When Galactus threatened to devour the utopian world of Zenn-La, Norrin Radd -- the only Zenn-Lavian who was worth a damn, apparently -- offered himself as Galactus' herald in exchange for Galactus sparing his homeworld. Galactus agreed, turning Radd into a silver-skinned being (whose hairless, muscular body was clad only in silver shorts, and whose eyes were solid white) who could survive indefinitely in space and who possessed a measure of Galactus' cosmic power. His means of transport was a flying silver board, shaped much like a surfboard. Radd, now the Silver Surfer, bid a tearful farewell to his true love Shalla-Bal and left his world forever.

As the herald of Galactus, the Surfer scouted for uninhabited worlds that possessed the life-energy Galactus needed to survive. However, this became increasingly difficult. Galactus, who did not share his herald's qualms about the destruction of inhabited worlds, erased the Surfer's memory of his past. Shortly after this the Surfer discovered Earth and came into conflict with The Watcher and the Fantastic Four.

It was the courage of Alicia Masters that finally convinced the Surfer to turn against his master and save the Earth. Faced with both his renegade herald and the ultimate nullifier, which had been obtained by the Human Torch, Galactus decided to back off. Before doing so he created an energy barrier that would prevent the Surfer from leaving the Earth again. The former herald gradually regained his memories of his former life and spent much of his time battling evil, brooding in Earth's remote places, and pining for his lost love Shalla-Bal.

Eventually the barrier was removed and the Surfer was once again free to roam the spaceways.