Galactus

Real Name: Galan

Occupation: Planet Destroyer
Identity: Known throughout the universe, including Earth
Legal Status: None
Former Name: Galan
Place of Birth: Planet Taa
Marital Status: (as Galan) Unknown, (as Galactus) None
Known Relatives: None, although Galactus has spoken figuratively of Eternity and Death as his relations
Group Affiliation: None
Base of Operations: Mobile, via his worldship, throughout the known universe
First Appearance: FANTASTIC FOUR #48

History: Galactus is the sole survivor of the universe that existed prior to the creation of the current universe. Originally Galactus was a humanoid named Galan, who was born on the planet Taa, a paradise-like world whose civilization is said to have been the most advanced of any of the known universe of that time.

However, this universe was in its final stages of collapse. Originally, this universe had been a "Cosmic Egg," a primal sphere of disorganized, dense, compact primordial matter. The sphere underwent a "Big Bang," an explosion that hurled the matter outwards, where much of it eventually condensed into stars and planets. This universe expanded in size for billions of years, and then contracted over the following billions of years. All of the matter of that universe was plunging towards a central point, where it was collapsing into a new "Cosmic Egg."

Taa's civilization was one of the last still in existence. Lethal radiation caused by the death of this universe was wiping out life on nearby planets. Galan, a space explorer, was dispatched to travel through the cosmos to find a means of saving Taa, but he found none. The radiation then killed off all but a tiny fraction of the population of Taa. Knowing their deaths were inevitable, Galan proposed to the remaining survivors that they die gloriously by traveling in a starship straight into the "Cosmic Egg." As the starship approached its destination, radiation killed all the passengers except Galan, who strangely found himself filled with new energy.

The sentience of the dying universe, contained within the "Cosmic Egg," prevented Galen and his starship from being destroyed by the "Egg's" tremendous gravitational forces and heat. (Presumably, this was a previous incarnation of Eternity, the embodiment of the life forces of the current universe.) The dying universe's sentience contacted Galan, telling him that they both would die, but that both would be reborn, and that Galan would thus become Galactus, ravager of worlds. The "Cosmic Egg" absorbed Galan into itself.

There is no way of determining how much time passed between the death of that universe and the creation of the current one. But finally the "Cosmic Egg" underwent another "Big Bang," thus creating the current universe. Eternity and Death, the ethereal embodiments of the new universe, were created in this "Big Bang," and the being that had been Galan was simultaneously hurled outward in his recreated starship. (It is because all three were created simultaneously that Galactus refers to Eternity and Death as his siblings.)

The nascent Galactus drifted in his starship for eons as life began to come into existence in the universe, including the races that would give rise to the Elders of the Universe. Eventually the nascent Galactus's starship was sighted by one of the Watchers, an ancient race of beings who had undertaken to observe the events of the universe. This Watcher, who was not Uatu, the Watcher who observes Earth, drew the starship down to his planet to study it. There he learned that the being within it had vast, growing power, and would eventually have to consume worlds to satiate his hunger for energy. Realizing the danger the nascent Galactus posed to the cosmos, this Watcher considered destroying the being before he harnessed his full power, but instead decided to abide by the Watchers' oath of non-interference, and let the nascent Galactus depart in his starship.

The nascent Galactus learned how to use his vast power, and created a suit of armor to help him regulate it. He then transformed the starship into a kind of incubation chamber, where Galactus spent centuries evolving into his current form. Finally, the incubation ship drifted into orbit around the inhabited planet Archeopia. The Archeopians themselves did not disturb the strange ship, but years later a marauding space fleet, nearing Archeopia and thinking Galactus's ship to be a weapon, attacked it. Galactus, his incubation finished, emerged, destroyed the fleet, and then, hungering for energy, consumed the biospheric energy of Archeopia. A small fleet of Archeopian ships managed to escape, but all life on the planet was destroyed. (The Archeopian race would later be fully exterminated by the living planet Ego).

Over the following millennia Galactus built himself an immense starbase, the world-ship he calls Taa II, which engulfs the Archeopian solar system. Galactus also sought out planets rich in certain unknown energies that he consumed to sustain his life. During these many millennia Galactus consumed only planets uninhabited by sentient lifeforms, except for Archeopia, and many centuries passed between his "feedings.''

However, as ages passed, the intervals between feedings decreased considerably in length, and Galactus found himself needing to consume worlds inhabited by sentient races if he could find no other worlds possessing the energy he needs in time to sustain himself. Galactus has succeeded in suppressing his sympathy for intelligent beings like himself when he was Galan, and, believing himself to be a higher kind of being than they, is willing to destroy their lives to continue his own. Moreover, he is aware that he was created to fulfill an as yet unrevealed purpose that he believes will ultimately compensate the universe for all the destruction he wreaks.

At one point Galactus threatened to destroy the planet Zenn-La, home of a civilized race. One of that world's inhabitants, Norrin Radd, persuaded Galactus to spare the planet by volunteering to become his "herald" and search out uninhabited worlds for him to consume. Galactus agreed, and transformed Norrin Radd into the Silver Surfer.

Eventually, however, Galactus grew determined to consume the energy-rich planet Earth. The Surfer rebelled as a result, and Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four thwarted Galactus by threatening to use an alien device called the Ultimate Nullifier on him, a weapon that could kill even Galactus. Galactus was forced to vow to spare Earth, and he punished the Surfer by erecting an energy barrier that prevented the Surfer from leaving Earth.

Despite his pledge to Richards, Galactus returned several times to Earth to consume it, but was always narrowly thwarted. Meanwhile, he consumed numerous inhabited worlds throughout the known universe to sate his hunger, and was feared as a menace to all known star faring races. Galactus also took on a succession of new heralds.

During his last attempt to destroy Earth, Galactus had gone so long without "feeding'' that his energies were severely waning, and a large number of Earth's superhuman defenders actually succeeded in defeating him in battle. Galactus lay dying from lack of energy, but Reed Richards saved his life. The grateful Galactus pledged his friendship to Richards and sincerely gave his word never to attack Earth again. Galactus has steadfastly abided by this oath ever since. During this visit to Earth Galactus recruited his latest herald, Nova.

Galactus continues to prey upon other worlds, and recently he destroyed the Skrull throneworld, thereby plunging the Skrull Empire into chaos. There is an account of a far distant alternate future, in which man no longer exists on Earth, and Galactus, therefore no longer feeling bound by his oath, consumes it at last.

At some point afterward, Galactus was targeted by the alien organization Elders of the Universe, who believed his death would trigger a Big Bang and recreate reality. His former herald, Silver Surfer, saved him.

Galactus was believed to have developed romantic feelings for his herald Nova. When Nova finally rebelled as his herald, Galactus created another in the alien Morg, who ultimately murdered Nova on his own volition. Morg in turn was defeated by the collection of his heralds, leaving Galactus alone again.

More recently, Galactus' appetite became such that he would only eat on planets of sentient life. He began to consume more and more frequently, developing a mania. He created a new herald, Red Shift, to help him succeed in this. He approached Earth once more, and had to be driven off by a large contingent of Earth's superheroes, and Red Shift was defeated. Finally, he was repulsed by the Silver Surfer, who agreed once more to become Galactus' herald and to search for planets, this time of sentient life to consume. Almost immediately, the Silver Surfer led Galactus to the homeworld of the Shi'ar Empire, perhaps the most technologically advanced in the known universe, in hopes they would have the forces to repulse the planet devourer. The Shi'ar quickly joined with other races and several of Earth's superheroes to battle Galactus. During the conflict, the Silver Surfer managed to turn Galactus' own energy-siphoning machines on Galactus himself, fatally weakening him. Galactus died, warning that the madness which had consumed him was a precursor to another greater horror. As he passed away, Galactus was converted to energy by his own planet-destroying machines. As Reed Richards noted, the energy would radiate forever outward, so he could never again reform.

Galactus' death allowed the being known as Abraxas to emerge from the concept of Eternity that embodies destruction. He soon began to cut a swath of terror through various alternate realities, including the murder of other versions of Galactus. He used the head of Galactus to target and home in on the prime reality Earth and to plant a mole in his version of the Herald known as Nova. On Earth, Abraxas attacked Uatu the Watcher and stole half of his signature medallion. Abraxas taunted the Fantastic Four with the inevitability of his coming, enticing the team to search for the Ultimate Nullifer, the clues to the location of which were scattered among alternate realities. Ultimately, the Four found the Nullifer when Abraxas suddenly appeared and stole it from them. Abraxas called forth an army of Novas to attack Earth, but the Fantastic Four held no hope of defeating him. Instead, Franklin Richards, the son of the Four members Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, combined his cosmic powers with those of his sister Valeria, resurrecting Galactus and thus restoring balance to Eternity, at the cost of burning out his powers. Galactus took the Nullifer from Abraxas, giving it to Mister Fantastic, who used the weapon, destroying himself and Abraxas. The result served to re-create reality in which Abraxas never existed, and since all that was had ended, all that is was realigned, allowing Mister Fantastic to survive along with all those who died in Abraxas' reign of terror.

Unusual features: Galactus's height diminishes by as much as 10.9 feet when he is greatly in need of life-giving energy.

Although Galactus is usually represented in humanoid form, each sentient being perceives him having a form resembling his own. Hence, humanoids see Galactus in humanoid form, while a Skrull, for example, would perceive Galactus as resembling a Skrull. Although as Galan, Galactus was indeed a humanoid; his true current form is unknown. It is unclear why beings from different sentient races perceive him differently.

Strength Level: At full power, Galactus possesses Class 100 strength, enabling him to lift well over 100 tons, and he can use his vast power to increase his strength immeasurably beyond that. However, Galactus invariably relies on his energy powers in combat rather than his physical strength.

Known Superhuman Powers: Galactus possesses cosmic power beyond the abilities of human beings to measure. Galactus is able to use the vast energies within him for an incalculable number of effects. Some of his most rudimentary abilities are the molecular restructuring or conversion of matter, the projection of energy with enormous concussive force, the teleportation of objects across space or even time, and the erection of invincible energy-screens and force fields. Even his heralds, whom he has endowed with a small fraction of his ever-renewing power, are able to manipulate matter and energy in ways far beyond human comprehension.

Galactus wears a full-body suit of armor constructed from an unknown extraterrestrial metal that permits him to regulate and control his personal energy. If he were to remove the armor, the vast cosmic energies that empower him would run rampant, with the potential to turn him into a small sun.

Galactus requires unknown energies obtainable only from a certain type of planet in order to sustain his life. The suitable type of planet need not be one where life is present, but it must have the potential to support life. Although he is able to extract and absorb this energy himself, he generally employs a complicated array of equipment to perform the conversion process for him. The equipment is not only more efficient than he is, but also enables him to avoid the needless expenditure of energy involved in the process. Sometimes Galactus drains the energies he needs from a planet while still leaving it barely habitable. Other times he destroys all life and water on the planet in the process, leaving its surface devastated and barren. Most often his feeding process destroys the planet, reducing it to space rubble. When Galactus was newly born in his current form, the energy of a medium-size Earth-like planet was enough to sustain him for over a century (using Earthly measurements of time). Now, for unknown reasons, he needs to feed about once a month. His body totally converts the energy he absorbs for its life functions and bodily activities without any waste products.

Galactus is telepathic, able to scan the thoughts of any mind he has yet encountered, no matter how alien or advanced it was.

Weapons: Galactus often employs a robot called the Punisher, which possesses great superhumanoid strength, to battle adversaries whose power levels do not rival his own.

Transportation: Although Galactus is capable of space travel via his own power, he disdains the needless expenditure of power and prefers to travel in starships of his own design.

Zenn-La

Zenn-La (Deneb III) is a fictional planet in the Marvel Universe, located in the Deneb System in the Milky Way galaxy, approximately 3,000 light years from Earth. It is best known as the homeworld of the Silver Surfer. Zenn-Lavians, humanoid in appearance, have lifespans of thousands of years.

Fictional history Ancient history

In ancient times, Zenn-La was home to the barbaric and violent polytheistic Zenn-Lavians. Their Age of Warfare lasted ten thousand centuries.In desperation to preserve their race, the Zenn-Lavians made science their god. Zenn-La City was the first to give itself over to science; it was home to Norrin Konn, later revered as the "Father of Zenn-La". A female warlord believed that embracing science would strip the people of their passion, and fought a bloody civil war against those trusting in science. She united the warring nations, amassing the greatest army the planet had ever seen. The Warlord died while trying to pilot a flying craft, and her generals dispersed. Her followers then decided to join the rest of the population and follow the path of science, realizing that if they continued their course, their species would be extinct within a few generations.

The Coming of Galactus

Over the next hundred centuries, the Zenn-Lavians experienced the Golden Age of Reason, and overcame war, poverty, crime, disease, and want. Their lifespans were dramatically increased. In the Age of Space Travel, space explorers became their greatest heroes, who visited a thousand galaxies. After they had probed much of known space, the Zenn-Lavians withdrew to their homeworld. They grew apathetic and indulgent in their utopia, with all of their needs cared for by machines. When the Devourer of Worlds, Galactus, came to consume Zenn-La, the people had no defense against him. One man, Norrin Radd, made a pact with the Planet Eater to become his herald. In return, Galactus would not harm Zenn-La. Radd was transformed into the Silver Surfer, and left his homeworld for the stars. In 1947, a species known only as the Other came to Zenn-La and completely destroyed every person and all signs of civilization on the planet. Galactus and the Surfer were in the same star system, but were rendered catatonic by the Other.In an uncharacteristic act of compassion, Galactus recreated everything, restoring the people and the entire world exactly as it was. He knew that one day the Surfer would no longer be in his service, and wished that he would have a home to return to. No one, including the Surfer, was aware of what had transpired.

The Return of Galactus

After decades of service to Galactus, the Silver Surfer was exiled and imprisoned on Earth. After the Silver Surfer betrayed his master, Galactus felt he was no longer obligated to keep his vow. He returned to Zenn-La and announced his intention to consume the planet. In another remarkable allowance, Galactus allowed twenty four hours for the Zenn-Lavians to flee the doomed world, though only about 500 individuals would survive. Galactus then stripped the planet bare of the energies he craved, leaving the planet a barren and devastated wasteland. Months later, the Zenn-Lavians deemed it safe to return, and set up refugee camps to live in. They blamed the Silver Surfer for what happened, and a deep resentment festered in them. Adding to their misery, the dark creature Mephisto kidnapped Shalla Bal, the Surfer's long lost love. The Silver Surfer was temporarily freed from captivity, rescued Shalla Bal, and imbued her with a portion of his power cosmic, which allowed her to slowly restore life-sustaining properties to Zenn-La, including abundant regeneration of plant life.

Kree-Skrull War

Elsewhere in the universe, the Kree-Skrull War raged. Shalla Bal, with her newfound abilities, was made Empress of Zenn-La. The Surfer was eventually permanently freed from his exile. Shortly thereafter, Zenn-La suffered an invasion attempt by the Skrulls and, later, by the Kree. The Surfer, now self-appointed protector of his homeworld, made an agreement that he would stay neutral in their conflict, and neither power would attack Zenn-La. The Surfer was tricked into defending the Skrulls from the Badoon, who, he later found out, had allied with the Kree. This drew Zenn-La into the war, under the protection of S'byll's faction of the then-fragmented Skrull Empire. The Zenn-Lavians, along with the Surfer, proved instrumental in changing the balance of power in the conflict, by restoring the Skrulls' shape-shifting powers. The Surfer struck a deal with Nenora, then ruler of the Kree, restoring Zenn-La's neutrality under the condition that he could never return home. During their visit, the Kree bugged Zenn-La's royal court and buried a Sentry in the desert. The Kree then kidnapped Shalla Bal, when she deduced under clandestine influence of the Cotati that Nenora was actually a Skrull. The Skrulls declared a temporary truce with the Kree, and Shalla Bal returned to Zenn-La.

Third destruction

A giant being referring to itself as 'the Great One' discovered Zenn-La and removed it from physical space, effectively killing all life, and changing it into a simulation inside of its brain. The Surfer discovered this and infiltrated the simulation with the aid of Moondragon.

After Zenn-La had been restored once again, the Silver Surfer returned home to visit Shalla Bal, who was no longer Empress. By this time, much of Zenn-La's civilization had been rebuilt. To the Surfer's astonishment, he discovered that Shalla was now the lover of his heretofore unknown half-brother, Fennan Radd. Shortly after, the Surfer travelled back in time to 1947, and discovered the true nature of his world.

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Silver Surfer

The Silver Surfer (Norrin Radd) is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero created by Jack Kirby. The character first appears in the comic book Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966), the first of a three-issue arc fans and historians call "The Galactus Trilogy".

Originally a young astronomer of the planet Zenn-La, In order to save his homeworld from destruction by a fearsome cosmic entity known as Galactus, Norrin Radd made a bargain with the being, pledging himself to serve as his herald. Imbued in return with a tiny portion of Galactus' Power Cosmic, Radd acquired great powers and a silvery appearance. Galactus also created for Radd a surfboard-like craft — modeled after a childhood fantasy of his — on which he would travel at speeds beyond that of light. Known from then on as the Silver Surfer, Radd began to roam the cosmos searching for new planets for Galactus to consume. When his travels finally took him to Earth, the Surfer came face-to-face with the Fantastic Four, a team of powerful superheroes that helped him to rediscover his nobility of spirit. Betraying Galactus, the Surfer saved Earth but was punished in return with everlasting exile there. Following the success of this debut, Lee scripted a philosophical spin-off series wherein the Surfer explored his new home planet. A more cosmically themed series was published from 1987 to 1998, which focused on the exploits of the Surfer finally freed from his exile. A third series followed in 2003, lasting 14 months. Most recently, the character appeared in a four-issue non-canon series entitled "Silver Surfer Requiem" which explored his mortality and the end of his life.

Publication history

The Silver Surfer entered the world of comics as an unplanned addition to a story about Galactus and the Fantastic Four. In the mid-1960s, Lee and Kirby were using a three-part method for creating comics. They would first brainstorm rough ideas together, then Kirby would work individually to draw the scenes, and Lee would finally add the dialog. During one of these sessions, Kirby's drawing confronted Lee with a surprising sight: "There, in the middle of the story we had so carefully worked out, was a nut on some sort of flying surfboard." Kirby explained that a god-like cosmic predator of planets like Galactus should have some sort of herald, and that he created the surfboard "because I'm tired of drawing spaceships!" Taken by the noble features of the new character, Lee not only overcame his initial skepticism but also began adding to characterization, and the Silver Surfer soon became a key part of the unfolding story.

Following the Surfer's debut, Lee and Kirby were inundated with letters of appreciation from fans, and brought him back as recurring guest in Fantastic Four #55-61, 72, 74-77 (ranging Oct. 1966 - Aug. 1968) and made his solo debut in the backup story of Fantastic Four Annual #5 (Nov. 1967). Lee enjoyed the character and decided to feature him in his own individual title in 1968. John Buscema was penciller for the first 17 issues of the series, with Kirby returning for the eighteenth and final issue. The first seven issues, which included anthological "Tales of the Watcher" backup stories, were 72-page (with advertising), 25-cent "giants", as opposed to typical 36-page, 12-cent comics of the time. Thematically, the stories dealt with the Surfer's exile on Earth and the inhumanity of man as observed by this noble yet fallen hero. The Silver Surfer comic book series became known as one of Lee's most thoughtful and introspective works. Englehart writes that Buscema and Lee were "pouring their souls into the series".

Nonetheless, the series was soon canceled. There was one attempt to revive the character in a joint episode with Marvel's Sub-Mariner. In the episode, Silver Surfer and Sub-Mariner became entwined in a "turf battle" and the Sub-Mariner defeated Silver Surfer. This episode was upsetting to many Silver Surfer fans. According to Engelhart, the graphic novel format was too expensive to maintain indefinitely and the larger panels used by Buscema meant that there was, proportionately, a lesser amount of story per page than in other comics. Moreover, the monologues and tragic hero persona of the new Surfer soon became unpopular. After this comic's cancellation, the Surfer continued to make sporadic appearances as a guest star or antagonist in such comic books as Thor, The Defenders and Fantastic Four. Lee remained partial to the Surfer and even personally requested that each Silver Surfer comic contain a "Stan Lee presents" announcement.

Lee and Kirby collaborated on a Silver Surfer graphic novel published in 1978. Then, after a 1982 one-shot by writer-artist John Byrne, the Surfer appeared in his second solo, ongoing title in 1987. Here he escaped the confines of Earth and left for the spaceways.[citation needed] Originally written by Steve Englehart and illustrated by Marshall Rogers, the series would later be written by Jim Starlin and illustrated by Ron Lim. Starlin in turn would be succeeded by Ron Marz, with George Perez and J. M. DeMatteis also having brief stints at writing the series. Additional 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 company crossovers, this second ongoing series was canceled in 1998 after 146 issues.

The Silver Surfer: Parable, scripted by Lee and drawn by Moebius, was serialized in two parts in 1988 and 1989. Because of inconsistencies with other stories, it has been argued that these stories actually feature an alternate Silver Surfer from a parallel Earth. The graphic novel by Lee/Moebius won the Eisner Award for best finite/limited series in 1989.

Following the miniseries, a new ongoing Silver Surfer series began in 2003, focusing on the character's alien nature and messianic allegory. It lasted 14 issues. The Surfer later appeared in an issue of Cable & Deadpool and has twice been reunited with the superhero group the Defenders. In 2006-2007, he starred in the four-issue miniseries Annihilation: Silver Surfer and co-starred in the miniseries Heralds of Galactus, both part of the "Annihilation" fictional crossover.

In 2007, the Silver Surfer starred in the four-issue miniseries Silver Surfer: Requiem. The first issue was released May 30, 2007 to coincide with the character's first movie appearance.

Ben Grimm

The Thing (Benjamin "Ben" Jacob Grimm) is a fictional character, a founding member of the superhero team The Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961). His trademark orange rocky appearance, sense of humor, blue eyes, and his famous battle cry, "It's clobberin' time!" makes him one of comics' most recognizable and popular characters. The Thing's speech patterns are loosely based on those of Jimmy Durante.

Michael Chiklis

Michael Charles Chiklis (born August 30, 1963) is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning American actor. He is known for starring in two popular police dramas: The Commish (1991–1995) and The Shield (2002–) and as Ben Grimm/The Thing in the live-action Fantastic Four films.

Early life

Chiklis was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, to Charlie Chiklis, a second-generation Greek American who runs a hair salon, and Kate, a hospital administrative aide from whom Chiklis has been described as inheriting his acting ability. Chiklis' paternal ancestors came from Lesbos Island.

Chiklis grew up in Andover, Massachusetts and began entertaining his family with celebrity imitations when he was just five years old. As a child, Chiklis appeared in regional theater productions and earned his Actor's Equity card at age thirteen. He later attended Boston University College of Fine Arts, where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts.

At age 20, Chiklis shaved his head to look like male-pattern baldness for the part of a 65-year-old man in You Can't Take It With You. Instead of using powder on his head (as he did on his face), he used greasepaint, and he failed to remove it properly at the end of each day. This killed the hair follicles on his head, essentially shaping his career in many ways. Chiklis has said in an interview that this was a very traumatic experience as a young actor, and is the reason he wore a hairpiece in Wired.

Career

After graduation, Chiklis moved to New York City with high ambitions, but he struggled for several years before being cast the role of John Belushi in the controversial biopic Wired in 1989. The film was panned in general and flopped at the box office, but Chiklis received good reviews for his performance. He also guest starred in several popular television series such as Miami Vice, L.A. Law, Murphy Brown, and Seinfeld alongside bit parts in films like Nixon. The Commish was Chiklis's first acclaimed and successful role. In the family-friendly police comedy/drama, Chiklis played Anthony "Tony" J. Scali, a police commissioner in a small city in upstate New York. A stern but lovable father figure, Chiklis's character had an easygoing style, smart wit, and an unorthodox approach to parenthood and police work. After The Commish, Chiklis starred in the short-lived and critically-panned NBC sitcom Daddio. After playing Curly Howard in a television movie about the Three Stooges, Chiklis decided to reinvent his image. With his wife's help, he spent six months on an extensive workout regimen and shaved his head. He turned up to audition for The Shield looking nothing like the pudgy, friendly character of The Commish.

Winning over the creator Shawn Ryan, Chiklis nabbed the leading role of the show's tough, edgy, detective Vic Mackey. Although The Shield has been controversial because of its violent content, Chiklis's acting has been highly praised, and he has won several awards for his role. Playing the role of the bulked up and brutal cop has also helped Chiklis break out from typecasting, shedding the overweight and friendly image that had defined his career in the past. Since 2000, he is also taken up a number of voice roles, voicing Chihiro's father, Akio, in the English dub of Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away and Roman/King Webster in the direct-to-video feature The Adventures of Tom Thumb & Thumbelina. He has also performed in several episodes of Family Guy and had a voice role in Heavy Gear: The Animated Series.

In 2005, he starred in Fantastic Four as The Thing and for its sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. A fan of the comic series, Chiklis was often praised for his performance in a film that otherwise earned mixed reviews.

Chiklis's first major recognition came in 2003, as he won the 2002 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series for his role as Detective Vic Mackey on The Shield. He received a Golden Globe that same year for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series-Drama as well. Between 2004 and 2005, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama Series but did not win.

Personal life

A lifelong comic book fan, he rarely (if ever) turns down an autograph request from children. In fact, according to the DVD commentary for the Fantastic Four film, his voice has been going hoarse from doing so many requests as Thing; in Chiklis's own words "How do you say no to an 8 year old?"

Chiklis married Michelle Morán on 21 June 1992 and they have 2 daughters, Autumn, born on October 9, 1993, and Odessa, born in 1999. Autumn plays Vic Mackey's daughter Cassidy on The Shield.

He attended the same high school as his good friend Jay Leno.

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Johnny Storm

He Human Torch (Johnny Storm) is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero who is a member of the Fantastic Four. First appearing in Fantastic Four #1 November 1961, he was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, although he was based on the Golden Age character of the same name, created by Carl Burgos.

Like the rest of the Fantastic Four, the Human Torch gained his powers on a spacecraft bombarded by cosmic rays. He can fly, control fire and safely surround himself in flames. "Flame on!", which the Torch customarily shouts when activating his full-body flame effect, has become his catchphrase.

The youngest of the group, he is brash and thrill-seeking when compared to the more cautious Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman, his brother-in-law and sister, and the grumbling Thing.

In the early 1960s, he was the first member of the team cast in a series of solo adventures, published in Strange Tales. He is also a frequent partner of Spider-Man.

Chris Evans

Christopher Robert Evans (born June 13, 1981) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the films Fantastic Four, Cellular and Not Another Teen Movie.

Early Life

Evans was born in Sudbury, Massachusetts to a dentist father and a dancer mother. He has three siblings, Shanna, Scott and Carly. Evans is of Italian and Irish descent and is a Catholic. He graduated from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School in 1999 and had originally planned to attend NYU after graduating high school.

Career

After completing his junior year in H.S. Evans traveled to New York where he interned at a casting agency and took a summer acting program. That same summer he met an agent that helped him get his start in acting after completing high school. Evans had small parts on television series such as Boston Public and The Fugitive and a role in the TV series Opposite Sex before landing his first notable role as Jake Wyler in Not Another Teen Movie. The film contained a somewhat notorious spoof of the Varsity Blues movie, where (to attract the attention of a girl) Evans entered the room wearing nothing more than whipped cream and cherries covering his nipples and crotch, and a banana sticking out of his buttocks.

After filming wrapped on Not Another Teen Movie, Evans landed several more lead roles in The Perfect Score and Cellular. He also starred in a few independent films where audiences got to see a different side to Evans. In London, Evans played a strung out coke head. He was then chosen to play Human Torch in the 2005 comic book adaptation Fantastic Four. Evans has worked opposite some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Kim Basinger, Diane Lane, Scarlett Johansson, William H. Macy and Donald Sutherland. He was named 'Male Superstar of Tomorrow' at the 2005 Young Hollywood Awards. Evans has been featured in many well known magazine publications. Recently, Evans reprised the role of Johnny Storm/The Human Torch in the sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

Next up for Evans is the role of Diskant in The Night Watchman, co-starring Keanu Reeves, and Jimmy in The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond, co-starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Ellen Burstyn and David Strathairn. The latter is based on a play created by Tennessee Williams. Both movies were announced to be out in 2008.

Personal life

Evans dated actress Jessica Biel, but they broke up in 2006 after five years.

Filmography

* The Newcomers (2000) .... Judd
* Opposite Sex (TV) (2000) .... Cary Baston
* Not Another Teen Movie (2001) .... Jake Wyler
* Eastwick (TV) (2002) .... Adam
* The Paper Boy (2003) .... Ben
* The Perfect Score (2004) .... Kyle
* Cellular (2004) .... Ryan
* The Orphan King (2005) .... Seth King
* Fierce People (2005) .... Bryce
* Fantastic Four (2005) .... Johnny Storm
* London (2005) .... Syd
* The Nanny Diaries (2007) .... Harvard Hottie
* Sunshine (2007) .... Mace
* TMNT (2007) .... Casey Jones
* Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) .... Johnny Storm
* The Night Watchman (2008) .... Diskant
* The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond (2008) .... Jimmy
* Terra (2008) .... TBA (voice)
* Under the Blue Sky (2008) .... TBA

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Sue Storm

Susan Storm Richards is a fictional superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Under the code names of Invisible Girl and later, Invisible Woman, Sue Storm serves as a member of the Fantastic Four. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, she made her first appearance in Fantastic Four #1 in November 1961.

Like the other founding members of the Fantastic Four, Sue received her powers after being exposed to a cosmic storm. Her primary power deals with light waves, allowing her to render herself and others invisible. However, she can also manipulate and project powerful fields of invisible energy which allow her to fly at high speeds, control the movements of matter, and project powerful energy shields and weapons.

An object of infatuation to adversaries Doctor Doom, and, most notably, Namor the Submariner, Sue's passive invisibility power translated into her frequent deployment as a damsel in distress during the team's early adventures. However, upon developing the ability to project highly durable fields of energy, Sue Storm became the Fantastic Four's most powerful member, and the team's second-in-command. Although in the early years Sue operated somewhat in the shadow of her hot-headed brother, Johnny Storm, and her brilliant husband Reed Richards, she is now the soul of the Fantastic Four and one of the premiere heroes in the Marvel universe.

Sue plays a central role in the lives of her brother, her husband, her children; Franklin Richards and Val Richards and her best friend, Ben Grimm.

Sue Storm is portrayed by Jessica Alba in the 2005 film Fantastic Four and its 2007 sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

Jessica Alba

Jessica Marie Alba (born April 28, 1981) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in Dark Angel, Sin City, Fantastic Four, Into the Blue and Idle Hands.

Early life

Alba was born in Pomona, California, to Mark Alba, who is Mexican American (though both of Jessica Alba's paternal grandparents were born in California), and Catherine Jensen, who has French and Danish ancestry; the two married while in their teenage years. Her maternal grandfather was a Marine NCO for 30 years, serving in the Pacific during WWII, and later as Asst. Drum Major for the United States Marine Band. Alba was raised in an Air Force family, along with her brother, Joshua, an actor who appeared with her in the season one finale of Dark Angel[5], and her grandparents until she was 17 years old. Her father's Air Force career took the family to Biloxi, Mississippi and Del Rio, Texas, before they settled back in California.

Alba's early life was marked by a multitude of physical maladies; she suffered collapsed lungs twice, had pneumonia 4-5 times a year, a burst appendix, and a cyst on her tonsils. This served to isolate her from other children at school because, as she claims, she was in the hospital so often that no one knew her well enough to befriend her.

She has also acknowledged suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder during childhood. Her health improved, however, when her family moved to California.

Alba had expressed interest in acting since the age of five. She took her first acting class at age twelve, and an acting agent signed her nine months later.

Career

Her first appearance on film was a small role in the 1994 feature Camp Nowhere as Gail. She was originally hired for two weeks but her role turned into a two-month job when the actress in one of the prominent roles dropped out.

Alba appeared in two national TV commercials for Nintendo and J.C. Penney as a child; she was later featured in several independent films. She branched out into TV in 1994 with a recurring role as Jessica in three episodes of the Nickelodeon comedy series The Secret World of Alex Mack. She then performed the role of Maya in the first two seasons of the TV series Flipper. Under the tutelage of her lifeguard mother, Alba learned to swim before she could walk, and she was a PADI-certified scuba diver, skills which were put to use on the show, which was filmed in Australia.

In 1998, she appeared as Melissa Hauer in a first-season episode of the Steven Bochco crime-drama Brooklyn South, as Leanne in two episodes of Beverly Hills 90210 and as Layla in an episode of The Love Boat: The Next Wave. In 1999, she appeared in the Randy Quaid comedy feature P.U.N.K.S.. After graduating from high school, Alba studied acting with William H. Macy and his wife, Felicity Huffman, at the Atlantic Theater Company, which was developed by Macy and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and film director, David Mamet.

Alba rose to greater prominence in Hollywood in 1999 after appearing as a member of a snobby high school clique in the Drew Barrymore romantic comedy Never Been Kissed, and as the female lead in the 1999 comedy-horror film Idle Hands, opposite Devon Sawa. Her big break came when writer/director James Cameron picked Alba from a pool of 1,200 candidates for the role of the genetically-engineered super-soldier, Max Guevara, on the FOX sci-fi TV series Dark Angel. Co-created by Cameron, the series starred Alba, and ran for two seasons before being canceled in 2002. Since then her most notable roles have been as an aspiring dancer-choreographer in Honey, exotic dancer Nancy Callahan in Sin City and as the classic Marvel Comics character Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman in the Fantastic Four. Jessica went on to host the 2006 MTV Movie Awards and performed sketches spoofing the movies King Kong, Mission Impossible 3, and The Da Vinci Code.


On the cover of the March 2006 issue, Playboy magazine named Alba among its 25 Sexiest Celebrities, and the Sex Star of the Year. Alba was involved in litigation against Playboy for its use of her image (from a promotional shot for Into the Blue) without her consent, which she contends gave the appearance that she was featured in the issue in a "nude pictorial". However, she later dropped the lawsuit after receiving a personal apology from Playboy owner Hugh Hefner who agreed to make donations to two charities that Alba has supported.

In 2006, readers of Askmen.com voted Alba No. 1 on 99 Most Desirable Women, while in 2007, Maxim Magazine placed Alba on the number 2 spot of their Top 100, after Lindsay Lohan. Both GQ and In Style magazines had Alba on their June covers, and in May, after eight million votes, FHM named Alba the winner as 2007’s Sexiest Woman in the World.

Alba fears being typecast as a sex kitten based on the bulk of parts offered to her. "Somehow, I don't think this is happening to Natalie Portman," laments Alba. In the interview, Alba says she wants to be taken seriously as an actress but believes she needs to do movies that she would otherwise not be interested in to build her career, stating that eventually she hopes to be more selective in her film projects.

Personal life

Alba has revealed that she envisions a much older man as her ideal partner, making references to Morgan Freeman, Sean Connery, Robert Redford, and Michael Caine. "I have this thing for older men. They've been around and know so much."

Regarding children, Alba said, "I'm really girly when it comes to kids. I've been surrounded by kids my whole life because I'm the oldest of 15 cousins — I've been changing diapers since I was six. I want to have a couple, for sure".

She has a tattoo of a daisy with a ladybug on the back of her neck, the Sanskrit symbol for the lotus flower, padma, on her wrist, and a lower back tattoo of a bow.

Reed Richards

Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards) is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero and member of the Fantastic Four. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #1 (November 1961).

Possessing a mastery of mechanical, aerospace and electrical engineering, chemistry, all levels of physics, and human and alien biology, Richards is often considered one of the most intelligent human beings in the Marvel Universe, alongside Bruce Banner, Professor Charles Xavier, Doctor Doom and a few others. He is the inventor of the spacecraft which was bombarded by cosmic radiation on its maiden voyage, granting the Fantastic Four their powers. Richards gained the ability to stretch his body into any shape he desires.

He is the leader of the Fantastic Four, although his methodical manner sometimes makes him seem cold and distant to his teammates, particularly best friend the Thing, who somewhat blames Richards for his transformation into a large, rocky creature. He is, however, the husband of Susan Storm and mentor of the Human Torch.

Ioan Gruffudd

Ioan Gruffudd (born October 6, 1973) is a British actor from Wales. Educated at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he came to international attention as Fifth Officer Harold Lowe in the film Titanic (1997). However, he is probably best known for playing the role of Horatio Hornblower in Hornblower, the made-for-TV films (1998–2003) based on C.S. Forester's novels. Gruffudd's recent notable film roles include Lancelot in King Arthur (2004), Reed Richards aka Mister Fantastic in Fantastic Four (2005) and the sequel Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), and British slavery abolitionist William Wilberforce in Amazing Grace (2006).

Early life and family

Gruffudd was born on 6 October 1973 in the village of Llwydcoed near the town of Aberdare, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taff, Mid Glamorgan, south Wales. His family later moved to Cardiff. The popular Welsh name "Ioan" is an equivalent of "John", and "Gruffudd" corresponds to the Anglicized "Griffith". He has been quoted as saying, "I'm determined not to lose my name. It's who I am. It has neither aided my progress nor hampered it. It's just who I am. My character... my make-up. My culture and heritage is a very rich one. So what if it's difficult for people to pronounce? We all learned how to say Schwarzenegger."

Gruffudd's parents, Peter and Gillian Gruffudd, were teachers. He has two siblings a brother, Alun, who is two years younger, and a sister, Siwan, who is seven years younger than he is.

Education

Gruffudd attended Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Aberdar (Ynyslwyd), Ysgol Gymraeg Melin Gruffydd, and Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf, where he sat his GCSEs and A-Levels. A natural musician, he was an accomplished oboist in his teens, attaining a Grade 8 level in the ABRSM music examinations,[citation needed] but gave it up once acting took up most of his time. He also won prizes for his singing while at school. He has said, "As a Welshman, I grew up in a culture of singing and performing with music, and I think it was through this performing that I got my confidence as an actor."

Career

Gruffudd started his acting career at the age of 12 in a Welsh television film called Austin (1986) and then later moved on to the Welsh soap opera Pobol y Cwm (People of the Valley) from 1987 to 1994. At the age of 18, he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. He won his first major English language role a few years later in the 1996 TV remake of Poldark.

After playing Oscar Wilde's lover John Gray in 1997's Wilde he took his first international role as Fifth Officer Harold Lowe in the blockbuster film Titanic. He later landed his best-known role as Horatio Hornblower in Hornblower, the Meridian production of the C.S. Forester novels (1998–2003), shown on ITV1 and A&E. Gruffudd has said: "It was quite something for an unknown actor to get the lead. So I will always be grateful to Hornblower. I would love to play this character through every stage of his life. I think it would be unique to have an actor playing him from the very early days as a midshipman, through till he's an Admiral. So, I would love to play this character till he perishes."Since February 20, 2007, Gruffudd has been making plans to obtain rights to the Horatio Hornblower novels in order to produce a film for the big screen.

Gruffudd's TV work includes playing the character Pip in the BBC TV production of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations (1999) and architect Philip Bosinney in ITV's adaptation of The Forsyte Saga (2002). As regards films, he has starred in 102 Dalmatians (2000), Black Hawk Down (2001), King Arthur (2004), and Fantastic Four (2005). In 2007 he starred in the historical drama Amazing Grace as William Wilberforce, the British slavery abolitionist, receiving critical acclaim for the role. Gruffudd also reprised his role as Mister Fantastic for the sequel to Fantastic Four titled Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007).

Apart from television and film work, he also starred in the music video of Westlife's version of "Uptown Girl" (2001) alongside Claudia Schiffer, and on 7 July 2007 he was a presenter at the UK leg of Live Earth at Wembley Stadium, London. Gruffudd is a native Welsh speaker. He was accepted into the Gorsedd Beirdd Ynys Prydain (the Bardic Order of Great Britain) at the highest rank in the National Eisteddfod at Meifod, Mid Wales, in 2003, with the bardic name "Ioan".