Summary
- In a dark twist of Silver Surfer 2099’s backstory, he works for Mephisto, not Galactus as revealed in
Annihilation 2099 #4
. - The new Silver Surfer tricks people into giving up their souls for Mephisto, similar to the original’s mission to sacrifice others for his master.
- Mephisto forces Silver Surfer 2099 to live with his guilt, making his origin darker and the consequences of his actions inescapable.
In Marvel Comics’ far-flung 2099 universe, a new version of the Silver Surfer travels across the cosmos carrying on the legacy of the original hero, only not in the same way fans might come to expect. Operating in the grey area between being a merciful god-like being and a soul-stealing villain, Silver Surfer 2099’s origin is far darker than the first Silver Surfer’s — a backstory revealed in his official comic book debut.
A character introduced in 1966’s The Fantastic Four #48 by Jack Kirby, the original Silver Surfer was an astronomer named Norrin Radd who, after the omnipotent being known as Galactus came to his planet of Zenn-La looking for a snack, made a deal to become his new Power Cosmic-imbued herald, saving his world but damning others in his mission to keep Galactus satiated.
Flash-forward to the year 2099, and in the latest issue of Annihilation 2099, a new Silver Surfer is birthed, with this next iteration of this iconic character not answering to Galactus but the devil himself, Mephisto.
Related
Silver Surfer’s Ultimate Form Finally Made Him More Powerful Than Galactus
When Silver Surfer finally found a way to kill Galactus, he had to become something even worse to keep the universe from collapsing.
Silver Surfer 2099 Works for Mephisto and Gathers Souls for Him
Annihilation 2099 #4 – 2024 (Steve Orlando, Ario Anindito, and Dale Eaglesham)
Jonah Marlo of Earth was a man who “dedicated his life to those with less” and did everything he could to help them by delivering food and water and providing shelter for anyone in need. Yet for all the good he did in his life, Jonah was diagnosed with cancer and, on his deathbed, was visited by Mephisto. Making a deal that turned him immortal, Jonah is transformed into the fiery Herald of Mephisto and is tasked with hunting “the next soul to tempt for Mephisto,” acting as an incredibly dark remix of the original Silver Surfer’s similar mission.
Mirroring Norrin Radd’s search for the countless sacrifices needed to appease Galactus, Silver Surfer 2099 does the same thing for the being who rules over him, just with a hellish twist that fits Mephisto’s brand of evil perfectly. Though the original Silver Surfer assisted in destroying entire planets and civilizations, Jonah visiting countless desperate people in an attempt to trick them into damning themselves for all eternity is objectively more insidious and destructive on a completely different level, making Silver Surfer 2099’s origin stand apart from the original’s in a morbid and exponentially more wicked way.
Silver Surfer 2099 Tricks People Into Giving up Their Souls
Even more tragic, Mephisto, in his cruelty, doesn’t punish Surfer for defying him at one point but instead allows Jonah to live with the guilt of fooling countless beings into giving up their souls, damning them to a shared fate in Hell. While the original Silver Surfer will always be the peak cosmic hero in the Marvel Universe regardless of who rides the board, the fact that Silver Surfer 2099 has a similarly dark but exponentially more depressing origin is the perfect way to introduce a new version of the character that pays homage to who came before.
Annihilation 2099 #4
is available from Marvel Comics.
|
Annihilation 2099 #4 (2024) |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
Read More: Marvel Reveals Origin of New Silver Surfer, & It’s Even Darker Than the