For eons Galactus was a solitary being, needing only over once an Earth century to locate a world whose energies he could consume. However, more recently, as Galactus has found himself forced to feed about once every Earth month, he has employed servants to help him seek out suitable worlds to consume. He endows these servants with portions of his own cosmic power, enabling them to perform extraordinary feats of energy manipulation, and he transforms them physically so that they can travel through space and hyperspace without starships or artificial means of protection. Because these servants precede their master and announce his coming to a target world's inhabitants, they have been called heralds.
Galactus's first known herald was Norrin Radd of the planet Zenn-La, who volunteered to become Galactus's herald if Galactus would spare Zenn-La from destruction. Galactus transformed Norrin Radd into the Silver Surfer, who served him for an unspecified amoung of time. Galactus subtly erased the Surfer's memory of his origins so that the Surfer would not sympathize with any humanoids on planets Galactus destroyed. Nevertheless, the Surfer rebelled when Galactus threatened to destroy Earth the first time, and Galactus erected an energy barrier that trapped the Surfer upon Earth as punishment.
Next Galactus transformed the Xandarian Gabriel Lan into his new herald, the Air-Walker. The Air-Walker was killed in a clash with the alien Ovoids, and for a time Galactus used a robotic simulacrum of the Air-Walker as a herald. Next he transformed a friend of Lan's, Pyreus Krul of Xandar, into Firelord, who served Galactus until the thunder god Thor traded the powerful Asgardian construct called the Destroyer to Galactus in exchange for Firelord's freedom. However, Thor's enemy Loki later stole the Destroyer back from Galactus.
Galactus next transformed Tyros, dictator of the world Birj, into Terrax the Tamer, who became his new herald. But the ambitious Terrax fled Galactus's service and even tired to bring about Galactus's death. Galactus stripped Terrax of his cosmic power and turned him back to his original form. Tyros died in a subsequent battle with the Silver Surfer.
Most recently, a young Earth woman named Frankie Rays volunteered to become Galactus's new herald, and he transformed her into the being now known as Nova. Nova has remained with Galactus ever since, and will still be his herald centuries from hence in at least some alternate futures.
Devourer of Worlds:
Galactus
Current Heralds:
Silver Surfer
Stardust
Former Heralds:
The Fallen One
Air-Walker
Firelord
The Destroyer
Terrax the Tamer
Nova
Morg
Red Shift
Invisible Man
Other Devices of Galactus:
Taa II
Galactus' Cat
Punisher Robots
