The Eternals are going to break out in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie directed by Chloe Zhao and they may be a little known superhero group! The comic book had no involvement by Stan Lee and the other one would be Guardians of the Galaxy. Jack Kirby would be known as a co-creator for most of the Marvel Universe; Captain America and Red Skull (with Joe Simon), the Hank Pym Ant-Man, Janet Van Dyne Wasp, Black Panther, Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D., Hulk, Iron Man, Thor and Loki, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, the Avengers, also Groot based on an alien invasion story. Outside of the MCU characters, there is the Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer, Doctor Doom, Galactus, Inhumans, the X-Men and Magneto. Still, he moved to DC Comics, his arrival was promoted, “Kirby is Coming!” Kirby had destroyed the Nine Worlds in Ragnarok in the back-up story, “Tales of Asgard.” He created one of the best villains in Darkseid. This was in Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 (1970). He was in Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
The shattered parts of the Nine Worlds reformed into the dual worlds of Apokolips, run by Darkseid, and his rival, Highfather on New Genesis. It was intended to be a film by Ava Duvernay, but was cancelled. Still, the story of the New Gods was unfinished, the closest to closure was the last issue of the reprint series, New Gods #6 (1984) and Kirby’s graphic novel, Hunger Dogs (1985). The story goes is that Jack Kirby took the ideas from the book Chariot of the Gods (1968) by Erich Von Daniken, this with Kirby’s interest in Aztecs and UFOs, turned into a new concept, Eternals! Now, there are several races with superpowers. The Celestials are the beings with “phenomenonal cosmic power”, Ego from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 was one. The remains of one made up Knowhere in Guardians of the Galaxy. The Celestials appeared on Earth in the First Host. First, the experiments of the Celestial, Ziran the Tester, produced the Deviants, twisted people with powers that hid underground. The Celestial, Nezarr the Calculator, manipulated humanity to form the Eternals.
The interstellar race, the Kree, also experimented on humans resulting in the Inhumans. They went into hiding. We saw Inhumans in the second season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Inhumans show, but it seems they are forgotten in the MCU history. Lastly, the Celestial, Oneg the Prober, created a gene that went dormant in humanity until they emerged as mutants. It is uncertain if these or any Celestials will show up in the Eternals movie. So let’s begin with Ikaris, the leader of the Eternals, introduced in Eternals #1 (1976). He is going to be played by Richard Madden who was known for playing Robb Stark in Game of Thrones. Ikaris is like other Eternals, basically immortal, and super strong. He could fly and can unleash blasts of cosmic energy from his eyes kinda like Cyclops, but the power is on Silver Surfer level. Ikaris is featured as the central character in the comic books. His name has a connection to Greek mythology which is because they are models for the belief in Greek gods, but in hiding. His name in the human world is Ike Harris.
Salma Hayek is going to portray Ajak, the “spiritual leader”, in the Eternals film. Hayek will be in The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard. A gender change from the comic books where he was introduced in Eternals #2 (1976). In the comics, he was mistaken for the Aztec god, Quetzacoatl, and Incans thought he was Tecumotzin. In the movie, Ajak is known as a healer. One of the most important Eternals is Sersi played by Gemma Chan. The actress was known for playing Minn-Erva in Captain Marvel (2019). Serisi first appeared in Eternals #3 (1976). Sersi uses the cosmic energy to manipulate matter, she transformed Odysseus’ crew into pigs, and was in New York during the Deviant invasion. She was a part of the Avengers in the comics and joined the team in Avengers #314 (1990). Thena will be played by Angelina Jolie in the movie and introduced in Eternals #5 (1976). She is the daughter of Zuras who is the model for Zeus. The Uni-Mind, a merging of all of the Eternals, was formed by Zuras and appeared in Eternals #12 (1977). Zuras was the leader of the Eternals, but the tactical leader was Ikaris. She is a warrior usually in golden armor.
Also introduced in Eternals #5 is Makkari, another gender change, played by Lauren Ridloff in the Chloe Zhao movie. Ridloff was Connie in The Walking Dead. She will be the first deaf super hero. The comics character was known as Mark Curry and was known for super speed. Lia McHugh plays Sprite, the trickster of the Eternals set on the Loki level creating illusions, with another gender change. McHugh was in the sci fi film, Songbird (2019). Eternals #9 (1977) was Sprite’s first appearance. The comics character was the basis for Puck in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The Eternal, Kingo, is played by Kumail Nanjiani. He was in the action comedy Stuber (2019). The comic book Kingo Sunen was a samurai in ancient Japan and Eternals #11 (1977) was his introduction. Another noteworthy Eternal is Gilgamesh with Ma Dong-seok playing the character in the film. The actor appeared in the horror movie Train to Busan (2016). The comics character is one of the strongest Eternals and known as the Forgotten One. Eternals #13 (1977) was his debut. He was also another member of the Avengers, Gilgamesh may replace the Hulk as the power hitter, he joined in Avengers #300 (1989).
Phastos first appeared in Eternals #1 and he will be played by Brian Tyree Henry. The actor has recently appeared in Godzilla vs. Kong. The character is an inventor and trying to secretly help humanity. There are also the Deviants, unseen at this point, I think they will be like the Skrulls in Captain Marvel. They are one of the first races created by the First Host. During the Second Host, the Deviants attacked Atlantis and led to its sinking. They went underground and waited until the Third Host of the Celestials when a truce was made with the Eternals. The movie will most likely be the time of the Fourth Host. The Deviants were led by the warlord Kro, introduced in Eternals #1, and also the spiritual leader, Brother Tode. In ancient Babylon, Thena fell in love with Kro. The only actor with unlisted credit for the movie is Haaz Sleiman who appeared in the action series, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. He may be playing Kro. Lastly, we have an non-Eternal, the Black Knight. Dane Whitman is not seen in the film’s promotion at this time. I suspect the character possessed by the Ebony Blade may be a cameo or supporting character. He is played by Kit Harington also from Game of Thrones fame. Whitman may be searching for the Eternals, the comics character first appeared in Avengers #47 (1967). He has a connection with Sersi and joined the Avengers with her on the team. It will be interesting to see if the Eternals film follows the comics, goes its own way, but can’t wait to see these superheroes!
#Eternals, #JackKirby, #ChloeZhao, #Ikaris, #RichardMadden, #Ajak, #SalmaHayek, #Sersi, #GemmaChan, #Thena, #AngelinaJolie
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