Marvel Studios recently announced the cast for The Fantastic Four with a retro-style poster on Valentine’s Day.
The poster showed the main characters having a happy time, along with revealing who will play each role.
Julia Garner has joined the cast as Shalla-Bal, a different version of the Silver Surfer character. Shalla-Bal is not the well-known Norrin Radd version.
She will be part of the team alongside Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm.
This marks the first time the character will appear in live-action and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
While you may know the other members well, you might only remember the Silver Surfer from previous movies.
So, who is Shalla-Bal, and what stories from Marvel Comics might she bring to the upcoming film?
Who is Shalla-Bal?
The original Silver Surfer you’ve seen in cartoons and movies like Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer was named Norrin Radd. In a comic from 1968, Shalla-Bal first appeared.
She comes from a planet called Zenn-La, where Norrin Radd also lived. When Norrin lost his mother, Shalla-Bal became his lifelong friend to help him cope.
Even though Norrin didn’t want her friendship at first, Shalla-Bal stuck by him. As they grew up, they fell in love. Sadly, they were separated, and that’s when Norrin became the Silver Surfer.
Shalla-Bal’s story is closely tied to Norrin Radd’s. She started as Norrin’s friend but later became a queen and took on the Silver Surfer role.
Norrin became the Silver Surfer when his planet, Zenn-La, was in danger from Galactus, a powerful being who eats planets.
To save his world, Norrin agreed to work for Galactus and got special powers and a cool surfboard. As the Silver Surfer, he had to find planets for Galactus to eat.
In a comic from 1982, Norrin Radd, who had been working for Galactus, decides to break free with the help of The Fantastic Four.
But in revenge, Galactus destroys Zenn-La, the planet Norrin saved before. Survivors blamed Norrin for the destruction. Meanwhile, Norrin finds out that his love, Shalla-Bal, is held captive by the villain Mephisto on Earth.
Norrin tries to save Shalla-Bal by fighting Mephisto, but she’s sent back to Zenn-La before he can free her. Norrin rushes to Zenn-La, but there’s a barrier stopping him.
So, he gives Shalla-Bal some of his powers, turning her into a Silver Surfer. With her new powers, Shalla-Bal brings life back to their planet and becomes its ruler.
