Line #112 ComicBook/TheEternals


1	%% NOTE - as per the pronoun and identity thread, the wiki policy is to use they/them pronouns for general references to characters who've changed pronouns due to their resurrections (e.g. Sprite, Ajak and Makkari).
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3	%% When more specifically talking about a particular form/incarnation, use the same pronouns that the work did.
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5	%% Thread is here: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16601125100A14169400&page=1#comment-1
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8	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/486a9e20_27de_4497_957a_5c8f3fa67219.jpeg]]
9	[[caption-width-right:350:Humanoid beings with cosmic power courtesy of Creator/JackKirby? [[ComicBook/TheInhumans Sounds]] [[ComicBook/NewGods familiar]]...[[note]]Clockwise from top: Zuras, Makkari, Domo, Thena. Depicted in the corner box: Ikaris.[[/note]]]]
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11	''The Eternals'' is a Marvel comic book series, originally created by Creator/JackKirby. Premiering in 1976, it was the story of the '''Eternals''', a race of nigh-immortal humanoids created by the giant [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens Celestials]] to defend humanity against the monstrous Deviants. The original series ran for 19 issues (and one annual) before being cancelled, leaving several plotlines unresolved.
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13	Later appearances in ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'' and back-up strips in ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' connected Kirby’s Eternals to Creator/JimStarlin’s Titans, establishing that the Titan leader Mentor was actually A’Lars, brother to Kirby’s Eternal leader Zuras. All of which also meant that villain Thanos was descended from Earth’s Eternals.
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15	A 12-issue miniseries starring the Eternals was released in 1985, mostly written by Peter B. Gillis (Creator/WaltSimonson took over as writer for the last four issues), but it failed to inspire an ongoing series.
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17	A one-shot 1991 comic by Dann Thomas, Creator/RoyThomas and Mark Texeira - ''Eternals: The Herod Factor'' - was the next story to feature the Eternals as stars rather than supporting cast.
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19	In 2000, another one-shot comic by Karl Bollers and Mike Higgins - ''New Eternals: Apocalypse Now'' - relaunched them as a more traditional superhero team, with code names and several new Eternals introduced alongside the original core cast. Again, it failed to inspire a longer series, and this approach wasn’t followed up elsewhere.
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21	In 2003, Creator/ChuckAusten and Kev Walker created an AlternateContinuity version, ''The Eternal'', for the Creator/MarvelMAX ‘mature readers’ line. In this series, Eternals are slaves, deployed by Celestials to forcibly evolve lesser creatures into slave labour. But then their leader falls in love - and decides to rebel against the Celestials.
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23	Creator/NeilGaiman and John Romita, Jr. returned to the original Marvel Universe concept for a [[ComicBook/Eternals2006 seven-issue ''Eternals'' miniseries]] in 2006. In this miniseries, reality has warped and the Eternals now believe that they're just regular humans, but they need to remember who they truly are and regain their powers before their foes awake a buried Celestial - who might destroy the Earth. Gaiman used the reality-warping element to rewrite some of the Eternals’ history and purpose, as well as expand the cast by resurrecting several dead characters.
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25	In 2008 the Gaiman/Romita miniseries was directly followed by a short-lived ''[[ComicBook/Eternals2008 Eternals]]'' ongoing series, written by Charles and Daniel Knauf and initially illustrated by Daniel Acuna.
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27	Following on from this, the Eternals (and Celestials) were again relegated to supporting cast - some aspects of the Gaiman and Knauf series were written out in various ways, and the Eternals themselves were killed off en masse to fuel the initial arc of a relaunched ''Avengers'' series.
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29	In 2021, a [[ComicBook/Eternals2021 new series]] began, written by Creator/KieronGillen, with art by Esad Ribic. It serves as a {{soft reboot}}, building on the Gaiman and Knauf runs with a few {{retcon}} amendments - and reintroducing the Eternals and the concepts behind them as the story moves forward.
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31	The second arc of the 2021 series also leads into Marvel's 2022 CrisisCrossover, ''[[ComicBook/JudgmentDayMarvelComics Judgment Day]]'', which is also written by Gillen, and puts the Eternals at the heart of a major Marvel event for the first time. A related miniseries by Gillen and artist Guiu Vilanova, ''ComicBook/DeathToTheMutants'', focuses on the Eternals and their perspective on the event.
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33	A Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse film adaptation titled simply ''Film/{{Eternals}}'', was released on November 5, 2021, directed by Creator/ChloeZhao. It marks the debut of the first deaf MCU superhero, played by Creator/LaurenRidloff, as well as the first explicitly queer lead of an MCU film, Phastos, portrayed by Creator/BrianTyreeHenry.
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35	(A one-off comic, ''Eternals Forever'', which is not directly related to the Gillen series, was also released just before the film and acts as an introduction to the comic versions of the characters)
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37	Before the standalone film, the Eternals mythology was alluded to in other MCU movies. ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'' and ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'' introduce the concept of Celestials. ''Infinity War'' has a reference to Thanos's father A'Lars (Mentor), and Thanos's homeworld of Titan was mentioned. The exact nature of Thanos himself has yet to be established in the MCU, though his brother Eros was introduced in TheStinger for ''Eternals''.
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39	[[AC:Comics]]
40	[[index]]
41	* ''The Eternals'' (1976)
42	* ''ComicBook/TheEternals1985''
43	* ''Eternals: The Herod Factor'' (1991)
44	* ''New Eternals: Apocalypse Now'' (2000)
45	* ''ComicBook/TheEternal'' (2003, alternate continuity)
46	* ''ComicBook/Eternals2006''
47	* ''ComicBook/Eternals2008''
48	* ''Eternals Forever'' (2021)
49	* ''ComicBook/Eternals2021''
50	* ''ComicBook/{{Judgment Day\|MarvelComics}}'' (2022)
51	* ''ComicBook/DeathToTheMutants'' (2022)
52	* ''A.X.E.: Eternals'' (2022)
53	[[/index]]
54
55	[[AC:Webcomics]]
56	[[index]]
57	* ''[[ComicBook/Eternals2006 Eternals]]'' (2022): An InfiniteCanvas conversion of the 2006 ''[[ComicBook/Eternals2006 Eternals]]'' series, with art rearranged for the new medium and issues split into shorter webcomics. The story and art are otherwise identical to the original comics - it's a modified reprint, not an adaptation as such.
58	* ''Webcomic/EternalsTheFiveHundredYearWar'' (2022): A prequel to the film, broadly consistent with Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse continuity.
59	[[/index]]
60
61	!!This series contains examples of:
62
63	[[foldercontrol]]
64	[[folder:Tropes common across several series]]
65	* AbusivePrecursors: The Deviants were this, enslaving humanity before first the Eternals, then the Celestials, cut them down to size.
66	* AdvancedAncientAcropolis: Olympia, Polaria and anything the Celestials left behind.
67	* AncientAstronauts: The Celestials are an entire race of ancient astronauts basically going around seeding planets with life to eventually judge their worth. They eventually returned and were worshipped as Gods by the Incas.
68	* DatingCatwoman: Thena and Kro used to have a bit of a thing going on. At times, they're still on relatively good terms, being some of the few representatives of their races capable of speaking diplomatically to each other.
69	* FusionDance: A group of Eternals can join together into a "Uni-Mind," a gestalt entity that looks like a giant floating brain and has enormous psychic powers.
70	* StarfishAliens: The Celestials are pretty damned far beyond the comprehension of most creatures.
71	* TokenHeroicOrc: This evolves a little over time, as more sympathetic Deviants are introduced, but there are a few recurring characters.
72	** Karkas, a huge lumbering Deviant who reads philosophy and prefers to avoid violence.
73	** Played with for Ransak - he looks entirely human and allies with the Eternals, but he’s a BloodKnight and TheBerserker, constantly fighting his inner demons.
74	** Yrdisis plays this straight - she’s an artist and seems to be a genuinely nice person. And she’s been in a happy relationship with the Eternal Khoryphos since not long after her introduction.
75	[[/folder]]
76
77	[[folder:The original 1976 Kirby series]]
78	* BeautyEqualsGoodness: Mostly played straight with the Eternals being beautiful and good while the Deviants are mostly ugly and evil. Inverted with the Reject and Karkas; Thena's sympathies are initially with the former because he's a fairly handsome guy, but he's also a violent killer, while the monstrous Karkas is well-spoken and just wants to be loved.
79	* BeenThereShapedHistory:
80	** Ikaris led Noah and his ark to safety during the biblical Great Flood.
81	** Ajak was worshipped as Tecumotzin, the Inca God of Light.
82	** Sersi is the sorceress Circe from Greek Mythology.
83	-->'''Sersi''': The Greek storytellers could never spell my name right.
84	** Deviants are implied to be the inspiration for biblical demons and {{Satan}} himself.
85	** The Forgotten One is apparently also the actual Gilgamesh.
86	* BigRedDevil: Kro uses this form when he wants to terrify humans. He's big and red normally, so his disguise really just involves growing some horns.
87	* BrattyHalfPint: Sprite is one highly annoying little bastard.
88	* CaptainErsatz: The Eternals were originally intended to be CE's of the gods of Greek mythology, with a few gods from other pantheons thrown in for variety.
89	* ClarkKenting: Ikaris hides his eyes with dark glasses.
90	* ComedicSpanking: Ikaris spanking Sprite. Probably slightly less jarring when the series was first published.
91	* EmergencyTemporalShift: Jack the Ripper, pulled to the present by the Deviant Zakka’s machine. He slips back to the past just as Ransak’s about to kill him. This seems to be a theme for Zakka’s summoned warriors - two Huns shift back while plummeting towards the pavement after Karkas throws them out of a high window. Inverted into HoldTheLine with Tutinax, who’s almost unstoppable - Thena knows that they just need to keep him occupied until time catches up with him.
92	* EmpireWithADarkSecret: Deviant Lemuria’s not portrayed as a great place anyway, but the revelation of “Purity Time” - genetic cleansing where more extreme Deviants are sent to the fire pits - comes as a shock to Thena.
93	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Deviant scientist Zakka summons the great warrior Tutinax from the past, hoping he’ll cause havoc. Tutinax promptly kills him.
94	* HoldTheLine: The Deviant gladiator Tutinax, summoned from the past by Zakka’s time projector. It’s not clear if Ransak can actually defeat him, but Thena’s aware that they don’t have to - they just need to keep him busy until he snaps back into the past.
95	* HomeOfTheGods: Most Eternals live in Olympia, a city hidden among the mountains of Greece. A few other cities are mentioned, like Polaria in Russia and Oceana in the Pacific.
96	* HumongousMecha: Most humans assume the Celestials to be giant space robots. It's somewhat more complicated than that, however, as their suits of armour are only a single aspect of their cosmically massive being.
97	* PeterPanParody: Sprite is clearly designed to reference Peter Pan, and he is aware of this.
98	* SocialDarwinist: Rapid reproduction and a high mutation rate mean the Deviant population is pretty unstable, and they have a festival for culling the "dead ends" [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything in giant ovens]]. Thena is appropriately horrified.
99	* WainscotSociety: While most Eternals live in Olympia, their HiddenElfVillage, Sersi and Ikaris choose to live among the humans under assumed identities.
100	[[/folder]]
101
102	[[folder:The 1985 Gillis & Simonson miniseries]]
103	See [[ComicBook/TheEternals1985 here]].
104	[[/folder]]
105
106	[[folder:Eternals: The Herod Factor (1991)]]
107	* ApocalypseMaiden: According to prophecy, the “Ordained Ones”, twins born to [[NonHumanHumanoidHybrid Eternal and Deviant]] parents, will inherit vast power when they turn 18, overthrow humans, Deviants and Eternals, and shall rule the world forever. [[spoiler:The twins do exist, but this claim is false, the prophecy’s fake, and the whole thing’s a scheme to restart the war between Eternals and Deviants]].
108	* BackForTheDead: Ajak, who wasn’t seen in the previous maxi-series, makes his first significant appearance in years. Dr. Damian, last seen in the original 1976 Eternals series, also returns. Both are killed by an enraged Ajak at the end of the story.
109	* BigBad: Doctor Daniel Damian, who seeks to destroy the Eternals and the Deviants. And no longer cares about humanity, either.
110	* BigBadWannabe: Brother Visara, who’s taken charge of Lemuria, does manage to capture some of the Eternals. But as soon as Kro returns, Visara loses control. And his life.
111	* CallARabbitASmeerp: ‘The Slicer’, Brother Visara’s Lemurian guillotine.
112	* ContinuityNod: There’s a mention of Brutus, a Deviant leader who appeared in one story set after the fall of Ghaur. He’s lost power in Lemuria by the time this one starts.
113	* DeathFakedForYou: Khoryphos and Yrdisis have been rescuing Deviants from the executions, faking their deaths and smuggling them out of Lemuria.
114	* TheDragon: Ajak, after his FaceMonsterTurn due to Damian’s meddling.
115	* FaceHeelTurn: Doctor Damian, who’s crossed the DespairEventHorizon after his daughter Margo’s death.
116	* FaceMonsterTurn: Ajak is transformed into a huge, murderous creature by Dr. Damian and the machines of Celestia.
117	* JustTheFirstCitizen: Brother Visara, Lemuria’s rabble-rousing ‘First Among Many Equals’ and BigBadWannabe.
118	* LetsYouAndHimFight: Dr. Damian is trying to use the prophecy to stir up another war between the Eternals and Deviants.
119	* MeaningfulName: The bloodthirsty old Deviant woman who Ikaris talks to during the Lemurian executions is Haag.
120	* MySecretPregnancy: Thena concealed her pregnancy, mostly because the father was the Deviant Kro.
121	* MysticalPregnancy: Thena used Eternal super-science to transfer her unborn children into the womb of a human woman who was trying to conceive.
122	* NonHumanHumanoidHybrid: Donald and Deborah Ritter, twin children of Thena and Kro. They take after their mother and look perfectly human, though. And until Thena introduces herself, they also believe themselves to be normal humans.
123	* OffWithHisHead: Execution by ‘Slicer’, the preferred method in Deviant Lemuria. As Haag comments, it’s much neater than just letting the crowd tear them apart.
124	* PublicExecution: Lemurian crowds gather to watch the [[ReignOfTerror remnants of the old regime]] die in the [[OffWithHisHead ‘Slicer’]].
125	* ReignOfTerror: Now that Kro’s abdicated and Ghaur’s priesthood has collapsed, Brother Visara’s regime is executing anyone with even the flimsiest ties to the priests. A disguised Ikaris arrives just in time to see the execution of a Deviant woman who swept the floors.
126	* TheReveal:
127	** Thena has been less than honest about her relationship with Kro - it goes back at least 25,000 years, and they recently had children together.
128	** Dr. Damien has made a FaceHeelTurn after his daughter’s death, used the machines of Celestia to temporarily grant himself powers, faked the prophecy that almost restarted the war and mutated Ajak into a murderous horror.
129	* StartingANewLife: The fate of those Khoryphos and Yrdisis rescue from execution. They’re disguised as humans and sent to start a life elsewhere.
130	* TornApartByTheMob: The fate of Brother Visara after Kro turns the Lemurian crowd against him.
131	[[/folder]]
132
133	[[folder:New Eternals (2000)]]
134	* BackFromTheDead; Ikaris’s father Virako is resurrected, a thousand or so years after his death.
135	* BigBad: Apocalypse, who’s trying to start a new war between Deviants and Humans.
136	* CodeName: Ikaris’s team adopts them when introducing themselves to the media as ‘normal’ human superheroes. Sovereign, Corona, Ceasefire, Tomorrow Hawk, Payche, Sparx, Chi Demon, Warhead and Mesmer. They didn’t last long beyond this story.
137	* FaceMonsterTurn: Karkas is mutated into a rage-driven {{Kaiju}}.
138	* LaserGuidedAmnesia: After using mind control to end a hostage situation by making the ringleader shoot himself in the legs, Psykos ensures that witnesses remember a different version of events.
139	* LivingStatue:
140	** As Thomas Hawk, Ceyote’s a sculptor, working on a huge scale. He’s capable of using his Eternal powers to animate one of his stone sculptures as a giant golem. He also animates much smaller statuettes to support him in battle.
141	** The spirit of the Deviant priest-lord Ghaur is ruling Lemuria, inhabiting a golden statue of himself. He can hear and speak (or, perhaps, substitute via telepathy), but can’t move.
142	* MindControl: Psykos specialises in this. He’s introduced in his civilian identity, ending a hostage situation by forcing the ringleader to shoot himself in the legs. It doesn’t work so well when trying to calm Karkas, though - partly because he wasn’t aware that someone else was ''already'' telepathically controlling Karkas.
143	* MuggingTheMonster: After a university lecture includes a discussion of [[ContinuityNod mutant rights and Magneto’s control of Genosha]], some bigoted students decide to assault Professor King when she leaves the building. The professor is actually the Eternal Suyin King - she shows her true appearance and cuts down a lamppost with a flaming sword. They run.
144	* RememberTheNewGuy: Aurelle, Psykos, Suyin King and Ceyote are all new characters, but as they’re Eternals they’ve been around for many millennia and all of the other Eternals of Olympia already know them.
145	* ResurrectiveImmortality: Recent events have changed Earth’s atmosphere in a way that allows Phastos to build a ‘resurrection chamber’, reviving long-dead Virako and potentially other Eternals. Later stories made resurrections a core part of the Eternals mythos, but at this point, it was a new concept.
146	[[/folder]]
147
148	[[folder:''The Eternal'' (2003)]]
149	See [[ComicBook/TheEternal here]].
150	[[/folder]]
151
152	[[folder:The 2006 Gaiman miniseries]]
153	See [[ComicBook/Eternals2006 here]].
154	[[/folder]]
155
156	[[folder:The 2008 Knauf series]]
157	See [[ComicBook/Eternals2008 here]].
158	[[/folder]]
159
160	[[folder:The 2021 Gillen series]]
161
162	See [[ComicBook/Eternals2021 here]].
163
164	[[/folder]]
165
166	[[folder:''Eternals: The 500 Year War'' (2022)]]
167	See [[Webcomic/EternalsTheFiveHundredYearWar here]].
168	[[/folder]]
169	[[folder:The ''Judgment Day'' event (2022)]]
170	See [[ComicBook/JudgmentDayMarvelComics here]].
171	[[/folder]]
172
173	[[folder:The ''Death To The Mutants'' miniseries (2022)]]
174	See [[ComicBook/DeathToTheMutants here]].
175	[[/folder]]
176
177	[[folder:''A.X.E.: Eternals'' (2022)]]
178	[[/folder]]

Context ComicBook / TheEternals