Ego vs. Galactus: Who Would Win in a Fight?

Marvel Comics is full of incredibly powerful cosmic entities and equally powerful arch-nemeses and rivals. However, none are probably more diametrically opposite to one another than Ego, the Living Planet, and Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds. The two have faced each other numerous times in the comics, but if they squared off one-on-one, who would win?

Although they are often portrayed as near-equals in power, Galactus would win most of his fights against Ego. He is a being of nigh-omnipotent powers created out of the essence of an entire universe, whereas Ego is also an incredibly powerful being – but created out of a single planet and its nearby star.

Now, Galactus literally devours planets to live and replenish his Power Cosmic, but Ego proves to be a serious foe numerous times, resisting the attempts of Galactus to devour him. To determine which of these characters is stronger and who’d win in a potential fight, we’ll compare the comic versions of the characters, but we’ll also touch upon MCU Ego as well.

Physiology & creation

It’s quite interesting to learn how Galactus and Ego came to be in the first place. Both were humanoid initially but eventually became the cosmic entities we now know. By the looks of it, they are two sides of the same medal. However, one of them has to get the upper hand in this category, and you’ll soon see why.

Galactus was previously known as Galan-Taa, a humanoid scientist that lived ‘frillions’ of years ago in the Sixth Cosmos – an iteration of the universe before the one where most of Marvel Comics took place, the Seventh Cosmos.

Now, Marvel Comics are currently in the Eighth Cosmos due to incursions destroying the Seventh Cosmos, so Reed Richards, Franklin Richards, and Molecule Man restored reality in the form of the Eight Cosmos in 2016, in Secret Wars Vol. 1 #9 – but that’s a story for another day.

Galan realized that the cosmos was dying and that time itself was about to end, but nobody took him seriously. However, Galan refused to give up and continued his research. Three other scientists, along with Galan, took a spaceship and tried entering the very core of the universe, where the destruction was starting, to try and find answers on how to save the cosmos.

However, before they could even get anywhere near the core, their spaceship disintegrated, and so did all of the scientists – all of them, except for Galan. Instead of dying, he felt a new surge of life overwhelm him. He also heard a voice, which was the voice of the very essence of the Sixth Cosmos and its consciousness.

The cosmos merged its essence with Galan’s body; he was the only surviving being from the Sixth Cosmos. He was brought to the Seventh Cosmos to become Galactus, the Devourer of Planets, the balance between Death and Eternity.

On the other hand, his rival, Ego, had a similar fate. He was a scientist when a powerful cosmic entity named the Stranger came to conduct experiments on his star. The nature of the experiments was unknown at the time – but Ego would soon find out what was going on.

The Stranger caused the star to go ‘nova,’ meaning it would kill everything and everyone on Ego’s planet. He tried creating tunnels to the planet’s core to save everyone – for selfish reasons, as he later reveals – but the ‘nova’ came too early, and everyone died.

Instead of dying, however, Ego was merged with the essence and energy of the star’s nova, as well as the entire planet he was one of – all the living beings and inanimate objects became Ego, the Living Planet. That, in fact, was the real experiment of the Stranger.

So, Ego became a cosmic being of unfathomable power, harnessing the essence of a star, billions of beings, trillions of organic and inorganic materials – and experiments of the Stranger.

That being said, with all that power, it is still only one planet and one star. On the other hand, Galactus is a being consisting of the essence of an entire universe. Not a star, a planet, or a galaxy – an entire, vast universe.

It’s clear why I’m giving Galactus the first point.

Point: Galactus (1:0) Ego

Strength & durability

There is essentially no right answer to who is stronger or more durable. Both Ego and Galactus have an unlimited, immeasurable amount of physical and psionic strength (we’ll get to that, though).

In ‘Marvel Fact Files’ #12, Galactus is called one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Univers, and in the ‘Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z’ #4, his powers – including his strength – were said to be beyond most, if not all forms of measurement. 

And as for his durability – he was the only being that survived the destruction of the previous iteration of the universe, and in ‘FF’ #16, we learn that he survived until the end of time – the end of this universe – as well.

The same thing goes for Ego. He is often referred to as the biodiverse, and every single molecule of the living planet – including its atmosphere – is completely controlled by him. He can go from an oceanic planet to an ice glacier, to a rock formation, and back in minutes. Basically, he has complete control over everything.

It’s practically impossible to harm Ego due to his bioverse/surface manipulation powers, making him just as durable as Galactus, in a way. After all, there is a storyline where the two meet and fight at the end of time, but I’m getting ahead of myself again. We’ll get there, I promise.

Point(s): Galactus (2:1) Ego

Psionic powers

The most prominent part of Galactus and Ego that makes them such powerful, formidable opponents is their psionic powers. As I’ve mentioned, Galactus is imbued with the unfathomable Power Cosmic – a vast psionic energy that allows him to accomplish nigh-omnipotent features. 

Even a fraction of the Power Cosmic imbued in Galactus’ heralds – like the Silver Surfer – creates one of the most powerful humanoid beings in the universe. There’s essentially nothing Galactus can’t do when he is well-fed. 

Yes, Galactus spends the Power Cosmic when using his powers, so he has to replenish it by absorbing the cosmic energy of planets – which is why he is known as the Devourer of Worlds.

It’s important to note that, after being killed by Thor in Thor Vol. 6 #6 and reanimated by the Destroyer in Fantastic Four Vol. 6 #41, Galactus fed on energy from the M’kraan Crystal (aka The Nexus of All Realities), so now, instead of planets – Galactus feeds off of knowledge, not worlds. Basically, he became the universe’s most powerful bookworm, as we learn in Fantastic Four Vol. 6 #45.

Jokes aside, for the most part of his comic book history- and most encounters with Ego – he did, in fact, feed off of the cosmic energy from planets. A planet as powerful and full of cosmic energy as Ego would be an amazing snack for Galan, right?

Well, he would, but the thing is, at his peak, Ego’s psionic powers were enough to rival Galactus. Granted, a well-fed or fully-fed Galactus could overpower Ego, but the thing is, if Ego can provide enough resistance, Galactus gets hungrier and weaker as he uses his powers, making their psionic energies more equal.

That’s why Galactus never got to devour Ego, and that’s why I’m giving both characters a point in this category.

Point(s): Galactus (3:2) Ego

Weaknesses

One of Ego’s greatest weaknesses is the brain-like core at the center of the Living Planet. If one can get to Ego’s core – or his brain – it is extremely vulnerable. Even a powerful punch can cause minor harm to Ego. Destroy the core, and you destroy Ego. In other words, he is not immortal, and Galactus is certainly powerful enough to get to Ego’s core.

After all, he did so without absolutely any trouble once (‘The Ultimates 2’ #8), but luckily for Ego, his goal wasn’t to kill, but rather to recruit the Living Planet, as he was the Lifebringer Galactus at the time.

On the other hand, Galactus has no weakness in terms of vulnerability. Sure, if he is not well-fed, he gets weak and can be harmed – or damaged, if you will. We saw him seemingly get killed a couple of times, but he always gets back because he is, in fact, an immortal entity. 

The problem with Galactus, for me, is that writers tend to use him as a plot device to establish the vast power of another character – if you beat Galactus, you’re known as a Marvel powerhouse, but the problem is, that plot device was used one too many times, and now it seems everybody beats Galactus all the time.

In reality, though, the biggest weakness Galactus has is the fact that his Power Cosmic needs to be replenished in order for him to maintain strength. I don’t believe it’s as big of a vulnerability as Ego’s brain, but still, it would allow a powerful being like Ego to take advantage.

That’s why, yet again, they both deserve points in this category.

Point(s): Galactus (4:3) Ego

Mutual battles

Finally, the best way to compare two characters and see who’d win in a fight – is to look at their previous fights in the comics to determine the winner. Sometimes that isn’t possible, as not all characters meet face-to-face, but luckily for us, the Living Planet and the Devourer of Planets met numerous times.

Interestingly, both of them had the upper hand in some of their fights; most were essentially a stalemate, so I won’t be diving into those, but both had their fair share of victories over their rival.

In their first encounter, Galactus beat Ego quite badly, evading his living tentacles with ease by demolishing the Living Planet with a mighty meteor shower. It wasn’t until Thor intervened that the combined might of Ego and the God of Thunder stopped Galactus, who was forced to retreat.

On the other hand, those very same living tentacles managed to ensnare Galactus and give Ego the clear fighting advantage on another occasion. As Galactus himself said, as he tried raining meteors on Ego, the tentacles got him at the ‘speed of thought.’

Another occasion where Ego absolutely obliterated Galactus was at the end of time on Earth-14412, in ‘Mighty Thor Vol. 2’ #700. Galactus became the Butcher of Worlds by merging with All-Black the Necrosword but made a dire mistake while attacking Ego. 

He let the Living Planet bite his arm while he trash-talked, and Ego simply absorbed All-Black, devoured Galactus, and became Ego the Necroworld.

In reality, most situations where Galactus and Ego face off end in the Devourer of Worlds having a clear-cut advantage over the Living Planet. After all, both use psionic, cosmic energy as their main power source. Meaning, if Ego used his powers against Galactus, it would actually make Galan even stronger, absorbing the psionic energy for his own Power Cosmic.

That’s why most of their powers look like the scan below – Ego puts up a fight but is overmatched by Galactus.

Now, even if you take the MCU version of Ego – where he is a Celestial instead of the Stranger’s experiment – you might think that he stands a bigger chance, seeing just how astoundingly powerful the Celestials are. Well, the outcome would be just the same, as it wouldn’t be the first time that Galactus beats – even kills – a Celestial.

He even fought four Celestials at the same time once and held his own for quite a while before being overpowered. That means a single Celestial Ego likely wouldn’t be much of a threat. 

In the end, although Ego can – and will – always resist Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds simply wins more often than not.

Point: Galactus (5:3) Ego

Ego Vs. Galactus: Who wins?

In the end, the point score says everything you need to know. Although Ego has a chance to resist Galactus in his efforts to use him as a snack, he has little to no chance to actually defeat Galan. Sure, he could harm him, probably make him flee to replenish his powers, but kill him? I don’t see that happening unless we’re discussing alternative character versions.

I mean, Galactus was intended to be the third being of reality, sitting between Death and Eternity. One of those entities is neverending life; the other is pure and instant death. Galactus was supposed to be the being that balances their wrongdoings.

A cosmic being created out of the souls of billions merged into one planet is insanely powerful, but it’s no match to a being that captured the essence of an entire universe and was created as a balance between good and evil, between Eternity and Death, beyond any concept that the mortals think is moral.

Who do you think would win in this fight? Let us know in the comments!