Origin
Much like other planets, Ego formed from gas and dust. A gargantuan bacteria-like space-faring life form known as The Super-Ego came and infused Ego with its life-giving energies, granting the planet the ability to talk and move.
Creation
Ego was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and first appeared in Thor #132 in 1966. He was created during a time when Kirby was very fascinated with the universe. Ego, along with The Colonizers and Kree, were created right after Galactus, establishing the space age mythology in Marvel at the time.
Major Story Arcs
Against Galactus
Ego’s absorption of planets did not go unnoticed, the Rigellians feared their planet would get absorbed by Ego. In order to save their planet, they made a deal with Thor. If Thor prevented the Rigellians planet from absorption, then the Rigellians would leave Earth alone. After an epic battle, Thor won and Ego promised that he would never leave the Black Galaxy. Later, Galactus found his way into Ego’s space and wanted to eat Ego. Thor came to Ego’s aid and the two stopped Galactus. Ego was now in Thor’s debt so he allowed a group called the Wanderers live on him. A Rigellian took a sample of Ego, so he could use it to fertilize sterile worlds being considered for habitation. This drove Ego insane and caused him to start absorbing the Wanderers. Thor, with the aid of Galactus, Galactus’ herald Firelord, and Hercules, stopped Ego by attaching an engine to Ego’s south pole. This engine made Ego fly through space uncontrollably, rendering Ego harmless to other planets. Ego was able to overpower the device and have it under his control, but at a price. He used tremendous energies to control it, more than he could generate. He began having to feed on other lifeforms’ energy much like Galactus. He tries to imprison the Silver Surfer and make him remove it but the Surfer escaped, telling him he has gotten what he deserves. Ego pleads with him to please remove it and that he cannot stand foreign materials on him. The Surfer refuses.
Ego’s Attacks on Earth
Ego eventually learned how to control the mechanism and he searched the galaxy for Galactus in hopes of revenge. He eventually tracked Galactus to Earth, but there was no signs of Galactus, so he attacked Earth. The Fantastic Four and a mutant known as L.R “Skip” Collins defended Earth from Ego’s attack. Ego was destroyed when Thing took Ego’s engine and threw it into Ego’s brain, causing him to fly into the sun. Ego did not stay destroyed for long, he eventually reformed and joined the Elders of the Universe. The Elders planned to destroy Galactus, but Ego was sidelined before the confrontation when defeated by the Silver Surfer. After Ego was used as a pawn by Supreme Intelligence, he threatened Earth for the last time. He was stopped when he was absorbed into Quasar‘s Quantum Bands. Ego recently resurfaced as an apparent member of the Nova Corps much to Rich Rider‘s dismay. How Ego was freed from Quasar’s Quantum Bands has not been revealed, but it may have had something to do with his death during Annihilation and Annihilus usurping the bands. It has recently been revealed that while his body is still active, Ego himself is no longer alive and has been completely overtaken by The Xandarian Worldmind. Robbie Rider, brother of Richard Rider, claims that Ego is a willing host and let Worldmind erase his personality and turn him into a fully functional mobile base for The New Nova Corps. Nova Prime wasn’t happy about Ego being Nu-Xandar and he was depowered by Worldmind. Ego was discovered to have corrupted Worldmind because it found refuge in him after being traumatized by Galactus. This was discovered by a Quantum banded Richard who lobotomised him in a fight to stop him from mass-recruiting Novas and controlling them to their doom. Worldmind was rebooted and slowed Ego’s healing so he could still serve as their base but the healing was interrupted during the Fault. He took control again but Worldmind was downloaded on Resolute Duty and Novas evacuated before pushing him away in battle. Recently as Thor and the Stranger had a misunderstanding, we learned that Ego was created by the Stranger.
Powers and Abilities
The living planet Ego has been called a “bioverse.” Every part of its substance, including its atmosphere, is “alive” inasmuch as it is animated and controlled by the consciousness of Ego. The exact composition of Ego is unknown, but much of the planet’s surface, at least, seems to be composed of organic molecules. The planet possesses various internal features which have analogues to parts of living Earth-based organisms. For example, its interior contains tunnels which have been compared to arteries, and the center of Ego’s consciousness resides in a brain-like organ deep below its surface. Ego can absorb humanoid-sized living beings into itself and “digest” them in internal areas similar to an Earth beings stomach, using its own analogues to digestive fluids. Just as an Earth organism creates one-celled antibodies to attack foreign substances in its bloodstream, Ego creates humanoid sized anti-body like beings from itself to attack intruders on or beneath its surface. In its encounters with humanoids, Ego has caused the “antibodies” to take semi humanoid form. Ego’s interior is filled with lava and oil. This is where the Protozoids live, the life that gives Ego his life. They can change forms to adapt to the environment and are very vicious.
Ego generates vast psionic energies which, at their peak, rival those of Galactus. If Ego depletes its energy below a level that it can replenish by itself, it can help renew its energy stories by tapping outside sources, like stars, or absorbing the life forces of large numbers of living beings. At full strength Ego can use its psionic energy to obliterate starships. Ego can also psionically control its own substance. Being a living planet, Ego is in total control his biosphere. He can control weather, making heavy winds or storms. He can manipulate the earth in every way, from earthquakes, volcanoes, geysers and canyons. He also controls the radiation fields and magnetic fields. Thus Ego can transform its own surface to resemble a gigantic face, to reach out into space with gigantic tendrils, or to become an idyllic world resembling the most beautiful areas of Earth. Ego can create humanoid beings with great powers out of its own surface and, it claims, command them across interstellar distances. Ego communicates with other beings telepathically.
Ego has used Its great psionic powers to command the immensely powerful sidereal propulsion unit installed at its south pole by Galactus. The unit can propel Ego in and out of hyperspace at vast speeds, and apparently has virtually inexhaustible power. When merged with the Worldmind, Ego had complete control over the Nova Force and its Corps. Thanks to the efforts of Richard Rider a.k.a. Nova however, he was able to partially lobotomize Ego leaving the Living Planet which once menaced countless lives and countless civilizations in a coma that would last many centuries.
Physical Characteristics
Height: 4165 miles
Weight: Unknown
Eyes: Yellow
Hair: Non applicable
Alternate Versions
Earth-2149
Also known as Marvel Zombies, in this universe, the Marvel Zombies chewed upon Ego.
Earth-9602
In this universe, where Marvel and DC were combined, Ego was combined with Oa to make Oa the Living Planet.
Nu-Earth
Nu-Earth, an artificial variant of Earth-616 which was originally constructed for the rich and the famous in a neighboring Universe but ended up becoming a refuge for the eight billion people from a future incarnation of Earth including the new Fantastic Force, has just now recently come under attack from that reality’s version of Ego directly following a devastating attack on their world by evil versions of The Dark Phoenix, Polaris and The Scarlet Witch.
Earth-Living Planet
In this reality Ego destroyed the home world of The Trinarians, a space-faring race of reptilian humanoids, by pushing it into a Black Hole because The Trinarians had attempted to colonize Ego. His retaliation however infuriated Jemiah the Analyzer and Gammenon the Gatherer of The Celestials who were still conducting experiments on The Trinarian people and their home world. After a short confrontation with Jemiah and Gammenon, Ego was able to throw them off balance by tossing Gammenon at Jemiah. Ego then fled to our solar system where he implanted within Earth a seed that would give it life just like he had been given life.
He hid behind Jupiter for months until the time was right and when Earth awoke he tried to convince it to wipe all of Humanity out. the dimension-hopping Exiles along with that worlds version of The Avengers and The Fantastic Four would fight an epic battle against Ego’s Anti-Bodies while Reed Richards tried to convince Earth that Ego was wrong. It was not too long after Earth’s awakening that Gammenon and Jemiah came, visibly disturbed by the sight of Earth now being a living planet like Ego, they lashed out at their ancient enemy and Earth to for a time until Reed was able to finally convince Earth that Ego was pure evil.
Together Earth, Jemiah and Gammenon fought a valiant war against Ego but it seemed that Ego was too powerful for even their might. Though he nearly killed Jemiah and Gammenon, Ego himself was stopped and killed before he had a chance to do so when Blink of The Exiles teleported a drill into the center of his brain. His lifeless corpse then drifted away from Earth.
In Other Media
Television
- Ego appears in the Fantastic Four: The Animated Series episode “To Battle a Living Planet,” voiced by Kay E. Kuter.
- Ego appears in Silver Surfer: The Animated Series, voiced by Roy Lewis.
- Ego makes a cameo appearance in the Super Hero Squad Show episode “World War Witch,” where he and his “children” cross Falcon and Scarlet Witch‘s path.
- Ego appears in the Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. episode “All About Ego,” voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. He later appears in the two part series finale, “Planet Hulk” and “Planet Monster,” in a significant role.
Film
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Ego appears as the main antagonist of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, portrayed by Kurt Russell. Here, he is an ancient Celestial and the father of Peter Quill, and also has the ability to create a human body to inhabit. It is also revealed that he was the one who hired Yondu to kidnap Peter many years ago. He also employs Mantis as something of a caretaker.
A tragic and lonely figure, Ego travels across the universe, fathering many children in the process. In the present, he reunites with Peter, and discovers that he has inherited some of Ego’s Celestial power. Ego reveals that during his travels, he planted seedlings on thousands of planets, which can be activated and used to terraform the worlds, making them extensions of his own body and power. However, for this to work, Ego needs the power of two Celestials, explaining why he needed Peter’s help. It also turns out that Ego killed each of his other children when it turned out that they did not inherit his abilities.
Though Peter is initially hypnotized into helping his father, he becomes enraged and fights back when he learns that Ego killed his mother, Meredith Quill, in order to cut himself off from all attachments (as he had grown to legitimately love her). The two Celestials battle one another, but Peter’s attempts to kill his father prove futile when Ego displays the ability to reform his avatar. The fight distracts Ego long enough for Groot to plan a bomb within the planet’s “brain,” which he notices. He pleads with Peter, telling him that his death will take away his son’s newfound godhood, but Peter allows the bomb to go off, killing Ego and ending his reign of terror once and for all. After his death, both his organic body and planetary form are destroyed as well.
Video Games
- An image of Ego can be seen on the main menu screen of Lego Marvel Super Heroes.
- Ego will appear in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2, and can be seen in the trailer.
Merchandise
- Funko produced a bobblehead of Ego for their Pop! line.
- The movie version of Ego was featured alongside Star-Lord in a Marvel Legends two-pack from Hasbro.