Thursday, August 04, 2016

Most guys just say "I'll call you," then don't, Norrin...


Oddly, I had no recollection of this series, so it was a surprise from the quarter bins. It's also a surprise to see the Silver Surfer have a love interest that wasn't killed, or turned evil, or both. (Excluding his current series, of course!) From 2011, Silver Surfer #5, written by Greg Pak, pencils by Harvey Tolibao, inks by Sandu Florea.

This was the conclusion of a limited series, with the Surfer and the Fantastic Four (here, the Future Foundation, with guest-member Spider-Man) versus the High Evolutionary, who has just terraformed part of the moon with stolen Galactus technology. The Surfer's a bit distracted with the feels, making out with the newly empowered Suzi Endo. She had been Cybermancer in Force Works some time back, and here was acting as the High Evolutionary's herald: she'd be the opposite of Galactus's heralds, finding lifeless worlds for H.E. to bring life to. Galactus may have something to say about that...

The phrase "cosmic awareness," is thrown around a few times this issue; with the Surfer unable to fully comprehend the why of what Galactus does without it at full power. Further, there's also the implication that cosmic awareness blocks the Surfer's human emotions. That doesn't necessarily track for me; the Surfer always always seemed a little mopey, and that would imply understanding the mysteries of the universe is somehow inherently depressing...well, maybe. The issue ends with the Surfer guilted once again into service for Galactus, a plot point I feel has been used like forty times since the end of his long-running 1987-'98 series.

The Surfer also declares himself "...forever bound to you, Suzi Endo." So of course, I don't think she's been seen since. Their relationship may not have been as deep as all that. There was an old Silver Surfer issue where a momentarily disoriented Nova runs to the arms of similarly flaming Firelord, instead of the Surfer, like attracted to like. Maybe shiny attracts shiny?

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