Something I'm wondering about. Galactus is known as the devourer of worlds, but he doesn't literally devour planets to my knowledge. He uses machines to syphon the energy force out of planets.

However does anyone know of any stories where it shows him consuming planets without the aid of his machines? How big does he have to get to do this?

For some reason I'm picturing there's a Family Guy or Looney Tunes joke of Galactus pulling a shovel from out of his back to start digging up planets and literally eat them. Now I'm picturing a scene where it's taking Galactus longer than he expected and comments how these planets are getting bigger than he last remembers.

Yes he has. He consumed the Skrull homeworld without his machines. I'll assume his using his machines is comparable to us using utensils. We can eat without them but it makes life easier.

That’s kinda how I always understood it. He may be a gigantic, ancient, planet-eater, but damn it, he’s a civilized gigantic, ancient, planet-eater.

Lol. Good one.

He has stated a time or two that he doesn't need the machines and that the machines just help refine the process for him.

Then again, with the way Marvel has turned him into a wimp over the last decade+, that might have been retconned.