| Shalla-Bal | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Silver Surfer #1 (August 1968) |
| Created by | |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Zenn-Lavian |
| Notable aliases | Helena |
Shalla-Bal is a character appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics, the immortal Empress ofZenn-La and the lover of Norrin Radd, theSilver Surfer. When Radd becomes the Herald ofGalactus in exchange for his planet being spared, the lovers are separated for eternity.
Shalla-Bal appeared in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) filmThe Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025), played byJulia Garner. This version is portrayed as the Silver Surfer.
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The character first appeared inThe Silver Surfer #1 (August 1968), created by writerStan Lee and artistJohn Buscema.[1]
Shalla-Bal is depicted as the love interest ofNorrin Radd.[2]
In a 1975 storyline inFantastic Four, Shalla-Bal was trapped in the form of aLatverian peasant girl namedHelena byMephisto, and marriedDoctor Doom, until in a 1982Silver Surfer one-shot, the Surfer discovers this deception and frees her from Mephisto's trap.[3]
In the 2016Silver Surfer series, Shalla-Bal begins a campaign to spread the culture of Zenn-La across the universe as theKeeper of the Great Truth, and in the conclusion of the series Silver Surfer is forced to erase their culture from existence so that even they could not remember it.[4]
Shalla-Bal is the Empress of herutopianplanet,Zenn-La (in theDeneb System, Milky Way Galaxy), and is the lover of Norrin Radd. When the planet-eatingGalactus comes to their planet, Norrin Radd volunteers to become his herald in exchange for sparing Zenn-La. Norrin Radd is given the Power Cosmic and becomes theSilver Surfer, thus separating him from Shalla-Bal for a long time.[a]
Eventually, the Silver Surfer rebels against Galactus, who traps him on Earth as punishment by putting up an energy barrier that the Silver Surfer cannot get through. The demonMephisto, who desires to defeat the Surfer and steal his noble soul, senses the anguish of this separation within him, and uses Shalla-Bal as a pawn in his conflict with the Surfer.[5] As part of a conspiracy, Mephisto replaces the consciousness of Shalla-Bal so that she believes herself to be a regular citizen ofLatveria namedHelena, andDoctor Doom organizes a false marriage celebration with her to make the Surfer fight theFantastic Four.[6]
Meanwhile, Galactus consumes the life energies and ecosphere of Zenn-La because of Silver Surfer's betrayal but spares the lives of its people by warning them of his coming beforehand, allowing them to return to the lifeless husk afterwards. WhenMister Fantastic frees the Surfer from his imprisonment, he returns to Zenn-La to find it in this state and learns that Shalla-Bal was abducted by Mephisto. The Surfer understands the conspiracy and returns to Latveria to find Shalla-Bal, imprisoning himself once again onEarth. The Surfer bestows a portion of hisPower Cosmic to Shalla-Bal while Mephisto is sending her back to her planet and she is able to use this power to restore the life on Zenn-La.[7] Shalla-Bal is thus accepted as an Empress by her people.[8] However the responsibilities of her office make Shalla-Bal refuse marriage with the Surfer when he eventually breaks free from Earth for good, and he tells her that their romance is over.[9] She is later held hostage by theElders but is rescued by the Silver Surfer.[10]
Shalla-Bal later meets theKree leader Nenora.[11] Shalla asks the Surfer to protect Zenn-La from theObliterator.[12] Shalla allies with theSkrull EmpressS'byll against the Kree, after which theCotati inform her that Nenora is a disguised Skrull. Shalla is captured by Nenora's KreeSentry but freed by the Cotati. She tells S'byll and the Surfer about Nenora's true nature and is returned to Zenn-La by the Silver Surfer.[13]
Shalla-Bal is later taken captive by the Enslavers and is then reunited with the Surfer.[14] Shalla is seen in flashback telling Norrin Radd about his father's suicide.[15] She is seen in flashback again at her first meeting with Norrin when they are children.[16] Shalla-Bal is later abducted with the planet Zenn-La by the Great One. Shalla is briefly reunited with the Silver Surfer but disintegrates along with the Great One's pocket universe.[17] The Silver Surfer later returns her to life after her soul was imprisoned by Mephisto.[18]
After years of rejection, Shalla-Bal once became romantically involved with Fennan Radd, a man who claimed to be the Silver Surfer's half-brother by his father. Fennan claimed to have been born after Norrin's mother Elmar committed suicide.[19]
As a member of the race of aliens known as Zenn-Lavians, Shalla-Bal has an extraordinarily long-life span and remained physically young and attractive despite being centuries old. As the Silver Surfer, she gained abilities such as flight, being able to move through space at light-speed without exhaustion, being able to alter the molecules of her body to phase through solid matter, immortality, imperviousness to physical harm, and energy projection.
Shalla-Bal was once able to restore life to Zenn-La's ecosphere due to a fragment of the Silver Surfer'spower cosmic that he placed within her. Apparently, she can still cause plant life to grow wherever she walks.
An alternate universe variant of Shalla-Bal appears inEarth X. This version was transformed into theSilver Surfer byFranklin Richards / Galactus before she is later killed in battle against the Celestials.[20] Following his own death, the original Silver Surfer reunites with Shalla-Bal in the afterlife.[21]
Multiple variants of Shalla-Bal appear inWhat If:
GuitaristJoe Satriani recorded aninstrumental rock song named "Back to Shalla-Bal" on his 1989 albumFlying in a Blue Dream.
Australian rock groupSwoop recorded a song named "Shalla Bal (Ballad(e) of the Silver Surfer)" on their 1995 albumThe Woxo Principle.
