Summary
- The Silver Surfer is frequently portrayed as a powerful hero, but he has a history of losing battles and being Marvel’s cosmic jobber.
- The latest miniseries, Silver Surfer Rebirth: Legacy, follows the Surfer’s attempt to rescue Captain Marvel’s son from a cosmic crime.
- The appeal of the Silver Surfer lies in his altruism, introspective stories, and emotional conflicts rather than his cosmic powers.
Since 1966, Norrin Radd has cruised the celestial seas as the shimmering Silver Surfer. Marvel’s spacefaring sentry has spent a half-century traveling the spaceways at lightspeed, moving from planet to planet to experience lifetimes’ worth of conflict and culture. His wisdom and the Power Cosmic, a fraction of the power available to the world-devouring Galactus, have made the Surfer one of the most distinguished allies of the Fantastic Four, Defenders, and Guardians of the Galaxy. Marvel’s Sentinel of the Spaceways stands among the stars as one of the bastions of his company’s unique brand of Kirby-esque cosmic heroism and he’s frequently seen as one of Marvel’s most powerful champions — at least on paper. In practice, the Silver Surfer is kind of a wimp.
Silver Surfer Rebirth: Legacy is the latest miniseries focused on the former Herald of Galactus. The comic is helmed by Ron Marz and Ron Lim, who worked on the character in the ’90s. Readers can identify the pair’s familiarity with Norrin Radd based on the story’s historic Surfer-centric cast, its morality-driven story, its personal stakes, and the fact the Surfer’s first fight ends with him blasted to the ground. It’s the latest in a series of losing battles for Radd that extend back to the character’s first appearances. The Surfer’s history is filled with highlight-reel losses, but he’s always been defined by more than what he can communicate with his fists.
Silver Surfer Rebirth: Legacy Has A Familiar Ending
Silver Surfer Rebirth: Legacy picks up where its predecessor, Silver Surfer Rebirth, left off. Norrin Radd travels with Captain Marvel’s son Genis-Vell, regaling him with heroic stories about his father. This time, the Surfer suggests using the Time Stone to let Genis witness the former Captain Marvel in action. The pair travel back in time, but things quickly go awry. After Genis watches Captain Marvel save an alien race, Silver Surfer reveals himself to be Mephisto in disguise. The real Surfer, suddenly aware of what’s transpired, travels to Adam Warlock to warn him. However, as is his custom, the Silver Surfer is immediately knocked to the ground.
The Sentinel of the Spaceways has been beaten into the floor almost as often as he’s flown through the stars. In fact, the character’s recent miniseries almost always start with Norrin Radd losing a fight. Silver Surfer: Black #1 ends with Knull catching Surfer by the throat. Silver Surfer: Ghost Light #2 begins with him knocked down by the recently resurrected Ghost Light, and features cover art of the Surfer being punched out of the sky. Even Lim and Marz’s Silver Surfer Rebirth ends its first issue with the title character knocked back by an explosion caused by Thanos. No matter where in the universe Norrin Radd travels, he’s always headed for a beatdown.
The Surfer’s Biggest Bails
The Surfer’s follies in fisticuffs aren’t a recent development. Despite wielding Galactus’ fearsome cosmic power, the Devourer of Worlds’ former herald could always be politely described as a pushover. In fact, some of the character’s most memorable appearances were born from his most pathetic losses. The Carnage Cosmic, from Amazing Spider-Man #430 by Tom Defalco, Joe Bennett and Bud Larosa, menaced the skies after the Surfer was ambushed by a terrifying Carnage symbiote. Incredible Hulk #95 by Greg Pak, Carlo Pagulayan, Marshall Rogers, Tom Palmer, Jeffrey Huet, Chris Sotomayor and Randy Gentile saw Norrin Radd ambushed and fitted with an obedience disc, then forced into gladiatorial combat as the Silver Savage.
Then there are appearances where losing is Norrin Radd’s sole function since it shows how strong his opponents must be. Silver Surfer’s most powerful incarnation was the Fallen One, introduced in 2015’s Thanos by Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw, Antonio Fabela and Clayton Cowles. This Surfer, stained black and wielding Thor’s Mjolnir, stood between Thanos and the annihilation of all life. In spite of his power, of course, he died horribly. In Marvel Zombies by Robert Kirkman, Sean Phillips, Gentile and June Chung, Radd doesn’t join the titular zombies but becomes their…
Read More: The Silver Surfer Is A Wimp, And That’s Okay