Expert: Justin Case - 9/18/2009

Question
QUESTION: Would very powerful beings such as Thanos, Thor, Superman Prime, Galactus, Silver Surfer, Spectre, Phantom Stranger, Celestials, Living Tribunal, Mr. M., etc., eventually die of old age, or have they somehow overcome this (as Q, Douwd, Companion, etc., apparently have from Star Trek)?

According to the Internet, the Silver Surfer's board is nigh-indestructible. Could the following destroy it?

A) Hulk
B) Wolverine's claws
C) Douwd
D) Galactus
E) Borg Cube

Silver Surfer vs. Flash

Silver Surfer vs. Q

Silver Surfer vs. Borg Cube

ANSWER: Hola John -

From what little I know about those 'mega beings' they perpetually regenerate their cells and are not subject to dying from aging or disease.  

It is possible they could die from extreme violence and/or really bad accidents (like falling into a blue sun for instance), except for maybe the Phantom Stranger or the Spectre.

I don't know much about them and read somewhere that the Spectre is some type of representative of The Almighty so I don't know too much about him but it seems pretty hard to believe that something like that could die too easily.

Silver Surfer -

A)  Somewhere in the vast pile of comic books I own I have a Defenders comic book where the Hulk tried to break the Surfer's board and wasn't able to.  (I think it was an issue # somewhere in the 60s or 70s).

B)  Wolverine's claws - I don't think so.  I think the substance of the board is strong enough to resist the heat from stars and if it can do that it shouldn't be vulnerable to Wolvie's claws.  I don't have any real evidence to back that up but think its a reasonable assumption.

C)  Douwd - The Douwd might be able to affect the board on a molecular level but since the nature of his powers isn't well understood its hard to say.

D)  Galactus - Absolutely, he created it and has control over the Power Cosmic at enough of a level to incorporate its use into each of his heralds so I think he could undo the board's creation just as easily as he made it.

E)  Borg Cube - Good question.  My guess is that, given sufficient time, the Borg's cutting beams could probably cause the board some damage, but it would take a significant period of sustained exposure.

Silver Surfer vs. Flash - That is a tough one.  Silver Surfer is pretty hard to take out, but hails from a peace loving planet where he didn't receive a lot of experience in combat situations.  Flash has significant experience with his powers and years as a member of the Justice League where he fought scads of different villains.

If I had to guess I'd say Flash would have a slight edge given his experience fighting a plethora of different villains and using his abilities to exploit his adversary's weaknesses.

Q can pretty much do anything he wants so I'd say he'd be able to turn the Surfer into a colony of cockroaches if he wanted to and there would be little the Surfer could do about it.

Surfer vs. Borg - I'd give the Surfer the advantage here, his skin should resist Borg assimilation pretty well and he could use his vast Power Cosmic to wreck any cube sent against him.

Thanks those were thought provoking!

Deran

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Silver Surfer vs. Thor

I asked about Silver Surfer vs. Q because it seems that Silver Surfer has a heck of a lot of power. Maybe it's the equivalent of Nagilum or an Organian going against Q.

Are there any Marvel/DC characters that could resist Q's power? You said the Surfer would be turned to cockroaches if Q so desired. What about Galactus, Thanos, Spectre, Phantom Stranger, Living Tribunal, Mr. M., etc.?

Could Kes or Armus destroy the Surfer's board? What about Superman?

I read that the Spectre and Living Tribunal are approximately equal, both used as "God's" "right-hand man," so to speak. Does this put the Living Tribunal and Spectre on a level above the Phantom Stranger?

What hurts Superman more?
A) Magic
B) Kryptonite

What effect would the Ultimate Nullifier have on the following?
A) Q
B) Douwd
C) Nagilum
D) Edo god
E) Sha-Ra-Kee god
F) Phantom Stranger
G) Spectre
H) Living Tribunal
I) Organian

ANSWER: Hi John -

Yeah the Surfer is an immensely powerful entity whose upper power limits are pretty high.

I think Eternity could certainly resist Q's abilities and the Celestials might be able to but its hard to say.  The Spectre probably could and I don't know about the angel Zauriel who was a member of the Justice League since his powers are pretty amorphous as well.

The individual Korvac (an opponent of the Avengers) seemed pretty near omnipotent and I bet he'd give Q a run for his money as well.

Kes probably could destroy the Surfer's board given her ability to affect objects at levels beyond the sub-atomic.  I don't think Armus could but have no trouble believing Superman could.

Magic and Kryptonite affect Superman in different ways. It's kind of like saying which hurts one of us more, getting stabbed or getting run over. Both hurt in different ways but neither is particularly pleasant.

In the classic What If issues featuring Korvan and the Avengers issues, Korvac wields the Ultimate Nullifier and was able to completely 'nullify' all of existence.  From what I know the power of the Nullifier against a specific target depends on the person using its ability to visualize.

So, if that's true an individual like Korvac (who could accurately visualize everything) would be able to eliminate everyone on the list.

Other individuals probably couldn't completely conceive of beings like the Tribunal or Q, and thus shouldn't be able to affect them using the weapon.

Thanks!

Deran

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION:  Silver Surfer vs. Thor

Answer
Hi John -

That one is tough and let me start out by kind of disqualifying myself since I HATE Thor!

At one time or another I think I actively read most of the comics Marvel and DC produced, but I could never get into Thor and thought he was an arrogant, spoiled little boy playing superhero.

With that said, if I had to put money on the outcome of a fight between and the Surfer, I'd pick the Surfer.

Thor has a staggering level of power but can and does get tired, require rest, and needs to breathe and process energy just like a human being, albeit at a much higher level than any human would be capable of.

The Surfer was designed by Galactus to fly through deep space, all the time, without needing to rest, consume oxygen and/or food, and could potentially keep going forever.  Surfer must have some ability to protect himself from the ambient radiation and temperatures in space, as well as the effects of dark matter energy, cometary debris, micrometeroite impacts and planetary, solar and point singularity gravity.

So, with that I'd put his abilities slightly higher than Thor's and give him an edge over the thunder god. (But, again, I'm prejudiced!)

Thanks!

Deran