Key Takeaways: Galactus wants baby Franklin Richards because the child was born with the power cosmic – the same limitless god-like energy that makes Galactus nearly omnipotent. Franklin is destined to succeed Galactus as the cosmic entity responsible for maintaining universal balance, allowing Galactus to finally escape his “miserable existence” of endless world-devouring.
If you walked out of Fantastic Four: First Steps wondering why a cosmic entity billions of years old would specifically target one human baby, you’re asking exactly the right question. Galactus isn’t just some space villain looking for a snack – he’s a fundamental force of nature with a very specific cosmic responsibility, and Franklin Richards represents his one chance at freedom.
Here’s everything you need to know about why the Devourer of Worlds sees this super baby as his salvation.
Who Is Galactus Really?
Galactus isn’t your typical Marvel villain because, technically, he’s not a villain at all. He’s a cosmic necessity – a universal force as essential as stars themselves. Think of him as the universe’s ultimate recycling system, but with a tragic twist that makes him one of the most complex characters in Marvel lore.
Galactus is a force of nature older than the universe itself. He maintains the cosmic balance by serving as what you might call a mobile black hole. When Galactus devours a world, all of that matter converts into pure energy that gets stored inside his massive form.
But here’s what makes Galactus fascinating rather than just terrifying: he hates his job.
The Cosmic Responsibility Burden
Galactus consumes worlds because this is his galactic responsibility, not because he’s evil or power-hungry. His purpose is to absorb the energy of the entire universe over countless eons. When this universe eventually ends – and it will end – Galactus will use all that stored energy to restart the next universe with a cosmic big bang.
It’s the ultimate long-term plan, but it comes with an unimaginable personal cost. Imagine being responsible for the death of billions of civilizations, knowing that each world you destroy brings you closer to saving the next universe. That’s the burden Galactus carries every single day.
The Origin That Explains Everything
Understanding why Galactus wants Franklin requires knowing how he became the Devourer of Worlds in the first place. Galactus wasn’t always a cosmic entity – he was once a regular person named Galen of Ta, a scientist much like Reed Richards.
From Scientist to Cosmic Entity
Galen lived in the sixth version of the multiverse, long before our current reality existed. When his entire multiverse was ending – not just his universe, but every universe within it – Galen tried desperately to save everything. He was a scientist fighting against the ultimate deadline: the death of all existence.
As reality collapsed around him, Eternity itself – one of the cosmic abstracts that represent fundamental forces – chose Galen for a special purpose. Eternity merged with Galen, transforming him into something new. When the multiverse was eventually reborn, Galen emerged as Galactus, forever changed and forever burdened with his cosmic duty.
The Perpetual Cycle
This reveals the true scope of Galactus’s existence. He’s not just maintaining one universe – he’s part of a perpetual cycle of death and rebirth that spans multiple iterations of the entire multiverse. Each time reality ends, Galactus helps restart it, then spends eons collecting energy for the next cosmic rebirth.
No wonder he wants out.
What Makes the Power Cosmic So Special?
The key to understanding Galactus’s interest in Franklin lies in comprehending the power cosmic – the immense energy that makes both Galactus and his heralds like Silver Surfer nearly godlike.
Limitless Potential Energy
The power cosmic isn’t just another superpower – it’s energy with virtually limitless potential that allows beings to:
- Teleport anywhere in the universe instantly
- Achieve true immortality beyond normal superhuman durability
- Change size at will from human-scale to planet-dwarfing proportions
- Reshape entire worlds with focused effort
- Travel through time to any point in history
- Resurrect the dead by rewriting reality itself
When Silver Surfer uses her cosmic powers, she’s accessing just a small portion of what Galactus possesses. Even that fraction makes her one of the most powerful beings in the universe.
Franklin’s Unprecedented Gift
According to Galactus himself, Franklin Richards is “the first being in the universe who shares the power cosmic” naturally. This isn’t something Franklin learned or was given – he was literally born with cosmic-level reality-warping abilities.
When baby Franklin brings Sue Storm back from the dead, his hands glow with that distinctive lavender energy signature of the power cosmic. Sue’s eyes burst with the same vibrant light we’ve seen associated with celestial-level powers, confirming that Franklin didn’t just heal his mother – he rewrote reality to resurrect her.
Why Franklin Is the Perfect Successor
Galactus sees Franklin as his replacement because the child possesses something incredibly rare: natural cosmic awareness combined with reality-warping abilities that might even exceed Galactus’s own power.
Beyond Omega-Level Abilities
Franklin Richards is classified as an omega-level mutant, but that classification doesn’t capture the true scope of his abilities. In the comics, Franklin’s power is so immense that he’s potentially stronger than the Celestials – the cosmic gods who claim responsibility for the Big Bang and the creation of galaxies.
Think about that for a moment. Franklin might be more powerful than the beings who created the universe.
Reality Warping on a Cosmic Scale
Franklin doesn’t just manipulate energy or matter – he can literally reshape reality according to his will. In the comics, this child has been shown to:
- Create entire universes from nothing (literally under his blanket as a kid)
- Resurrect cosmic entities including Galactus himself
- Turn Galactus into his own herald when facing threats from other dimensions
- Serve as a cosmic equal to the Devourer of Worlds rather than a subordinate
When Galactus looks at Franklin, he doesn’t see a human child with superpowers. He sees someone who could take over the cosmic responsibility of universal maintenance while potentially having the power to find better solutions.
The Succession Plan That Changes Everything
Galactus’s offer to spare Earth in exchange for Franklin reveals his desperate desire to escape his cosmic burden. For the first time in potentially billions of years, Galactus sees a way out of his endless cycle of destruction and responsibility.
Freedom from an Eternal Prison
Galactus told the Fantastic Four that Franklin is “destined to succeed Galactus on his throne and take over his unending hunger.” This isn’t just about finding a replacement – it’s about passing on a cosmic responsibility that has trapped Galactus in what he calls his “miserable existence.
Imagine being immortal but bound to a job that requires you to destroy civilizations for billions of years. Even with the ultimate goal of preserving the universe, that’s an existence that would break anyone’s spirit.
Why Franklin Specifically?
Franklin represents something unprecedented: a being born with cosmic-level abilities who grew up understanding human values like family, love, and sacrifice. Unlike Galactus, who was transformed by cosmic forces and burdened with universal responsibility, Franklin developed his powers while surrounded by people who taught him about protecting others.
This combination – unlimited cosmic power plus human empathy – could potentially allow Franklin to find solutions to universal maintenance that don’t require constant world-devouring. Maybe he could absorb energy from stars instead of populated planets, or find ways to sustain cosmic balance without the massive death toll.
The Multiverse Connection
Galactus specifically mentions that he and Franklin “will be there at the end of the multiverse and watch it die.” This connects to the broader MCU multiverse saga, where incursions are threatening all realities.
Franklin’s role as Galactus’s successor isn’t just about our universe – it’s about maintaining cosmic balance across multiple realities. With the multiverse in crisis, having someone with Franklin’s reality-warping abilities in that cosmic role could be essential for saving all existence.
How This Sets Up the MCU’s Future
Franklin’s unique position as Galactus’s chosen successor has massive implications for upcoming MCU events, particularly with Dr. Doom’s interest in the child and the approaching multiversal crisis.
The Secret Wars Connection
In the comics, Franklin plays a crucial role in the Secret Wars event that eventually recreates the multiverse. His reality-warping abilities, combined with his understanding of human values, make him essential for building better realities after cosmic catastrophes.
Kevin Feige has confirmed that the MCU is g is getting a reset after Secret Wars, and Franklin’s cosmic-level abilities make him a prime candidate for helping reshape reality in more positive ways.
Why This Matters for Galactus
If Franklin does eventually take over cosmic responsibilities, it could mean Galactus finally gets the freedom he’s sought for eons. But it also means Earth and the entire universe gain a cosmic protector who understands the value of life rather than seeing civilizations as mere energy sources.
The Tragic Beauty of Galactus’s Plan
There’s something both heartbreaking and hopeful about Galactus’s interest in Franklin. This cosmic entity has spent countless eons destroying worlds to maintain universal balance, carrying the guilt and isolation that comes with such responsibility.
In Franklin, he sees not just a successor, but someone who might do the job better – someone who could maintain cosmic balance while preserving life rather than consuming it.
What This Means Moving Forward
Galactus’s desire for Franklin Richards reveals the deeper themes that will likely drive the MCU’s cosmic storylines. It’s not just about good versus evil – it’s about the burden of responsibility, the cost of maintaining balance, and the hope that the next generation can find better solutions to universal problems.
Franklin as the Bridge
Franklin represents a bridge between human understanding and cosmic responsibility. His parents fought to protect him not just because he’s their son, but because they recognized that his unique combination of unlimited power and human values could change the cosmic order for the better.
The Power of Choice
Unlike Galactus, who was chosen by cosmic forces and transformed against his will, Franklin has the opportunity to choose how he uses his abilities. That choice – between embracing cosmic responsibility or rejecting it – will likely define major MCU storylines moving forward.
When Galactus looks at baby Franklin Richards, he sees his own salvation and the universe’s potential redemption. That’s why the Devourer of Worlds wants this one human child more than anything else in existence.
