Summary
Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Annihilation 2099 #4!TheSilver Surferis one of the most tortured characters in the Marvel Universe, as he helpedGalactusdevour countless worlds during his time as his Herald. While the Silver Surfer has made efforts to atone for being partly responsible for billions (if not trillions) of deaths across the universe, that anguish will never truly leave him. So imagine howMarvel’s new Silver Surfermust feel, as he serves a master who is infinitely worse than Galactus.
In a preview shared byAIPT ComicsforAnnihilation 2099#4 “A Tragical History…” by Steve Orlando and Ario Anindito, a mutant elder lies dying in her bed surrounded by her children, all of whom are honoring her for her many years of service, not just to her own family, but all mutantkind. Her name is Chantal Govinda, and moments before she passed, she was visited by the Silver Surfer - though this person is like no other Silver Surfer that fans have seen before.
With hellfire blazing between the two horns atop his head fueled by the furnace in his otherwise hollow chest, Silver Surfer stands before Chantal Govinda to make her a deal. The Surfer will elongate her life, and in return, she will agree to hand over her eternal soul to him. But, of course, the Silver Surfer wasn’t acting on behalf of himself, but rather another entity who has tasked him with harvesting souls across the universe - and that entity is none other than Mephisto.
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Mephisto is the Silver Surfer’s Master in Annihilation 2099, Not Galactus
As this preview confirms, Mephisto is the master of the Silver Surfer of Marvel’s 2099 reality as opposed to Galactus, making this version of the Surfer the Herald of someone far more sinister. While choosing planets teeming with life for Galactus to consume is something worthy of immense guilt and shame, at least the original Silver Surfer was only dooming those life forms to death. Silver Surfer 2099, on the other hand, is dooming them to eternal damnation.
Silver Surfer is going to those who are moments away from death as if he was some kind of guardian angel, offering them more time to live in the last seconds of their life. He makes it clear that their soul will belong to his master if they accept his offer, but the Silver Surfer doesn’t explain who his master is, or how much they would come to regret making the deal. Plus, when someone is seconds from death, they may be desperate enough to agree without fully considering the consequences, which is exactly what Silver Surfer is counting on.
Annihilation 2099 Isn’t the First Time Hellfire was Merged with the Power Cosmic
Thanos Winsby Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw
What’s more striking than Silver Surfer’s cosmic purpose in the 2099 reality is the nature of his existence, as it seems as though Mephisto simply plucked the Silver Surfer as just fans know him, and imbued him with hellfire on top of his Power Cosmic. Interestingly enough, this isn’t the first time that has happened in the Marvel Universe, as Frank Castle underwent the same transformation when he went from being Ghost Rider to Galactus’ Herald aka Cosmic Ghost Rider. While his purpose is nowhere near as dark as 2099’s Silver Surfer, it seems their power sources are identical.
Putting aside the similarities with other cosmically powerful agents of hell, 2099’s Silver Surfer stands on his own, not just in terms of power, but also villainy. Working for Mephisto, Silver Surfer is preying on the most vulnerable, hoping to claim their souls for his master, thereby dooming them to an eternity in hell. That’s horrific on every level, and is why the master of Marvel’s new Silver Surfer is worse than even Galactus.
