Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Fantastic Four: Antithesis #2, by Mark Waid, Neal Adams, Mark Farmer, Laura Martin and VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
Galactus, the devourer of worlds, has repeatedly posed a monumental threat to the Marvel Universe. This massive force of nature is nearly insurmountable in terms of sheer cosmic power. Recently, however, the "antithesis" of Galactus used an immense amount of power to return the cosmic giant to his original, powerless state.
First appearing in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's Fantastic Four #48 in 1966, Galactus began as a humanoid named Galan who lived on the planet Taa. This earlier incarnation of Earth was a highly advanced civilization, of which Galan was its chief scientific explorer, much like Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four.
Unfortunately, Taa, along with the rest of the universe, was doomed within Galan's lifetime. Due to the multiversal renewal cycle, during which the universe was destroyed and then reborn, Taa was plunging towards its end. Galan was sent out into the universe to find a way to save Taa, but he found nothing. Ultimately, taking a few survivors from his home world, Galan ventured out towards the "cosmic egg", the center to which the universe was inevitably plunging.
Everyone on the expedition died except for Galan, who was imbued with great power. In fact, Galan merged with the sentience of the multiverse itself. Surviving the multiversal renewal cycle, Galan was reborn as Galactus, a cosmic behemoth with immense power. Indeed, Galactus is one of the most powerful beings in the cosmos, essentially acting as an elemental force rather than a sentient individual. So great is his power that Galactus needs to consume entire planets to satiate his hunger. Galactus is usually accompanied by a herald, who is sent out to find a planet for his master to consume.
At the beginning of Fantastic Four: Antithesis #2, by Mark Waid and Neal Adams, Galactus and his herald, the Silver Surfer, are on their usual quest for a suitable planet for consumption. Suddenly, a tear in the fabric separating the universe from its antimatter counterpart, the Negative Zone, rips open. Emerging from this tear comes a horrifying creature, referred to as Galactus' "antithesis."
Almost immediately, Galactus and Antithesis begin to fight, leaving the Surfer shocked to see someone able to combat his master. Even more shocking, however, is how quickly Antithesis gains the upper hand. Indeed, Antithesis strips Galactus of his armor, using his own power to revert the world devourer into his earlier form: Galan, the proto-human from Taa. Antithesis then swiftly banishes Galan from the universe, tossing him into the Negative Zone.
This display of power is startling, to say the least. Considering Galactus' godlike cosmic power, Antithesis' handling of the world devourer is truly impressive. Yet it also makes sense that Antithesis is able to deal with Galactus so easily.
For one thing, Antithesis is the antimatter counterpart to Galactus, possessing abilities that mirror the cosmic giant's. It's apparent that this includes energy absorption and manipulation, similarly to how Galactus consumes energy from planets. Later on in this issue, Anithesis feeds others with his own energy, demonstrating the scope of his power cosmic, which is at least comparable to Galactus' power. If Antithesis is able to feed a great deal of energy into planets full of sentient beings, it's no surprise that he can also drain a being such as Galactus of his own energy.
Additionally, being from the Negative Zone, Antithesis naturally serves as an opposing force to Galactus. Considering how antimatter easily destroys anything from the positive matter universe, Anithesis, by nature of being Galactus' antimatter counterpart, should be a natural deterrent for the world devourer. Antithesis is, very literally, the antithesis to Galactus himself.
While Galactus is an all-powerful, world-devouring force in the universe, Antithesis is at least as dangerous and even more merciless than his positive matter counterpart.