Originally, Norrin Radd, a young astronomer of the planet Zenn-La, made a bargain with the cosmic entity Galactus, pledging to serve as his herald in order to save his homeworld from destruction. Imbued in return with a tiny portion of Galactus' Power Cosmic, Radd acquired great powers and a new version of his original appearance. Galactus also created for Radd a surfboard-like craft — modeled after a childhood fantasy of his — on which he would travel at speeds beyond that of light. Known from then on as the Silver Surfer, Radd began to roam the cosmos searching for new planets for Galactus to consume. When his travels finally took him to Earth, the Surfer came face-to-face with the Fantastic Four, a team of powerful superheroes that helped him to rediscover his nobility of spirit. Betraying Galactus, the Surfer saved Earth but was punished in return by being exiled there.
The Silver Surfer wields the Power Cosmic, granting him superhuman strength, stamina, durability, senses and the ability to absorb and manipulate the universe's ambient energy for a variety of effects. The Surfer can navigate through interstellar space, dimensional barriers, and hyperspace, which he can enter to exceed the speed of light when flying on his board, and has even proven capable of time travel on several occasions.
The Surfer sustains himself by converting matter into energy; does not require food, water, air, or sleep (although he occasionally enters a sleep like meditation in order to dream); and can survive within nearly any known natural environment, including deep space, hyperspace, and even within black holes and stars. The Surfer can analyze and manipulate matter and energy, and molecularly restructure or animate matter at will, even transmuting elements or creating objects. He can also project energy in various forms for offensive and defensive use, including the erection of force shields, and bolts of cosmic force powerful enough to destroy entire planets or create black holes. He can utilize the Power Cosmic to augment his superhuman strength to indeterminate levels. The Surfer can heal living organisms, though he cannot raise the dead, and he has proven capable of revitalizing and evolving organic life on a planet-wide scale. He can alter the size of himself or of other matter, cast illusions, and phase through solid matter.
His senses enable him to detect objects and concentrations of energy light years away and to perceive matter and energy in subatomic detail, including life energies of living beings. The Surfer can even see through time, and with concentration he can achieve limited perception of past and future events in his general vicinity. He has demonstrated telepathic ability, including mind-reading on occasion, and has proven to be able to influence human emotion and sensation.
The Surfer's board is composed of a nearly impervious, cosmically powered silvery material that is similar to his own skin. The board is mentally linked to the Surfer and moves in response to his mental commands even when he is not in physical contact with it. The board is nigh indestructible, but on those rare occasions when it is damaged or destroyed, the Surfer is able to repair or even recreate it with little effort. The Surfer can attack opponents remotely by directing the board against them, and the board is capable of absorbing and imprisoning other beings, at least temporarily.
When Galactus exiled the Surfer to Earth, his means of imprisonment was linked to the board. When Surfer and the Fantastic Four realized this, Surfer put it to the test by leaving the board planet-side and entering space in the Four's spacecraft. Once he was free of Earth, the Surfer remotely converted the board to energy, recalled it to him, and reformed it in space.
Norrin Radd also possesses some knowledge of the advanced alien technology of the planet Zenn-La.
But the bottom line is simply that there is something very cool about the chrome dude. Like Deadman, he was always the outsider and pariah. When I collected comics, I always cherished the SILVER SURFER.
1 comment:
That's not silver, that's obviously chromium.
Post a Comment