WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Marvel Zombies: Resurrection #1, by Phillip K. Johnson and Leonard Kirk, on sale now.
Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds, is one of the most powerful cosmic characters in the Marvel Universe. The cosmic entity feeds off planets and has been a formidable foe for more than half a century. But, what happens to his body when the all-mighty being dies? It turns out, something very evil, sinister... and pretty weird.
In Marvel Zombies: Resurrection #1, written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson (The Last God), and illustrated by Leonard Kirk (Black Panther), the heaviest Marvel hitters band together after they receive a message from Captain Marvel saying Galactus is dead and his body is floating in space. Realizing what a huge deal that is, the Avengers, Fantastic Four and X-Men team up to find and deal with his corpse before someone else gets there first.
The group of heroes lands inside Galactus, and investigates, Alien-style. Reed Richards confirms something long known about the cosmic being, that Galactus' appearance is perceived differently by the eyes of his beholders: "Humans view Galactus as a human, Chitauri as Chitauri, and so on." What's strange, however, is that for some reason, this still happens in death, such that even posthumously, his form adapts to the beings that look at him. Such is the way of things, perhaps, when one is an incredibly power force within the cosmos -- not to mention the lone survivor of the previous universe.
Richards and Tony Stark are keen to take samples of the giant corpse, as the teams split up to see exactly what happened to the fallen Titan. The two teams run into serious trouble almost immediately. Richards and Stark learn Galactus' body has been hollowed out and converted into a spacecraft and that there is someone or something living inside. The other team, led by Wolverine and Captain America, encounters Captain Marvel, who has been turned into a zombie, is covered in blood and ready to attack. The team is further ambushed by zombie versions of Groot, Gamora, Nova and Skrulls.
Richards and Starks' team continue to investigate inside Galactus, discovering that an unknown energy is flowing through the cosmic being. Johnny Storm burns through the source and the group takes a closer look. Despite Sue's warning to Reed to destroy the body and go home, Richards' scientific curiosity leads them right into a turned Silver Surfer, who immediately lunges at and kills Johnny.
Ultimately, both teams are overwhelmed and the casualties stack up. Ben sacrifices himself to save Reed and Sue, but it's too late for the latter as she is also infected. Thor, who is also zombified, is joined by some of the undead inhabitants of Galactus' body, and goes after the heroes ship, manned by Rhody, destroying the ship. Meanwhile, Galactus' giant corpse starts falling through the stars and is on a crash course for Earth.
Marvel Zombies: Resurrection smartly establishes Galactus' body is somehow the cause of the heroes getting infected. In so doing, readers, while still being left wondering as to the source of the outbreak, at very least have a prime culprit. Someone -- or indeed something -- has hollowed him out and turned him into a perfect vessel to birth the walking dead, as we saw with the Silver Surfer, whose reflective skin sloughed off of him like melted cheese. Taking out Galactus and converting his corpse into a zombie-ship means something with tremendous power is out there, and it is even hungrier than the World Devourer. Alternatively, when Galactus stops feeding and dies, he becomes the harbinger of death. Either scenario represents a gruesome fate for an already deadly character, as well as the Marvel Universe itself.
At the same time, is Galactus' ability to take on the form of those who view him -- so that their feeble minds can truly comprehend his vast and unknowable true form, etc. -- being exploited by the undead as a sort of trap? Perhaps interested parties, like Reed Richards, the Avengers, the Shi'ar, the Skrulls, and others, are tricked into exploring his body and are thus ensnared in a strange cosmic zombie trap?
In any case, even as a corpse, Galactus is still causing massive problems for the Marvel heroes. Perhaps devouring planets is a much safer existence for him than a world without him. As his body falls to Earth, it is clear the Marvel Universe is not ready to handle the extinction-level zombie outbreak that comes with him.