The Surfer, The Stranger, and The Judgment!

With the world-devouring Galactus having devoured five of the Elders of the Universe in retaliation for their plot to end his existence, Galactus has charged his herald, Nova, to find and retrieve the Contemplator, the one remaining Elder to be dealt with--while also requesting that his former herald, the Silver Surfer, guide Nova to the Elder's likely location. It's a request the Surfer is obliged to honor, after first securing the oath of Galactus that his home world of Zenn-La will remain inviolate in regard to Galactus's need for sustenance.

Yet once the two depart the presence of Galactus, the Surfer suspects that there is a deeper, even extraordinary, reason Galactus wished to be alone--and so he invites Nova to join him in remaining to covertly witness what happens next: a meeting that neither of them (or, I dare say, any readers) had suspected would take place.

Scripted by Steve Englehart, this particular meeting, at Eternity's behest, will be considerably less grim and depressive than the conversation which took place between Galactus and the manifestation of Death, five years prior. Here, instead, Eternity offers a recap of events, with the intent of putting those events in the perspective of "the big picture," so to speak, as it relates to both Galactus and Eternity--and, in a way, to the Surfer.

"Every man and every woman is a star!" I confess to at times being mystified by Englehart's nonsensical asides when exploring the workings of a character--that is to say, since when did Galactus have such high regard (or any regard) for mortal beings? It certainly didn't give him any noticeable pause from destroying their homeworlds and leaving them as refugees (those who had the means to escape their world's end, that is).

Over a year and a half later, Englehart would script his final issue of the Silver Surfer series, having brought to an end the saga of the second Kree-Skrull War and turning the reins over to another writer and penciler. And to cap his run on the book, an incredible meeting again takes place--one which, in a way, takes its cue from a possible seed which Englehart planted in the earlier story where Eternity alludes to the Surfer gaining the notice of beings such as themselves. Here, it's the Surfer and the Stranger who confer, at first, with the Surfer hoping to learn more of how the Stranger bears the isolation he imposes on himself. Yet when the Stranger is not forthcoming and the situation becomes tense, a third party arrives to provide the Surfer with the answer he seeks--and much more.

Given that the Tribunal's influence (or "authority," if you will) spans the multiverse, his power and "judgment" override the conceptual forces that any one universe--any one reality--has to offer. That assessment doesn't necessarily conflict with Englehart's suggestion in the scene that follows that even a being such as the Tribunal has an opposite (in the form of the Stranger), since it doesn't really upset the Tribunal's standing in even the most minute degree (though the revelation may grate on the Stranger, whose very nature is to stand apart and who chafes at the suggestion of any connection with another being); instead, it appears meant as an observation to provide the Surfer with a measure of solace in his own situation.

But it's the Tribunal's suggestion of the Surfer's opposite which proves intriguing.

"You are free because you seek to be like the god who made you." -- another example of one of Englehart's conclusive statements that raises a confused eyebrow. That's a little like the Tribunal telling me that I'm free because I seek a better life for myself--even though my freedom exists not by choice, but because I happen to live in one of the nations on the planet where freedom was established. In the Surfer's case, he had to petition Galactus for his freedom once he'd escaped his imprisonment on Earth--and it was only when the Surfer reminded Galactus that his role in the universe was not to be tinged with vengeance that Galactus was obliged to grant that freedom.

Up until now, this discussion between the Tribunal and the Surfer has served to open the Surfer's mind in order to reach past his loneliness and fear of solitude and offer a positive note on the unique existence he's exploring for himself. Infinite possibilities await him--and to underscore the point, the Tribunal's surprising offer to the Surfer will serve to put the sky-rider back on track as to the wonders yet to come, while offering a sense of symmetry to Englehart's sentiments for the character voiced in that first issue of Silver Surfer.

As elated as we might feel for the Surfer at this moment, one can't help but notice that the Stranger has typically stood apart from the conversation between the Surfer and the Tribunal, albeit choosing to remain and witness it. He obviously isn't happy about the Tribunal's assessment of his own role; perhaps we should refrain from inquiring how he feels about the boundless hope and eagerness which radiates from the one who soars away toward... infinity.