The Ultimate Nullifier is a fictional device of immense power in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. The device made its first appearance in ''

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...

'' #50 (May 1966), in which the

Human Torch The Human Torch (Jonathan Lowell Spencer "Johnny" Storm) is a fictional superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and ar ...

retrieves it from the home of

Galactus Galactus () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Formerly a mortal man, he is a cosmic entity who consumes planets to sustain his life force, and serves a functional role in the upkeep of the p ...

(as directed by

Uatu Uatu (), often simply known as the Watcher, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in '' The Fantastic Four'' #13 (April 1963). He is a member o ...

the Watcher) to employ against Galactus himself. The Nullifier appears as a small, hand-held metallic device with no apparent functionality. When first introduced in 1966, it was described as the only known weapon in the universe capable of inspiring fear in Galactus.''

'' #50 (May 1966)

Fictional history

In its first appearance, the Fantastic Four recover the Ultimate Nullifier with help from Uatu the Watcher and threaten to use it on Galactus, forcing him to retreat. The Nullifier later appears in "

The Infinity War ''The Infinity War'' is a six-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics in 1992. The series was written by Jim Starlin and penciled by Ron Lim, Ian Laughlin, Al Milgrom, Jack Morelli and Christie Scheele. The storyline is a d ...

Quasar A quasar ( ) is an extremely Luminosity, luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN). It is sometimes known as a quasi-stellar object, abbreviated QSO. The emission from an AGN is powered by accretion onto a supermassive black hole with a mass rangi ...

tries to use it in an attempt to destroy the

Magus Magi (), or magus (), is the term for priests in Zoroastrianism and earlier Iranian religions. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius the Great, known as the Behistun Inscription. Old Per ...

, who had acquired the collective power of five

cosmic cube The Cosmic Cube is a fictional object appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. There are multiple Cubes in the Marvel Universe, all of which are depicted as containment devices that can empower whoever wields them. Although th ...

s and a gauntlet containing the six Infinity Gems. Although Quasar tried to use the weapon on Magus, his attack is redirected by the Infinity Gauntlet, temporarily nullifying Quasar in the process.''

'' #5 (October 1992) The Ultimate Nullifier is generally kept within Galactus' ship Taa II, though at times Galactus has been known to carry it aboard his spherical starship. In the rare instances that the Nullifier gets stolen or kept in other locales such as the Fantastic Four's headquarters, the Nullifier inevitably returns to Galactus' possession. In the

Abraxas Abraxas (, variant form romanized: ) is a word of mystic meaning in the system of the Gnostic Basilides, being there applied to the "Great Archon" (), the princeps of the 365 spheres (). The word is found in Gnostic texts such as the '' Holy ...

saga, Galactus demonstrates his ability to recall the Nullifier to himself at will. In conjunction, he stated it to be "as much a part of me as my heart itself." The " Reckoning War" event reveals that the Ultimate Nullfier was originally created by the Watchers during a war with the Prosilicans and was used to kill 90% of the universe's population.

Powers and abilities

The Ultimate Nullifier has been described as "the universe's most devastating weapon", being able to defy the laws of physics by completely erasing objects from existence. In the hands of a being with an extremely powerful mind, the Ultimate Nullifier can destroy entire timelines and universes.''Fantastic Four'' #478 (January 2002) However, if the user is not skilled or does not have enough willpower, then the Nullifier will erase them as well.

Other versions

''Age of Ultron''

An alternate universe variant of the Ultimate Nullifier from Earth-61112 appears in ''

Age of Ultron "Age of Ultron" (abbreviated AU) is a 2013 comic book fictional crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics that involved the conquest of the Earth by the sentient robot tyrant Ultron. The storyline consisted of an eponymous, 10-issue core ...

'' #5.

''Earth X''

An alternate universe variant of the Ultimate Nullifier from Earth-9997 appears in ''

Earth X ''Earth X'' is a 1999 comic book Limited series (comics), limited series published by American company Marvel Comics. ''Earth X'' was written by Jim Krueger with art by John Paul Leon. Based on Alex Ross' notes, the series features a dystopian v ...

''. Thanos uses it to kill

Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

, leaving those still living unable to die.

''JLA/Avengers''

The Ultimate Nullifier appears in ''

JLA/Avengers ''JLA/Avengers'' (issues #2 and 4 are titled ''Avengers/JLA'') is a comic book limited series and crossover published in prestige format by DC Comics and Marvel Comics from September 2003 to March 2004. The series was written by Kurt Busiek, wi ...

''.

''Marvel Adventures''

An alternate universe variant of the Ultimate Nullifier from Earth-20051 appears in '' Marvel Adventures: The Avengers'' #26.

Ultimate Marvel

An alternate universe variant of the Ultimate Nullifier from Earth-1610 appears in '' Ultimate Extinction''. This version was created by Reed Richards and is powered by the energy of a

Big Bang The Big Bang is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models based on the Big Bang concept explain a broad range of phenomena, including th ...

What If?

In '' What If?'' #32, "What If The Avengers Had Become Pawns of

Korvac Korvac is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in '' Giant-Size Defenders'' #3 (Jan. 1975) and was created by Steve Gerber and Jim Starlin. Publication history Korvac debuted in '' ...

?", Korvac uses the Ultimate Nullifier to destroy the universe.

Doctor Strange Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as ...

, Phoenix, and the

Silver Surfer The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...

survive and attempt to restore the universe, but

Eternity Eternity, in common parlance, is an Infinity, infinite amount of time that never ends or the quality, condition or fact of being everlasting or eternal. Classical philosophy, however, defines eternity as what is timeless or exists outside tim ...

stops them, choosing to leave the expanse where the universe was as a warning against the Nullifier's use.

In other media

Television

* The Ultimate Nullifier appears in '' The Fantastic Four'' episode "Galactus". * The Ultimate Nullifier appears in the ''

'' episode "Silver Surfer and the Coming of Galactus". This version resembles a two-handed gun. * The Ultimate Nullifier makes a cameo appearance in the ''

Ultimate Spider-Man ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate Ma ...

'' episode "Awesome" as one of several items kept in Curt Connors' laboratory on the S.H.I.E.L.D.

Helicarrier The Helicarrier is a fictional airborne aircraft carrier appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the aircraft First appearance, first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #135 (August 1965). The ...

. * The Ultimate Nullifier makes a cameo appearance in the ''

M.O.D.O.K. MODOK (; also written as M.O.D.O.K.; an acronym for Mental/Mobile/Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the char ...

'' episode "The M.O.D.O.K. That Time Forgot!", where

MODOK MODOK (; also written as M.O.D.O.K.; an acronym for Mental/Mobile/Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing) is a Character (arts), fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Ja ...

discovers it in a S.H.I.E.L.D. storage facility.

Video games

* The Ultimate Nullifier appears in '' Marvel Ultimate Alliance''. A side mission involves finding the damaged Ultimate Nullifier in Castle Doom. If the Ultimate Nullifier is found,

Mister Fantastic Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The character is a founding member and the leader of the Fantastic Four. Richards has a mast ...

will repair it and use it to stop Mephisto from invading Earth. If it is not found, the team of heroes will be forced to band together once again to fight Mephisto, with the resulting battle causing a tremendous amount of destruction. * The Ultimate Nullifier appears as an equippable item in '' Marvel Heroes''.

References

External links

Galactus: The Web Page
* {{Jack Kirby Fictional elements introduced in 1966 Marvel Comics cosmic objects Marvel Comics weapons