When Galactus rears his pronged head around the planet Earth, it usually takes the combined forces of Earth’s superheroes to rebuff his attempts to consume the planet. Not the easiest of tasks to be sure, but when you have the combined forces of the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and the X-Men, the odds are sure to slightly increase.
But how would the odds fare in the DC Universe? Would the Justice League be able to rise to the task, or would their Earth succumb to the World Devourer?
10 DEFEAT: DOCTOR FATE
Doctor Fate is a merging of two entities with a similar purpose: Kent Nelson, an archaeologist who houses the essence of Nabu, a Lord of Order, who is charged with bringing structure to the world. A being of immense magical power, Doctor Fate is one of the front-line heroes relied upon to deal with major threats to the planet, and an appearance by Galactus would certainly qualify as one.
Despite his formidable abilities, it’s entirely possible that Doctor Fate would be overwhelmed by the World Devourer. Moreover, Galactus’ consuming of the Earth could possibly be interpreted by the Lord of Order as a simple manifestation of the natural order of the universe. As such, he may allow Galactus to continue his actions unopposed.
9 LOSE: THE SPECTRE
The Spectre is one of the most powerful entities in the DC Universe. An embodiment of the wrath of God tied to a human soul, The Spectre is powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with the Anti-Monitor and reduce the Phantom Stranger to a mouse in a top hat.
The Spectre seethes at the loss of innocent life and is capable of great acts of vengeance, as when he destroyed the inhabitants of an entire country for doing evil. Taking into account the amount of blood on Galactus’ hands and the scope and nature of The Spectre’s power, Galactus would be defeated in a sound and probably gruesome way.
8 DEFEAT: GREEN LANTERNS
Green Lanterns are some of the most powerful heroes in the DC Universe. Able to harness willpower into powerful constructs and energies whose only limits are the bearer’s imagination, they police the galaxy at the behest of their masters on Oa.
Although it’s almost guaranteed that one Green Lantern alone would not be able to stop Galactus’ incursion into Earth, an army of Lanterns may have a better chance. Even in this case, however, Galactus’ superior might and ability to harness all kinds of cosmic energies may see him cut the Lanterns off from their power source, leaving them to die in space like a swarm of green fireflies.
7 LOSE: THE GUARDIANS OF OA
The Guardians of Oa are ancient beings who were the first to learn how to harness the power of the emotional spectrum. The founders of the Green Lantern Corps, the Guardians are beings of immense power in their own right, and when unified, are almost unstoppable in their will. Although it’s conceivable that Galactus may be able to mount some type of offensive against the Guardians, their combined might makes it difficult to envision a victory for the World Devourer. Even if he would be able to somehow defeat them, it would be a pyrrhic victory, taking more out of him from the battle than the consumption of Oa would benefit.
6 DEFEAT: Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel is a DC powerhouse, equally in strength and ability to heavyweights like Superman and Wonder Woman. Garnering his strength from the wizard Shazam, Captain Marvel is infused with magical powers of epic proportions. In a confrontation with Galactus, it would be interesting to see if Marvel’s raw magical power could provide a sufficient offense against the World Devourer, however, owing to Galactus’ off-the-chart power levels, it’s extremely unlikely. Couple this with the fact that Marvel’s alter ego, Billy Batson, is young and somewhat inexperienced in martial prowess, and a victory for Galactus is assured.
5 LOSE: THE ENDLESS
The Endless are the personification of different aspects of existence, namely, Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirium. Each of these entities is powerful beyond measure, intricately tied to life and existence but somehow standing apart from it, able to bend reality to their whims in any way they see fit. A confrontation with any one of these entities would certainly not go well for Galactus, much less if they all decided to take him on. For instance, Desire could influence him to want something other than satiating his hunger, Delirium could drive him insane, and Death could very simply escort him to the “other side.”
4 DEFEAT: SUPERMAN
Obviously, if Galactus came to Earth looking for a midnight snack, the first person everybody in the DC Universe would turn to defend the planet would be Superman. Owing to his well-known abilities, Superman seems a logical choice for a first-line of defense, but Galactus would quickly make short work of him.
As a master of cosmic energies, Galactus could easily zap the Man of Steel with red sun radiation and negate his powers, forgoing even the use of kryptonite. The fact of the matter is, in their previous encounter in Superman/Fantastic Four, Galactus was able to transform Superman into his herald, so defeating him should take no great effort.
3 LOSE: DR. MANHATTAN
Granted, Dr. Manhattan was presented as more of an aloof anti-hero in Watchmen and practically as a villain in Doomsday Clock, but he’s historically been considered enough of a hero to be included in this list. As is evident through all his appearances, Manhattan has the ability to appear at multiple places in time and space and re-order matter at a whim, so there’s very little he can’t do. In a confrontation with Galactus, he could feasibly go back in time and hinder the World Devourer's emergence from the Cosmic Egg or simply blink him out of existence, as he did with the original Rorschach.
2 DEFEAT: HIGHFATHER
Highfather is the leader of the New Gods of New Genesis, and a formidable power to behold. A literal God, he has a tremendous amount of power and ability at his fingertips, including the Alpha Effect, a siphoned channel of the unknown and incredible powers beyond the Source Wall.
Coupled with Highfather's sagacity and martial prowess, his powers have kept Darkseid at bay for generations, however, even Highfather would concede defeat to an enemy as powerful as Galactus. Even the combined forces of New Genesis would have difficulty overcoming the World Devourer, and due to his moral virtue, Highfather lacks the deviousness and killer instinct necessary to defeat this enemy.
1 LOSE: THE PRESENCE
The Presence is the manifestation of God in the DC Universe. As such, the entity has complete mastery over all aspects of time, space and reality and can effectively do whatever it wishes at any time.
Against The Presence, Galactus would have no viable offense. The Presence could simply wish him out of existence, dematerialize him, or transform him into another form entirely. Galactus combating The Presence would be akin to a gnat wrestling a dinosaur, and for once, Galactus would know what his heralds feel when they confront him, to say nothing of the millions of victims who have lost their lives fighting him.