When the cosmic entity and iconic Improbable 4 villain generally known as Galactus wanted a brand new herald, Marvel developed a tyrannical character who, at first look, appeared eerily just like a sure Dark God from DC Comics, persevering with the lengthy custom of those firms borrowing from and riffing on each other within the comedian house.
It’s no secret that Marvel and DC have a wide range of familiar-looking and in any other case comparable characters dwelling of their respective comedian e book universes, with one firm typically aping the opposite by way of refined or completely blatant methods both in jest, as a flex, or just to capitalize on the opposite’s success.
In 1979’s Improbable 4 #211, Galactus is looking out for a alternative herald and, after enlisting the Improbable 4 to assist, Galactus imbues the Power Cosmic in an alien tyrant named Tyros, creating his newest cosmic lackey, Terrax, a personality who appears an entire lot like DC’s nigh-omnipotent villain, Darkseid.
Galactus Turned Marvel’s Darkseid Lookalike, Terrax, Into Certainly one of His Heralds
Improbable 4 #211 – 1979 (Marv Wolfman, John Byrne and Joe Sinnott)
Compelled to do Galactus’ bidding to save lots of the Earth, the Improbable 4 are transported to the faraway planet of Birj and tasked with looking for a worthy candidate to be remodeled into Galactus’ subsequent herald, following in step with his earlier heralds, Norrin Radd aka Silver Surfer, Gabriel Lan aka Air-Walker, and Pyreus Kril aka Firelord.
Assembly with Birj’s brutal dictator, Tyros the Horrible, it isn’t lengthy earlier than Galactus brings the Improbable 4 and their plus one again to his ship. Speaking about how Tyros will turn out to be the embodiment of the earth ingredient — Galactus’ previous heralds had been of sea, air, and fireplace — Galactus wastes no time turning Tyros into Terrax the Tamer, a really Darkseid-esque character.

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Changing into “a factor of legend” after Galactus’ cosmic makeover, Terrax instantly assessments his command over rock and earth, together with his “remodeled hand” and close to limitless energy making him “second solely to Galactus himself” — an enormous energy improve that brings Terrax nearer to the omnipotence inherent to Darkseid and his Fourth World might.
Going from a chin-bearded human-esque alien to a godlike being with a stoney gray face just like Darkseid’s, Terrax wears the same, albeit otherwise coloured, set of armor in comparison with Darkseid, with the one actual notable distinction between the 2 coming within the type of Terrax’s earth-based powers in addition to his Galactus-provided cosmic axe.
Galactus Gave Marvel Comics Its Personal Darkseid Lookalike Who Commanded the Energy Cosmic
Darkseid Would Nonetheless Win in a Combat, Nevertheless
Created by legendary author/artist Jack Kirby in 1970 after he moved from Marvel to DC, Darkseid is and all the time has been the final word Huge Unhealthy of the DC Universe, together with his stoic angle and overpowered skills — like his patented Omega Beams — making certain that the Justice League have their work minimize out for them at any time when they cross Darkseid’s path.
Having palette-swapped visible designs and rating as two of essentially the most highly effective entities of their respective comedian universes, Terrax and Darkseid have by no means formally met on the web page, but had this creative overlap occurred right this moment, it could undoubtedly be a lawsuit ready to occur, particularly with the similarities between Darkseid and Thanos being one other level of competition amongst followers.
So, whereas there’s been no official affirmation from Marvel or this challenge’s artist, John Byrne, that Terrax was a deliberate try to repeat the design of DC’s Darkseid character, it’s simple to learn between the literal pencil strains to see that Byrne was not less than partially impressed by Jack Kirby’s esthetics, particularly his work on DC’s Fourth World Saga.
By persevering with their decades-long rivalry of attempting to compete with one another’s most iconic heroes and villains, Marvel making Galactus flip Darkseid into his latest herald is a wild option to unofficially pay homage to a well-liked DC Comics character whereas concurrently creating a novel Marvel baddie for the Improbable 4 to name their very own.
Improbable 4 #211 is out there from Marvel Comics.

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