‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ by Reed Richards sounds like a brilliant idea on paper: If Galactus is coming for Earth, then just move the planet out of his way.
However, there is a massive issue with that concept. The Earth is not randomly placed in space. Life relies on a very complex balancing act in the cosmos, and shifting the planet could bring about a whole new apocalypse.
Earth Isn’t Just About Finding The Habitable Zone
Reed’s idea was not just to locate another star and place Earth in a nice warm orbit around it. Earth is now in a very restricted dynamical system with the Sun, the Moon, rotation, orbit, tides, and magnetic protection. Placing Earth in another solar system, and any small change in the system could have huge ramifications.
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If the planet is too close to its new star, temperatures may get too hot for ecosystems. If it’s too far away, liquid water becomes more difficult to sustain. But then there’s the Moon. It is important in the tides of the oceans and in the stability of the Earth’s rotation.
Change that relationship and the implications could ripple through marine ecosystems and the long-term climate system. Suddenly, getting away from Galactus isn’t quite as easy. But that’s before the question of whether the new star acts like our Sun.
Reed Would Need To Recreate Earth’s Entire Cosmic Environment
This is where Reed’s plan becomes much more complicated than finding another habitable zone. Being in a habitable zone does not necessarily mean that a planet is habitable. It does not ensure the survivability of the planet’s atmosphere, ecosystem, or life forms there.
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Stellar flares and solar wind could be of different intensities depending on the star. The differences could harm the ozone layer, change the chemistry of the atmosphere, and cause environmental issues that may not be apparent for years.
It’s what makes the concept so intriguing. Reed was not actually attempting to relocate Earth to a location where humans might be able to live. He would have to duplicate the very special conditions that made Earth work in the first place.
The Sun, the Moon, the rotation of the Earth, its magnetic field, and its orbit are all part of the same cosmic bundle. Perhaps Reed’s escape plan wasn’t simply to get away from Galactus. It was a feat of cosmic engineering that was as acrobatically precise as it could be. And if he got even one major variable wrong, Earth might survive Galactus only to discover that space itself had become the new enemy.
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