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Beta Ray Bill
Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter
Galactus! He's devoured worlds since the dawn of the Universe. Consuming the Korbinites' home was nothing special. But for Beta Ray Bill - oathbrother to Thor and the Korbinites' defender - it was a failure of his life's duty... and has given him a certain clarity. How can a hero suffer such a threat to exist? Beta Ray Bill sets forth to hunt down Galactus, force him to his knees, and make him pay - with a plan so audacious even the Planet Eater will feel fear! Collects Beta Ray Godhunter #1-3 and Secret Invasion Beta Ray Bill - The Green of Eden
104 pages, Paperback
First published October 21, 2009
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88 people want to read
About the author
Kieron Gillen
1,482 books1,915 followersKieron Gillen is a comic book writer and former media journalist.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 2, 2015
Great ideas, but the text and the art made it a little tough to know exactly what's going on.
Guys, what's the deal with Galactus? Not to get all Seinfeld (although he was a DC comics man, from my reckoning), but I don't get it.
He eats up planets. And they have to have people on them. And he's some sort of galactic, god-like force, so we can't just kill him because then that would cause some kind of cosmic imbalance, WE'RE TOLD.
So what's the solution? Luckily, Science Peta Ray Pete (no association with PETA) is here to save the day!
1. Get an entire galaxy to start making tequila. Then get Galactus to eat a planet filled with the liquor. THEN, when he goes to eat the next planet, he'll get sick, and then he won't be able to eat another planet. Just the thought of it will turn his stomach!
2. It's a little distasteful, but just go with me here. I resisted talking poop until the second point on here, which is a big victory for me. Galactus eats planet A. Then he moves on to planet B. Now, before he consumes planet B, is it possible that he could...pass the remnants of Planet A, which may still be habitable, and the residents of Plant B Move onto the pooped out remains of Planet A? Yes, I do see the distasteful nature of living on a poop planet. But we're in a species extinction event here, people. Let's not get choosy in the 4th quarter. And it's a glactic god poop, so it's not like living on dog mess or something.
3. Two words: Prison Planet. I mean, if he's got to eat a planet, why not? Plus, it sets up a great action movie premise. Think Escape From New York except it's an entire planet, and the clock's ticking because Galactus is coming. Can Nick Fury get...I don't know, Ant Man out in time!?
4. Ultimate Nullifier Nullifier. Someone invents a device that nullifies the ultimate nullifier and nothing else. That way, they can offer up to nullify the Ultimate Nullifier, which is the only weapon that seems able to stop Galactus. In exchange, he can go to some other planet.
5. Convince Galactus to slowly cannibalize himself. I don't even know if that's possible. But hell, it's worth a try.
6. Can he not just take a bite out of one planet, another bite out of another? Has this asshole never heard of tapas?
Guys, what's the deal with Galactus? Not to get all Seinfeld (although he was a DC comics man, from my reckoning), but I don't get it.
He eats up planets. And they have to have people on them. And he's some sort of galactic, god-like force, so we can't just kill him because then that would cause some kind of cosmic imbalance, WE'RE TOLD.
So what's the solution? Luckily, Science Peta Ray Pete (no association with PETA) is here to save the day!
1. Get an entire galaxy to start making tequila. Then get Galactus to eat a planet filled with the liquor. THEN, when he goes to eat the next planet, he'll get sick, and then he won't be able to eat another planet. Just the thought of it will turn his stomach!
2. It's a little distasteful, but just go with me here. I resisted talking poop until the second point on here, which is a big victory for me. Galactus eats planet A. Then he moves on to planet B. Now, before he consumes planet B, is it possible that he could...pass the remnants of Planet A, which may still be habitable, and the residents of Plant B Move onto the pooped out remains of Planet A? Yes, I do see the distasteful nature of living on a poop planet. But we're in a species extinction event here, people. Let's not get choosy in the 4th quarter. And it's a glactic god poop, so it's not like living on dog mess or something.
3. Two words: Prison Planet. I mean, if he's got to eat a planet, why not? Plus, it sets up a great action movie premise. Think Escape From New York except it's an entire planet, and the clock's ticking because Galactus is coming. Can Nick Fury get...I don't know, Ant Man out in time!?
4. Ultimate Nullifier Nullifier. Someone invents a device that nullifies the ultimate nullifier and nothing else. That way, they can offer up to nullify the Ultimate Nullifier, which is the only weapon that seems able to stop Galactus. In exchange, he can go to some other planet.
5. Convince Galactus to slowly cannibalize himself. I don't even know if that's possible. But hell, it's worth a try.
6. Can he not just take a bite out of one planet, another bite out of another? Has this asshole never heard of tapas?
August 18, 2022
Bill, after being battling on earth for some time, decides to revenge his homeworld and kill Galactus.
Great book, man. Kieron really bring a lot of some questions about Bill's actions on this book. And we have a great twist on the end. How he's going to defeat Galactus is silly? Yes, kind of, but i believe that is a good strategy. The art is really an average, by Kano and Dan Brereton, but it's really good. Bill really looks like a PowerHouse, as he should be. Great book.
Great book, man. Kieron really bring a lot of some questions about Bill's actions on this book. And we have a great twist on the end. How he's going to defeat Galactus is silly? Yes, kind of, but i believe that is a good strategy. The art is really an average, by Kano and Dan Brereton, but it's really good. Bill really looks like a PowerHouse, as he should be. Great book.
August 1, 2023
This was entertaining, basically Beta Ray Bill is grieving the loss of his home world at the hands of Galactus and decides to destroy planets so Galactus can’t feed on them, basically starving him in the process. The art in this book was amazing and I love Beta Ray Bill as a character so it was overall really fun and a quick read!
May 27, 2020
This was... well, I don't know, weird. The art wasn't my taste, the story started so abruptly, ended even more so, and I did not like how Gillen wrote Beta Ray Bill (a character I absolutely love). I like the twist at the end, and how he deals with Thanos, and "The Green of Eden" was a nice one-shot, but all that wasn't enough to make this volume better than a so-so reading for me. Nice ideas, but the final result could've been better, and more cohesive. Not sure I would recommend it.
March 25, 2021
I generally love the concept of Beta Ray Bill, but I admit that I haven't read a lot of the original stories that featured him. So when a Kieron Gillen sale on comiXology included this piece, I was pretty game. Sure it's a post-Secret Invasion story, but it has quite the interesting premise.
To have things center on Beta Ray Bill's decision to end the threat of Galactus once and for all both in service to the galaxy but also as an act of justice (or revenge?) for the death of his people, that's a classic Marvel cosmic story idea right there. In fact, we later have the Ultimates decide to tackle the problem of Galactus much later in the timeline.
This story has a lot of interesting elements that reflect the sort of narrative sensibilities we've seen from Gillen's other projects and it totally works for Beta Ray Bill. There's the nobility and mythic tone we associate with the Thor comics but also a unique flavor that reminds us that Beta Ray Bill is not just a Thor, but also an alien. But ironically his core struggle ends up feeling very human as he tries to find a path forward and determine how to stop Galactus when so many others had failed.
To have things center on Beta Ray Bill's decision to end the threat of Galactus once and for all both in service to the galaxy but also as an act of justice (or revenge?) for the death of his people, that's a classic Marvel cosmic story idea right there. In fact, we later have the Ultimates decide to tackle the problem of Galactus much later in the timeline.
This story has a lot of interesting elements that reflect the sort of narrative sensibilities we've seen from Gillen's other projects and it totally works for Beta Ray Bill. There's the nobility and mythic tone we associate with the Thor comics but also a unique flavor that reminds us that Beta Ray Bill is not just a Thor, but also an alien. But ironically his core struggle ends up feeling very human as he tries to find a path forward and determine how to stop Galactus when so many others had failed.
December 17, 2017
Surprisingly cool. I've never been that into Beta Ray Bill as a character, but this was good. I've always liked stories that feature Galactus and actually show him as an actual character, not just a force of nature. This was part of my epic "real all of Kieron Gillen's Marvel work"... this may just be his oldest. Not a bad start.
July 22, 2018
Beta Ray Bill is a weird character. It seems like he's better than Thor in every way except he's supposed to be perceived as ugly. Kind of like Thunderstrike:Thor::Thor:Beta Ray Bill?
Anyway, the authors do a good job of setting things up for a little while but it winds up being mostly predictable.
Anyway, the authors do a good job of setting things up for a little while but it winds up being mostly predictable.
May 28, 2022
New to actually reading marvel comics. I feel like I jumped in the middle of this not knowing much about Beta Ray Bill. Aside from being partially lost this was short and sweet. I want to know more about these characters like Bill, Galactus and his heralds and Abigail Brand. So I’ll be looking for all the other series with them.
September 28, 2017
Pretty fun seeing Bill blow up planets just to keep Galactus from eating them, but ultimately it doesn't amount to anything.
April 1, 2018
Interesting read, but could have been longer. They could expand on the character much more.
July 10, 2022
interesting stuff. would have loved it if the story had more issues
March 15, 2023
My favorite hero by far.
January 7, 2022
Back-up Thor, noemde mijn oudste zoon hem. Thor van den Aldi. Beta Ray Bill is een raar personage in het Marveluniversum. Hij ziet er uit als een monster met een hoofd gelijk een paard, maar hij kan Mjolnir opheffen, wat wil zeggen dat hij op hetzelfde niveau als Thor en Captain America zit qua waardigheid. En hij is enorm, enorm sterk. Hij is een cyborg, praktisch onvernielbaar en onsterfelijk, en van het niveau “kan hele planeten vernietigen” sterk.
Omdat er maar één Mjolnir is, kreeg Beta Ray Bill zijn eigen Asgardiaans wapen gesmeed door dwergen en gezegend door Odin: Stormbreaker. Stormbreaker kan hetzelfde als Mjolnir, wat Beta Ray Bill nog meer kracht geeft. Oh, en hij wordt bijgestaan door een levend schip, Skuttlbut, dat ook allerlei kan.
Dus niet écht Thor van den Aldi maar eerder Thor met een upgrade.
In Argent Star komen we Beta Ray Bill tegen op een dieptepunt: Stormbreaker is vernietigd, en daarmee hij zit vast in zijn paardachtig lichaam (met Stormbreaker jon hij weer veranderen naar zijn oorspronkelijke meer humanoïde vorm). En ook: hij is het hartsgrondig beu dat Thor hem heel de tijd belachelijk maakt, en dat hij voortdurend beschouwd wordt als Thor van den Aldi.
Volgt een traditionele quest naar een nieuwe Stormbreaker, maar nog meer naar zingeving. Daniel Warren Johnson schrijft en tekent een prachtig verhaal en de kleuren van Mike Spicer zijn prachtig.
Zeer hard aangeraden.
Omdat er maar één Mjolnir is, kreeg Beta Ray Bill zijn eigen Asgardiaans wapen gesmeed door dwergen en gezegend door Odin: Stormbreaker. Stormbreaker kan hetzelfde als Mjolnir, wat Beta Ray Bill nog meer kracht geeft. Oh, en hij wordt bijgestaan door een levend schip, Skuttlbut, dat ook allerlei kan.
Dus niet écht Thor van den Aldi maar eerder Thor met een upgrade.
In Argent Star komen we Beta Ray Bill tegen op een dieptepunt: Stormbreaker is vernietigd, en daarmee hij zit vast in zijn paardachtig lichaam (met Stormbreaker jon hij weer veranderen naar zijn oorspronkelijke meer humanoïde vorm). En ook: hij is het hartsgrondig beu dat Thor hem heel de tijd belachelijk maakt, en dat hij voortdurend beschouwd wordt als Thor van den Aldi.
Volgt een traditionele quest naar een nieuwe Stormbreaker, maar nog meer naar zingeving. Daniel Warren Johnson schrijft en tekent een prachtig verhaal en de kleuren van Mike Spicer zijn prachtig.
Zeer hard aangeraden.
August 25, 2012
Stuff I Read – Beta Ray Bill: God Hunter
Having never really paid attention to the greater Thor pantheon of characters, I will admit to not having a vast knowledge of Beta Ray Bill. I have read various things he has appeared in, but there he always came across as a silent muscle; not one possessing great strength or cunning. Which is why this miniseries was perfect for getting me better acquainted with the character, for it not only deals with him pursuing Galactus following the destruction of his home world, but also reprints his first appearance and battle with Thor.
Both stories are interesting, and the original story almost tempts me to pick up some essential volumes of Thor, but really the story is Bill’s battle against Galactus and in that, his battle with himself. His tactics are quite ingenious, and that he can stand his ground against both the Silver Surfer and Stardust is a testament to how powerful Bill is. Even in the back-up story we see that Bill defeats Thor twice, and proves himself noble enough to earn a mystic hammer of his own. But that nobility is always tempered by purpose, and this leads to some less than noble acts. In the older tale this brings him into conflict with Nick Fury and draining a sun and various other actions that could be seen as misunderstandings, but I think it is important to note that this is Norse nobility, meaning nobility in battle, and as long as intentions are pure, all is allowed.
Needless to say, Bill’s crusade against Galactus brings him to the brink of his nobility, and he resorts to guile and deceit, and in doing loses the ability to wield his hammer. And we see that even so he is willing to press what he believes, to go after what he feels is right. It is not that he sees Galactus in a new light that sways him, but that the cost for destroying Galactus would be too great, and so by the end I was left with the feeling that there is no good way to destroy, or at least no way to fight a force like Galactus without resorting to very extreme tactics. And Bill realizes he cannot go that far, cannot forsake his own feelings, even to avenge the death of his people and the failure of his purpose. So instead he finds new purpose, and the ending hints that he might take more part in the affairs of Earth.
So overall I appreciated the story, and while it was resolved rather quickly, it had quite a bit of weight to it, and works well as a follow up to Annihilation, which I might have to review later. I enjoyed the back-up piece as well, and so for all that I give it an 8.25/10.
Having never really paid attention to the greater Thor pantheon of characters, I will admit to not having a vast knowledge of Beta Ray Bill. I have read various things he has appeared in, but there he always came across as a silent muscle; not one possessing great strength or cunning. Which is why this miniseries was perfect for getting me better acquainted with the character, for it not only deals with him pursuing Galactus following the destruction of his home world, but also reprints his first appearance and battle with Thor.
Both stories are interesting, and the original story almost tempts me to pick up some essential volumes of Thor, but really the story is Bill’s battle against Galactus and in that, his battle with himself. His tactics are quite ingenious, and that he can stand his ground against both the Silver Surfer and Stardust is a testament to how powerful Bill is. Even in the back-up story we see that Bill defeats Thor twice, and proves himself noble enough to earn a mystic hammer of his own. But that nobility is always tempered by purpose, and this leads to some less than noble acts. In the older tale this brings him into conflict with Nick Fury and draining a sun and various other actions that could be seen as misunderstandings, but I think it is important to note that this is Norse nobility, meaning nobility in battle, and as long as intentions are pure, all is allowed.
Needless to say, Bill’s crusade against Galactus brings him to the brink of his nobility, and he resorts to guile and deceit, and in doing loses the ability to wield his hammer. And we see that even so he is willing to press what he believes, to go after what he feels is right. It is not that he sees Galactus in a new light that sways him, but that the cost for destroying Galactus would be too great, and so by the end I was left with the feeling that there is no good way to destroy, or at least no way to fight a force like Galactus without resorting to very extreme tactics. And Bill realizes he cannot go that far, cannot forsake his own feelings, even to avenge the death of his people and the failure of his purpose. So instead he finds new purpose, and the ending hints that he might take more part in the affairs of Earth.
So overall I appreciated the story, and while it was resolved rather quickly, it had quite a bit of weight to it, and works well as a follow up to Annihilation, which I might have to review later. I enjoyed the back-up piece as well, and so for all that I give it an 8.25/10.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 13, 2020
Beta Ray Bill steps to Galactus.
Need i say more?
Need i say more?
January 27, 2010
I've always liked Beta Ray Bill, ever since he was introduced during Walt Simonson's run on Thor in the early '80s. The premise is interesting, but the story feels a bit thin. I realize that this is part of a larger story arc, but not having followed the Skrull business, I was left with a feeling not unlike being on the outside of an inside joke. That and the odd asides to myself like, "boy does Thor's current costume suck," and "where the hell did that divot in Mjolnir come from?"
December 29, 2010
I like Kano's drawings (shades of Guy Davis), and was in the mood for some more adventures of Beta Ray Bill . . . but this collection fell a little flat. Some nifty ideas (including a new way to foil Galactus), but ultimately the story came up short. Too bad Kirby and Simonson aren't still in the game.
December 31, 2014
Been waiting to get this graphic novel for a long time. Just plain old awesome seeing these cosmic battles.
September 4, 2016
A decent stab at making you interested in a side character.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews