Silver Surfer
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Template:Superherobox The Silver Surfer is a Marvel Comics superhero. Created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, he first appeared in The Fantastic Four #48 (1966).
The Surfer was originally Norrin Radd, a young astronomer of the planet Zenn-La. He agreed to serve as a herald for the alien Galactus to save Zenn-La from the planet-consuming super being. Galactus granted Norrin Radd enormous cosmic powers, a silvery appearance and a surfboard-like vehicle, both after a childhood fantasy of Radd's. Thereafter, he roamed the cosmos, searching for new planets for Galactus to consume until, after an encounter with Earth's Fantastic Four, he betrayed Galactus, who doomed the Surfer to exile on Earth.
In a heavily philosophical late 1960s series, which was popular in the hippie counter culture, the Earth-bound Surfer explored his new home planet. Another, more cosmically themed series with a freed Surfer was published from the late 1980s through the mid-1990s, and a third short-lived ongoing series followed in 2004.
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Publication history
The Silver Surfer is a unique product of the Marvel system of comic creation. Unlike in the full scripts employed elsewhere, creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby would discuss general storylines or plots initially but leave the specific story elements to the penciller (this was especially so in the case of Kirby). Reputedly, Kirby created the character of the Silver Surfer reasoning that a cosmic predator of planets should have some sort of herald. Lee was surprised by this creation but, taken by the noble features of the new character that Kirby had penciled, scripted him, adding to his characterization.
Though Kirby seems to be the primary creator of the Silver Surfer, Lee enjoyed the character and decided to feature him in his own comic magazine. Kirby was unavailable and penciller John Buscema was chosen as the artist for the brief run (18 issues). The Silver Surfer comic and character allowed Lee to script some of his most thoughtful and introspective stories. Thematically, the stories dealt with the inhumanity of man as observed by the noble yet fallen Surfer. After his own comic was cancelled, the Surfer continued to make sporadic appearances as a guest star or antagonist in other comic books. A personal favorite of Lee's, a number of specials and graphic novels featuring the character have been published over the years.
After a one-shot published in 1982, he was given a chance at a solo, ongoing title for the second time in 1987, where he finally managed to escape the confines of Earth and left for the spaceways. This series was originally written by Steve Englehart and illustrated by Marshall Rogers, and later written by Jim Starlin and drawn by Ron Lim. Starlin was later replaced by Ron Marz as writer; later in the series' publication, George Perez and J. M. DeMatteis had brief stints at writing the series as well. Other artists included Tom Grindberg, Ron Garney, and Jon J. Muth, as well as periodic guest spots by the aforementioned John Buscema. Although the title experienced great initial success, and continued to be buoyed by tie-ins to Infinity Gauntlet and other crossovers, this second ongoing series was ultimately cancelled in 1998 after 146 issues, due to low sales and a change in Marvel's editorial direction.
A new Silver Surfer series began in 2003, focusing on the character's alien nature and messianic allegory, but only lasted fourteen issues. He later made an appearance in Cable/Deadpool, where he was the final line of defense against an overpowered Cable. He has twice been reunited with the superhero group he took part in, The Defenders. He will be appearing in a self-titled, four-issue miniseries linked to Marvel's cosmic event, Annihilation.
A Silver Surfer graphic novel was written by Lee and Kirby entitled The Silver Surfer: Parable (originally serialized in two parts in 1988-1989) was scripted by Stan Lee and drawn by Moebius.
Character history
Template:Cosmic Marvel Image:Ff50.png In the very earliest stories, Kirby envisioned the Surfer as a semi-divine being created by the godlike Galactus, immeasurably powerful yet lacking the most basic understanding of good or evil. Clearly drawing inspiration from Rousseau, Lee's script allowed this completely amoral entity to develop a sense of compassion through contact with the gentle Alicia Masters, a blind sculptress somehow capable of perceiving the surfer's innate nobility.
Lee and Kirby continued this theme through a series of subplots where the Surfer encounters negative human traits such as jealousy (the Thing, driven to rage by the Surfer's relationship with his girlfriend, Alicia); deception, evil and cruelty (de-powered and imprisoned by Doctor Doom, then tortured by Doom's brutal henchmen), despair and hopelessness (languishing in a Latverian dungeon while Doom uses the power cosmic to conquer the world); and finally a thirst for revenge (destroying Doom's castle - along with his sadistic captors, presumably - when he finally escapes).
At the same time, the Surfer continued to evolve as an individual, slowly groping his way to a knowledge of his own humanity. No mention, however, was made of any life or existence prior to the Surfer's arrival on Earth, lending credence to the idea that he was a whole-cloth creation of his world-devouring master. Significantly, during this early period, both Galactus and the Surfer fed in precisely the same manner - converting matter directly into energy - suggesting that they were originally the same kind of creature.
The Surfer's background was retconned with the release of Silver Surfer #1, providing the character with a previously undisclosed existence, revealing that the character had a life as an ordinary being before he became the Silver Surfer. According to a number of sources, this overhauling of the character's history was one the disputes which led to Jack Kirby's resignation from Marvel.
In the revised version, the Surfer was born Norrin Radd on the idyllic planet Zenn-La, home to an ancient and advanced civilization that had lost the will to strive or explore; leaving Norrin Radd restless and yearning for something more than the idle pleasure pursued by his fellows. Faced with the total destruction of his world by the planet-consuming Galactus, Radd struck a deal with the omnipotent alien to serve as his herald in return for the safety of Zenn-La and of his lover, Shalla-Bal, at the same time satisfying his desire to discover new worlds and adventures beyond the limits of his home. Galactus accepted the young mortal's sacrifice and imbued him with a portion of the Power Cosmic, transforming him into the Silver Surfer. He served Galactus for an unspecified amount of time, unable to return to Zenn-La or Shalla-Bal, until he came to the planet Earth.
In yet later versions of the story, it was explained that Zenn-La was an offshoot of the Kree Template:Fact, another galaxy spanning race first created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the Fantastic Four.
On Earth, the Surfer encountered a number of individuals whose nobility and honor touched him, such as the Fantastic Four and their companion Alicia Masters. The Surfer chose to rebel against Galactus and attempted to prevent his master from consuming the Earth. Galactus was eventually driven off, but as punishment for his rebellion, Galactus confined the Surfer to Earth by creating an invisible barrier which affected only him (deprived him of his space-time powers in the original version - the "Great Barrier" first appeared in the Doctor Doom story arc the following year).
Powers and abilities
The Silver Surfer possesses vast power known as the "Power Cosmic," gained when Galactus restructured his former body. He has the ability to channel ambient cosmic energy into his body at will, and expel it violently as concussive force or gently as a means to restructure molecules according to his mental design. He can generate beams of energy with sufficient destructive force to annihilate a planet or generate such subtle amounts of energy to restructure the molecules of the natural pigments within a plant to change its color. The Surfer can rearrange the molecules of matter to create other configurations, and can transmute elements. While he can use his power to revitalize life energies and heal the wounded, he cannot create life or return the dead to the living.
The Surfer possesses vast superhuman strength, allowing him to lift in excess of 100 tons. He can additionally increase his physical strength with the Power Cosmic, enabling him to move virtually limitless amounts of mass. In addition, his body can move and react at superhuman velocities. Image:SilverSurferGN.jpg
The Silver Surfer has certain cosmic energy-enhanced perceptions which enable him, through concentration, to become aware of the patterns of energy which surround him. Accordingly, he can sense great concentrations or deployments of energy in a great range, the extent of which is undetermined but is at least on a planetary level. He has a special affinity for the life energies of living beings, and can use his cosmic powers to augment them to a certain degree. The Surfer's other senses are also thus enhanced: he has demonstrated the ability to see as far as a light year while concentrating and without obstructions to his line of sight. Although the Surfer's senses are superhumanly keen, his sometimes detached and introspective nature occasionally leaves him unaware of his surroundings.
The forces binding together the molecules making up the silvery material that composes the Silver Surfer's "skin" are so great that there are few known forces in the universe great enough to overcome them. The inner portions of his body have also been made highly resistant to injury. Thus, the Surfer is invulnerable to most forms of physical harm. He can withstand great extremes of temperature caused by the build-up of friction within atmospheres or the vacuum of space or the intense heat within stars. He has even flown near a star's core on at least one occasion. He can survive without difficulties in the vacuum of outer space and hyperspace, and his body can withstand the stresses of travel at near-light speeds in this universe and of even greater speeds, in hyperspace. He has maintained that he is no longer in fact "mortal", but this is most likely an inference that he has very little in common biologically with humans, rather than an assertion that he cannot be killed. It is likely that the Surfer does not age; his counterpart in the future timeline of the Guardians of the Galaxy is over a thousand years old and is at least as powerful as his present-day counterpart. The Surfer's mind has also been restructured so that he has considerable resistance to telepathy and other mind control methods. He has the ability to communicate with various alien species regardless of their native language, and to speak to others in the vacuum of space, possibly through a limited form of telepathy.
The Silver Surfer does not need to eat or breathe since he absorbs life-maintaining cosmic energy directly through his skin. Although his body does not require sleep, his mind must still rest in order to give it an opportunity to dream.
By using his board to exceed 99% of the speed of light (186,000 miles per second), the Surfer can shift himself into hyperspace, a dimension in which velocity is not limited by the speed of light. The Surfer can also compress his own bodily matter so as to shift himself into a so-called microverse. Additionally, he can phase his body's molecules to pass through solid matter or energy. He once used his powers to travel through time, but may be unable to engage in time travel under normal circumstances.
Despite these vast powers, the Surfer is not completely unstoppable. He has in the past been wounded by vastly powerful forms of magic and by other users of the Power Cosmic, such as Galactus and his other heralds. He is not immune to psionics or other forms of mental attack or manipulation, although his willpower and spiritual strength provide him with a great deal of resistance to mind control.
Paraphernalia and weapons
In flying the Silver Surfer usually makes use of an object known on Earth as his "surfboard" (so called because it resembles a surfboard), which was created by Galactus and is constructed of the same unknown substance as the Surfer's body; therefore, it too is virtually indestructible. Even when it was destroyed, the Surfer was able to easily reconstruct it.
The surfboard is psionically linked with the Surfer's mind, to the extent that damage that is somehow dealt to the board also causes the Surfer duress or pain. Apparently only a being possessing the Surfer's cosmic powers can cause the surfboard to fly, and its movement is controlled mentally (possibly telekinetically) by the Surfer. When he requires the board, he can call it to himself, usually calling it to himself by crying "To me, my board!", although this is not necessary. The surfboard apparently taps ambient cosmic energy in much the same way that the Surfer himself does. Although the Surfer can utilize his cosmic power to fly without it, the surfboard enables him to fly with greater maneuverability and without the expenditure of his own energy.
The Silver Surfer can utilize the surfboard to attain multiples of the speed of light, but seldom exceeds Mach 10 (ten times the speed of sound) within the outer layers of a planet's atmosphere, and Mach 5 within the inner layers.
In addition, the Surfer and the Fantastic Four realized that Galactus' means of imprisoning the Surfer on Earth was linked to the board since the entity knew that his former herald would not think of leaving the planet without it. Putting the idea to the test, the Surfer left the board planetside and the Four transported him off the planet in their spacecraft. Once he realized he was free of Earth, the Surfer remotely converted the board to energy, recalled it to him and reformed it in space. Then the Surfer met up with Galactus and did him a favor by rescuing his current herald, Nova, from the Skrulls. In return, Galactus fully freed the Surfer and he could once again travel the universe in search of Zenn-La.
Appearances in other media
The Silver Surfer video game, developed by Software Creations, Ltd., debuted on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990. Though many of the classic characters and enemies from the comics made appearances, the gameplay was severely lacking and unbalanced. It was unfortunately just another unsuccessful attempt at taking a well-known comic franchise into the world of video games. On the upside, the game featured amazingly well-written music, considering the limitations of the NES's sound chip.
The Surfer makes an appearance on the cover of the Joe Satriani album "Surfing with the Alien."
Image:Surfertoon.jpg The Surfer's first animated appearance was in "Galactus," an episode of the Hanna-Barbara 1967 Fantastic Four animated series which closely followed the Marvel comic series. He put in several apperances in the 1994 Fantastic Four animated series that was part of the Marvel Action Hour, voiced by Robin Sachs, which also adhered closely to the original comic book story, recounting his and Galactus's coming to Earth, and Doctor Doom's theft of his powers.
The Silver Surfer then briefly had his own cartoon series on the FOX Network in 1998. Among the first to feature computer graphics, blended with cel animated rendered in the style of Surfer creation Jack Kirby, the FOX Kids series diverged from the comic in various ways - although accurately retelling the Surfer's origin on Zenn-La, the method by which he regained his emotions and memories was altered to not involve the Fantastic Four, and while further adventures included appearance by many characters from Marvel's "cosmic" stable such as Thanos, the Watcher, Ego the Living Planet, Mentor, Drax the Destroyer, Pip the Troll, Nebula, Beta Ray Bill, Gamora, Nova, Adam Warlock and the Kree and Skrull empires, their portrayals and roles often differed from their comic book incarnations. Possessed of an unusually serious tone compared to Marvel's other animated projects, with frequent maudlin musings by the Surfer and episode resolutions which were often downbeat, the series was cancelled after only one season of thirteen episodes. Eight further episodes for the next season were written, but never animated.
Other versions of the Silver Surfer
Guardians of the Galaxy
One possible future of the Silver Surfer was seen in the Guardians of the Galaxy series from the early 1990s. There, almost a thousand years in the future, Galactus stripped the Silver Surfer of the Power Cosmic and banished him outside of the universe. Norrin Radd is saved by one of the Watchers, who taught him that the Power Cosmic was not given to him by Galactus, but was always within him. Norrin Radd became the Silver Surfer once more. He somehow acquired the Quantum Bands (wielded by Quasar and, previously, by Marvel Boy in the modern Marvel Universe), and became the "Protector of the Universe" under the tutelage of Epoch, the offspring of Quasar's original mentor Eon. Eventually, it is realized that Surfer himself can satisfy Galactus' need for energy with the cosmic power and quantam bands. Thus the two form a symbiotic relationship, presumbably for the rest of time.
Ultimate Silver Surfer
Warren Ellis' Ultimate Galactus trilogy has introduced the Avengers' ally the Vision as the Herald of Galactus, as a robotic probe who travelled through space, warning civilizations of the coming of Gah Lak Tus. In the final mini-series of the trilogy; Ultimate Extinction, the ultimate version of the Silver Surfer is expected to be introduced. However, while various silver superpowered beings, including those with a surfboard, have appeared in this series, none has yet been identified as the Silver Surfer.
References to Silver Surfer in other media
- In the movie Crimson Tide, Denzel Washington's character breaks up a fight between two crewmen. The fight was over a disagreement about which Silver Surfer was better, the Jack Kirby Silver Surfer or the Moebius Silver Surfer. This scene was written by Quentin Tarantino in an uncredited rewrite of the script.
- In the Quentin Tarantino film Reservoir Dogs, a scene taking place in Mr. Orange’s apartment features a poster of the Silver Surfer on the wall.
- In the movie Breathless, Richard Gere's character reads, and comments on, an issue of a Silver Surfer comic. In a stirring moment, he compares his own alienation with the Surfer's profound cosmic aloneness.
- In his song "Darkside of Aquarius," Bruce Dickinson gets help from the lonely Silver Surfer in keeping the Wheel of Dharma moving.
- Guitarist Joe Satriani has made multiple allusions to the Silver Surfer, including:
- Classic art of the Surfer was featured on the cover of the artist's album Surfing With the Alien.
- The song "Back To Shalla-Bal" from his next album Flying in a Blue Dream is a Silver Surfer reference.
- On his 1998 album Engines of Creation, Satriani reprised Surfer references with the tracks "The Power Cosmic 2000" parts one and two.
- The character of Norrin Radd is also used by Bal-Sagoth in "The Scourge of the Fourth Celestial Host", a song from their album The Power Cosmic.
- In an episode of the Nickelodeon animated series, Doug, Doug and his friend, Skeeter, pretend to be superheroes. Doug's character, Quail Man, is accompanied by Skeeter's character, The Silver Skeeter, a clear reference to The Silver Surfer. The criticisms of the Surfer's invincibility are noted here, as Skeeter gives his character powers bordering on omnipotence.
- In book #20 of the Animorphs series, Marco complains about having to morph in a dirty Burger King bathroom, asking why he has to and stating that the Silver Surfer never has to do things like this.
- Clothing company Bathing Ape, or Bape, have a very rare and expensive shoe called the Bathing Ape Limited Edition Silver Surfers, modelled after the Nike Air Force Ones.
- In Kringlan, a mall in Reykjavík, Iceland, an entire wall is covered with The Silver Surfer. The wall was painted by the Icelandic pop artist Erró
- In the "Web" story arc of the television show Reboot, the surfer character is loosely based on The Silver Surfer (i.e. appears to be telekentically connected with his surfboard; only feels pain when his board is damaged)
External links
- MDP: Silver Surfer - Marvel Database Project
- Official Marvel Picture site
- The Complete Silver Surfer Appearance List
- Very organized Website about the powers of Silver Surfer.
- Tv.com Silver Surfer episode guide
- DRG4's Silver Surfer t he Animated Series Page
- Knightmare6.com; Silver Surfer FAQ
- Silver Surfer websitede:Silver Surfer (Comic)
fr:Le Surfer d'Argent it:Silver Surfer pl:Silver Surfer pt:Surfista Prateado sv:Silversurfaren