Who Exactly Are The Eternals?
"Throughout the years, we have never interfered... until now."
The latest movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has just released a teaser trailer. With a cast of famous names in Hollywood, The Eternals is slated for release on November 5, 2021. If you are like this author, whose introduction to Marvel was through the Avengers and the X-Men, you might wonder who exactly are the Eternals? How are they related to the rest of the Marvel Universe? Why should we even care about them? Before the movie comes out, let us take a closer look into who exactly are the Eternals.
According to lore, the cosmic gods known as the Celestials became intrigued by the humans on Earth. In an experiment with the human genome, they created the Eternals and the Deviants. The Eternals chose to follow the path of peace, while their genetic cousins the Deviants chose the path of war. While the Eternals appeared radiant and beautiful, the Deviants were hideous. The two races settled on Earth with the Eternals choosing to seclude themselves and protect the human race from afar. The Deviants saw the Eternals as rivals, and clashed with them in a never-ending war throughout human history. Relating back to the existing Marvel Cinematic Universe, A’Lars was an Eternal who chose to exile himself to space. His son was none other than Thanos.
As human history progressed, the Eternals would continue to mingle and interact with the humans. They would show them how to plant crops, work metal, and even introduce them to writing. The Eternals eventually settled in a new capital city of Olympia in the mountains of Greece. Over the years, humans would come to think of the Eternals as the Olympian gods. As such, we would see similarities between the Eternals and the Olympian gods of Greek mythology (especially with their clever names). Of note, in the comics Olympians existed as a separate humanoid race of extra-dimensional beings from an alternate dimension, but we will not go into that today.
All Eternals were resistant to aging and disease, and could regenerate from most wounds. They were virtually immortal, possessing a very long lifespan. If they were to die, they could simply be reborn again. Being further along the evolutionary ladder, they had developed superhuman abilities like super strength, flight, telepathy, force field generation, and transmutation.
From left to right: Makkari, Gilgamesh, Thena, Ikaris, Ajak, Sersi, Sprite, Phastos
Who Are The Eternals?
Sersi (Gemma Chan)
Sersi could manipulate matter to transmute nearly any item or being into almost whatever she wished. In the movie, she had been in a romantic relationship with Ikaris for centuries.
Ikaris (Richard Madden)
Known for his power of flight, Ikaris could fly at a speed much faster than most other Eternals. We do not know his real name as he had adopted the name of his son, Icarus, after his tragic death from taking his mechanical flying device too high into the atmosphere.
Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani)
Hailing from Japan, he became learned in the ways of the Samurai, preferring to fight with his katana than use the typical powers of Eternals. In the comics, he would become a major action star in Japan. In the movie, he appeared to have become a Bollywood star instead.
Thena (Angelina Jolie)
In addition to being knowledgeable in all forms of combat and weaponry, Thena could manipulate cosmic energy to form any handheld weapon.
Sprite (Lia McHugh)
Forever resembling a twelve-year-old child, Sprite excelled in creating illusions, which she would use this power to prank others much to their dismay.
Ajak (Salma Hayek)
This Eternal was mistaken for Greek warrior Ajax during the Trojan War, and the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl during her time in Central America. She could communicate with their makers, the Celestials. As such, she acted as the Eternals’ spiritual leader in the movie.
Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry)
He was an inventor and weapon-smith who helped mankind progress technologically. He would be the first superhero to be depicted as gay in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Makkari (Lauren Ridloff)
Makkari possessed the power of super-speed. Her fast movements were capable of creating sonic booms, which she was immune to. She would be the first deaf superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Gilgamesh (Don Lee)
Also known as “The Forgotten One,” he was physically the strongest of the Eternals.
Despite being around since their debut in 1976, the Eternals have had almost no exposure outside of comics. While Jack Kirby’s original comic series was short lived, the Eternals would make appearances in other Marvel comics like The Mighty Thor. In 2006, Neil Gaiman joined John Romita, Jr. to create a seven-issue revival of the franchise. We hope to see more about these intriguing characters as we come closer to the movie premiere.
"Now that Captain Rogers and Iron Man are both gone, who do you think is going to lead the Avengers?"
Source(s): IGN