Is Galactus a Celestial? (Explanation for MCU & Comics)

Galactus is one of the most well-known villains in the history of Marvel Comics as he is a huge cosmic being that lives to feed on the energy of planets (most recently knowledge) so that he can continue to live. He is a destroyer of worlds and entire galaxies due to his insatiable need to eat planets & knowledge. In most cases, he is depicted as a huge being that can actually eat an entire planet and can even fight a Celestial on par. So, does that mean that Galactus is also a Celestial?

Galactus is not a Celestial. Celestials, as a race, are far older. Galactus was originally a Taa’an named Galan, a humanoid alien that was “lucky” enough to survive the destruction of the older universe and was reborn by Sentience of the Cosmos as Galactus. The most recent versions of the character imply that Galactus was perhaps a herald himself of a much more powerful entity called “Black Winter”

Even though he may look like the Celestials and is just as strong or even more powerful than they are, Galactus isn’t one. Of course, there’s also the fact that Galactus isn’t as big as a Celestial in his true form but can appear to be as big as them. So, with that said, let’s look at Galactus and the Celestials so that you would understand what makes them different from each other.

Celestials are as old as universe

The Celestials have already been featured in the MCU and are some of the most powerful entities in the world of Marvel Comics. These godlike cosmic beings exist in different parts of the universe and are gigantic creatures and the oldest race in the Marvel universe. They were the first form of existence created in the current Marvel universe, which existed even before the Big Bang and the other races.

The First Firmament was responsible for creating the Celestials, as this being was the living embodiment of the universe itself. With its power, the First Firmament created the Celestials and the Aspirants, which ended up as its toys. However, while the Aspirants wanted to please the First Firmament, the Celestials wanted to be the ones to control their fate, and that was what prompted them to rebel against the First Firmament.

Due to the rebellion of the Celestials, the First Firmament was destroyed. Now free, the Celestials went from planet to planet to look for species they were interested in. They experimented on different creatures they created, as that was how the Eternals, Deviants, and Mutants were created.

The fact that Celestials are godlike creatures is why they are so big and powerful, and they are almost the size of an entire planet and can destroy planets and galaxies.

Celestials are older than Galactus

Galactus has always been a mainstay in Marvel as one of the biggest and baddest villains in this comic book universe. Of course, while we have yet to see Galactus in the MCU, we can expect him to be just as big and bad as his comic book counterpart. In most cases, he is depicted as a gigantic creature that can be the size of an entire planet.

The fact that he is so big and strong is why Galactus is so feared. He is a cosmic entity that uses a powerful source of power called the Power Cosmic, which grants him nearly omnipotent abilities. However, Galactus has to feed on knowledge to sustain his power. But what exactly is Galactus?

Galactus is a being not from this universe but from the universe before the current Marvel universe. Back then, he was but a humanoid alien named Galan. Galan was considered to be a superhero among his race of aliens, and due to that, he was sent on an important mission to ensure the survival of his planet Taa.

His whole universe was slowly dying, being purged by the “Big Crunch” or “Black Winter,” and even though the chances that his species might end up alive were slim, they never gave up hope. When Galan returned to his home planet to break the news to his people, a good portion of them were already dead. He made a proposition to the survivors that instead of trying to survive, they should die a glorious death and travel to the so-called “Cosmic Egg” in the heart of the destruction itself.

Galan and what remained of his people made the trip, and while the cosmic radiation instantly killed all other passengers on the ship, Galan survived. He was transformed into Galactus by Sentience of Universe and moved to a new Universe, the one where he had one of the most vital tasks of all.

Black Winter, however, presented an alternative account of the events, as it claimed that Galan was raised by it to serve as its herald, just as Silver Surfer serves as Galactus’ herald.

Is Galactus A Celestial?

Based on what we already know about the Celestials and Galactus, it is safe to say that Galactus is not a Celestial, and that’s because he wasn’t even created in this universe. Celestials are older because they were created during the first incarnation of the Universe, while Galactus was created during the sixth incarnation.

In that regard, Galactus wasn’t created by the First Firmament but was a product of the destruction of his universe. He fused with an incredible cosmic power source to become the big planet-eating entity he is today.

Of course, it’s difficult not to compare Galactus to the Celestials. That’s because Galactus is often portrayed as just as big as a planet, similar to how the Celestials are described. However, Galactus’s true form isn’t planet-sized, as he is just about as big as a skyscraper.

Although he isn’t a Celestial, Galactus actually has enough power to defeat Celestials, although he is often portrayed as just as strong as they are. However, there have been occasions where he could take on numerous Celestials all on his own, although he isn’t always shown to be stronger than a Celestial.

There is also the fact that Galactus is not like the Celestials regarding the purpose of his existence. While Celestials are beings that act as gods and are responsible for creating other forms of life, Galactus used to destroy entire planets and fed on the life energy of these planets. Nowadays, he needs only knowledge to sustain himself.

As such, he cannot be any more different from a Celestial. The only thing about Galactus that’s similar to a Celestial is his appearance. Besides that, he is simply different from a Celestial as he has other powers and comes from a time before the Celestials even existed.

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