Galactus

“First Appearance: The Fantastic Four #48
Best Writer: Stan Lee
Best Artist: Jack Kirby

Please, for god’s sake, let’s forget the “Galactus” in the execrable Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer. (In fact, forget everything about that movie, if you can.) While superheroes have defused many Earth-destroying threats over the decades, Galactus represented perhaps the most implacable. His original arc in the pages of the The Fantastic Four (#48-50) is a classic, and his level of menace, metaphysical. Somehow, in a world filled with power-hungry tyrants, an impersonal destroyer of worlds — dude’s gotta eat — terrifies on a whole different level. — Michael Burgin”