Origin[]

When the mysterious cosmic being known as the Stranger visited his home star in order to conduct an experiment that would eventually cause it to go nova and destroy the twin planets orbiting it,^[2] the scientist named Egros started to work on a way to save his race from the impending doom.^[1]

On the eve of destruction, Egros had his people moved to the bunkers he set up at the planet's core to protect them, but things began to go downhill when the sun went nova earlier than expected. With no time left to seal the chambers and assure the survival of his race, Egros tried in vain to reach the underground vault before the solar shock wave could hit him. However, that was not the end for him. Egros was soon merged with every living thing destroyed by the sun, including his race, by the Stranger to create Ego the Living Planet.^[1][2]

A second living planet known as Alter Ego was also created by the Stranger under unknown circumstances, but he was given to The Collector. The Stranger planned to one day set his two creations against each other to see which was the strongest.^[10] Ego's creation was also allegedly accompanied by Id, the Selfish Moon.^[11]

Over time, Ego came to reside in an area of space which the Rigellians dubbed the "Black Galaxy," so-called due to the number of Rigellian explorer ships that Ego destroyed.^[12]

Encounter with Thor[]

Ego's ambitions soon turned towards conquest. He began absorbing space vessels and even other worlds to survive. The Rigellians, fearful that Ego would target their planet, attempted to colonize Earth. Thor opposed them initially, but agreed to fight Ego on their behalf once they explained the situation to him. Thor ventured into the Black Galaxy accompanied by Rigellian Recorder 211. Once Thor landed on the living planet, Ego created a human-sized avatar to better interact with the God of Thunder. Ego revealed that he expected the arrival of a being as powerful as Thor so that he might test the strength of his Anti-bodies, which he intended to send throughout the universe to conquer other worlds. Thor brazenly defied Ego, who responded by forcing Thor into his body and by sending a nearly infinite wave of Anti-bodies after him. After escaping the Anti-bodies, Thor summoned a powerful storm that stunned Ego. Surrendering, Ego then vowed to seal the Black Galaxy off from the rest of the known universe.^[13]

Against Galactus[]

Months after his battle with Thor, Ego was discovered by Galactus. The devourer of worlds immediately attacked the living planet, who created a shield of solid clouds to defend himself and returned fire. Thor, who was recruited by would-be Rigellian colonizer Tana Nile to destroy Galactus, was caught in the crossfire. He was saved by a band of Wanderers, refugees from a planet consumed by Galactus. Thor convinced the Wanderers to join him in his quest.

Ego and Galactus continued with their battle, with Galactus hurling comets at Ego, and Ego attempting to strangle Galactus with his tentacles. The devourer gained the upper hand and temporarily incapacitated the living planet. Thor decided to attack Galactus directly. This tactic proved ineffective as Galactus simply tossed Thor down to Ego's surface. The Wanderers, who were brought to Ego's surface by the planet himself, decided to give up their fight. Thor refused to surrender and called upon all his godly strength to fully repel Galactus. As reward for helping him defeat Galactus, Ego allowed the Wanderers to remain on his surface and make it their new home.^[14]

Ego Prime and Descent Into Madness[]

Tana Nile was tasked with acquiring a sample of Ego's biomass as part of a Rigellian terraforming project. Tana Nile took the sample to the primitive Blackworld where it evolved into the humanoid Ego Prime. Upon reaching Earth, Ego Prime planned on accelerating evolution on a global scale, and merge himself and all life on the planet into one single entity. Ego Prime was defeated when he unknowingly drained his life force and transferred it into three humans, Carter Dyam, Chi Lo, and Jason Kimball, who were present due to the manipulations of Odin. These humans became known as the Young Gods.^[15]

Ego himself went insane due to the removal of his biomass and consumed all the Wanderers living on his surface.^[6] Galactus returned to the Black Galaxy to feed on the living planet, but was forced to flee when Ego attacked in retaliation. Sensing something was wrong, Galactus requested Thor, Hercules, and Firelord's aid in defeating the mad planet. Thor reasoned that they must find Ego's mind and destroy it.

The trio entered the planet's core while Galactus stayed on his ship. After locating Ego's brain and tossing his hammer at it, Thor was drawn into Ego's memory and experienced the living planet's very origin. Returning to reality, Thor gained a measure of sympathy for Ego, but concluded that Ego was too much of a threat to the universe at large. Thor unleashed a powerful blast against Ego's brain, resulting in a massive earthquake. Thor, Hercules, and Firelord were rescued by Galactus, who in the meantime had attached a massive propulsion system to Ego's southern pole. Galactus then sent Ego hurtling through space; assuring his companions that Ego would not return in their lifetime or his.^[16]

Death[]

Having been deprived of sunlight for too long, Ego started to decay. Eventually, he learned how to control his propulsion system. Still insane, and swearing vengeance against Galactus, Ego entered the Solar System in pursuit of the Devourer of Worlds, as Ego knew Galactus had visited Earth in the past. The effects of Ego's approach were felt on Earth in the form of a worldwide earthquake which devastated numerous cities across the globe. The Fantastic Four rocketed into space to investigate the cause of the disaster. Meanwhile, the damage inflicted upon the Earth was unknowingly undone by mild mannered reality warper L.R. "Skip" Collins, whose powers worked on a subconscious level.

While out in space, the Fantastic Four came face-to-face with Ego. After being forced to land on Ego's surface, the Four came across the propulsion unit. Mr. Fantastic recognized the unit was created by Galactus and had the Thing remove one of its engines. The FF entered one of Ego's pores with the intent to use the engine against Ego's brain. As the heat and pressure mounted, Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Girl, and the Human Torch were forced to return to the surface, leaving the Thing alone. Once found, the Thing threw the engine at the brain but missed. Enraged, Ego declared he would destroy the Earth. Ego activated his propulsion system but as only one thruster was fully operational, Ego curved away from the Earth. Getting caught in the Sun's gravitational pull, Ego was slowly torn apart.^[17]

Return[]

The energy given off from the Sun triggered within Ego his "photosynthetic form of revitalization" and he managed to pull himself back together. He also repaired his propulsion unit. Ego's rebirth came at a cost, however, as he greatly depleted his own energy levels and would require nourishment if he were to survive.

A group of Dire Wraiths landed upon Ego's surface, due to the living planet's resemblance to their home planet, and began to build bases and defences. Ego resisted consuming them as he figured more would be along shortly. Ego was dismayed when a second contingent of Wraiths didn't arrive, but rather a pair of Galadorian Spaceknights: Seeker and Scanner. Following a brief battle, Ego consumed the Wraiths and Spaceknights.

Some time later, Rom arrived on Ego's surface and detected the faint life signs of his fellow Spaceknights. Ego attacked Rom with his hair like tentacles, which the Spaceknight warded off by the use of his Neutralizer. Stunned by Ego's cries of pain, Rom was knocked into one of Ego's pores. After fighting a wave of Anti-bodies, Rom discovered the Dire Wraiths slowly being digested within Ego's stomach. Rom used his Neutralizer to send the Wraiths to Limbo after hearing their pleas to end their suffering. Deprived of his food source, Ego flew into a rage.

Rom ventured into Ego's brain where he discovered Seeker and Scanner, preserved by Ego as their cybernetic nature fascinated him. Rom assaulted Ego with his Neutralizer. Ego, already too weak from hunger, surrendered. After ejecting Rom, Seeker, and Scanner from his body, Ego once more took to the stars to find other sources of nourishment.^[7]

Elder of the Universe[]

Ego became a member of the Elders of the Universe due to his status as the only being of his kind.^{[note 1]} The Elders used Ego's surface as a meeting place. It was during one of these meetings that the Elders discussed their scheme to kill Galactus. The Silver Surfer and Mantis spied on the meeting but Ego sensed their presence. After a short battle, Silver Surfer and Mantis fled the living planet.^[18]

Some time later, Ego ambushed the Surfer while out in space. Ego used a force field to separate the Surfer from his board. Without his board, the Silver Surfer was caught in Ego's gravitational pull and crashed on Ego's surface. Upon regaining consciousness, Ego announced his intentions to consume the Surfer, and proceeded to swallow him whole. The Silver Surfer attempted to escape through Ego's lymph system, but discovered it was full of crude oil. After swimming through an ocean of oil, the Surfer reached the surface and happened upon the propulsion unit. The Surfer took control of the unit using his Power Cosmic, and threatened to steer Ego directly into a nearby sun if he wasn't let go. Ego agreed and begged the Surfer to remove the propulsion unit, but the Surfer refused, reasoning that it was a punishment Ego deserved.^[19]

Beta Ray Bill[]

Ego later reappeared and attacked the Korbinite fleet; holding it in an impenetrable cloud of energy. Upon investigating, Beta Ray Bill was shocked to discover the existence of the living planet. While Skuttlebutt launched an assault, Bill used his hammer to create a magnetic field opposite to that of Ego's, causing a large amount of Ego's energy to be sucked out into space. Ego released the fleet, and told Bill his story.

Bill felt sympathy for the living planet, and directed the fleet to target and destroy Ego's propulsion unit. In gratitude for their service, Ego offered the Korbinites the chance to make his surface their home, an offer Bill declined on the grounds that Ego was untrustworthy. Ego became enraged at the thought of being abandoned again, and resumed his attack on the fleet. Bill ended Ego's assault by striking him with a massive comet, ironically one that Ego had previously used against the fleet. Bill urged Ego to reconsider the path he has chosen in life, and left the living planet feeling miserable and alone.^[20]

Super-Ego[]

The High Evolutionary speculated that Ego was but just a single part of a larger whole, an entity he dubbed "Super-Ego." The Celestials transformed a portion of the Black Galaxy into a member of their own race and came to Ego to act as bait for Super-Ego. The High Evolutionary and the Analyzer followed, as they wished to view its next stage of evolution.

Lady Sif and Balder the Brave, themselves on a on a quest to find an exiled Thor, were unwillingly roped into Lord Tagar's mission to find the High Evolutionary, whom they located on Ego's surface. After teleporting to the living planet's surface by way of the Norn Stones, and after fighting their way through Ego's defences, Sif, Balder, and Nobilus (a clone of Thor), found the High Evolutionary and the Analyzer, who had been wired directly to the Celestial. The High Evolutionary warned the party of the imminent arrival of Super-Ego.

As the massive creature drew nearer, Ego lashed out in panic. Once the High Evolutionary and the Analyzer were rescued, the party used the Norn Stones to return to the Evolutionary's ship. Just as Super-Ego began to strangle Ego with its tentacles, an entire host of Celestials arrived and launched an attack on Super-Ego, an event eagerly watched by the High Evolutionary.^[21]

Maximum Security[]

Ego somehow escaped Super-Ego and was shown to have been driven mad by the Kree Supreme Intelligence. He began attacking other worlds hoping to awaken others like himself. He was stopped by the Silver Surfer who had teamed up with Professor X and his team of Skrull Mutants known as Cadre K.^[22] Ego reverted to his adolescent spore form and was captured by the Kree before being sent to Earth along with other dangerous intergalactic criminals while the Earth was being used as a prison. Ego tried to return to his previous form by consuming the Earth, but was stopped by the Fantastic Four and Iron Man.^[23]

The Supreme Intelligence wanted to take control of the living planet so his people could use him as a weapon against the Galactic Council and have the Kree reign supreme. US Agent convinced a group of extraterrestrial prisoners to help him fight the Kree for their freedom. Along with the Avengers they attacked Ronan the Accusers' Citadel .^[24][25] They were able to stop this using information gathered by Gambit.^[26] Quasar was forced to absorb all the energy from Ego into his Quantum Bands to prevent this.^[27]

Nu-Xandar[]

Following an intense battle between Nova and Galactus, the Xandarian Worldmind reached out to find a new home. What he found was Ego, who corrupted, and apparently merged with the Worldmind, resulting in a temporary shutdown. With the aide of Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., Nova rebooted the Worldmind.

Once back online, Worldmind/Ego began the process of recruiting new Nova Corpsmen, an act Nova disagreed with. Under the fabrication that Worldmind lobotomized Ego, the living planet transformed himself into Nu-Xander, the new home of the Nova Corps. Ego/Worldmind requested Nova transfer his portion of the Nova Force into Nu-Xandar's power cells. Nova refused, resulting in Ego/Worldmind forcefully removing the Nova Force himself, kicking Nova out of the Corps, and declaring him to be mentally ill.

With Nova out of the way, Ego/Worldmind started to recruit thousands of Corpsmen en masse from all across the Earth. Ego/Worldmind sent the Corps to intervene in the Kree-Shi'ar War. Richard Rider, (who in the meantime had acquired the Quantum Bands and taken up the mantle of Quasar) and a ghosty Wendell Vaughn, launched an assault on Nu-Xandar, and, like so many others before them, flew directly into Ego's brain. There, Quasar came face to face with the corrupted Worldmind.

Ego/Worldmind's power was too great, so Wendell advised Quasar to construct a mental and physical shield out of quantum energy. Quasar recreated his childhood bedroom. While in his shield, Quasar encountered a small sliver of the Worldmind that had not been corrupted. This sliver informed Quasar that he must regain the Nova Force to purge Ego's influence. As Quasar approached the Nova Force hub, Ego sent Corpsmen to stop him. Quasar pleaded with whatever was left of the Worldmind to stand down. Ego halted his assault long enough for Quasar to regain both the Nova Force, and the mantle of Nova Prime. Nova unleashed a burst of Nova Force so strong that he purged Ego from the Worldmind and lobotomized the living planet, although Nova claimed it was only temporary, and that Ego would fix himself in a few centuries. The Nova Corps decided to stay on Nu-Xandar in the meantime.^[28] Ego began to repair himself faster than anticipated, but the Worldmind managed to hold him at bay.^[29]

While pursuing a target, intergalactic bounty hunter Monark Starstalker infected the Worldmind with his nanotech, crippling the Worldmind's systems and allowing Ego to return. With Nu-Xandar no longer secure, the Worldmind ordered a full evacuation of all Nova Corps personnel and prisoners. The Worldmind requested transfer to the Resolute Duty, a recently rediscovered Nova Corps starship, but was denied, as it was overrun by Mindless Ones. Nova drew the Mindless Ones out of the ship and asked the Worldmind to open a stargate directly to Ego's prefrontal cortex. With the aid of Starstalker, Nova teleported the rampaging Mindless Ones into Ego's brain. While the living planet writhed in pain, the Resolute Duty bombarded Ego with cannon fire. The two-pronged attack was too great for Ego, and he stargated away. The Nova Corps then decided to make the Resolute Duty their new home.^[30]

Flux[]

Flux traveled to the center of the Milky Way with the Fantastic Four. They were there to stop Ego from consuming stars and gaining in mass, as his continued rate of expansion would eventually lead him to explode, destroying the galaxy. Using his powers, he began forcing Ego to release the energy he'd absorbed, but in so doing, found he was causing Ego pain. Analysis by Mr. Fantastic showed that a cancerous entity was growing within Ego, causing his current madness. Focusing his powers on the entity, Sykes forced it to the surface and hurled it into space. As the Four left Ego's surface, Ego thanked Sykes for his help before returning to his travels.^[31]

Return of Alter-Ego[]

The Stranger visited Ego and informed him of the existence of Alter Ego. After receiving the gift of self propelled from the Stranger, Ego set off on a search to find his brother. During the course of his journey, Ego flew too close to the Earth, causing atmospheric disruptions. Thor was sent by Heimdall investigate the source of these disruptions.

Thor asked Ego where he was going but got no reply. Just as he was about to strike the living planet with this hammer, the Stranger suddenly appeared before Thor. The Stranger told Thor not to interfere in Ego's mission, and shot the thunder god back into space. Using Mjolnir to plot Ego's trajectory, Thor arrived at Ego's final destination: The Collector's Museum. The Collector showed Thor Alter Ego, who was housed in his own pocket dimension. After Thor was thrown into and escaped the pocket dimension, the Stranger let Alter Ego free to face his brother. Alter Ego was bent on killing Ego, as he felt he should remain unique. Thor decided he could not allow either planet to be killed so he attempted to stop Alter Ego, but was eaten instead. Thor managed to escape after striking Alter Ego's core with Mjolnir.

Ego finally met his brother, calling out for him, and asking if he could feel his presence. Alter Ego responded by biting Ego in the face. In the midst of battle, a portion of Thor's life force still lingering in Alter Ego's mind appeared before the living planet, convincing him to give up the fight. Alter Ego halted his attack and declared himself a fool. Ego, determined to end the fight permanently, completely destroyed Alter Ego. The Elemental known as Zephyr took note of Ego's grief over the death of his brother, and reformed a piece of Alter Ego into a new moon.^[32]

Eternity War[]

During the early stages of the Eternity War, Galactus, now having been transformed into the Lifebringer, approached Ego and delved below its surface, much to the Living Planet's annoyance. Once he reached the planet's core, Galactus encountered an apparition of Ego's past self, Egros. After recounting each of their origins, the two former enemies reached a consonance. Galactus used his power to evolve Ego's planet form into a full humanoid body, subsequently having him join the Eternity Watch, a team of powerful beings formed by Galactus to help him save the multiversal personification of Eternity from his captor: the First Firmament, the first iteration of all that is.^[2] Ego-Prime participated in the final battle against the First Firmament's forces. Following the First Firmament's defeat, Ego returned to his normal antics, detaching his new body and returning to his planetoid form.^[33]

The Last Annihilation[]

In a bid to steal power from the Faltine lord Dormammu to empower himself in preparation for the Reckoning War, Doctor Doom manipulated Ego into facilitating a venue for Dormammu to invade Earthspace.^[8] Sister Talionis swayed Ego into joining her cult, the Brethren of the Forgotten Flame. In order to follow a prophetic ritual that required the cult to observe a constellation comprised of the brightest stars in three separate Skrullian constellations, Ego displaced to a specific location in the Galactic Rim.^[34] The sudden appearance of a world in the Galactic Rim prompted the investigation by a survey team which was killed by the Brethren of the Forgotten Flame. The Guardians of the Galaxy investigated the disappearance of the survey team and stumbled into the cult.^[3]

The mysterious rimworld revealed himself as Ego in preparation for the Brethren of the Forgotten Flame's self-sacrificial ritual. The ceremony resulted in Ego becoming fully encased by a black shell.^[34] After days of incubation, Ego hatched from the egg, albeit possessed by the ruler of the Dark Dimension and the cult's object of worship, Dormammu.^[35] Dormammu embarked in a campaign of conquest, and in the process grew a new body for his puppet, but his efforts were halted by the Guardians of the Galaxy and their allies. In order to stop Dormammu, the Guardians shot him with a giant bullet made of Mysterium, an anti-magic metal, which was infused with Nova's Nova Force and Star-Lord's sun powers. The bullet punched through Ego, annihilating his insides and banishing Dormammu. Ego's remains became an asteroid belt at the outer reaches of the Spartax System.^[8]

Reckoning War[]

Ego later returned to life through unknown means and joined an alliance of intergalactic teams, empires, and beings brought together by the Human Torch to end the Reckoning War.^[9]

Ego is a cosmic-level being, comparable to Galactus, and is sometimes shown to hold an advantage over him.^[16]

Surface Matter Manipulation: The living planet Ego has been called a "bioverse." Every part of its substance, including its atmosphere, is "alive" in as much as it is animated and controlled by the consciousness of Ego. The exact composition of Ego is unknown, but much of the planet's surface, at least, seems to be composed of organic molecules. The planet possesses various internal features which have analogues to parts of living Earth-based organisms. For example, its interior contains tunnels which have been compared to arteries, and the center of Ego's consciousness resides in a brain-like organ deep below its surface. Ego can absorb humanoid-sized living beings into itself and "digest" them in internal areas similar to an Earth being’s stomach, using its own analogues to digestive fluids. Ego can transform its own surface to resemble a gigantic face, to reach out into space with gigantic tendrils, or to become an idyllic world resembling the most beautiful areas of Earth. Just as an Earth organism creates one-celled antibodies to attack foreign substances in its bloodstream, Ego creates humanoid-sized anti-body like beings from itself to attack intruders on or beneath its surface. In its encounters with humanoids, Ego has caused the "antibodies" to take semi-humanoid form.

Psionic Powers: Ego generates vast psionic energies which, at their peak, rival those of a hungered Galactus. If Ego depletes its energy below a level that it can replenish by itself, it can renew its energy stores by tapping outside sources, like stars, or digesting large numbers of living beings. At full strength, Ego can use its psionic energy to obliterate starships.^[36] As Ego can create humanoid beings from its own surface, they can be commanded across interstellar distances. Ego communicates with other beings telepathically. As another aspect of his psionic abilities, Ego was also able to read Thor's mind and scan his biological structure.^[37] Ego has used its great psionic powers to command the immensely powerful sidereal propulsion unit installed at its south pole by Galactus. The unit can propel Ego in and out of hyperspace at vast speeds, and apparently has virtually inexhaustible power.^[38]

Ego has been shown, in a different reality, as seen by the reality leaping Exiles, that it is able to bring out the consciousness in other planets - which it did to that reality's Earth. These 'awakened' planets are also able to command every aspect upon them, including making Anti-bodies.

Hyperspace Travel: By exceeding 99% of the speed of light (186,000 miles per second), Ego can access the hyperspace dimension (where velocity is not limited by the speed of light).^[39]

Super-Genius Intelligence:^[40]

Sidereal propulsion unit on its South Pole, commanded psionically.

• Ego's control over its own atmosphere is apparently no match for the power that the thunder god Thor can wield over it using the mystical powers of his enchanted hammer Mjolnir.