While reading Nova this week, I had the impression that the Surfer is having a bit of difficulty getting used to being Herald of Galactus again. Sure, he tosses Nova around when our hero gets too close to the Planet Devourer, and he spouts the usual spiel about Galactus not interacting with lower beings, and how, as his Herald, the Surfer really shouldn't be talking to Rich either. Still, he keeps slipping out of character, only to catch himself mid-sentence.
On two occasions he starts to tell Nova something, only to stop and say he need not explain himself to Rich. His willingness to discuss why he seems different, or to explain how casually he can shield the ark ships from electromagnetic disruption, seems to be a holdover of the days when he routinely interacted with costumed heroes, having misunderstanding battles, followed by team-ups, and the like. That was his life for a long time, and even if he didn't find it entirely fulfilling (since the reason he rejoined Galactus was at least partially a lack of direction) it became a fairly regular occurrence, and so it wasn't out of the ordinary for him to explain what he was doing or feeling. In fact, given the Surfer's tendencies to zip around on his board bemoaning his fate (whether he's trapped on a planet of madmen, or otherwise separated from his love), the hard part was usually getting him to shut up.
Now though, he's back on the clock, and he's apparently serious about being a loyal Herald*, and that means he's supposed to follow Big G's lead, which means limited interaction with lesser beings, and that you do not explain your actions. He's supposed to be above all that once again, and he's at least trying to act like it. The fact that he's not entirely successful, that he keeps slipping into old habits, is something to keep in mind for the future.
Given the cyclical nature of comics at Marvel and DC, it's pretty much a given the Surfer will turn against Galactus again at some point. I find it unlikely that after all those years protecting lives that are inconsequential to Galactus, and now having helped Nova with a planetary evacuation, that he'll ever easily fall back into his ways from before he encountered Alicia Masters. Which could be bad for him, as Galactus figures the Surfer will turn against him someday, thus Galactus accepted Stardust back to serve as co-Herald alongside Silverado**. In the event he turns against Galactus, he's going to have to contend with perhaps the most fanatically loyal Herald Galactus has ever had, and if Galactus opts to remove the extra power he gave the Surfer***, well, that would be bad news for Norrin.
*Serious enough he has no qualms about leading Galactus to inhabited worlds.
**See Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus #1!
***In Annihilation: Silver Surfer #3 - Footnote Favoring Calvin!
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2 comments:
I agree that there has to be some type of plan for where the newly herald-ified Surfer is gonna go. At least I hope there is.
I think you just used two more footnotes than Marvel has in the last decade. Gosh I loved those in the old days.
jason: Actually, I think I saw a footnote in a Marvel comic in the last week. I can't find it in any of the stuff I've bought this year that I've read recently, so it might have been last week's Amazing Spider-Man. Which would fit with their attempts to capture that old-time feel, I suppose.
I'd like to see more footnotes, but I imagine it gets kind of tricky when dealing with titles that are on their 3rd or 4th volume, and have had separate and combined numbering over the course of those volumes (like Busiek's Avengers was Volume 3 starting from #1, but then the title had reestablished the old numbering by the time Bendis took over for Disassembled).
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