For International Surfing Day: The Silver Surfer

That International Surfing Day should fall on the same day every year as the Mermaid Parade is not fortuitous coincidence; clearly they’re both pegged to the Summer Solstice. Having already written a fairly extensive post on surfer/beach party musicals, and lots about the premiere surf band The Beach Boys, I thought I would just drop a quick squib about one of my favorite Marvel heroes of my comic book years, The Silver Surfer.

The character, created (like so many) by Jack Kirby, made its first appearance in a Fantastic Four comic in 1966. He got his own title in 1968. It’s interesting timing. The surf fad was already beginning to wane by then, at least in mainstream pop culture. Obviously, surfing as a recreational cult will never die. But it’s fairly miraculous that this particular concept caught on and has enjoyed the longevity that it has. On the one hand, the premise is ludicrous, seemingly a patently craven bid to exploit a fad. On the other hand, as the product of a middle-aged mind, he caught that wave from behind. The Silver Surfer ought to have sunk beneath the surf, soon after debuting.

BUT. The story apparatus around the character is somehow really strong. Along with Dr. Strange, when I was a kid the Silver Surfer was among my favorite Marvel heroes, for much the same reason: imagination. The character has the compelling sci fi/ fantasy legend around it. The Silver Surfer is the herald for this Titan-like alien being named Galactus. His job is to fly through the universe scouting out planets for Galactus to devour. When he arrives at earth, the Fantastic Four convince him to spare the planet. When he does so, his punishment is to remain marooned there. His superhuman abilities make him a useful ally to the various Marvel characters in their various heroic missions. Star Trek premiered the same year as this character launched. There was something in the zeitgeist.

On top of the original backstory, the other compelling aspect of this comic was how it looked. The sleek, featureless Surfer seems to be composed of some kind of liquid metal, like mercury. His conveyance is more like a hover board — steady under his feet, which is very different visually from surfing at the beach. All of the energy and momentum of his motion is graceful and fluid and directed. He flies with focus, like a jet or a spacecraft. He is not tossed about and thrown.

And yet there remains this amusing dichotomy between the cosmic seriousness of the Surfer’s existential plight…and the silly premise and name, which will always keep the franchise anchored in the down-to-earth realm of kid’s stuff. And yet again…surfing itself, the real sport, is also culturally bound to the spirituality of its Pacific origins. Like the best comic book superheroes, the Silver Surfer is forever negotiating a surface tension between the forces of pretention…and popcorn.

As to the latter, there’s only been one theatrical motion picture to date: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, released in 2007, before the establishment of the all-powerful MCU juggernaut. His body was played by Doug Jones (Saru from Star Trek: Discovery) and his voice was supplied by Laurence Fishburne. At present, it has been reported that the MCU folks are working on a new film starring the character.