The Silver Surfer is Norrin Radd, an alien transformed into a cosmically powered being by Galactus, the devourer of worlds. After his transformation he became Galactus's herald, seeking out new planets for his master to consume. Eventually rebelling and escaping Galactus' service, he's now a superhero wandering the stars.
Set in the shared Marvel Universe, the series is an Interquel set at a time when the Surfer's ally Adam Warlock and his Infinity Watch were safeguarding the powerful Infinity Gems.
The villain Thanos once used the combined powers of the Infinity Gems to become almost omnipotent. To prevent that happening again, each gem is now guarded by a different owner. Thanos himself, enlightened by his experiences and no longer an Omnicidal Maniac, discreetly serves as the custodian of one of them, the Reality Gem, which grants Reality Warper powers to whoever wields it.
Someone has now stolen the Reality Gem. Thanos wants it back. The Silver Surfer wants the mysterious thief to stop causing havoc. Both acknowledge the urgency of recovering the gem before its new owner learns to fully control its power...
The first issue was released January 19, 2022.
Silver Surfer: Rebirth contains examples of the following tropes:
- Accidental Murder: The Surfer tries not to slay opponents, so is shocked when he accidentally kills Tyrant. Tyrant's energy blast knocks the Surfer from his board as he accelerates towards Tyrant - and without the Surfer to guide it, the board hits him at high speed and impales his torso.
- Alliance of Alternates:
- Art Shift:
- Big Bad: The Reality Gem has been stolen by Tyrant, who hopes to use it to overthrow Galactus, his creator. All of the challenges Thanos and the Silver Surfer face are his doing.
- Brainwashed and Crazy
- The Bus Came Back: The Big Bad of the series, Tyrant, returns for the the first time in over 20 years. His last appearance was in the 1995 Cosmic Powers Unlimited series.
- Death Is Cheap: Whereas the Silver Surfer tries not to hurt the Brainwashed and Crazy Jack of Hearts, Thanos takes the simple option and incinerates him with a Hand Blast, reducing him to a charred skeleton. Once the Reality Gem is recovered at the end of the series, the Surfer makes a point of resurrecting Jack before returning the gem to Thanos.
- The Dragon
- Enemy Mine: Thanos and the Silver Surfer are old enemies, but are forced to work together to retrieve the stolen Reality Gem.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: After Tyrant is skewered by the Surfer's board and seemingly killed, Thanos decides to make sure by tearing his head and shoulders away from his body, then hurling them into space.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice:
- Interquel: The series is set at a point after The Infinity Gauntlet, when Thanos is still working with Adam Warlock to guard the Reality Gem. That puts it a few years ago in-universe, reflecting the status quo of the 1990s comics.
- Lotus-Eater Machine:
- Make Sure He's Dead:
- Offing the Offspring:
- Reality Warper:
- Self-Disposing Villain: In the final battle, Tyrant hits the Silver Surfer with an energy blast, successfully knocking him off his board. The Surfer was speeding towards Tyrant at the time, so the riderless board continues on its path, skewering his torso. Thanos decides to Make Sure He's Dead, but by that point the battle's definitely over.
- Taking the Fight Outside:
