Elders of the Universe

"The Elders of the Universe," Silver Surfer gave the name. "The enemy we fought was the Elders of the Universe."

So that was it—the Elders of the Universe?

That made things somewhat more understandable, but it also made them more troublesome.

Galactus was, by rights, one of the five great cosmic deities. In terms of rank, he was basically at the very top of the current universe. Although he was always hungry, and when his hunger became severe, he could not even match the average strength of a cosmic deity, no one would go looking for trouble with him.

Because everyone knew that Galactus represented the embodiment of a rule. He could not be killed. Even if it looked as though you had killed him, he would reappear after a while and go back to work. He was the physical manifestation of the rule responsible for consuming planets in the universe. As long as the universe still existed, he could never be destroyed.

Furthermore, as a creator god, even ordinary deities had to give him some respect. Strictly speaking, the Celestials belonged to the same system as Galactus. Even if their duties did not overlap, Galactus was still their superior in terms of rank. The Celestials were even less likely to seek trouble with him.

That meant the only cosmic deities who might still cause trouble for Galactus were the Elders of the Universe.

In the stories of Marvel's various parallel universes and versions, the Elders of the Universe had never gotten along particularly well with Galactus. Unlike the Celestials, the Elders were not public servants of the universe. Strictly speaking, they were a group of wild cosmic deities who had spontaneously gathered together and formed an organization. Every one of them was the last survivor of their respective race.