9 Best Silver Surfer Comics to Get to Know Marvel's Greatest Cosmic Hero

Silver Surfer appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 2025 summer blockbuster, Fantastic Four. However, this isn’t the same Silver Surfer from Fantastic Four 2 when he led a cloud-based Galactus to Earth. While this movie has the real Galactus from the comics, this Earth variant has Shalla Bal as the Silver Surfer. Readers know that Shalla Bal is the original Silver Surfer’s lover from his home planet of Zenn-La, and she is the reason Norrid Radd took on the role as Galactus’s herald to save his world. This is one of many Marvel Comics storylines that showcases why the Silver Surfer is one of the company’s fan-favorite characters.

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From his origin story and arrival on Earth to his death and his ability to save the universe, here is a look at the best Silver Surfer comics for fans to read to get to know exactly who this Marvel Comics hero really is.

9) Silver Surfer #1 (1968)

This book is bigger than typical comics, and for good reason. This is the origin story of the Silver Surfer. It all opens with him saving a military man’s life, but then having the military try to shoot him down after his good deed. Surfer then goes into seclusion and tells his story about how he gave up his humanity to save his home planet of Zenn-La from Galactus. His story of his paradise-like planet is then contrasted with the story of Earth, where violence and bigotry are born out of humans’ fear of anyone or anything different. For fans of the MCU Fantastic Four, this was also the introduction of Shalla-Bal, who becomes the Surfer in the movie.

8) The Coming of Galactus (1961)

The first appearance of Silver Surfer in Marvel Comics came in the pages of The Fantastic Four Vol. 1 #48-50, which is titled “The Coming of Galactus.” The first issue features the arrival of The Watcher since something big is about to happen in the Marvel Universe. Then, the Silver Surfer shows up to warn the people of Earth that Galactus is coming and he will devour their planet. This leads to the first appearance in Marvel Comics of Galactus, who the Fantastic Four must defeat to save the world. While they can’t beat Galactus, they do deter him, and he leaves, but not before banishing the Silver Surfer to Earth and binding him so he can never leave.

7) The Rebirth of Thanos (1989)

“The Rebirth of Thanos” takes place in the pages of Silver Surfer Vol. 3 #34-38. It all starts with Death realizing something is wrong with the universe, and it has come out of balance. To try to fix things, Death resurrects Thanos, knowing his actions can rebalance everything. However, she reveals that the only person standing in his way is the Silver Surfer. This is the first meeting between Thanos and Silver Surfer, and their battle in these issues shows why the two men become such heated rivals throughout their history in Marvel Comics. They would meet again two years later at the start of the Infinity Saga, which was one of Marvel’s most esteemed crossover events.

6) Zenn-La’s Fate (1982)

While the Silver Surfer’s origin was revealed in 1968, the fate of Zenn-La was finally revealed years later, in 1982. This was in Silver Surfer Vol. 2 #1. John Byrne wrote this one-shot issue, in which the Silver Surfer realizes that his humanity, as Norrin Radd, is disappearing. He returns to Zenn-La one last time, only to find that it has been destroyed. He also realizes that the love of his life, Shalla Bal, is missing. The book retells the origin story, and then shows how Surfer broke his pact when Reed helped him escape his binding to Earth, putting Zenn-La back in Galactus’s sights. It also involves Mephisto, as he was pulling all the strings. Silver Surfer is the one person Mephisto wants to make a deal with above all others, and he is using Shalla Bal as his game piece.

5) Parable (1988)

The Silver Surfer: Parable is a two-issue miniseries by Stan Lee from 1988 that tells the story of Galactus returning to Earth and turning all humanity into his followers, telling them there is no sin and setting them out to run rampant. This prompts the Silver Surfer to try to stop him. Galactus admits he hasn’t broken his pledge and is not there to consume the Earth, but he is there to let humans destroy each other in his name. The story is an intense one where people on Earth are willing to sell their souls to a man who claims to be a deity, and they will kill and destroy each other in his name. After Silver Surfer saved the world, humans tried to deify him, but as a good man, he rejected their praise.

4) Galactus The Devourer (1999)

Marvel Comics cancelled The Silver Surfer, but some open plot threads needed to be wrapped up. Marvel Comics wrapped things up by releasing Galactus the Devourer as a six-issue miniseries, and despite having Galactus’s name in the title, it was actually a Silver Surfer storyline. In the miniseries, a new herald of Galactus arrives on Earth and says that Galactus is returning to consume the world. Surfer agrees to become his herald again to stop him, and it all leads to the moment where Galactus admits that madness has entered him that will never allow his hunger to end, and he needs his greatest herald to save the universe from him.

3) Silver Surfer: Black

In 2019, Donny Cates and Tradd Moore created the five-issue miniseries Silver Surfer: Black. This is an interesting storyline for the Silver Surfer, and while the art style may be an acquired taste, the story is what ultimately matters. The strange and kinetic artwork complements the trippy storyline well. After a Guardians of the Galaxy storyline by Cates, several heroes were trapped in a black hole. It was the Silver Surfer who helped them escape before he was sent back billions of years into the past. The surprise is that Knull is the main villain here. This forces the Silver Surfer to undergo an existential crisis, where he must confront the darkness within himself as he battles Knull. The end is yet another finale for Surfer, but, as with his best stories, his downfall comes with a glimmer of hope for the universe.

2) The Most Important Person in the Universe (2014)

“The Most Important Person in the Universe” is the overarching title of Silver Surfer Vol. 7, written by Dan Slott and illustrated by Michael Allred, published in 2014. This storyline features Surfer meeting a young woman named Dawn Greenwood, and the entire series revolves around the two of them as Surfer discovers more about his mission to save the world and Dawn learns what it means to be something greater than herself. This takes Silver Surfer into a smaller, more humanistic story, and by limiting the cosmic importance of most of his stories, that makes this run a fresh look at the character.

1) Requiem (2007)

Released in 2007, Silver Surfer: Requiem is a four-issue miniseries that falls within the Marvel Knights line of books, written by J. Michael Straczynski and illustrated by Esad Ribic. This is the series that promised the end of the line for the Silver Surfer. He learns he is dying, and he has one last voyage to make before his death. The series was both heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time, with Surfer giving all humans five minutes of peace and harmony before leaving, to show people what it is like when hate isn’t fueling the world. When Doctor Strange showed Surfer what his sacrifices did for Earth, it really hit home. When Galactus offered one final gift, it was a heartbreaking moment. There isn’t a better Silver Surfer storyline for anyone who wants to see the kindness and humanity of this character.