Galactus is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Formerly a mortal man, he is a cosmic entity who consumes planets to sustain his life force, and serves a functional role in the upkeep of the primary Marvel continuity. He was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and first appeared in Fantastic Four #48.
The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Superhero teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and many Marvel superheroes live in this universe, including characters such as Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, Ant-Man, the Wasp, Wolverine, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Daredevil, and Captain Marvel, Blade, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Mister Fantastic, among numerous others. It also contains well-known supervillains such as Doctor Doom, Magneto, Ultron, Thanos, Loki, The Green Goblin, Kang the Conqueror, Red Skull, The Kingpin, Doctor Octopus, Carnage, Apocalypse, Dormammu, Mysterio, Electro, and the Vulture. It also contains antiheroes such as Venom, Namor, Deadpool, Silver Sable, Ghost Rider, The Punisher, Elektra, and Black Cat.
The DC Universe (DCU) is the shared universe in which most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. In context, the term "DC Universe" usually refers to the main DC continuity. It contains various superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Flash; as well as teams such as the Justice League, the Suicide Squad, and the Teen Titans. It also contains well-known supervillains, including Joker, Lex Luthor, Cheetah, Reverse-Flash, and Darkseid.
Onslaught is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared as a cameo in X-Men: Prime #1 before making his first full appearance in X-Men vol. 2, #53, where he would eventually serve as the main antagonist of the "Onslaught" storyline from then onward.
The Skrulls are a race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They first appeared in Fantastic Four #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. They originated from the planet Skrullos and their empire is located in the Andromeda Galaxy. Their infiltration of Earth was a major event in the Marvel Comics universe as shown in the crossover event Secret Invasion.
Sleepwalker is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Bob Budiansky and Bret Blevins, he first appeared in Sleepwalker #1. The character is named after his race and is the star of a self-titled comic book which ran for 33 issues, from June 1991 to February 1994, with one Holiday Special. All but two of the issues were written by Budiansky, with Tom Brevoort and Mike Kanterovich writing the Holiday Special and one fill-in issue. Dan Slott also contributed a humorous side story in issue #25.
Mephisto is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Silver Surfer #3, and was created by Stan Lee and John Buscema and based on Mephistopheles: a demon character from the Faust legend, who has sometimes been referred to as Mephisto. Introduced as a recurring adversary of the Silver Surfer and Ghost Rider, Mephisto has also endured as one of Spider-Man's most prominent adversaries, being responsible for Norman and Harry Osborn's respective transformations into the Green Goblin and Kindred; and for the superhero's loss of his marriage to Mary Jane Watson, considering their future daughter Spider-Girl his archenemy. Mephisto has often come into conflict with Doctor Strange, Doctor Doom, Scarlet Witch and other heroes of the Marvel Universe, being responsible both for the creation of the Cosmic Ghost Rider and the descents of Phil Coulson and Otto Octavius into villainy.
Quasar is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is one of Marvel's cosmic heroes, a character whose adventures frequently take him into outer space or other dimensions. However, Quasar deviates from the archetype of the noble, dauntless alien set by such Silver Age cosmic heroes as the Silver Surfer, Adam Warlock and Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) in that he is an everyman. He starred in an eponymous monthly ongoing series written by Mark Gruenwald that ran for sixty issues beginning in 1989 and has served as a member of The Avengers.
The Supreme Intelligence is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, an artificial intelligence that rules the alien race known as the Kree.
Many of the tropes of science fiction can be viewed as similar to the goals of transhumanism. Science fiction literature contains many positive depictions of technologically enhanced human life, occasionally set in utopian societies. However, science fiction's depictions of technologically enhanced humans or other posthuman beings frequently come with a cautionary twist. The more pessimistic scenarios include many dystopian tales of human bioengineering gone wrong.
The Chitauri are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, specifically in Ultimate Marvel. They were created by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch for the Ultimate universe franchise in place of the existing Marvel Comics alien species, the Skrulls, which play a similar role in the franchise's mainstream continuity. Marvel later chose to distinguish between the Skrulls and Chitauri of the Ultimate universe. The race first appeared in Ultimates #8, and later had counterparts on Earth-616.
Ancient astronauts have been addressed frequently in science fiction and horror fiction. Occurrences in the genres include:
Roberto "Robbie" Reyes is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the fifth Marvel character to use the name Ghost Rider, after Carter Slade, Johnny Blaze, Danny Ketch and Alejandra Jones.
Cosmic Ghost Rider is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. His physical appearance and origin are an amalgam of Punisher, Ghost Rider, and Silver Surfer, with his personality inspired by Deadpool.
