (with advertising), 25-cent "giants", as opposed to the typical 36-page, 12-cent comics of the time. Thematically, the stories dealt with the Surfer's exile on Earth and the inhumanity of man as observed by this noble yet fallen hero. Though short-lived, the series became known as one of Lee's most thoughtful and introspective works.[16]

    Following his series' cancellation, the Surfer made sporadic appearances as a guest star or antagonist in such comic books as Thor, The Defenders, and Fantastic Four. Lee remained partial to the Surfer, even asking other writers not to use him as a general rule,[17] and with Kirby collaborated on a seminal 1978 graphic novel starring the character, the only original story featured in the Marvel Fireside Books series.[18]

    Subsequent series

    After a 1982

    title
    in 1987.

    Initially written by Steve Englehart, the series was to be set on Earth and one issue was completed under this premise before Marvel agreed to let Englehart remove the long-standing restriction regarding Silver Surfer being imprisoned on Earth. This first issue was shelved and a brand new first issue was written, to set up this plot twist; the original first issue would ultimately be reprinted in Marvel Fanfare #51. The series marked the first Silver Surfer stories not written by Stan Lee, a fact which Lee was openly unhappy about. He explained:

    After I gave up Spider-Man then someone else did Spider-Man, and someone else did the Fantastic Four and Doctor Strange and the X-Men and all of them. I felt that it was kind of nice for me to have been the only writer of the Silver Surfer, so I felt a little bit disappointed when somebody else did it. I would have liked to have been the only person. Had I known they were absolutely going to have the book done, I would have found the time to do it myself. I didn't really have time but I would have made the time, rather than have anybody else do it. ... this is not at all a criticism of Steve [Englehart] or of Marshall [Rogers, artist on the series], it's just that it's one book that I would have liked to have always done myself. [emphases in original][19]

    Englehart introduced many villains for Silver Surfer, as well as featured space politics involving Surfer's homeworld Zenn-La, which was caught in the middle of a renewed Kree–Skrull War. However, issues regarding Englehart wanting to use his Avengers character Mantis as Silver Surfer's companion, as well as editorial refusing to let him use Thanos or other concepts conceived by Jim Starlin, led Englehart to leave the book with issue #31. Starlin took over as writer with issue #34 after several fill-in issues, and incorporated Thanos, Adam Warlock, and Drax the Destroyer into the series.

    Under Jim Starlin and later Ron Marz, the series would receive acclaim and sales boost due to Silver Surfer's involvement with Starlin's Infinity Trilogy, with

    Jon J. Muth, as well as periodic guest spots by John Buscema. The title experienced great initial success which allowed Marvel to push the character into other media, including a 1990 video game, 1992 trading card set, and 1998 animated series, as well as spinning off a variety of other comics series including Cosmic Powers, Cosmic Powers Unlimited, Captain Marvel vol. 2, and Star Masters. It ran 146 issues, through 1998. The next year it was followed by the two-issue miniseries
    , Silver Surfer: Loftier Than Mortals.

    A two-issue Silver Surfer miniseries (later collected as Silver Surfer: Parable), scripted by Lee and drawn by

    best finite/limited series
    in 1989.

    2000s

    A new ongoing Silver Surfer series began in 2003, focusing on the character's alien nature and messianic allegory. It lasted 14 issues. The Surfer later appeared in an issue of

    fictional crossover
    .

    In 2007, the Silver Surfer starred in a four-issue miniseries Silver Surfer: Requiem by writer J. Michael Straczynski and artist Esad Ribic. The first issue was released May 30, 2007 to coincide with the character's first movie appearance.[21][22] Published under the Marvel Knights imprint, Silver Surfer: Requiem portrays the character upon learning that he is dying as the silver shell he is encased in is deteriorating.

    This was followed by the four-issue miniseries Silver Surfer: In Thy Name,[23] by writer Simon Spurrier[24][25] and artist Tan Eng Huat.[26]

    After an appearance in the "

    Skaar in 2008, both written by Greg Pak
    .

    2010s

    The Silver Surfer received a sixth volume, an eponymous 5-issue miniseries written by Pak, debuting in February 2011.

    The Mighty Thor[30] and a new volume of Defenders,[31] both written by Matt Fraction
    .

    In March 2014, Silver Surfer volume 7 began as part of All-New

    Marvel NOW! by writer Dan Slott, artist Mike Allred,[32] and colorist Laura Allred.[33] In January 2016 Silver Surfer volume 8 began with a special 50th-anniversary edition expected release in March 2016.[34]

    In 2019, a 5-part mini-series titled Silver Surfer: Black was released featuring art from Tradd Moore in collaboration with writing from Donny Cates. The series is an extension of a Guardians of the Galaxy storyline in which the Surfer was sucked into a black hole and ejected into unfamiliar space territory. This run follows the Surfer as he traverses the spaceways on a journey back home.[35]

    2020s

    Silver Surfer later plays an important role in

    Hugin and Munin, Surfer helps Enigma Force to enter Earth and chose Eddie Brock/Venom as a temporary Captain Universe, to aid his fellow heroes against Knull and his army.[36]

    Fictional character biography

    Norrin Radd is from the utopian planet

    Power Cosmic, transforming him into the Silver Surfer.[38][39] Radd had intended to lead Galactus to uninhabited planets, but Galactus tampers with his soul to prevent this.[40]

    Radd serves Galactus for an unspecified amount of time. Eventually, the Surfer summons his master to Earth. Here the Surfer meets the Fantastic Four and Alicia Masters. Touched by their nobility, he rebels against Galactus, who is eventually driven off. Before he leaves, he confines the Surfer to Earth with an invisible barrier that affects only him.[41][42]

    During his exile, the Surfer fights numerous villains, including

    Stranger.[43]

    Banding together with the Hulk and Namor during these wanderings, the Surfer forms the "Titans Three", a group dedicated to battling evil on Earth.[44] Soon, Doctor Strange joins the group and it becomes "The Defenders".[45] Surfer stays with them for a while, but his overwhelming desire to be free of Earth and his frequent collisions with Galactus's energy-draining barrier eventually drives him to leave the group.[volume & issue needed]

    The Surfer finally pierces Galactus's barrier with the aid of

    Reed Richards and temporarily escapes Earth. He discovers, though, that his homeworld has been ravaged by Galactus and Shalla-Bal has been abducted by Mephisto and taken to Earth. Even though it means trapping himself once more, the Surfer returns to Earth to battle and defeat Mephisto. Before being vanquished, Mephisto sends Shalla-Bal back to Zenn-La, but the Surfer manages to endow her with a portion of his Power Cosmic, which she uses to revitalize the plant life of their ravaged homeworld.[46]

    After the Surfer aids the Fantastic Four against Galactus's latest herald Terrax,[47] The Surfer eventually pierces Galactus's barrier by acting on a suggestion of trying to pass through on a spaceship instead of via his own power on his surfboard. He also makes peace with Galactus by rescuing current herald Nova from the Skrulls. Galactus declares the Surfer's exile ended.[48] The Surfer immediately revisits his homeworld, but Shalla-Bal, in his absence, had become empress of the rejuvenated Zenn-La and is unable to renew their romance.[49]

    Embroiled in fresh hostilities between the interstellar Kree and Skrull empires, the Surfer also intervenes in a series of plots by the Elders of the Universe, who plan to become supremely powerful by destroying Galactus and the universe with him. The Surfer thwarts this plot with the aid of his new love interest, Mantis, the Earth-born cosmic heroine also known as the "Celestial Madonna".[50] She seems to die in the process, and although she eventually returns, she never fully renews their romance.[51] After this loss, a grief-stricken Surfer turns to Nova and romantic feelings begin to develop between them.[52] The Surfer's influence gradually leads Nova to question the morality of her role as herald to Galactus.[53] Eventually replaced by the far more ruthless Morg, Nova dies in a conflict between the new herald and the Surfer and the other ex-heralds.[54]

    The Surfer repeatedly battles space-born menaces, the chief of whom is Thanos, who attempts to kill half the life in the universe using the omnipotent

    Infinity Gauntlet.[55] Through Thanos, the Surfer learns how Galactus had altered his soul. He convinces Galactus to restore it,[56] but once Galactus has done so, the Surfer is overcome with grief until he is able to forgive himself.[57] The Surfer finds interstellar allies in Adam Warlock's Infinity Watch
    and the "Star Masters" team, and he begins attending occasional Defenders reunions.

    The Surfer returns home to Zenn-La to find that the planet has vanished, and learns it was actually destroyed in the 1940s (Earth time) by the entity known as the Other. Zenn-La and its people which the Surfer repeatedly encountered since leaving Galactus's service were actually reproductions, created by Galactus so that the Surfer would have a home to return to.[58] Losing his capacity for emotion again, the Surfer returns to Earth. He later regains his personality during a time-travel adventure and sharing a romance with Alicia Masters.[59] The two ultimately part as friends after many adventures together.

    Silver Surfer temporarily bonds with and is controlled by the Carnage symbiote, which is seeking revenge for the destruction of its homeworld.[60]

    Later, the Surfer works with the alien

    Annunaki race to gather and protect some of Earth's most extraordinarily gifted children.[61] In the end, one of these children, Ellie Waters, saves Earth from the godlike Marduk entity, preventing the Apocalypse and reordering reality as if the Marduk crisis had never happened (though Ellie alone apparently retains her memories of these events).[62]
    The Surfer resumes his interstellar wanderings, but promises to be ready to aid his adopted homeworld should Earth ever need him.

    During his travels, the Surfer is captured by a portal of the

    Warbound. Through teamwork and distraction, the Hulk is eventually able to destroy the Surfer's obedience disk. The Hulk and several other slaves and gladiators are freed when the Surfer uses the Power Cosmic to remove their own obedience disks and give them a way out of the arena, although the Hulk declines the Surfer's offer to take him back to Earth.[63]

    During the Annihilation war, the Silver Surfer again becomes Galactus's herald to help save the universe from the despot Annihilus.[64] Annihilus captures them[65] and gives them to Thanos for experimentation. Drax the Destroyer frees the Surfer, who in turn frees Galactus. An enraged Galactus destroys more than half the Annihilation Wave, and Annihilus is defeated.[66] Later, the Surfer is joined as herald by Stardust, a former herald the Surfer had replaced.[67][68]

    The Silver Surfer leads the world devourer to the populated planet Orbucen, which brings him into conflict with Richard Rider. He delays the planetary destruction to give the inhabitants more time to evacuate.[69]

    The Silver Surfer returns to Sakaar in a plan to feed Galactus with the unique "Old Power" which he claims would sate his master's hunger for thousands of years, sparing many other inhabited worlds. He is opposed by the Hulk's son,

    Caiera sacrifices her soul and Old Power as sustenance for Galactus.[70] Unfortunately, Galactus now seems addicted to the Old Power and has begun searching for other planets containing it to sate himself.[71]

    After an encounter with the High Evolutionary,[72] the Silver Surfer and Galactus battled Thor and the Asgardians. The battle ended when the Silver Surfer chose to leave his post as herald and guard an Asgardian artifact. Galactus "tethers" him to Asgard's location in Oklahoma, resulting in his powers waning the further he travels from Asgard, and grants him the ability to return to human form.[73]

    During the War with the Serpent, Silver Surfer aids Doctor Strange, Namor, Loa, and Lyra in the liberation of New Atlantis from Attuma, who was transformed into Nerkodd: Breaker of Oceans.[74]

    Silver Surfer and Dawn meet Glorian the Maker of Miracles, who plans to rebuild our universe for the heroes to return to after they finish in Battleworld. Glorian has also enlisted the help of the Shaper of Worlds.[75] Glorian then greeted Silver Surfer and Dawn with a tantalizing offer: ally with the Shaper of Worlds to rebuild the universe that was lost. Dawn agreed to use her memories to restore Earth while Silver Surfer left to restore the rest of the universe, but Silver Surfer unmade Galactus while Dawn unknowingly created another version of Norrin. The Shaper of Worlds is not happy with the changes.[76] Dawn and the Surfer embark on more adventures which culminate in their entering a universe predating the main continuity.[volume & issue needed]

    When Silver Surfer was displaced in time, he had an encounter with Knull. Silver Surfer was infected by one of Knull's symbiotes only to be saved by Ego the Living Planet. Gathering the energy from the cosmos, Silver Surfer managed to defeat Knull.[77]

    During the "

    Hugin and Munin summon Silver Surfer to Earth.[78] Silver Surfer arrives to where the Enigma Force is and frees it from the symbiotes. Knull reels in pain and Eddie Brock is chosen to be the new Captain Universe.[79] As Silver Surfer faces off against him, Knull recalls his previous fight against him. Through the God of Light, Silver Surfer assumes a chrome form and turns his surfboard into a sword while Knull transforms his armor into one that would enable him to combat Silver Surfer. As Knull begins to fight Silver Surfer, the members of the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and X-Men charge towards Knulls so that they can aid Silver Surfer. Just then, Venom appears having been transformed into Captain Universe stating that he will handle Knull for them. With their weapons separated from the battle axe form following Knull's death, Thor and Silver Surfer noted that things will not be back to normal soon.[80]

    Powers and abilities

    The Silver Surfer wields the

    Power Cosmic, granting him superhuman strength, endurance, and senses and the ability to absorb and manipulate the universe's ambient energy. The Surfer can navigate through interstellar space[81] and hyperspace, which he can enter after exceeding the speed of light allowing traversing interstellar and intergalactic distances to other galaxies millions and even billions of light years away.[82] He has proven capable of time travel on several occasions and can transport other people through time.[83]

    The Surfer sustains himself by converting matter into energy; he does not require food, water, air, or sleep, but occasionally enters a sleep-like meditation to dream. He can survive in nearly any known natural environment, including deep space, hyperspace, black holes[84] and stars.[85] The Surfer can project energy in various forms for offensive and defensive use, including force fields, bolts of cosmic force powerful enough to destroy entire planets,[86][87] and create black holes.[86] He can utilize the Power Cosmic to augment his superhuman strength to indeterminate levels.[88] The Surfer can heal both himself and other living organisms, though he cannot raise the dead,[81] and he has proven capable of revitalizing and evolving organic life on a planet-wide scale.[89] He can cast illusions,[90] create interdimensional portals to other locations including microverses,[90] manipulate and phase through solid matter,[81] and exercise some level of control over the astral plane.[91] However, using these abilities results in his becoming greatly weakened, making their use limited.[92]

    His senses enable him to detect objects and concentrations of energy light years away and to perceive matter and energy in subatomic detail, including life energies of living beings.[93] The Surfer can even see through time, and can achieve limited perception of past and future events in his general vicinity with concentration.[2] He has demonstrated telepathic ability, including mind-reading,[94] and can influence human emotion and sensation.[81]

    The Surfer's board is composed of a nearly impervious, cosmically powered silvery material similar to his own skin. The board is mentally linked to the Surfer and moves in response to his mental commands even when he is not in physical contact with it.[95] The board is nearly indestructible, but on the rare occasions it has been damaged or destroyed, the Surfer can repair or recreate it with little effort.[48] The Surfer can attack opponents by directing the board against them, and the board is capable of temporarily absorbing and imprisoning other beings.[96]

    When Galactus exiled the Surfer to Earth, his means of imprisonment was linked to the board. When the Surfer and the Fantastic Four realized this, the Surfer put it to the test by leaving the board planet-side and entering space in the Four's spacecraft. Once he was free of Earth, the Surfer remotely converted the board to energy, recalled it to him, and reformed it in space.[48]

    The Surfer has displayed the ability to shed his silver skin and revert to his original appearance as Norrin Radd, masking the Power Cosmic and allowing him to be more inconspicuous when needed. In this state, he can properly eat, drink and sleep.[97]

    Other versions

    Earth X

    In issue 11 and 12 of the

    Universe X) series, Black Bolt calls upon Galactus (Franklin Richards) to come destroy the Celestial seed growing within Earth, who is accompanied by his twin-heralds, the Silver Surfers Norrin Radd and Shalla-Bal
    , the latter of whom had joined her lover as a silver herald of Galactus following the destruction of the original Galactus.

    Earth-691

    In the

    Firelord
    and Dargo-Thor having failed. Eventually, the Keeper realizes that, with his augmented power, he can supply Galactus with the energy he needs and end the Planet-Eater's consumption of worlds. Eon, cosmic being and creator of the Quantum Bands, reveals that this was the ultimate purpose of the Keeper becoming the Protector of the Universe, and he enters into a symbiotic partnership with Galactus, who accepts the Keeper as an equal; he is last seen leaving with Galactus, riding a silver surfboard once more.

    Exiles

    On Earth 552, Norrin Radd had been a great military scientist who accidentally destroyed his own world with his greatest invention. Determined to bring it back to existence, he approached

    Sabretooth.[98][99]

    Green Lantern/Silver Surfer: Unholy Alliances

    In Green Lantern/Silver Surfer: Unholy Alliances, the Silver Surfer confronts

    Parallax. Parallax beats the Cyborg, but the Silver Surfer lets him go and tries to sympathize with Parallax. The two return to Earth to find Kyle Rayner with Thanos, leading them to believe they formed an alliance when in reality Thanos tricked Kyle. Kyle convinces the Surfer to help him stop Parallax and Thanos from destroying the universe and that he was duped into giving Thanos Oa's power. The Surfer similarly gave most of his power to Parallax to reform the destroyed planet, forcing Kyle to use his ring to drain both villains of their enhanced powers before they can destroy everything. Unable to contain the power himself, Kyle channels the power from the two villains into the Silver Surfer, who opens a portal and sucks the two inside.[100]

    Marvel Zombies

    The Silver Surfer remains uninfected in the

    Wolverine, and Spider-Man). His corpse grants the zombies a portion each of his cosmic powers, which they use to kill all of the other zombie heroes and villains whom they consider "competition" for what's left of the living. Afterwards, Pym creates a machine that concentrates the Cosmic powers they all share to create a massive blast that kills Galactus, at which point they eat him. Now imbued with the power of Galactus himself (and realizing they can now fly and survive in space), they adopt his role, traveling the universe and picking worlds clean of life.[101]

    MC2

    During the finale of Last Planet Standing, the Silver Surfer foils Galactus's plan to create a new Big Bang, merging with Galactus himself in the process to become a new being. Gaining control of Galactus's powers, the new entity undoes the damage done by the old Galactus.[102]

    Ruins

    In

    Phil Sheldon. When the Kree Liberation Force set forth to invade Earth, they found the floating mutilated corpse of the Surfer near Earth's moon. Mar-Vell says that he and his comrades concluded that the Surfer had been driven mad because of his lack of need for oxygen and clawed open his chest to expose his lungs to the atmosphere, but died of shock.[103]

    Ultimate Marvel

    Ultimate Extinction, silvery humanoids began to appear, sent to trigger mass suicides to reduce the population's resistance. Suicide cults founded by the creatures began to appear all across the globe as Gah Lak Tus drew near. These silvery beings had the ability to grow wings; morph into an ovoid
    ; form spikes; or take an intermediary form, gliding on an oval surface. They also demonstrated the ability to manipulate large quantities of energy.

    In Ultimate Fantastic Four #42, another Ultimate incarnation of the Silver Surfer appears called the Silver Searcher. He is teleported to Earth after Reed mistakes him for a star that he is trying to harness. His appearance triggers planet-wide chaos and natural calamities. In #43, Reed comments that Gah Lak Tus seems to have modeled its drones on this surfer and he gives his name as Norin Radd. The Searcher states that he will summon his "master" who will make the population of the Earth happier than they have ever been.[104]

    In #44, the Surfer's master is revealed to be Zenn-La's ruler, Revka Temerlune Edifex Scyros III, "the king without enemies", who uses mind-control to make the population of Earth worship him (before it takes effect on the Fantastic Four, the Human Torch calls him "Psycho-Man"). It is revealed that the Surfer has been exiled from Zenn-La for destroying the control that Psycho-Man had over Zenn-La, but because of finding Earth for his master to "save" he may return. After Psycho-Man gains domain over Earth, the Silver Surfer, temporarily imprisoned in his own 'memorial' statue, rescues Mister Fantastic, tells him his story, and asks him to save Earth. The Surfer then helps the Fantastic Four defeat other Surfer-like assassins of Psycho-Man. With the Surfers beaten and the insane Psycho-Man reprogrammed to experience the unthinking happiness he had imposed on others, Silver Surfer wanders the space ways.

    In Ultimate X-Men, Jean Grey as Phoenix travels through space and is stopped by what is named as "A Silver Surfer". He informs Phoenix that the Watchers disapprove of the problems her flight across the universe is causing and briefly battles her before asking what she is looking for.[105]

    What If?

    Silver Surfer was featured in different issues of What If?

    • What If? vol. 2 #25, "What If the Marvel Super-Heroes had lost Atlantis Attacks?", had Silver Surfer and Quasar as the survivors of an attack by Set. With the help of Thor (who is horribly burned and placed in stasis to keep him alive), Silver Surfer and Quasar destroy two of Set's heads before Quasar (empowered by the Uni-Power) sacrifices his freedom to exile himself and Set inside Doctor Strange's Eye of Agamotto. Silver Surfer gives the Eye of Agamotto to Uatu the Watcher for safekeeping as Set's children are born.[106]
    • What If? vol. 2 #108, "What If The Avengers Battled The Carnage Cosmic?", revolved around the Cosmic Carnage where the Carnage symbiote remained bonded to the Surfer, forcing Spider-Man and the Avengers to battle him until Firestar was able to use her powers to disrupt the symbiote's control over the Surfer. After his powers were used to destroy dozens of New York City blocks and realizing that there was only one way to stop the symbiote, the Silver Surfer flew himself into the sun, seemingly destroying both himself and the creature.[107]
    • In What If? vol. 2 #49, "What If the Silver Surfer Possessed the Infinity Gauntlet?" In the original
      Shalla Bal (his wife) to reside on for all time and the Surfer returns to his mortal form of Norrin Radd. This story is told from the perspective of the Watcher
      who continually observes the universe and refuses to interfere in the natural unfolding of things.

    In other media

    Television

    Film

    Video games

    Books

    • The Silver Surfer was the subject of an anthology of short prose fiction stories titled The Ultimate Silver Surfer, edited by Stan Lee and published by Berkley (October 1997, softcover, 306 pages,
      ISBN 978-1-57297-299-5
      ). This book, among others, pre-dated Marvel's use of the "Ultimate" brand name in comics.
    • The Silver Surfer appears in the prose fiction novel Fantastic Four: Redemption of the Silver Surfer, by Michael Jan Friedman and also published by Berkley (April 1998, softcover, 260 pages,
      ISBN 978-0-425-16489-1
      ).
    • The Silver Surfer appears in the Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer novelization, by writer Daniel Joseph and published by Pocket Star (April 2007, softcover, 272 pages,
      ISBN 978-1-4165-4809-6
      ).

    Music

    Miscellaneous

    The Silver Surfer and the cover of the first issue of the 1968 Fantastic Four series appear in a series of commemorative Marvel Comics stamps released by the United States Postal Service in November 2007.[136]

    Merchandise

    Toys

    The Silver Surfer has appeared in several Marvel-based action figure and toy lines, including one celebrating the 30th anniversary of the character's first appearance, and three based on the 1998 animated series.[137]

    • The Silver Surfer is the seventh figurine in the Classic Marvel Figurine Collection.[citation needed]
    • Hasbro released the Silver Surfer in its Marvel Universe toyline both individually and included with Marvel Masterworks Galactus. A "clear" variant was released with the "dark" variant of Galactus.[citation needed]
    • Silver Surfer appears as a playable character in the "Avengers", "Critical Mass", "Supernova", and "Galactic Guardians" sets of Marvel HeroClix.[138]

    Trading cards

    The Silver Surfer starred in his own "all-prism" trading card series in 1993, released by Comics Images.[139]

    He has also appeared in many of Marvel's other trading card sets, notably each of the Marvel Universe Cards, Marvel Masterpieces, and Marvel Flair Cards trading card series as well as the Marvel OverPower trading card game.[citation needed]

    Reception

    The Silver Surfer was ranked as the 47th-greatest comic book character of all time by Wizard magazine.[140] IGN also ranked the Silver Surfer as the 41st-greatest comic book hero quoting that "Silver Surfer has the coolest mode of transportation this side of Ghost Rider, but his powers come with a heavy burden."[141]

    The 2014 series was given a negative review by

    CraveOnline, said the issue misses the point of the Silver Surfer character altogether.[142] ComicBooked writer Cal Cleary gave the issue a perfect score, citing deep characterization and intricate design,[143] praise largely echoed by Comics Alliance's Matt D. Wilson.[144]

    In 2018,

    CBR.com ranked Silver Surfer 5th in their "25 Fastest Characters In The Marvel Universe" list.[145]

    Collected editions

    The character's various series have been collected into the following books:

    References

    1. ^ a b Silver Surfer vol. 3 #33
    2. ^ a b Fantastic Four #260
    3. ^ Marvel Encyclopedia vol. 1 #
    4. ^ marvel.com. "Silver Surfer: Marvel Universe". Retrieved 2007-01-04.
    5. ^ Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966)
    6. ^ "IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes". Archived from the original on 2016-11-24. Retrieved 2011-05-09.
    7. ^ Groth, Gary (May 23, 2011). "Jack Kirby Interview - Page 6 of 8". The Comics Journal.
    8. ^ Hill, Michael (June 16, 2015). "Interviews".
    9. ISBN 978-1-4027-4225-5
    10. ^ Marvel Spotlight: Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer (2007; no month): "Jack Kirby's The Galactus Trilogy", by Erik Larsen, pp. 10–21 (unnumbered)
    11. ^ a b Markstein, Don. "The Silver Surfer". Retrieved 2007-03-26.
    12. ^ Lee, Stan. "The Ultimate Silver Surfer (Berkeley Trade, 1995)". Archived from the original on 1997-04-13. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
    13. Harry N. Abrams
      , New York, 2008), p. 141
    14. ^ Quoted in Lee, The Ultimate Silver Surfer
    15. ISBN 978-1605490557
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