DC's Superman and Marvel's Galactus are phenomenally-powerful beings, but which one would actually win if the two fought in the comics?

Which comic book icon would win in a fight: Superman, the Man of Steel and the most famous superhero in the world, or Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds and classic villain of the Fantastic Four? Both characters have decades of experience under their belts; they've fought (and even died) in countless battles across the decades. But should the two ever come to blows, only one would be able to walk away unscathed - and victorious.

Measuring Superman's power levels is always a difficult prospect when one takes into account the multiple versions of the character over time. In general, Superman's history can be divided into Pre-Crisis and Post-Crisis (referring to the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover). The Pre-Crisis Superman's powers fluctuated wildly; he could drag planets with a chain and travel through time simply by breaking through the "time barrier." For the purposes of this comparison, the Post-Crisis Superman will be used: still a strong hero, but (slightly) less ludicrously powerful.

But Post-Crisis Superman's power is certainly nothing to sneeze at. In the comics, he can lift planes, ocean liners, and entire mountains without exerting himself. When he is exerting himself, he can push a falling moon back into Earth's orbit (albeit with help from Wonder Woman). Superman is fast enough to nearly win in a race with the Flash (who can run faster than light), and durable enough to survive a nuclear explosion and being inside the gravity well of a black hole. His only real weaknesses are concentrated exposure to Kryptonite and magic-based attacks, both of which he's had plenty of experience fighting against. Unfortunately, outside of his heat vision (which is strong enough to melt the suit of Major Force), Superman has no long-range attacks...not that they would do much good against his cosmic opponent.

Galactus is better described as a force of nature than a person. He is as old as the universe itself (the being that eventually became Galactus, Galen of the planet Taa, originated from the previous universe). Galactus possesses telekinesis strong enough to move planets thousands of light-years away. He can take the full force of Thor's hammer Mjolnir and not even notice the blow (a common occurrence - Galactus views most of Earth's heroes as little more than insects). With the Power Cosmic, he is fully capable of dodging attacks as the speed of light...though he rarely needs to dodge anything short of the attack of another cosmic being, such as the Living Tribunal or the Beyonder. Against Galactus, a being of Superman's size and strength would only stand a chance if Galactus is tremendously weak with hunger. Even if that were the case, the odds of Superman triumphing over Galactus are incredibly slim. This is evident in Superman/Fantastic Four #1, a rare DC/Marvel crossover in which Superman saved the day by sabotaging Galactus' energy converter - but not by attacking the being directly, for that would've been a futile effort at best.

Galactus is beyond good and evil; he views his act of eating planets as simply necessary. "It is not my intention to injure any living being!" Galactus tells Uatu the Watcher in Fantastic Four #49, the middle chapter of The Galactus Trilogy. "But...I must replenish my energy! If petty creatures are wiped out when I drain a planet, it is regrettable...but unavoidable!" In this instance, the best possible way for Clark to "defeat" Galactus is to reason with him, or guide him to a world without life. Against a being with the powers of Galactus, it is Superman's only hope.

Next: Galactus Just Made The Grossest Kind of Marvel History