First Steps Reveals Galactus’ Harshest Reality

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is one of my favorite movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s Multiverse Saga, but after rewatching the film on Disney+, I believe it drops the ball with Galactus in a couple of aspects. Don’t get me wrong, Ralph Ineson’s debut as Galactus and how Marvel finally made him look comics-accurate were both very exciting.

Seeing Galactus as his humanoid form, after the 2000s Fantastic Four movie franchise envisioned him as a cloud, proved that the MCU’s take on the Fantastic Four is what I had long waited for. That said, Galactus is not without some faults in the 2025 Marvel movie. While the film is still exciting, it is simply a matter of how it could have been better.

Galactus Could Have Been Better In The MCU Fantastic Four Movie

Ralph Ineson's Galactus looks at the camera with his eyes shining bright in The Fantastic Four First Steps — Ralph Ineson’s Galactus looks at the camera with his eyes shining bright in The Fantastic Four First Steps

When the Fantastic Four first meet Galactus in his spaceship, we get a sense of how towering a figure he is. Galactus is instantly imposing, making me question how the Fantastic Four will be able to defeat him. Additionally, when talking about Franklin Richards and how powerful Reed and Sue’s son is, he mentions the Power Cosmic, which he also possesses.

Jumping to the end of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the MCU movie finally has a large-scale conflict between the Fantastic Four and Galactus. However, something that I had felt when watching the film in theaters for the first time and was confirmed by my Disney+ rewatch is that Galactus ends up being defeated way too easily by the Fantastic Four.

Once Sue Storm locks in, she just pushes the Devourer of Worlds through multiple blocks, leading to the Silver Surfer giving Galactus the final push to go through the portal. Galactus’ powers were not really used on screen. He was just huge, and that was pretty much it. I expected more than just pushing the villain around New York City.

How The MCU Can Still Do Right By Galactus After The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Galactus while fire and a truck are thrown at him in The Fantastic Four: First Steps

The good thing is that, unlike other MCU villains, Marvel Studios did not kill Galactus in his franchise debut. He was merely sent to the other side of the universe by the Fantastic Four. As such, we could still see Ineson’s Galactus and Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer return in an MCU Fantastic Four movie sequel or another film.

Whenever Galactus appears next, he will surely not be pleased with what the Fantastic Four did to him. That possible quest for revenge would light the fire needed for Galactus to really show his full power set in the MCU. While The Fantastic Four: First Steps did not use all the villain’s powers, the door remains open for the MCU to fix that.