Fantastic Four #48
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeFantastic Four #48 is the opening chapter of what fans call the Galactus Trilogy, widely regarded as the finest achievement of the Lee–Kirby partnership and, per The Atlantic in 2018, 'the indisputable pinnacle of the so-called Silver Age of comic books.' The issue delivers two of Marvel's most enduring cosmic creations in a single story: the Silver Surfer, a gleaming herald traversing the cosmos ahead of his master, and Galactus himself, a planet-devouring entity conceived not as a conventional villain but as an amoral force of nature on a biblical scale — a storytelling leap that permanently shifted superhero comics toward existential, cosmological stakes. By framing the FF's conflict as one against an indifferent god rather than a scheming criminal, Lee and Kirby redefined what superhero adventure could mean, laying the creative groundwork for every cosmic Marvel story that followed.
In "The Coming of Galactus!", the Fantastic Four return to New York after thwarting Maximus's deadly scheme, only to be warned by the Watcher of an even greater threat approaching Earth. Written by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, with Kirby handling the art and Joe Sinnott on inks, this landmark issue sets the stage for one of Marvel’s most iconic cosmic confrontations. The cover by Kirby and Sinnott captures the ominous arrival of a force beyond imagination.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Published with a March 1966 cover date and placed on sale in December 1965, the issue was written and edited by Stan Lee and plotted and penciled by Jack Kirby, with inks by Joe Sinnott, colors by Stan Goldberg, and lettering by Artie Simek. Kirby drew the Silver Surfer without any prior discussion with Lee — Lee first encountered the character when he saw the finished pencil pages and reportedly said 'Jack, this time you've gone too far,' before quickly embracing the figure. Kirby later explained he felt Galactus, inspired by biblical archetypes, needed a herald, and that he put the character on a surfboard simply because he was tired of drawing spaceships. The issue lands midstream: it both concludes the multi-part Inhumans arc begun in issue #44 and launches the Galactus Trilogy in the same 20 pages, a structural compression that Lee acknowledged required careful editorial juggling.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of the Silver Surfer (Norrin Radd), created unilaterally by Jack Kirby as an unplanned addition to the story's agreed-upon plot.
- First appearance of Galactus (Galan), created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby as a god-like cosmic predator of planets who operates without regard for mortal morality.
- First chapter of the three-issue 'Galactus Trilogy' spanning Fantastic Four #48–50 (March–May 1966), inked throughout by Joe Sinnott.
- The issue also features the Inhumans — including Black Bolt, Medusa, Crystal, Karnak, Gorgon, Maximus, and the Seeker — resolving the Atmo-Gun subplot that had been running since Fantastic Four #44.
- Fantastic Four #48 was selected as #24 in Marvel's own '100 Greatest Marvels of All Time' reader poll in 2001.
- The Galactus Trilogy was adapted into the 1967 Fantastic Four animated series, the 1994 Fantastic Four animated series (as a two-part episode), and provided the core source material for the 2007 film Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
- The story served as the basis for issue #3 of Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross's Marvels (1994), and was also reworked as the Ultimate Galactus Trilogy by Warren Ellis across 2004–2006.
- The issue has been reprinted extensively, including in Marvel Masterworks, Essential Fantastic Four, Marvel Visionaries: Jack Kirby, and as a True Believers reprint (2018) and full Facsimile Edition (2025).
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Reprints
Reprinted in HIP Comics #1908 (1966), Hit Comics #8 (1967), Marvel's Greatest Comics #35 (1972), I Fantastici Quattro #44 (1972), Une Aventure des Fantastiques #1 (1973), Une Aventure des Fantastiques #2 (1973), The Mighty World of Marvel #103 (1974), The Mighty World of Marvel #104 (1974), Marvel Treasury Edition #2 (1974), Acção e Mistério - Série Fantástica #28 (1977), The Fantastic Four #[nn] (1979), Fantastic Four Pocket Book #3 (1980), Los 4 Fantásticos #27 (1980), Marvel-pocket #1/1985; 2 (1985), Marvel-pocket #2/1985 (1985), Une Aventure des Fantastiques #39 (1986), Une Aventure des Fantastiques #40 (1986), Clásicos Marvel #18 (1990), Silver Surfer: The Coming of Galactus #[nn] (1992), Marvel Masterworks #25 (1993), Fantastic Four #[nn] (1998), Essential Fantastic Four #3 (2000), The 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time #1 (2001), Wizard Ace Edition: Fantastic Four #48 #[nn] (2002) + 30 more
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