It’s a new day for the Silver Surfer, as the name passes to a new bearer in the rogue hero Kelly Koh. And even though she’s new to the Power Cosmic, the new Silver Surfer already has an amazing design that makes Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ Shalla-Bal look like an afterthought.
Meet the New Silver Surfer
Kelly Koh Is Marvel’s New Sentinel of the Spaceways
In this week’s Death of the Silver Surfer #5 – from Greg Pak​​​​​​​, Sumit Kumar​​​​​​​, Tiago Palma​​​​​​​, Jonas Trindade​​​​​​​, Frank D’Armata​​​​​​​ and Joe Sabino – original Surfer Norrin Radd passes his powers to Kelly Koh. In the issue, the villainous Dennis Harmon unleashes the Rift – a doomsday weapon that Norrin Radd can only defeat by sealing himself outside reality.
However, the Surfer doesn’t leave Earth-616 unprotected. Over the course of this miniseries, Silver Surfer has gotten to know Kelly Koh – a former agent of the Bureau of Alien Neutralization. Koh was responsible for imprisoning and killing aliens on Earth, before eventually realizing she was on the wrong side.
Before being locked outside reality, Norrin Radd passes the Power Cosmic to Kelly Koh, turning her into the new Silver Surfer, with an awesome transformation to match.
Kelly Koh’s Silver Surfer Has an Awesome Design
Including a Nod to the Hero’s Creator
Like the original and MCU Surfers, Kelly is covered in a silvery protective skin. However, the redesign doesn’t stop there. Kelly gets a unique board with bladed indents on either side.
She also has black detailing on her arms and throat, with ‘Kirby Dots’ spreading into the silver – a nod to comic legend Jack Kirby, who commonly used the effect for otherworldly sources of energy. As the creator of the Silver Surfer, it’s a joy for fans that this new design is so linked to Kirby’s art.
Given how disappointed fans were with the straightforward adaptation of Silver Surfer’s classic look in the MCU – where the Surfer was Julia Garner’s Shalla-Bal – it’s a relief that the comics are being more ambitious in giving the new Surfer a markedly different design. From the silvery skin to the board, there’s no mistaking Kelly Koh for Norrin Radd.
A New Era Begins for the Silver Surfer
Despite her visual uniqueness, Kelly does have some things in common with Silver Surfer. Her time working for the Bureau of Alien Neutralization has left her with immense guilt and a need to atone for her actions.
Kelly’s mission begins with declaring the aliens of Earth under her protection, as she comes to agree with Silver Surfer’s assertion that the ‘others’ in society need their own protectors, since heroes like the Avengers are too slow to act, especially when persecution and death comes from traditional forms of authority.
Like Norrin Radd, Kelly Koh’s Silver Surfer stands alone – a hero who battles against persecution in hope of making up for her own dark past.
Death of the Silver Surfer #5 is available now from Marvel Comics.
