Silver Surfer

This article is about the comic book character. For other uses, see Silver Surfer (disambiguation).

Silver Surfer
File:ANNSILV002.jpg The Silver Surfer. Promotional art for Annihilation: Silver Surfer #2 (July 2006), by Gabriele Dell'Otto.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966)
Created by	Stan Lee Jack Kirby
In-story information
Alter ego	Norrin Radd
Species	Zenn-Lavian
Place of origin	Zenn-La
Team affiliations	Heralds of Galactus Defenders Secret Defenders Star Masters The Order
Notable aliases	Silver Savage, Sentinel of the Spaceways, Cosmic Wanderer, Silverado, Chrome Dome, Skyrider
Abilities	Endowed with the Power Cosmic granting him: Superhuman strength and stamina Virtual invulnerability Immortality Energy manipulation and absorption Molecular transmutation Control over the Fundamental Forces Degree of cosmic awareness The ability to travel at trans-light speeds Mind control Time manipulation Healing

The Silver Surfer is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby. He first appeared in the comic book Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966), part of what is popularly known as the "Galactus Trilogy."

The Surfer was originally Norrin Radd, a young astronomer of the planet Zenn-La. In order to save his homeworld from destruction by a fiercesome cosmic entity known as Galactus, Norrin made a bargain with the being by which he pledged himself to serve as its herald. Imbued in return with a small portion of Galactus' Power Cosmic, Norrin acquired great powers, a silvery appearance, and a surfboard-like vehicle — all modeled after a childhood fantasy of his. Known from then on as the Silver Surfer, Norrin 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 humanity. Betraying Galactus, the Surfer saved Earth but was punished in return with everlasting exile there.

Following the success of this debut, Lee scripted a philosophical spin-off series wherein the Surfer explored his new home planet. A more cosmically themed series was published from 1987 to 1988, which focused on the exploits of Surfer finally freed from his exile. A third series followed in 2003, lasting 14 months.

A sequel to the 2005 Fantastic Four film, scheduled for 2007, will be entitled Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Early promotional materials indicate that it will be a loose adaptation of "The Coming of Galactus" with the Surfer taking on the role of a central villain.

Publication history

The Silver Surfer entered the world of comics as an unplanned addition to a story about Galactus and the Fantastic Four. In the mid-60s, Lee and Kirby were using a three part method for creating comics. They would first brainstorm rough ideas together, then Kirby would work individually to draw the scenes, and Lee would finally add the dialog. During one of these sessions, Kirby's drawing confronted Lee with a surprising sight: "There, in the middle of the story we had so carefully worked out, was a nut on some sort of flying surfboard." Kirby explained that a god-like cosmic predator of planets like Galactus should have some sort of herald, and that he created the surfboard "because I'm tired of drawing spaceships!" Taken by the noble features of the new character, Lee not only overcame his initial skepticism but also began adding to characterization, and the Silver Surfer soon became a key part of the unfolding story.

Following the Surfer's debut in the "ultimate Marvel classic", Lee and Kirby were innundated with letters of appreciation from fans, and they decided to include the character in other Fantastic Four issues (FF# 55-61, FF Annual #5, FF #72, FF #74-77).

The Silver Surfer (Simon & Schuster/Fireside Books, 1978), one of the first Marvel graphic novels. Cover Art by Earl Norem.

Lee enjoyed the character and decided to feature him in his own individual title in 1968. Kirby was unavailable at the time and hence penciller John Buscema was selected as the artist for the first 17 issues of the series, with Kirby returning for the eighteenth and final issue. Atypical of most comics at the time, the issues of this first volume of the Silver Surfer were double-sized and remained as such for most of the run. Thematically, the stories dealt with the Surfer's exile on Earth and the inhumanity of man as observed by this noble yet fallen hero. The Silver Surfer comic book series became known as one of Lee's most thoughtful and introspective works. Englehart writes that Buscema and Lee were "pouring their souls into the series".

Nonetheless, the series was soon cancelled. According to Engelhart, the graphic novel format was too expensive to maintain indefinitely and the larger panels used by Buscema meant that there was, proportionately, a lesser amount of story per page than in other comics. Moreover, the monologues and tragic hero persona of the new Surfer soon became unpopular.

After this comic cancellation, the Surfer continued to make sporadic appearances as a guest star or antagonist in other comic books. These included, but were not limited to, appearances in the comics of Thor, the Defenders and the Fantastic Four. Lee remained partial to the Surfer and even personally requested that each Silver Surfer comic contain a "Stan Lee presents" announcement.

After a one-shot published in 1982 by John Byrne, the Surfer appeared in his second solo, ongoing title in 1987. Here he finally manages to escape the confines of Earth and leave for the spaceways. Originally written by Steve Englehart and illustrated by Marshall Rogers, the series would later be written by Jim Starlin and illustrated by Ron Lim. Starlin in turn would be replaced by Ron Marz, and George Perez and J. M. DeMatteis also had brief stints at writing the series. Additional artists included Tom Grindberg, Ron Garney, and Jon J. Muth, as well as periodic guest spots by the aforementioned John Buscema. Although the title experienced great initial success, and continued to be buoyed by tie-ins to Infinity Gauntlet and other crossovers, this second ongoing series was ultimately cancelled in 1998 after 146 issues, due to low sales and a change in Marvel's editorial direction.

Meanwhile, a Silver Surfer graphic novel was written by Lee and Kirby, and another, entitled The Silver Surfer: Parable, scripted by Stan Lee, and drawn by Moebius was serialized in two parts in 1988 and 1989. Because of inconsistencies with other stories, it has been argued that these stories actually feature an alternate Silver Surfer from a parallel Earth. The graphic novel by Lee/Moebius won the Eisner Award for best finite/limited series in 1989.

The Silver Surfer also saw his first TV appearences during this period. His character was featured in adaptations of “The Coming of Galactus” in both the 1967 and 1994 TV adaptations of Fantastic Four. It also starred in a short-lived, solo animated series in 1998, which blended cel and computer animation.

Even after the cancellation of his main series in 1998, the Surfer maintained a prescense in the world of comics. A new Silver Surfer series began in 2003, focusing on the character's alien nature and messianic allegory, but it only lasted fourteen issues. The Surfer later made an appearance in Cable/Deadpool and has twice been reunited with the first superhero group he took part in, The Defenders. An alternate version of the character appeared in Marvel Zombies in his original role as a Galactus herald. Most recently, he appeared in a self-titled, four-issue miniseries linked to Marvel's cosmic event Annihilation. He also appeared in the post-Annihilation mini-series Heralds of Galactus.

The Silver Surfer's next appearance is set to be in a 4 issue mini-series entitled Requiem written by J. Michael Straczynski. The May 30, 2007 release coincides with Silver Surfer's first appearance on the movie screen.

Fictional character biography

Herald of Galactus

The Silver Surfer is born Norrin Radd on the idyllic planet Zenn-La. His father is Jartan Radd, his mother Elmar Radd, and his half-brother Fennan Radd. They are part of an ancient and significantly advanced civilization that has lost the will to strive or explore, leaving Norrin Radd restless and yearning for something more than the idle pleasure pursued by his fellows. Faced with the total destruction of his world by the planet-consuming Galactus, Radd strikes a deal with the omnipotent space god. In return for the safety of Zenn-La and Radd's lover, Shalla-Bal, he will serve as Galactus' herald, seeking out other planets for the world devourer to feed on. Striking this bargain also satisfies Radd's long-held desire to discover new worlds and adventure beyond the limits of his home. Galactus accepts the young mortal's sacrifice and imbues him with a portion of the Power Cosmic, transforming him into the Silver Surfer. Radd procedds to serve Galactus for an unspecified amount of time during which he is unable to return to Zenn-La or Shalla-Bal. During this time, the Surfer tries to seek out uninhabited planets for the world-eater's attention, but as they became harder to find, Galactus tampers with the Surfer's conscience and removes this self-imposed restraint. Eventually, the Surfer arrives on Earth and, after deciding that the planet is ripe for Galactus' nourishment, he summons his master.

On Earth, touched by the nobility of these brave few individuals, the Surfer chooses to rebel against Galactus and attempts to prevent his master from consuming the planet. Galactus is eventually driven off, but as punishment for this rebellion he confines the Surfer to the planet by creating an invisible barrier that affects only him but deprives him of his space-time powers.

Exiled to Earth

File:Toss.png

The Silver Surfer #1 (Aug. 1968).
Cover art by John Buscema and Joe Sinnott.

Stories immediately following the Surfer's exile to Earth depict him as a semi-divine being, immeasurably powerful yet lacking the most basic understanding of good or evil. A completely amoral entity, he develops a sense of compassion through contact with the gentle Alicia Masters, a blind sculptress capable of perceiving the surfer's innate nobility. This theme continues through a series of subplots wherein the Surfer encounters various negative human traits including jealousy (when The Thing is driven to rage by the Surfer's relationship with his girlfriend, Alicia), deception, evil, cruelty (de-powered and imprisoned by Doctor Doom, then tortured by Doom's brutal henchmen), despair, hopelessness (languishing in a Latverian dungeon while Doom uses the Power Cosmic to conquer the world), and finally a thirst for revenge (destroying Doom's castle - along with his sadistic captors when he finally escapes). At the same time, however, the Surfer continues to evolve as an individual, slowly groping his way to a knowledge of his own humanity.

File:SilverSurfer3.jpg

The Silver Surfer #3 (Dec. 1968).
The Silver Surfer meets Mephisto.
Cover art by John Buscema and Joe Sinnott.

During his imprisonment, the Surfer fights a number of villains, including Doctor Doom and Mephisto. Doom was obsessed with stealing the Surfer's Power Cosmic and finally did so, only to lose it by colliding with Galactus' barrier. The demonic Mephisto is equally persistent in trying to acquire the Surfer's soul by breaking his spirit, but Surfer's innate nobility thwarts him each time.

HIs only true ally during these trials is a physicist by the name of Al B. Harper, who eventually sacrifices his life to help save the world after the Stranger leaves a time bomb on the planet as a result of his incriminating judgement on mankind as a species. Angry at the disregard shown by humans, the Surfer once declares war on humanity, but the U.S. military strikes him down with an experimental power-draining "Sonic Shark" missile that diminishes his powers and forces him to resume his wanderings.

During these wanderings, the Surfer joins the "Titans Three", a group consisting of Hulk, Namor the Sub-Mariner, and himself battling various menaces. Soon, with the inclusion of Doctor Strange, the team becomes the Defenders, and Surfer stays with it for a while. This does not last, however, Surfer's overwhelming desire to be free of Earth and his frequent collisions with Galactus' energy-draining barrier eventually drive him to leave the group.

The Surfer is reunited with Shalla-Bal on several occasions while on Earth, but almost every time she is an unwilling pawn of his enemies, and he invariably has to let go of her in order to save the planet. During an Avengers-Defenders clash orchestrated by alien menaces Nebulon and Supernalia, the Surfer finally pierces Galactus' barrier with the aid of Reed Richards and temporarily escapes Earth, but he discovers that Zenn-La has been devastated by a vengeful Galactus and is barely capable of supporting life. Shalla-Bal has been abducted and taken to Earth by Mephisto. Even though it meant trapping himself on Earth again, the Surfer returned to defeat Mephisto. Before being vanquished, Mephisto sends Shalla-Bal back to Zenn-La, but not before the Surfer endows her with a portion of his Cosmic Power, which she uses to revitalize their ravaged homeworld.

Freedom from exile

After all this time in exile, the Surfer finally manages to pierce Galactus' barrier for good by acting on the Thing's simple suggestion of trying to pass through without his surfboard. He also manages to make peace with Galactus by rescuing his current herald, Nova (Frankie Raye), from the Skrulls, after which Galactus finally declares the Surfer's long exile ended. Radd revisits his homeworld, but Shalla-Bal had become empress of the rejuvenated Zenn-La and is not free to renew their romance.

Embroiled in fresh hostilities between the interstellar Kree and Skrull empires, the Surfer also intervenes in a series of plots by the Elders of the Universe, who plan to become supremely powerful by destroy Galactus and the universe with him. The Surfer thwarts this plot with the aid of his new love interest, Mantis, the Earth-born cosmic heroine also known as the Celestial Madonna. She seemingly dies in the process. Although she would later return, she never fully renewed her romance with the Surfer.

After this loss, romance begins to develop between Nova and the Surfer, whose influence gradually leads Nova to question the morality of her role as a herald to Galactus.Eventually replaced by the far more ruthless Morg, Nova dies in a conflict between the new herald and Surfer and with most of the other ex-heralds.

File:Silversurfervolume3.jpg

The Silver Surfer vol. 3, #1 (July 1987). Art by Marshall Rogers and Josef Rubinstein.

The Surfer, during this period, repeatedly battles space-born menaces, the chief of whom is Thanos, a death-worshipping mutant Eternal who wipes out half the life in the universe using the omnipotent Infinity Gauntlet. The Surfer, during his space adventures, also allies with other cosmic adventurers such as Adam Warlock's Infinity Watch, forms the short-lived Star Masters team with Quasar, Beta Ray Bill, Morfex, and Xenith, and began attending occasional Defenders reunions.

In one of his adventures, the Surfer discovers that Galactus tampered with his mind to allow him to endure the powerful emotions of guilt and sadness felt at the destruction of every planet during his time as herald. Further aspects of his past life are also revealed, including the sudden recollection of seeing his mother's dead body after she killed herself by cutting her wrists. Also, his father Jartran Radd, a prominent scientist, was accused of having plagiarized and he shot himself in response to Norrin's dissapointment. The Surfer eventually confronts these memories and comes to forgive himself during the Infinity Gauntlet saga.

During his travels, the Surfer also meets his long-lost half-brother, Fennan, to whom Shalla-Bal has become married. He also becomes a saviour to another part of the Universe when he saves a planet from destruction at the hands of the Uni-Lord, a powerful entity that was the god of the Universe there. In order to combat this Uni-Lord, Surfer sets in motion an immensely complex plan that even involves his own temporary death.

After returning from his adventures there, the Surfer finds that Zenn-La and its people have seemingly vanished. He comes to the horrible realization that his homeworld was actually destroyed years ago, in the 1940s, by the mysterious, all powerful entity known as the Other. The Zenn-Lavian world and the people that he encountered on his return from exile were actually re-creations of the originals. Galactus, after finding Zenn-La ruined by the Other, recreated the planet and its inhabitants in every detail so that the Surfer would have a home to return to when he left his service. So accurate was this new Zenn-La that the Surfer, Skrull, Kree, the demonic Mephisto, and even the Celestials never realized that it wasn't the original planet or people. Why the "new" Zenn-La dissolved was never made entirely clear by the comics, but it was likely the result of Galactus' temporary absence from the main universe due to being caught in the Ultimate Nullifier's blast.

Losing his capacity for emotion again, the Surfer returns to Earth, eventually regaining his personality during a time travel adventure and sharing a romance with Alicia Masters. The two ultimately part as friends after many adventures together.

When a Gaea-powered curse from a dying Yandroth mystically forces Surfer, Namor, Hulk and Strange to assemble in response to any and all threats to the Earth, the ongoing stress coupled with the curse's subtle emotional influence gradually drive the four senior Defenders mad, and they attempt to conquer the world as "the Order" in the belief that this is the most efficient way to protect the planet. Their fellow Defenders Hellcat, Nighthawk, Valkyrie and Clea team up with other heroes – including Ardina, a cosmic-powered woman they mystically create from a portion of the Surfer's own energy – to oppose the Order and return them to their senses, just in time to prevent the curse from rendering a resurrected Yandroth all-powerful.

More recently, in the 2003 Silver Surfer series, featuring a prophesied apocalypse, the Surfer works with the alien Annunaki race to gather and protect some of Earth's most extraordinarily gifted children. In the end, one of these children, Ellie Waters, saves Earth from the godlike Marduk entity, preventing the apocalypse and reordering reality as if the Marduk crisis had never happened (though Ellie alone apparently retains her memories of these events). The Surfer then resumes his interstellar wanderings, but promises to be ready to aid his adopted homeworld should Earth ever need him.

Annihilation

In Annihilation, a 2006 mini-series written by Keith Giffen, Surfer bands together with the other heralds of Galactus that were hunted by the forces of Annihilus's Annihilation Wave. He senses that Galactus needed his help, especially when two beings called Tenebrous, of the Darkness Between, and Aegis, Lady of All Sorrows, began to hunt him after escaping from the prison within which Galactus had encased them since the dawn of time.

Silver Surfer agrees to become Galactus' herald once more. renewed in his powers and will to fight, he defeats the fleet that Annihilus sent against Galactus but is unable to help Galactus against Aegis and Tenebrous, who capture both of them. The Surfer and Galactus are handed over to Thanos, who had been entrusted by Annihilus with finding "the biological application" of the Power Cosmic.

However, Thanos eventually learns that Annihilus' true goal is to use Galactus as a cosmic bomb to destroy both his universe and the Negative Zone. He attempts to undo his master by freeing the Devourer but is slain by Drax the Destroyer before he can do so. When Drax learns of Thanos' actions, he decides that only Silver Surfer has power equal to that of Thanos, and he shatters the energy sphere that imprisons the Surfer, asking him to use the power cosmic to access and unlock the prison holding Galactus. The Surfer succeeds, and an enraged Galactus is freed.

Using his near limitless powers, Galactus destroys nearly half of the Annihilation Wave, thus helping the United Front defeat Annihilus and bringing about a ceasefire. Following these events, the Silver Surfer returns to Galactus' side as his herald. His first mission in the post-Annihilation spin-off Heralds of Galactus is to track down the two proemial gods Aegis and Tenebrous.

Galactus explains to the Surfer that these two gods were part of a pantheon of cosmically powered beings that were created to maintain cosmic consonance (a balance between order and disorder). However, Diableri, a being of pure chaos, misled them and made them strike out against their purposes, forcing the Devourer to defeat and imprison the entire group.

The two gigantic beings are looking for their brethren when the Surfer finds and confronts them. He is severely hurt in the battle, but, fighting relentlessly, he manages to defeat the two by causing a rift in the living Universe to suck Tenebrous and Aegis into the vortex. Galactus, impressed by the Surfer's loyalty and tenaciousness, heals him but refuses to say more about the two dead gods. Galactus then bids his herald to go and find some new planets to satiate his hunger.

Requiem

In the 2007 Silver Surfer: Requiem mini-series, the Surfer comes to Earth to meet Reed Richards in hopes of diagnosing an unknown illness. After rigorous testing, Richards discovers that the silver coating on the Surfer's body is finally deteriorating. Richards predicts that the Surfer will have between three weeks and a month left to live. The Surfer accepts his fate and decides to first explore his adopted world and return to Zenn-La afterward.

Powers and abilities

The Silver Surfer wields "the power cosmic", absorbing and manipulating the universe's cosmic energy and is almost totally indestructible. He can navigate space, hyperspace and dimensional barriers, and can fly at near-limitless speeds on his board, entering hyper space when he exceeds light speed. He has even proven capable of time travel on occasion. The Surfer does not require food, drink, air or sleep, sustained entirely by converting matter into energy. He is immune to extreme temperatures and most radiation, and can survive in vacuum environments such as outer space and hyperspace. He can analyze and manipulate matter and energy, and restructure or animate matter at will, even transmuting elements.

He can heal living beings (though he cannot raise the dead), and has proven capable of revitalizing or evolving organic life on a planet wide scale. He can alter the size of himself or of other matter, cast illusions, fire energy blasts, form and manipulate energy constructs, absorb and discharge most forms of energy, and phase through solid matter. His senses enable him to detect objects and energies light years away, and to perceive matter and energy in subatomic detail; he can even see through time, and with concentration can achieve limited perception of past and future events in his general vicinity. The Surfer has demonstrated limited telepathic ability on occasion, and has proven able to influence human emotion and sensation.

Paraphernalia and weapons

The Surfer's board is composed of the same impervious, cosmic-powered silvery material as its master's skin, and is mentally linked to the Surfer; it moves in response to his thoughts, even when he is not in physical contact with it. The board is almost totally indestructible, but on those rare occasions where it has been damaged or destroyed, the Surfer has been able to repair or even re-create it. 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.

In addition, the Surfer and the Fantastic Four realized that Galactus' means of imprisoning the Surfer on Earth was linked to the board since the world devourer knew that his former herald would not think of leaving the planet without it. Putting the idea to the test, the Surfer left the board planetside and the Four transported him off the planet in their spacecraft. Once he realized he was free of Earth, the Surfer remotely converted the board to energy, recalled it to him and reformed it in space.

Other versions

Ultimate Silver Surfer

File:UltimateSilversurferFF43.jpg

Promotional art for Ultimate Fantastic Four #43 (Aug. 2007). Art by Pasqual Ferry

Warren Ellis's Ultimate Galactus trilogy originally suggested that the Ultimates' ally the Vision was the herald of Galactus, as a robotic probe who travels through space, warning civilizations of the impending arrival of Gah Lak Tus. In the final mini-series of the trilogy, Ultimate Extinction, silvery humanoids began to appear, sent to trigger mass suicides in order to reduce the population's resistance. Suicide cults founded by the creatures began to appear all across the globe as Gah Lak Tus drew near, with the intent of engineering mass suicides to placate "the angry god". At the conclusion to the Ultimate Galactus trilogy, it appeared that all of the surviving silvery beings were called back to Gah Lak Tus when it left the solar system.

These silvery beings had the ability to grow wings, morph into an ovoid or take an intermediary form, gliding on an oval surface. The silver beings showed the ability to manipulate large quantities of energy, and in one case they possessed a mouth with several rows of teeth that opened to an extraordinarily wide extent. However, it was not specified that these characters are the Ultimate version of the Silver Surfer.

In Ultimate Fantastic Four #43, the Silver Surfer makes his proper, named appearance in the Ultimate Universe.

MC2

During the finale of Last Planet Standing, the Silver Surfer prevents Galactus' plan to create a new Big Bang, merging with Galactus himself in the process to become a new being. Gaining control of Galactus' powers, the new entity undoes the damage done by Galactus.

Amalgam Comics

In Amalgam Comics, a character called the Silver Racer exists who is essentially a combination of Marvel's Silver Surfer and DC's Black Racer.

Exiles

On Earth #552, Norrin Radd had been a great Military Scientist who had accidentally destroyed his own world with his greatest invention. Determined to bring it back to life he approached Galactus, Restorer of Worlds and became his herald in hopes that Galactus would resurrect his world in exchange for his service. However, Galactus had taken an oath to only revive those worlds destroyed by the Blight. An enraged Silver Surfer then turned against his Master, destroying those who worshipped him and he then attempted to kill Galactus himself in order to steal the knowledge of world restoration. This led to the destruction of Earth, the coming of the Exiles, the deaths of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard Elite and inevitably his own destruction.

Marvel Zombies

The Silver Surfer is a victim of the Marvel Zombies in stories set in that continuity. His demise is met when his head is bitten off by the Zombie Hulk, afterwards his body is torn apart and eaten by other Marvel Zombies. When he was consumed a small amount of the power cosmic was transferred to the zombies.

DC Comics - JLA

Within the DC universe, the Silver Surfer has been parodied as the "Scarlet Skier". He works for Mr. Nebula.

In other media

Television

Main article: Silver Surfer (TV series)

File:Surfertoon.jpg

The Silver Surfer from the animated series.

The Surfer's first animated appearance was in "Galactus," an episode of the Hanna-Barbera 1967 Fantastic Four animated series which closely followed the Marvel comic series. He also put in several appearances in the 1994 version of the animated series that was part of the Marvel Action Hour, voiced by Robin Sachs, which also adhered closely to the original comic book story, recounting his and Galactus's coming to Earth in a two-part episode, and Doctor Doom's theft of his powers, two times.

In 1998, he starred in a solo animated series on the FOX Network voiced by Paul Essiembre. Among the first to feature computer graphics, blended with cel animated rendered in the style of Surfer creator Jack Kirby, the FOX Kids series diverged from the comic in various ways. However, it accurately retold the Surfer's origin on Zenn-La and the method by which he regained his emotions and memories was altered to not involve the Fantastic Four.

While further adventures included appearances by many characters from Marvel's "cosmic" staples such as Thanos, the Watcher, Ego the Living Planet, Mentor, Drax the Destroyer, Pip the Troll, Nebula, Beta Ray Bill, Gamora, Nova, Adam Warlock and the Kree and Skrull empires, their portrayals and roles often differed from their comic book incarnations. Possessed of an unusually serious tone compared to Marvel's other animated projects, with frequent maudlin musings by the Surfer and episode resolutions which were often downbeat, the series was cancelled after only one season of thirteen episodes. Eight further episodes for the next season were written but never animated.

Film

File:Surfermovie3.jpg

The Silver Surfer as depicted in footage from Rise of the Silver Surfer.

The Silver Surfer is set to appear alongside the Fantastic Four in the 2007 sequel to the 2005 film, entitled Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, a revision from the title appearing on a billboard at the 2006 NYC Licensing Expo, 'Fantastic Four and the Silver Surfer'. The Surfer is being played by Doug Jones and voiced by Laurence Fishburne. USA Today officially released the first promo picture of the Silver Surfer on December 21, 2006. The Franklin Mint altered 40,000 California quarters by putting the comic book superhero the Silver Surfer on the back. This is being done to promote the upcoming film Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. However, it turns out that they may be illegal, due to a law stating that it's a crime to turn money into advertising, and the coin-makers could face a fine for it.

See also: 50 State Quarters

Video games

The Silver Surfer video game, developed by Software Creations, Ltd., debuted on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990. However, he has also appeared in other video games, often cast as a villain (evil clones of the Silver Surfer appear as enemies in Marvel Super Heroes: War of the Gems for the SNES). He was a bonus character in the game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, voiced by Chris Cox. During the player's visit to the Skrull homeworld, he briefly appears as part of a mini-game where the player must attack Galactus after disrupting his machinery.

His latest video game adaptation is the upcoming "Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer video game", developed by Visual Concepts of 2K Sports. It is set for a June 2007 simultaneous release with the movie that it is based upon.

Cultural references

The Silver Surfer has been referred to a number of times on television, music, films and books. Richard Gere's character prominently read this comic in the film Breathless, and there was an argument regarding the Silver Surfers drawn by Kirby and Moebius in Crimson Tide. He has been mentioned in television programs such as Heroes, 'Malibu C.A.',Scrubs, The Wire, Dexter's Laboratory, Doug, Andromeda, and Fairly Odd Parents. A number of songs include the Silver Surfer or related concepts in their lyrics. Also, Joe Satriani included the character on one of his album covers: Surfing with the Alien. In a subsequent album of Joe Satriani's 'Flying in a Blue Dream', there is a track titled 'Back to Shalla-Bal'.

External links

• MDP: Silver Surfer - Marvel Database Project
• Official Marvel Picture site
• Silver Surfer on the Marvel Universe Character Bio Wiki
• The Complete Silver Surfer Appearance List
• Tv.com Silver Surfer episode guide
• Movie Trailer for Rise of the Silver Surfer: Apple Movie Trailers
• WhoistheSilverSurfer.com : Official F4 Wiki