The Silver Surfer #2
Silver Surfer #2 stands as the debut appearance of the Badoon — the Brotherhood of Badoon, their ruler Brother Royal, and the Monster of Badoon all step into the Marvel Universe for the first time here, introduced by Stan Lee and John Buscema just one issue into Norrin Radd's solo series. The Badoon would go on to become the defining antagonists of the original 1969 Guardians of the Galaxy, whose entire raison d'être is resistance against a future Badoon conquest of Earth's solar system, making this issue a foundational stone of Marvel's cosmic mythology. Beyond the debut of a new alien race, the issue continues the series' central thematic project: casting the Silver Surfer as a self-sacrificing outsider who repeatedly defends a humanity that fears and rejects him — a morality-play structure that gave the 1968 series an unusually literary weight for its era. The issue also illustrates the unique dramatic irony built into the Surfer's exile: Galactus's barrier keeps him trapped on Earth but cannot stop alien invaders from entering, so the Surfer alone — invisible to public recognition — must protect a world he cannot leave.
In a quiet moment of cosmic observation, the Watcher Uatu witnesses a chilling test of human vulnerability when a radar technician named Lou faces an impossible choice: deactivate Earth’s defenses or reject an offer from the Krills of the Ninth Galaxy—one that promises the most beautiful woman in the universe. But beauty, it turns out, is not what it seems, and the true cost of temptation is only just beginning to unfold.
ComicBooks.com Value
Show all 22 grades ▾
This exact issue on ebay
Raw — FN+ ▾ $69.92–$230 2 listings
Raw / ungraded ▾ $39.99–$85 15 listings
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
The Silver Surfer's solo series launched in August 1968 as Marvel's first ongoing double-sized comic, running 68 pages at the then-premium cover price of 25 cents (double the standard 12-cent newsstand price), a format experiment that lasted through issue #7. When Stan Lee decided to expand the Marvel line and give the Surfer a solo title, Jack Kirby — the character's co-creator — was already overcommitted, so Lee recruited John Buscema, who had recently been penciling The Avengers, to be the series' primary artist; Kirby's exclusion from this project is widely cited as a source of his growing frustration with Marvel and a contributing factor in his eventual departure to DC Comics. Issue #2 was released to newsstands on July 16, 1968 with an October 1968 cover date, making it the second of a bi-monthly schedule; its main story 'When Lands the Saucer!' was penciled by Buscema and inked by Joe Sinnott, while the Watcher back-up 'The Coming of the Krills!' featured art by Gene Colan (pencils) and Paul Reinman (inks), both stories lettered by Sam Rosen. The original cover art and the inked version of a revised cover for this issue were later featured in IDW's John Buscema's Silver Surfer Artist's Edition, published in December 2014.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of the Badoon (also referred to in later sources as the Brotherhood of Badoon), created by Stan Lee and John Buscema — a reptilian alien species defined by a gender schism that produces two separate societies: the warlike Brotherhood and the pacifist Sisterhood.
- First appearance of Brother Royal, ruler of the Brotherhood of Badoon, who commands the Monster of Badoon.
- First appearance of the Monster of Badoon, a large bipedal creature with cybernetic components deployed by the Brotherhood as a weapon.
- Shalla-Bal (Norrin Radd's love from Zenn-La) and Galactus (referenced as Galan in his pre-cosmic form in other contexts) appear in the issue's main story and flashback sequences.
- The issue's main story, 'When Lands the Saucer!' (approximately 40 pages), is written by Stan Lee with art by John Buscema (pencils) and Joe Sinnott (inks); a Watcher back-up story, 'The Coming of the Krills!' (approximately 10 pages), features art by Gene Colan and Paul Reinman.
- The issue is the second of Marvel's first ongoing 68-page double-sized format comic, published bi-monthly at a cover price of 25 cents — double the standard newsstand price of the era.
- An edited partial reprint of the Badoon's debut story appeared in Marvel Presents #8 (December 1976), woven into a Guardians of the Galaxy storyline as a 'Badoon mento-cording' (a narrative device recalling the events of this issue).
- The Badoon's debut here directly seeded the original 1969 Guardians of the Galaxy concept: that team (first appearing in Marvel Super-Heroes #18) was built around the premise of heroes resisting a 31st-century Badoon conquest of Earth's solar system, making this issue retroactively essential to that corner of Marvel's cosmic continuity. The cinematic rights to the Badoon were held separately from Marvel Studios by 20th Century Fox until 2019, which is why director James Gunn substituted Sakaarans for Badoon in the first Guardians of the Galaxy film.
Cast · 6 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5 (1968), Fantask #2 (1969), L'Incredibile Devil #2 (1970), L'Incredibile Devil #3 (1970), L'Incredibile Devil #4 (1970), Seriemagasinet #25/1973 (1973), Seriebladet #4/1974 (1974), Planet of the Apes #15 (1975), The Super-Heroes #3 (1975), The Super-Heroes #4 (1975), Marvel Presents #8 (1976), Nova #3 (1978), Nova #4 (1978), Star Wars Weekly #18 (1978), Fantasy Masterpieces #2 (1980), Marvel Masterworks #15 (1990), Silver Surfer #25 (1991), Marvel Klassik #2 (1998), Essential Silver Surfer #1 (1998), Silver Surfer Omnibus #1 (2007), Guardians of the Galaxy: The Power of Starhawk #[nn] (2009), Marvel Gold: Estela Plateada de Stan Lee y John Buscema #[nn] (2010), Marvel Masterworks: The Silver Surfer #1 (2010), Marvel Masterworks: Marvel Rarities #1 (2014) + 12 more
Key issues in The Silver Surfer
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.