Silver Surfer is a cosmic being with a poet’s soul, exploring the stars while grappling with questions of identity, loss, and purpose. He’s always felt huge in scope, yet so refined in his style and ability. That makes him particularly effective when exploring deeper meanings, such as death. Few characters in comics can claim that kind of resonance, which is apparent in Death of the Silver Surfer, launching this week.
Death of the Silver Surfer #1 opens in a nondescript field where a soldier lies dying. He sees a bug dying beside him and seems to realize he’s in a similar state. Is he just a bug? Enter Silver Surfer, who feels and sees his pain. Very quickly, artist Sumit Kumar gives us a sense of the Silver Surfer’s great hurt and dismay at the sight, which is a funny thing given he helped kill billions as Galactus’ herald. Soon we’ll see what he’s capable of for the man and the bug, as the Silver Surfer’s two lives are the same.
It’s a poetic opening by Greg Pak, which does a great job of establishing the Silver Surfer’s point of view in this story. The fact that he ends a war on Earth moments later is also a reminder of his incredible powers. Powers, we soon learn, corporate interests can’t help but want to capitalize on, or at least vanquish, with so much money to be made in death and killing.
Always cool to see Galactus’ eating devices at work.
Credit: Marvel
Enter Kelly Koh, a key character in this story. She’s a skilled soldier who excels at her job, taking out threats as needed. The creative team carefully develops her, making her more of a dedicated worker that we can all relate to. She’s not evil, but she’ll do what needs to be done because the mission demands it. She now works for B.A.N., which has a new profits-focused CEO. In a cleverly explained scene, he describes the vast character types in the Marvel Universe and why Silver Surfer is his target. It reeks of bigotry and greed. It amounts to a central conflict that feels well-established.
Obviously, this series is being brought to you thanks to the Fantastic Four movie, so expect connections to the Fantastic Four, both big and small. Frankly, I was excited to see familiar FF elements as they make Kelly Koh’s adventure more attuned to Marvel rather than a small side adventure.
The final few pages of this issue do a good job of establishing where this story goes beyond a Silver Surfer vs. Kelly Koh story. It’s an ambitious and exciting reveal to end the issue on with the promise of big change and conflicts ahead. That said, the breadth of this issue does feel a touch thin, with so much time spent capturing Silver Surfer’s demeanor, there’s not quite enough time to get Kelly Koh established in her mission.
Death of the Silver Surfer #1 is a moody and introspective beginning that reaffirms the Surfer’s place as Marvel’s most philosophical hero. Greg Pak and Sumit Kumar open the door to big questions and even bigger stakes, though some character development and narrative weight feel just shy of fully realized. Still, this is a thoughtful and artistically rich debut with the potential for something special.
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