Who Is Marvel’s Black Surfer & How Strong Is He?

Silver Surfer, like most other popular Marvel characters, has seen several iterations, and his powers and abilities, as well as visuals, have been updated over the ages. If one thing Silver Surfer is famous for, it’s his silvery skin that gives away the cosmic sheen. Silver Surfer appears as a star among the infinite void of space. But in ‘Silver Surfer: Black,’ one eerie version of Silver Surfer resurfaced as the Herald of Galactus lost his sheen and took on a black coloring. Let’s see who is Black Surfer and how powerful he is. 

Black Surfer is a version of Silver Surfer that fought against Knull, and every time Surfer would engage against Knull, Surfer was marked with an increasing amount of Knull’s darkness, which even resulted in his skin being permanently “black,” even after he defeated Knull. Black Surfer was at one point so powerful that he was able to give birth to entire planets, but this was due to Ego’s light, and before Surfer returned to the present time, he spent all of it. Silver Surfer regained his silver color after he brought Enigma Force back to Earth to defeat Knull. 

How did Silver Surfer come across Knull in the first place, and how did he manage to defeat him? If you’re looking for answers to these questions. Stay with us and keep reading! 

How did Silver Surfer find Knull?

Following the ‘Will of Thanos’ storyline and the Mad Titan’s death, the Black Order tried to generate a Black Hole so they could steal Thanos’ body through it and resurrect him. The Black Hole in question pulled in a lot of innocents, and Silver Surfer was the one to answer the call and save whoever was pulled inside. But once inside, Silver Surfer found himself unable to escape, and he traveled back in time to the beginning of time almost. 

Floating in the darkness of nothingness, Silver Surfer thought about giving up on life and just dying. He extended his cosmic awareness in every direction until he sensed something lurking in the darkness, killing. He decided to put a stop to it no matter what it was. 

Silver Surfer traveled to a planet that felt wrong and rotten to the core. Three symbiote gods attacked him, and only after Silver Surfer conjured up a small sun, a source of light, were the symbiote demons defeated. In the process of fighting against symbiotes, his hand turned black.

Knull himself then apprehended Silver Surfer. Knull easily defeated the Surfer, turning him into a Void Knight and turning his surfboard into a version of it made out of living void of this horrific place in mockery of Surfer’s former glory. 

How did Silver Surfer defeat Knull?

Following his transformation into a Void Knight, Silver Surfer was actually saved by the Celestial Ego. Yes, you’ve read that right. This version of Ego, however, was much younger and didn’t have time to get corrupted, so he was a willing ally in Silver Surfer’s attempts to save the nascent Universe from Knull’s darkness. 

Ego was the one who granted access to cosmic light to the Silver Surfer. This power source has come in handy now that his Power Cosmic reserves were almost depleted. Silver Surfer and Knull engaged in a lengthy fight, with Silver Surfer growing increasingly black the more he was in contact with Knull. 

At one point, Silver Surfer used the last of his Power Cosmic to birth an infant sun and use its light to burn away Knull for a time. He realized that his own light would never be enough to kill the Symbiote God forever, but it should be enough to bring balance to the Universe. 

How did Silver Surfer turn black? 

After Surfer seemingly defeated Knull, he realized that he himself was dying and floated to a nearby planet. He used the last of the Ego’s light to spread the seeds of life, planeting his own home world, Zenn-La. This is the moment that Surfer realizes that he is responsible for creating his own homeworld and that he is why his culture worshiped the silver-skinned god that inspired him to take on the form of the Silver Surfer in the first place.

Silver Surfer planted the seeds of many planets that Galactus devoured over the ages as well, seemingly redeeming himself for all of his past misdeeds. At last, Silver Surfer used the last of his power to summon an intangible but visible form, but he realized that through his dealings with Knull he was stained with black completely, changing his famous color. 

How did Silver Surfer regain his Silver color?

Silver Surfer regained his silver color in ‘King in Black’ #5 when he delivered the Enigma Force to Earth following Knull’s invasion. He helped the God of Light Venom to defeat Knull, and somewhere along the way, both he and his surfboard were seemingly washed away from the oily void, and he was silver once again, and it appears that he will stay that way for the time being. 

How strong was Black Surfer?

Black Surfer never really received the power upgrade that you would expect. Sure, he was able to give birth to stars and new planets, but that was only due to Ego’s light, which he spent before he returned to the current timeline. There were no differences in power levels between regular Surfer and Black Surfer.

Black Surfer was strong enough to stand up to Knull in ‘King in Black, ‘ yes, but this had everything to do with Enigma Force and nothing to do with the black form that he subsequently lost. So, I guess you can see that Black Surfer is just as powerful as the current Silver Surfer. 

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!

Liked this article? Join the community on Reddit for the latest Marvel & DC news!