Silver Surfer is a Woman in 'Fantastic Four: First Steps', but What About the Comics?"

The casting team behind the Fantastic Four franchise has long been praised for selecting strong talent to bring some of the biggest superheroes and villains in comic book history to life. Chris Evans as Johnny Storm and Michael Chiklis as The Thing are just a few fan-favorite choices that still get praise today.

But the praise hit a snag after Julia Garner confirmed in a January 2025 interview with Entertainment Tonight that she’d be playing the Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: First Steps.

The film hits theaters on July 25, 2025, and according to the synopsis, per IMDb, Silver Surfer serves as the Herald of Galactus, a cosmic force who intends to devour Earth, placing her up against the Fantastic Four.

However, the announcement left some fans confused as the casting choice doesn't seem to align with the comics. Is the Silver Surfer even a woman in the comics?

In the comics, the Silver Surfer is portrayed as a man named Norrin Radd, born on the planet Zenn-La. He’s described by Marvel as "part of an extremely long-lived and technologically advanced humanoid race." At a glance, one of the biggest differences between the comic book version and the one in Fantastic Four: First Steps is the character’s gender.

The Silver Surfer came to be after Galactus invaded Zenn-La with plans to consume the entire planet. Norrin confronted him and offered to serve as his Herald in exchange for sparing his home world. Galactus agreed and granted Norrin a portion of his cosmic powers, transforming him into a silver-skinned super-being and giving him a flying board as his mode of travel.

It’s not entirely clear why producers chose to gender-swap the Silver Surfer for the 2025 film, but it wouldn’t be the first time a character’s gender has been changed in a movie or TV adaptation. That said, some fans speculate that Marvel didn’t actually gender-swap the Silver Surfer, but instead cast Julia as a version of Shalla-Bal, not Norrin Radd. If that’s the case, it seems Marvel’s decision to call her the Silver Surfer, while she’s playing Shalla-Bal, has left some fans confused.

No, the Silver Surfer and Shalla-Bal are two different characters in the comics. Shalla-Bal first appeared in Silver Surfer #1 in 1968, The Breakroom pointed out, and she’s actually the Empress of the planet Zenn-La and the longtime love interest of Norrin Radd, who becomes the Silver Surfer.

When Norrin volunteered to serve as Galactus’s Herald in order to save Zenn-La from destruction, it forged a rift between him and Shalla-Bal, essentially separating them. Over the years, though, their paths have crossed in various storylines. At one point, Norrin even shared a portion of the his cosmic power with her during a battle against Mephisto.

In other story lines, Shalla-Bal was imprisoned in Latveria, Doctor Doom’s domain, and at times, others didn’t realize who she truly was. While she has held powers similar to the Silver Surfer’s, she remains a separate character. But its worth noting that in some story arcs, both Shalla-Bal and the Silver Surfer have served as Heralds of Galactus.

With producers changing the gender of the Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: First Steps, it’s unclear where the story arc will go and how Shalla-Bal will fit into it all.