How Big Is Galactus “The Devourer of Worlds” in Comics?

Galactus, aka The Devourer of Worlds, is known as one of Marvel’s cosmic powerhouses. He’s omnipotent in his powers, but they fluctuate quite a bit, which makes him a perfect plot device for other characters to assert their power levels. As Galactus’ powers fluctuate, so do his size and portrayal. So, exactly how big is Galactus “The Devourer of Worlds” in comics?

Galactus is usually around 29 feet tall. However, his size can fluctuate dramatically, depending on how he wants to present himself and how well-fed with cosmic energy he is. The more planets Galactus devours, the more he can alter his size.

That’s why you sometimes see Galactus merely 17-18 feet tall, while sometimes, the guy is as big as the solar system. There are many questions that need to be answered about Galactus, his powers, size, and appearance. Don’t worry; you’re in the right place. Here’s everything you need to know about the size of The Devourer of Worlds.

How big is Galactus in Comics?

As I’ve mentioned, Galactus can alter his size at will, especially when he is well-fed with cosmic energy. However, he is usually portrayed around 29 feet (8.8 m) tall, as listed in the Marvel Official Handbook. Additionally, the Devourer of Worlds weighs around 18 tons when he’s at his usual size. Both his height and weight vary depending on how well-fed he is.

However, after an encounter with Ego the Living Planet in Fantastic Four #202, his regular size changed. Ego mocked Galactus for his size, telling him that all the other cosmic entities laugh behind his back because he’s smaller than even the In-Betweener.

Galactus took that very personally, looked up how big the In-Betweener was, and found out the entity was listed at 266 feet (81 m). That’s when the Devourer of Worlds vowed he’d never show himself to be smaller than 267 feet (81.3 m), no matter how hungry he was, so that nobody could ever mock him for being smaller than the In-Betweener again.

Can Galactus change size?

Yes, Galactus’ powers allow him to change his size at will, especially when he is well-fed. Despite being listed at a regular height of 29 feet (8.8 m), the Devourer of Worlds can alter his size to virtually unlimited lengths, provided he is fed with enough cosmic energy. 

One time, he became big enough to wrestle with the Wraithworld sun. On another, he outgrew an entire solar system. The biggest we’ve seen Galactus was galaxy-sized.

Is Galactus always big

With all that being said, Galactus isn’t always as big as we usually see him. In fact, it’s not rare to see him shrink even below the 29-feet limit. When Cosmic Hunger takes over, and Galactus doesn’t feed on cosmic energy, he can shrink to around 17 feet (5.1 m) – we’ve seen the Hulk grow much larger than that.

Is Galactus human?

Although we usually see Galactus appear in a humanoid form – no, he is not human. The Devourer of Worlds is a cosmic entity that was a humanoid alien being named Galan, who lived on the planet Taa.

However, after being reborn as Galactus, his true form became unknown to anybody but Galactus himself. He always appears to be similar to the being looking at him. So, if a human is looking at Galactus, he will appear as a humanoid being. If a dog were looking at him, Galactus would look like a huge space dog, so to speak – at least to the dog.

The reason why we tend to see Galactus appear human most of the time is that, well, most of the beings he encounters are human, or at least humanoid. The true form of the Devourer of Worlds is unknown and would probably remain such forever in Marvel Comics. It just adds another layer of intrigue and mystery to Galactus.

How big is Galactus’ ship?

Galactus’ ship is known as the Worldship or Taa II. If you remember, Taa was the name of the planet where Galan lived while he was still a humanoid being. Well, it is also the name of the first planet he ever devoured after becoming the Devourer of Worlds.

When he created Taa II, Galactus imagined it as the most beautiful, largest, most amazing starship ever created. So, he made it to be the size of the solar system where the planet of Taa was located and named it Worldship, or Taa II.

Just as Galactus can alter his size at will, so can his ship. However, it’s important to note that Taa II isn’t the ship he usually uses to travel across the cosmos – he uses a smaller pod to do so.

Is Galactus bigger than the Universe?

Galactus can be a huge entity – but he is not as big as the universe, let alone bigger. He was the lone survivor from the previous iteration of the universe, before the Big Bang created the main Marvel Universe, but never was he as big as the universe itself, no matter what iteration we’re talking about.

The largest we’ve seen Galactus become is as big as a galaxy, but due to his constant Cosmic Hunger, he can’t maintain that kind of size for too long, as it takes too much energy, so he’d need to feed on planets at an exponentially faster rate.

Why is Galactus so large?

There’s actually no need for Galactus to be as big as he tends to be – it’s not like his powers grow when he is larger. In fact, he spends much more energy when he’s bigger. So, why is Galactus so big all the time? Well, it’s nothing more than arrogance and vanity.

You could see that in the little story where Ego was mocking him – Galactus swore he’d stay as big as 267 feet even if he were starving to death, just so that he could say he was bigger than the In-Betweener. That kind of arrogance is the reason why so many superheroes defeat Galactus over the years despite his unfathomable, nearly omnipotent powers.

Who Is bigger than Galactus?

There’s this common misconception that Galactus is the largest cosmic entity in Marvel Comics. The truth is, he can be extremely big but nowhere near the biggest.

Virtually every Celestial is bigger than Galactus. Even if you take his “new normal” size of 267 feet (81.3 m), he’s still dwarfed even by average-sized Celestials, who are around 2000 feet (610 m).

He is the Devourer of Worlds, whereas the Black Winter was the Devourer of Universes. Despite Galactu’s astonishing powers, the Black Winter made him its Herald, just like he made the Silver Surfer and other his Heralds.

There are other entities and beings usually portrayed bigger than Galactus, most notably, Eternity, Infinity, Oblivion, Death, and the Living Tribunal. One of the weirdest beings bigger than Galactus was the apocalypse Beast from Fantastic Four & Iron Man: Big in Japan #3, which had a face on its torso, and a tongue that had a face of its own.

The creature was over 15000 feet (4572 m) tall and weighed over 3.6 trillion pounds (1.8 billion tons). Yeah, that thing was huge.

How Big Is Galactus Compared To Earth?

Again, it all depends on how big Galactus chooses the present himself at the moment and how well-fed with cosmic energy he is. He’s usually just below 30 feet (9 m) tall, which would be about the size of a house. However, when on Earth, Galactus usually portrayed himself as being just slightly taller than the tallest skyscraper. Talk about complexes, am I right?

There were instances when he was much bigger than Earth itself, too, when Galactus grew to the size of a solar system, but one can’t take that as a reference point, seeing it is not really his typical size.