Comic book creators are fond of shaking up the status quo to shock and intrigue readers. Iconic characters like Superman die, leaving the world without its greatest hero. Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus switch brains, creating a sinister Spider-Man with a superiority complex. And the normally stoic Silver Surfer rediscovers the joy of exploring the universe when he falls in love with a human woman.
Sooner or later, however, comic books return to their status quo. Doctor Who storylines to ensure Norrin Radd could retain some of his happiness, no matter what other writers and artists did with him.
Back in 2014, Dan Slott, Michael Alred, and Laura Alred decided to reimagine the Silver Surfer for a new ongoing series. Where other writers and artists had characterized the Surfer as a remorseful angel seeking to atone for his sins as a herald of Galactus, Slott and the Alreds felt the Surfer could also be a character of joy and fun thanks to his ability to go anywhere on his space faring surfboard. To emphasize this, the new book had the Silver Surfer fall in love with an Earthwoman named Dawn Greenwood whom he took on an extended trip through the galaxy, much like a Marvel version of Doctor Who. The comparison wasn’t coincidental as Slott was a big fan of BBC’s Doctor Who series as well as other British science fiction classics like The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and intentionally wove the wackiness of those outer space adventures into Dawn and the Surfer’s exploits.
Instead of getting involved in the usual conflicts between known alien races like the Kree and the Skrulls, Slott had Dawn and the Silver Surfer journey to some of the joy they had created would last.
Their plan began when the Silver Surfer and Dawn visited a planet of living holograms where Dawn accidentally had an immortal holographic duplicate of herself made – who found she had to stay on the planet to live while the original Dawn flew off with the Surfer. While the “real” Dawn was excited to continue her adventures with the Surfer, she soon experienced tragedy when she went back to Earth and learned her father had died while she was off world. Wanting to say goodbye, Dawn asked the Surfer to take her back in time to see her father one last time. The Surfer obliged – but something went wrong and they overshot the mark, traveling back to a point before the Big Bang and into the universe that existed before theirs. Realizing they were stranded, the two made the best of it by enjoying a life exploring the new worlds together for the next eighty years. After living a full life, Dawn died, leaving the Surfer heartbroken.
But this was far from the end of their story. As the Silver Surfer waited patiently for billions of years until history finally caught up with him.
As the modern age of Marvel heroes began, however, the Surfer came up with an idea. Disguising himself as a human, he flew to Earth and visited the Greenwood Inn, the family home of his beloved. As Dawn was still only eight years old at this point, the Surfer took on the identity of “Norville Rappaport” and became a regular guest at the inn, giving him the chance to spend some more time with the Greenwoods, albeit without revealing his true identity. Knowing what will happen in the future, however, the Surfer took some side trips to the planet of living holograms where he collected devices allowing him to make holographic copies of Dawn’s family, with their permission, including her father before he died. Once history reached the point where his younger self vanished into the past with Dawn, the Surfer resumed his identity and returned to the hologram planet where he had a reunion… with the holographic version of Dawn.
As this Dawn was unaware of everything that happened since her creation, the Surfer brought her up to speed. He then offered her a gift – the holograms of Dawn’s family which allowed them to live with her on the planet. As a final gift, he also left Dawn a part of himself – revealing he used one of the holographic devices to make a copy of himself (albeit without cosmic powers), allowing him to stay with Dawn forever. His mission done, the Surfer flew off to see new stars.
Sharp eyed readers will recognize that many of the steps in the Surfer’s plans came from 10th Doctor, the Surfer found a way for part of him to be with Dawn forever.
It’s a clever loophole, and one that reveals that while Slott and the Alreds recognized that they couldn’t keep the Silver Surfer and Dawn together indefinitely, the universe was still big enough for a part of them to have their happily ever after. Not every comic book couple is this lucky – yet in this respect, the Silver Surfer found a way to retain his joy regardless of whatever hardships his mainstream counterpart would encounter.
