Marvel: Crisis Protocol – We Need The Heralds of Galactus On The Tabletop
We all know the Silver Surfer but Galactus has a few other Heralds that need to join Marvel: Crisis Protocol.
So I picked up Marvel Cosmic Invasion from the Steam store when it launched a few days ago. There’s a free demo out if you want to play it before you buy it. Personally, I felt like this game was specifically targeted at me. It’s a classic arcade style beat’em up made by the same folks that did TMNT Shredder’s Revenge (which I’ve also put a lot of time into). Plus, it’s got a bunch of the voice actors that did the VA from the cartoons I watched as a kid. I couldn’t skip it. Anyhow, in that game the Silver Surfer is a playable character. And while I’m glad to see Norrin Radd back again, I couldn’t help but think “man, it’s a shame he’s not in Marvel: Crisis Protocol…yet.”
But that also kicked off another train of thought about all of the Heralds of Galactus and why aren’t THEY in the game yet? And also the Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom, and Galactus himself. Anyhow, I wanted to do a bit a rundown of the OTHER Heralds of Galactus so that maybe they can show up on the tabletop…
Shalla-Bal – Silver Surfer
If you watched the Fantastic Four: First Steps movie then you already got to meet Shalla-Bal. But also, in the comics, she’s Norrin Radd romantic partner. She even becomes Galactus’ Herald in a few other stories/realities. That said, I’d kind of like to see BOTH version of the Silver Surfer show up in MCP. Mostly so I can say “Surf’s up, dude!”
Terrax The Tamer
Terrax isn’t a Darkseid ripoff. Sure he might look a little like him, but he’s not as powerful…Although I would like to see them square off (DC vs Marvel crossover, anyone?) Anyhow, Terrax became a Herald sometime after the Silver Surfer. He was a dictator named Tyros on his home planet and was already kind of a jerk. Gaining the Power Cosmic didn’t really stop that issue. He also had a bit of a greedy streak and wanted to use the Power Cosmic to do a little empire building of his own. This didn’t sit too well with Galactus. In the long run, Terrax was stripped of his power and left stranded on Earth “Because Comics!” Anyhow, he’s still no slouch and actually has the axe that he took as a spoil of war from another Herald.
The Air-Walker, Gabriel Lan
After the Silver Surfer left Galactus, Galactus chose a replacement Herald. That person was Gabriel Lan, a Nova Corps member and Xandarian Explorer. Unfortunately, Air-Walker was killed by aliens known as Ovoids. Arguabley, that would really make him one of the weaker Heralds on the list. But he was brought back — as a robot replica. Who was also abandoned and eventually was destroyed on Earth. But he did get better thanks to the Silver Surfer rebuilding him (with help). Side note: What’s up with Galactus depositing all his Heralds on Earth? It’s like a really bad relationship.
Firelord
Nova Corps member Pyreus Kril was a friend of Gabriel Lan and knew that Galactus had taken him. He tracked Galactus down and “Because Comics!” Galactus then turned him into another Herald. I don’t know if that was Kril’s plan or what…Anyhow, if you couldn’t tell by the name, he’s got a whole lot of fire-controlling powers. Personally, I’ve always had a soft spot for Firelord because of his part in the Annihilation Wave story. He might be a Herald of Galactus but he still fights for the universe (sometimes).
Morg the Executioner
The final Herald I’m going to cover today is Morg. He’s kind of a weird one because this was a character that Galactus took some thought in picking. Galactus had learned from his previous Heralds that he needed some just ruthless enough to do the job of damning entire worlds to their doom. But he also needed them to be unambitious enough so that they wouldn’t get any ideas (see: Terrax). Well, it worked. And maybe a little too well. Morg actually did his job and was pretty brutal about it. So brutal, in fact, that the other Heralds realized that he would cause the loss of life of untold billions if he wasn’t stopped. That’s when a handful of them teamed up to take him out. This is also where Terrax got his axe …so you can guess how this one ended up.
Galactus has had quite a few OTHER Heralds. Johnny Storm, Thor, The Destroyer, and even Nova (not Richard Rider, different Nova). Maybe we’ll chat about them in a future article.
