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Eternals (comics)
Encyclopedia
The Eternals are a fictional race of superhuman
s in the Marvel Comics
universe
. They are described as an offshoot of the evolutionary process that created sentient life on Earth
. The original instigators of this process, the alien
Celestials
, intended the Eternals to be the defenders of Earth
which leads to the inevitability of war against their destructive counterparts, the Deviants
. The Eternals were created by Jack Kirby
and made their first appearance in The Eternals #1 (July 1976
).
, Jack Kirby left Marvel Comics to work at DC Comics
, where he began the saga of the New Gods
, an epic story involving mythological and science fiction concepts, and planned to have a definite ending. However, the saga was left incomplete after the cancellation of the titles involved. Kirby began The Eternals when he returned to Marvel. The Eternals' saga was thematically similar to the New Gods', but the series was eventually canceled as well without resolving many of its plots, particularly the Celestials
' judgment over humanity (see Fictional Biography below). Initially, the comic book was not intended to be part of the normal Marvel continuity, but a stand-alone publication.
The storyline took elements from the ideas of the Ancient astronauts
, which postulate that humanity may had been visited by extraterrestrials in ancient times and interpreted them as supernatural beings. Thus, a recurring topic of the plots was to use the Eternals, the Deviants or the Celestials to provide explanations for myths or obscure events from history. In particular, many points from the book Chariots of the Gods? by Erich von Däniken
were incorporated into the plot, such as the Nazca Lines
being an extraterrestrial airport or the Incas getting technological advances from them and in turn worshiping them as gods.
Writers Roy Thomas
and Mark Gruenwald
brought the Eternals into official Marvel Universe
continuity
in a long storyline in the Thor
comic book series that climaxed in Thor #301, resolving those lingering plotlines. Since then, the Eternals (and the mythology connected to them) have appeared or been mentioned in numerous Marvel comics. In particular, the Celestials' experiment on humanity has been used to explain how certain humans can develop super-powers. The Titanians
(created by Jim Starlin
) and Uranians
(created by Stan Lee
) were later retconned as being Eternals as well.
The Eternals returned for a twelve-issue limited series
in 1985
under writer Peter B. Gillis
, unfortunately, according to comic book historian Peter Sanderson
, "editor in chief Jim Shooter
disliked Gillis’s scripts, so Walter Simonson wrote the final four issues." However, Sanderson feels that "of all the attempts to portray the Eternals before the Gaiman revival, the Gillis-Simonson series was by far the most interesting and creative, but it has been grossly underrated and did not lead to an ongoing series."
Neil Gaiman
, with artist John Romita, Jr.
, created a 2006
limited series, which helped bring the Eternals role in the modern Marvel Universe up-to-date. Originally solicited as a six-issue series, an extra issue was added to the run, because, according to editor Nick Lowe, "There was too much story to fit into the structure we set for ourselves. Neil was starting issue five and told me that he might need a seventh issue. He just had too much story to fit in six issues (even with the first and sixth double-sized)."
The first ongoing series since Kirby's run was announced at the San Diego Comic Con in 2007. It is written by Charles and Daniel Knauf
, with art by Daniel Acuña
, and the first issue was cover dated August 2008. In late 2008 Marvel also published an Eternals Annual by writer Fred Van Lente
and artist Pascal Alixe, in which the Eternals come into conflict with the Young Gods
. On February 27, 2009, Marvel's Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada
confirmed that the ongoing series had been cancelled.
visited Earth five million years ago and performed genetic experiments on early proto-humanity
, they created two divergent races: the long-lived Eternals, and the genetically unstable and monstrously grotesque Deviants
. These experiments also lead to the capacity for super-powered mutations
in humans. They also performed this experiment on other planets (such as the Kree
and Skrull
homeworlds) with similar results.
Despite looking human, Eternals are much more long-lived (but were not originally fully immortal) and that kept them from having much contact with their human cousins. Eternals have a low birth rate; they can interbreed with humans but the result is always a normal human (although Joey Athena, son of Thena and a normal human seems to have become an Eternal with long lived properties and powers). Despite this, the Eternals have in general protected the human race, especially from the Deviants, with whom they've always had an enmity. The Eternals also developed advanced technology.
Long ago, a civil war broke out amongst the Eternals over whether to conquer the other races, with one faction led by Kronos
and the other by his warlike brother, Uranos. Kronos' side prevailed, and Uranos and his defeated faction left Earth and journeyed to Uranus where they built a colony. Some of Uranos' group soon tried to return to Earth to re-kindle the war, but they were attacked by a passing Kree ship and forced to land on Saturn's moon Titan
. There they built another colony. (Experiments performed by Kree scientists on a captured Eternal lead them to go to Earth and perform their own genetic experiments on a group of humans, thus creating the Inhumans
.)
One day, Kronos' experiments in cosmic energy caused a catastrophic release of energy throughout the Eternals' city, Titanos, destroying it, activating latent genes in the Eternals, and disintegrating the scientist's body. The Eternals now found they could channel large quantities of cosmic energy themselves, granting them near-godlike power. The accident left Kronos in an immaterial state, so a new leader had to be chosen. For the first time, the Eternals merged into a single being, the Uni-Mind
, to decide which of Kronos' sons, Zuras
or A'lars
should be the new leader. Zuras was chosen, and A'lars chose to leave Earth to avoid causing another civil war, and journeyed to Titan.
There he found that a war (allegedly caused by the Dragon of the Moon
) had erupted on Titan and wiped out all but one member, a woman named Sui-San
. A'lars fell in love with her, and in time they repopulated Titan. Due to the mix of activated genes from A'lars and unactivated ones from Sui-San, these new Titanian Eternals are not as powerful or immortal as Terran Eternals, but are more powerful and longer-lived than the earlier pre-civil war Titanian Eternals.
While Zuras ruled, three new Eternal cities were built. The first was Olympia
, located in the mountains of Greece, near the main portal between the Earth dimension and the Olympians' home dimension, which lead many ancient Greeks to confuse some of the godlike Eternals with members of the Olympian pantheon. Eventually, an agreement was reached with the gods where some Eternals, such as Thena
, would impersonate the Olympians before their worshipers. The other two Eternal cities were Polaria (located in Siberia) and Oceana (in the Pacific).
18,000 years ago, the Celestials returned to Earth. The Deviants attacked them, but the Celestials counterattacked, resulting in the sinking of Mu
and Atlantis
, and much worldwide havoc. The Eternals helped rescue many humans. An Eternal named Valkin
was entrusted by the Celestials with an artifact of great power for safekeeping.
At some point during the early centuries, Ikaris
and the Eternals came into conflict with the immortal mutant, Apocalypse
. This conflict ended when Ikaris and the Eternals defeated him. Ikaris believed Apocalypse was dead.
1,000 years ago, the Asgardian god Thor
encountered some Eternals, but the encounter was erased from his mind, to prevent him from learning about the Celestials, who were about to return to Earth. An Eternal named Ajak
became the Celestial's spokesperson, and put himself to sleep when the Celestials left, to wait for their return 1,000 years later to judge humanity.
During the early 20th century, a human scientist made contact with the Uranian Eternals and was taken to live with them along with his young son, who would later become Marvel Boy
. The Uranians were eventually killed by Deathurge
. After mankind split the atom, some Eternals joined with some humans and Deviants to form the Damocles Foundation
to decide what to do about it. Some Eternals, such as Makkari
, were also active as superheroes, or living amongst humans, keeping their true nature hidden. The Eternals also helped to move the Inhumans' city to the Himalayas to keep it hidden.
At some point, Thanos
of the Eternals of Titan nearly destroyed their colony, but they rebuilt it, and would help Earth's heroes to oppose him on several occasions.
When the Celestials returned to judge the worthiness of their creations a few years ago, the Eternals found themselves clashing with the Deviants again, and decided to publicly reveal their existence to humanity. Zuras feared what would happen if the Celestials judged unfavorably. They encountered Thor again, and were attacked by Thor's father Odin and the Olympian gods, who tried to prevent their interfering with the gods' plans to attack the Celestials. Eventually, the Eternals decided to help the gods and formed a Uni-Mind to assist the Destroyer's
assault on the Celestials.
They were forced to dissolve back into Eternals by the Celestials, and the shock of the attack killed Zuras. Before his spirit fully left the material plane, he instructed his daughter Thena to take his people to explore space. Most of the Eternals did so in the form of a Uni-Mind, but a handful — those most heavily involved in Earthly affairs — remained behind on Earth. Since then, the Eternals have helped Earth's heroes, particularly the Avengers
, against several menaces. They also discovered the existence of the Titanian Eternals.
's new take on the immortal beings. Most seem to have no memory of their own history and abilities, except Ikaris, and no records of their previous appearances remain. Apparently the Eternal known as Sprite
, angered at having to remain an eleven-year-old and unable to grow any further, managed to induce collective amnesia in the Eternals as well as distort their perceptions of history. This can possibly be seen as Gaiman's attempt to retcon the characters; early stories as well as officially published statistics portrayed most of the current generation of Eternals — such as Ikaris and Thena — as being "only" several tens of thousands of years old but Gaiman's run describes them as being closer to a million years old.
A group of Deviants manage to kidnap Makkari
, using him to awaken the Dreaming Celestial
. Upon awakening, he decides to judge humanity. The Eternals, realizing that they cannot stop him, leave him be. The Eternals then embark on a quest to go and recruit the other members who have similarly forgotten their true selves due to Sprite's trickery.
and poison
, and are unaffected by environmental extremes of cold and heat. Most cannot be injured by conventional weaponry, and even if they somehow are, an Eternal can rapidly regenerate
any damage as long as they are able to retain their mental hold over their bodies; this mental bond can be broken however. In the 2006 series it was also stated that Eternals are able to absorb oxygen directly from water, and therefore cannot drown. In the same series, Ikaris was plunged into molten metal and experienced great pain, but no physical injury, which the Deviants attributed to a forcefield which protects Ikaris even when unconscious. It is unclear if all Eternals share this degree of protection.
At one time, the official limit to the Eternals' durability was such that they could be permanently destroyed by dispersing their bodies' molecules over a wide area.
However, this degree of extreme durability was recently revealed to have increased to a much greater degree; as demonstrated in the 2006 Eternals limited series, it is shown that even total molecular dispersal is insufficient to destroy an Eternal. As long as "The Machine" (a restoration device of Celestial origin; possibly the Earth itself) keeps running, any destroyed Eternal will eventually return, as was the case with Ikaris after he was completely vaporized by a particle accelerator
as part of a series of "experiments" performed upon him by the Deviants.
This same cosmic energy can be channeled for a number of superhuman abilities. All Eternals are potentially capable of:
Some Eternals choose to focus on a particular power in order to increase their effectiveness with it. Sersi
, for example, has developed the power of transmutation farther than any other Eternal. Additionally, some Eternals choose to focus their cosmic energies into other, non-standard abilities. Ikaris
, for example, channels cosmic energy to greatly enhance his senses, while the Interloper
uses his to generate fear in others, and Makkari
uses his cosmic energies for superspeed.
asleep, they were immediately shut down and discorporated back into their original, individual forms before they could even form a non-aggressive plan of action.
Furthermore, Eternals are compelled to attack and neutralize any being that attempts to engage any Celestial with hostile intent — this compulsion extends even to the Dreaming Celestial, whom the Eternals were forced to defend even as they feared that the newly-awakened Celestial would destroy all life on the planet.
imprint written by Chuck Austen
, based on an idea he had been working on for a while: "I pitched this back when I first started working at Marvel, but Joe Quesada was against doing it. He saw no future in this particular old Kirby concept." Austen described the plot as involving "Ikaeden, the leader of the Eternals, who arrives on Earth at the dawn of man, and evolves humankind from homo-erectus
so he can use them as slaves to mine raw materials for the Celestials, his bosses, basically," as well as "Kurassus, who is the second-in-command of the mining mission, and who is determined to undermine Ikaeden and kill Ikaeden's precious slave-girl and son." In an interview with Newsarama
he gave an outline of his planned plot:
Originally planned as an ongoing series, it ended up being cancelled after six issues.
Reception of the series was mixed. Peter Sanderson calls it "a ghastly mini-series ... which utilized the names like 'Eternal' and 'Celestial' from Kirby’s series but otherwise had nothing to do with it." Les Bowman on ICv2, replying to specific concerns about the sexual content, said that "[m]uch like the Rawhide Kid
, Marvel's editorial staff has decided to completely wreck the heritage of a well liked character, or in the case of the Eternals, a group, by perverting it for the reason of free press coverage." However, reviews at Comics Bulletin
were much more positive, with the one for the final issue saying that the cancellation of the title was "a damn shame because it was the only MAX series to live up to the billing of the imprint" and that "[i]If you want to read a 1980s EPIC
style comic buy this issue and all the others that came before, I doubt there will ever be a trade."
Others include:
:
Superhuman
Superhuman can mean an improved human, for example, by genetic modification, cybernetic implants, or as what humans might evolve into, in the near or distant future...
s in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
. They are described as an offshoot of the evolutionary process that created sentient life on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. The original instigators of this process, the alien
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
Celestials
Celestial (comics)
The Celestials are a group of fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters first appear in Eternals #1 and were created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
, intended the Eternals to be the defenders of Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
which leads to the inevitability of war against their destructive counterparts, the Deviants
Deviant (comics)
The Deviants are a fictional race of superhumans in the Marvel Comics' universe. They are an offshoot of the evolutionary process that created sentient life on Earth instigated by the alien Celestials, and wage war against their counterparts, the Eternals...
. The Eternals were created by Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
and made their first appearance in The Eternals #1 (July 1976
1976 in comics
This is a list of comics-related events in 1976.- Year overall :* American Splendor, Harvey Pekar's long-running autobiographical comic book title, publishes its debut issue.* Fantagraphics Books, Inc. founded by Gary Groth and Michael Catron....
).
Publication history
In 19701970 in comics
This is a list of comics-related events in 1970.- Events and publications :* Denis Kitchen founds Kitchen Sink Press in Princeton, Wisconsin-January:...
, Jack Kirby left Marvel Comics to work at DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, where he began the saga of the New Gods
New Gods
The New Gods are a fictional race appearing in publications by DC Comics, as well as the title for four series of comic books about those characters. They first appeared in New Gods #1 , and were created and designed by Jack Kirby....
, an epic story involving mythological and science fiction concepts, and planned to have a definite ending. However, the saga was left incomplete after the cancellation of the titles involved. Kirby began The Eternals when he returned to Marvel. The Eternals' saga was thematically similar to the New Gods', but the series was eventually canceled as well without resolving many of its plots, particularly the Celestials
Celestial (comics)
The Celestials are a group of fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters first appear in Eternals #1 and were created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
' judgment over humanity (see Fictional Biography below). Initially, the comic book was not intended to be part of the normal Marvel continuity, but a stand-alone publication.
The storyline took elements from the ideas of the Ancient astronauts
Ancient astronauts
Some writers have proposed that intelligent extraterrestrial beings have visited Earth in antiquity or prehistory and made contact with humans. Such visitors are called ancient astronauts or ancient aliens. Proponents suggest that this contact influenced the development of human cultures,...
, which postulate that humanity may had been visited by extraterrestrials in ancient times and interpreted them as supernatural beings. Thus, a recurring topic of the plots was to use the Eternals, the Deviants or the Celestials to provide explanations for myths or obscure events from history. In particular, many points from the book Chariots of the Gods? by Erich von Däniken
Erich von Däniken
Erich Anton Paul von Däniken is a Swiss author best known for his controversial claims about extraterrestrial influences on early human culture, in books such as Chariots of the Gods?, published in 1968...
were incorporated into the plot, such as the Nazca Lines
Nazca Lines
The Nazca Lines are a series of ancient geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. They were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. The high, arid plateau stretches more than between the towns of Nazca and Palpa on the Pampas de Jumana about 400 km south of Lima...
being an extraterrestrial airport or the Incas getting technological advances from them and in turn worshiping them as gods.
Writers Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
and Mark Gruenwald
Mark Gruenwald
Mark E. Gruenwald was an American comic book writer, editor, and occasional penciler. Gruenwald got his start in comics fandom, publishing his own fanzine, Omniverse, which explored the concept of continuity...
brought the Eternals into official Marvel Universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
continuity
Continuity (fiction)
In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer over some period of time...
in a long storyline in the Thor
Thor (Marvel Comics)
Thor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....
comic book series that climaxed in Thor #301, resolving those lingering plotlines. Since then, the Eternals (and the mythology connected to them) have appeared or been mentioned in numerous Marvel comics. In particular, the Celestials' experiment on humanity has been used to explain how certain humans can develop super-powers. The Titanians
Titan (Marvel Comics)
In the Marvel Universe, Saturn's moon Titan is the fictional home of the Titanian Eternals. It first appeared in Iron Man #55 and was created by Jim Starlin and Mike Friedrich...
(created by Jim Starlin
Jim Starlin
James P. "Jim" Starlin is an American comic book writer and artist. With a career dating back to the early 1970s, he is best known for "cosmic" tales and space opera; for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock; and for creating or co-creating the Marvel characters...
) and Uranians
Uranian (comics)
The Uranians are a fictional race in the Marvel Universe. They first appeared in Marvel Boy # 1 , written by Stan Lee, as the human-like inhabitants of the planet Uranus, who became the hosts and mentors of Marvel Boy , as well as providing him with the technology which he used on Earth to become a...
(created by Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
) were later retconned as being Eternals as well.
The Eternals returned for a twelve-issue limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
in 1985
1985 in comics
-Year overall:* More independent publishers enter the marketplace: Aircel Comics, Arrow Comics, Blackthorne Publishing, Dragon Lady Press, NOW Comics, Sirius Comics, Strawberry Jam Comics, and Wonder Comics all publish their first titles...
under writer Peter B. Gillis
Peter B. Gillis
Peter B. Gillis is an American comic book writer best known for his work at Marvel Comics and First Comics in the mid-1980s, including the series Strikeforce: Morituri, and the digitally drawn comic series Shatter.-Biography:...
, unfortunately, according to comic book historian Peter Sanderson
Peter Sanderson
Peter John Sanderson, Jr. is a comic book critic and historian, as well as an instructor/lecturer in the New York area concerning the study of graphic novels/comic books as literature....
, "editor in chief Jim Shooter
Jim Shooter
James Shooter is an American writer, occasional fill-in artist, editor, and publisher for various comic books. Although he started professionally in the medium at the extraordinarily young age of 14, he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comics' ninth...
disliked Gillis’s scripts, so Walter Simonson wrote the final four issues." However, Sanderson feels that "of all the attempts to portray the Eternals before the Gaiman revival, the Gillis-Simonson series was by far the most interesting and creative, but it has been grossly underrated and did not lead to an ongoing series."
Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
, with artist John Romita, Jr.
John Romita, Jr.
John Salvatore Romita, Jr. is an American comic book artist best known for his extensive work for Marvel Comics from the 1970s to the 2000s...
, created a 2006
2006 in comics
-January:*January 1, 2006: Newsweek offer a look back at 2005 through editorial cartoons. *January 2, 2006: The Cincinnati Enquirer cartoonist Jim Borgman starts a blog to detail his creative process...
limited series, which helped bring the Eternals role in the modern Marvel Universe up-to-date. Originally solicited as a six-issue series, an extra issue was added to the run, because, according to editor Nick Lowe, "There was too much story to fit into the structure we set for ourselves. Neil was starting issue five and told me that he might need a seventh issue. He just had too much story to fit in six issues (even with the first and sixth double-sized)."
The first ongoing series since Kirby's run was announced at the San Diego Comic Con in 2007. It is written by Charles and Daniel Knauf
Daniel Knauf
Daniel Knauf, sometimes credited under the pseudonyms Wilfred Schmidt and Chris Neal, is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, director and producer best known for his creation of the 2003 HBO series Carnivàle.-Biography:...
, with art by Daniel Acuña
Daniel Acuña
-Biography:In college, Acuña studied in painting and graduated with a degree in Fine Arts. He cites his early influences as Jack Kirby, the JohnRomitas, Will Eisner, Simon Bisley, Kevin Nowlan, Hal Foster, and his favorite, Richard Corben, along with fine artists such as Edward Hopper, Alfons...
, and the first issue was cover dated August 2008. In late 2008 Marvel also published an Eternals Annual by writer Fred Van Lente
Fred Van Lente
Fred Van Lente is an American writer, primarily of comic books and graphic novels.-Career:Van Lente is the co-founder, along with artist Ryan Dunlavey, of Evil Twin Comics, which produces his and Dunlavey’s non-fiction comic books, the first and most famous of which is Action Philosophers.Recent...
and artist Pascal Alixe, in which the Eternals come into conflict with the Young Gods
Young Gods (comics)
The Young Gods are a fictional group in the Marvel Comics universe. They are a group of twelve young human beings who were chosen by the major pantheons of Earth's goddesses to represent the finest qualities of humanity and the pinnacle of mankind's genetic potential and cultural...
. On February 27, 2009, Marvel's Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada
Joe Quesada
Joseph "Joe" Quesada is an American comic book editor, writer and artist. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books, such as Ninjak and Solar, Man of the Atom...
confirmed that the ongoing series had been cancelled.
Fictional group biography
When the CelestialsCelestial (comics)
The Celestials are a group of fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters first appear in Eternals #1 and were created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
visited Earth five million years ago and performed genetic experiments on early proto-humanity
Archaic Homo sapiens
Archaic Homo sapiens is a loosely defined term used to describe a number of varieties of Homo, as opposed to anatomically modern humans , in the period beginning 500,000 years ago....
, they created two divergent races: the long-lived Eternals, and the genetically unstable and monstrously grotesque Deviants
Deviant (comics)
The Deviants are a fictional race of superhumans in the Marvel Comics' universe. They are an offshoot of the evolutionary process that created sentient life on Earth instigated by the alien Celestials, and wage war against their counterparts, the Eternals...
. These experiments also lead to the capacity for super-powered mutations
Mutant (Marvel Comics)
In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...
in humans. They also performed this experiment on other planets (such as the Kree
Kree
The Kree, also known as the Ruul, are a scientifically and technologically advanced militaristic alien race in the fictional Marvel Universe. They are native to the planet Hala in the Large Magellanic Cloud...
and Skrull
Skrull
The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The Skrulls first appeared in Fantastic Four #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby....
homeworlds) with similar results.
Despite looking human, Eternals are much more long-lived (but were not originally fully immortal) and that kept them from having much contact with their human cousins. Eternals have a low birth rate; they can interbreed with humans but the result is always a normal human (although Joey Athena, son of Thena and a normal human seems to have become an Eternal with long lived properties and powers). Despite this, the Eternals have in general protected the human race, especially from the Deviants, with whom they've always had an enmity. The Eternals also developed advanced technology.
Long ago, a civil war broke out amongst the Eternals over whether to conquer the other races, with one faction led by Kronos
Kronos (comics)
Kronos is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Iron Man #55 and was created by Jim Starlin.-Publication history:...
and the other by his warlike brother, Uranos. Kronos' side prevailed, and Uranos and his defeated faction left Earth and journeyed to Uranus where they built a colony. Some of Uranos' group soon tried to return to Earth to re-kindle the war, but they were attacked by a passing Kree ship and forced to land on Saturn's moon Titan
Titan (Marvel Comics)
In the Marvel Universe, Saturn's moon Titan is the fictional home of the Titanian Eternals. It first appeared in Iron Man #55 and was created by Jim Starlin and Mike Friedrich...
. There they built another colony. (Experiments performed by Kree scientists on a captured Eternal lead them to go to Earth and perform their own genetic experiments on a group of humans, thus creating the Inhumans
Inhumans
The Inhumans are a fictional race of superhumans, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. This race appears in various comic book series published by Marvel Comics and exists in that company's shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe....
.)
One day, Kronos' experiments in cosmic energy caused a catastrophic release of energy throughout the Eternals' city, Titanos, destroying it, activating latent genes in the Eternals, and disintegrating the scientist's body. The Eternals now found they could channel large quantities of cosmic energy themselves, granting them near-godlike power. The accident left Kronos in an immaterial state, so a new leader had to be chosen. For the first time, the Eternals merged into a single being, the Uni-Mind
Uni-Mind
The Uni-Mind is a fictional composite being in the Marvel Universe. The Uni-Mind and the Eternals were the creation of Jack Kirby.-Fictional character biography:...
, to decide which of Kronos' sons, Zuras
Zuras
Zuras is a fictional character appearing in the Marvel Comics universe. He is a member of the Eternals.-Fictional character biography:Zuras was born in Titanos, first city of the Eternals, and is the son of the Eternals Kronos and Daina, and brother of A'Lars...
or A'lars
A'lars
Mentor is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe, who first appeared in Iron Man vol. 1 #55, and was created by Jim Starlin.Mentor is the leader of the Titanian colony. His back-story was based on Greek mythology...
should be the new leader. Zuras was chosen, and A'lars chose to leave Earth to avoid causing another civil war, and journeyed to Titan.
There he found that a war (allegedly caused by the Dragon of the Moon
Dragon of the Moon
The Dragon of the Moon is a fictional character, a malevolent entity appearing in the Marvel Comics universe. It has been a foe of both the Defenders and the Eternals.-Publication history:...
) had erupted on Titan and wiped out all but one member, a woman named Sui-San
Sui-San
Sui-San is a fictional character, a member of the Eternals, a race in the Marvel Comics universe.-Publication history:Sui-San first appeared in Captain Marvel vol. 1 #29 , and was created by Jim Starlin. The character also appears in Silver Surfer vol...
. A'lars fell in love with her, and in time they repopulated Titan. Due to the mix of activated genes from A'lars and unactivated ones from Sui-San, these new Titanian Eternals are not as powerful or immortal as Terran Eternals, but are more powerful and longer-lived than the earlier pre-civil war Titanian Eternals.
While Zuras ruled, three new Eternal cities were built. The first was Olympia
Olympia (comics)
Olympia is a fictional city in the Marvel Universe. It first appeared in Eternals #5 and was created by Jack Kirby.-Fictional history:...
, located in the mountains of Greece, near the main portal between the Earth dimension and the Olympians' home dimension, which lead many ancient Greeks to confuse some of the godlike Eternals with members of the Olympian pantheon. Eventually, an agreement was reached with the gods where some Eternals, such as Thena
Thena
Thena is a fictional character appearing in the Marvel Comics universe. She is a member of the Eternals.- Fictional character biography :Thena was born in the city of Olympia in ancient Greece, and is thus one of the Eternals of Olympia...
, would impersonate the Olympians before their worshipers. The other two Eternal cities were Polaria (located in Siberia) and Oceana (in the Pacific).
18,000 years ago, the Celestials returned to Earth. The Deviants attacked them, but the Celestials counterattacked, resulting in the sinking of Mu
Mu (lost continent)
Mu is the name of a hypothetical continent that allegedly existed in one of Earth's oceans, but disappeared at the dawn of human history.The concept and the name were proposed by 19th century traveler and writer Augustus Le Plongeon, who claimed that several ancient civilizations, such as those of...
and Atlantis
Atlantis (Marvel Comics)
Atlantis is a fictional location in the Marvel Universe. It is based on the mythical island of Atlantis first mentioned in Plato's initial dialogue the Timaeus, written circa 360 BC. In the Marvel Universe, Atlantis was a small continent with many human settlements...
, and much worldwide havoc. The Eternals helped rescue many humans. An Eternal named Valkin
Valkin
Valkin is a fictional character, a member of the Eternals, a race in the Marvel Comics universe who first appeared in The Eternals vol. 1 #11.-Fictional character biography:...
was entrusted by the Celestials with an artifact of great power for safekeeping.
At some point during the early centuries, Ikaris
Ikaris
Ikaris is a fictional character, a member of an alien race known as the Eternals in the Marvel Comics universe. Both Ikaris and the Eternals were created by Jack Kirby.-Publication history:...
and the Eternals came into conflict with the immortal mutant, Apocalypse
Apocalypse (comics)
Apocalypse is a fictional character who is an ancient mutant that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in X-Factor #5 , created by writer Louise Simonson and designed by artist Walter Simonson...
. This conflict ended when Ikaris and the Eternals defeated him. Ikaris believed Apocalypse was dead.
1,000 years ago, the Asgardian god Thor
Thor (Marvel Comics)
Thor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....
encountered some Eternals, but the encounter was erased from his mind, to prevent him from learning about the Celestials, who were about to return to Earth. An Eternal named Ajak
Ajak
Ajak is a fictional character, a member of the Eternals, a race in the Marvel Comics universe.-Publication history:Ajak first appeared in Eternals vol. 1 #2 , and was created by Jack Kirby...
became the Celestial's spokesperson, and put himself to sleep when the Celestials left, to wait for their return 1,000 years later to judge humanity.
During the early 20th century, a human scientist made contact with the Uranian Eternals and was taken to live with them along with his young son, who would later become Marvel Boy
Marvel Boy (Robert Grayson)
Marvel Boy , also known as The Uranian, is a fictional character, a superhero in the , one of several to use the name Marvel Boy. He was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Russ Heath, and first appeared in Marvel Boy #1 Marvel Boy (Robert Grayson), also known as The Uranian, is a...
. The Uranians were eventually killed by Deathurge
Deathurge
Deathurge is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. He is a wraith-like superhuman entity who served as the herald and agent of Oblivion. He first appeared in Marvel Two-In-One #71.-Fictional character biography:...
. After mankind split the atom, some Eternals joined with some humans and Deviants to form the Damocles Foundation
Damocles Foundation
The Damocles Foundation is a fictional organization in the Marvel Comics universe. It first appeared in X-Force #79 in 1998, and was created by John Francis Moore, Adam Pollina, Mark Morales and Rob Stull....
to decide what to do about it. Some Eternals, such as Makkari
Makkari (comics)
Makkari, formerly known as Hurricane and Mercury, is a member of the Eternals, a fictional race of superhumans in the Marvel Comics universe...
, were also active as superheroes, or living amongst humans, keeping their true nature hidden. The Eternals also helped to move the Inhumans' city to the Himalayas to keep it hidden.
At some point, Thanos
Thanos
Thanos is a fictional character that appears in comic books and other media published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Iron Man #55 and was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin....
of the Eternals of Titan nearly destroyed their colony, but they rebuilt it, and would help Earth's heroes to oppose him on several occasions.
When the Celestials returned to judge the worthiness of their creations a few years ago, the Eternals found themselves clashing with the Deviants again, and decided to publicly reveal their existence to humanity. Zuras feared what would happen if the Celestials judged unfavorably. They encountered Thor again, and were attacked by Thor's father Odin and the Olympian gods, who tried to prevent their interfering with the gods' plans to attack the Celestials. Eventually, the Eternals decided to help the gods and formed a Uni-Mind to assist the Destroyer's
Destroyer (Thor)
The Destroyer is a fictional object that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The object first appears in Journey into Mystery #118 The Destroyer is a fictional object that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The object first appears in Journey into Mystery #118 The...
assault on the Celestials.
They were forced to dissolve back into Eternals by the Celestials, and the shock of the attack killed Zuras. Before his spirit fully left the material plane, he instructed his daughter Thena to take his people to explore space. Most of the Eternals did so in the form of a Uni-Mind, but a handful — those most heavily involved in Earthly affairs — remained behind on Earth. Since then, the Eternals have helped Earth's heroes, particularly the Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
, against several menaces. They also discovered the existence of the Titanian Eternals.
Eternals volume 3
Recently, the Eternals have begun reappearing on Earth in Neil GaimanNeil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
's new take on the immortal beings. Most seem to have no memory of their own history and abilities, except Ikaris, and no records of their previous appearances remain. Apparently the Eternal known as Sprite
Sprite (Eternal)
Sprite is a fictional character appearing in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. Although physically a child, Sprite is an Eternal, a member of an ancient and extremely powerful race. He was created by Jack Kirby and first appeared in The Eternals vol. 1 #9.-Fictional character...
, angered at having to remain an eleven-year-old and unable to grow any further, managed to induce collective amnesia in the Eternals as well as distort their perceptions of history. This can possibly be seen as Gaiman's attempt to retcon the characters; early stories as well as officially published statistics portrayed most of the current generation of Eternals — such as Ikaris and Thena — as being "only" several tens of thousands of years old but Gaiman's run describes them as being closer to a million years old.
A group of Deviants manage to kidnap Makkari
Makkari (comics)
Makkari, formerly known as Hurricane and Mercury, is a member of the Eternals, a fictional race of superhumans in the Marvel Comics universe...
, using him to awaken the Dreaming Celestial
Dreaming Celestial
In the Marvel Comics' universe, the Dreaming Celestial is a renegade member of the race of god-like Celestials.-Publication history:The Dreaming Celestial first appeared in Eternals Vol. 1, #18 , and was created by Jack Kirby....
. Upon awakening, he decides to judge humanity. The Eternals, realizing that they cannot stop him, leave him be. The Eternals then embark on a quest to go and recruit the other members who have similarly forgotten their true selves due to Sprite's trickery.
Powers and abilities
Due to the cosmic energy that suffuses an Eternal's body and the nigh-unbreakable mental hold they have over their physiological processes, the Eternals of Earth are effectively immortal. They live for millennia, do not fatigue from physical exertion, are immune to diseaseDisease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
and poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
, and are unaffected by environmental extremes of cold and heat. Most cannot be injured by conventional weaponry, and even if they somehow are, an Eternal can rapidly regenerate
Healing factor
A healing factor is a term used to describe the ability of some characters in fiction to recover from bodily injuries or disease at a superhuman rate...
any damage as long as they are able to retain their mental hold over their bodies; this mental bond can be broken however. In the 2006 series it was also stated that Eternals are able to absorb oxygen directly from water, and therefore cannot drown. In the same series, Ikaris was plunged into molten metal and experienced great pain, but no physical injury, which the Deviants attributed to a forcefield which protects Ikaris even when unconscious. It is unclear if all Eternals share this degree of protection.
At one time, the official limit to the Eternals' durability was such that they could be permanently destroyed by dispersing their bodies' molecules over a wide area.
However, this degree of extreme durability was recently revealed to have increased to a much greater degree; as demonstrated in the 2006 Eternals limited series, it is shown that even total molecular dispersal is insufficient to destroy an Eternal. As long as "The Machine" (a restoration device of Celestial origin; possibly the Earth itself) keeps running, any destroyed Eternal will eventually return, as was the case with Ikaris after he was completely vaporized by a particle accelerator
Particle accelerator
A particle accelerator is a device that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to high speeds and to contain them in well-defined beams. An ordinary CRT television set is a simple form of accelerator. There are two basic types: electrostatic and oscillating field accelerators.In...
as part of a series of "experiments" performed upon him by the Deviants.
This same cosmic energy can be channeled for a number of superhuman abilities. All Eternals are potentially capable of:
- Superhuman strength. The limits of their strength can be increased as a result of years of focusing some of their energy towards that purpose.
- Projecting concussive blasts, heat, and/or blinding flashes of energy from their eyes and hands
- FlightFlightFlight is the process by which an object moves either through an atmosphere or beyond it by generating lift or propulsive thrust, or aerostatically using buoyancy, or by simple ballistic movement....
(and levitating others) - Reading/controlling minds
- Generating illusions
- TeleportingTeleportationTeleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
vast distances, though most Eternals prefer not to use this ability as many find it uncomfortable (and according to the most recent series, it also greatly depletes their store of cosmic energy) - Transmuting objects, altering both their shape and composition. (The extent of this ability can vary from one Eternal to another.)
- Forcefield generation providing invulnerability to harm.
- In addition, groups of Eternals, as few as three at a time, can initiate a transformation into a gestalt being called the Uni-MindUni-MindThe Uni-Mind is a fictional composite being in the Marvel Universe. The Uni-Mind and the Eternals were the creation of Jack Kirby.-Fictional character biography:...
, a vastly powerful psionic entity that contains the totality of the powers and abilities of all the beings that comprise it.
Some Eternals choose to focus on a particular power in order to increase their effectiveness with it. Sersi
Sersi
Sersi is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superheroine and an Eternal.-Publication history:Sersi was created by Jack Kirby and first appeared in The Eternals #3 . Although the comic book was published by Marvel Comics, the Eternals were not treated as part of the Marvel universe, but as a...
, for example, has developed the power of transmutation farther than any other Eternal. Additionally, some Eternals choose to focus their cosmic energies into other, non-standard abilities. Ikaris
Ikaris
Ikaris is a fictional character, a member of an alien race known as the Eternals in the Marvel Comics universe. Both Ikaris and the Eternals were created by Jack Kirby.-Publication history:...
, for example, channels cosmic energy to greatly enhance his senses, while the Interloper
Interloper (comics)
The Interloper is a fictional character appearing in the Marvel Comics universe. He is a member of the Eternals.-Publication history:The Interloper first appeared in Defenders #147 , and was created by Peter B. Gillis and Don Perlin....
uses his to generate fear in others, and Makkari
Makkari (comics)
Makkari, formerly known as Hurricane and Mercury, is a member of the Eternals, a fictional race of superhumans in the Marvel Comics universe...
uses his cosmic energies for superspeed.
Limitations
The recent ret-con of the Eternals' origins, and abilities also introduces a significant limitation to their powers as well: They cannot attack their Celestial "masters" for any reason, whether they make a conscious decision to do so, or whether they are tricked into accidentally striking the beings. Any such attempt shuts the body of the attacking Eternal down, and is implied to be an automatic defense mechanism of the Celestials' armor. On one occasion, when the Eternals attempted to form a Uni-Mind with the intent of keeping the Dreaming CelestialDreaming Celestial
In the Marvel Comics' universe, the Dreaming Celestial is a renegade member of the race of god-like Celestials.-Publication history:The Dreaming Celestial first appeared in Eternals Vol. 1, #18 , and was created by Jack Kirby....
asleep, they were immediately shut down and discorporated back into their original, individual forms before they could even form a non-aggressive plan of action.
Furthermore, Eternals are compelled to attack and neutralize any being that attempts to engage any Celestial with hostile intent — this compulsion extends even to the Dreaming Celestial, whom the Eternals were forced to defend even as they feared that the newly-awakened Celestial would destroy all life on the planet.
Generations
- First Generation Eternal (those born before the fall of Titanos): Arlok, Astron, Daina, Kronos/Chronos/Chronus, Master Elo, Oceanus, Uranos.
- Second Generation Eternal (those alive at the time of Chronus' experiment): A'lars, Arnaa, Cybele, Forgotten One/Gilgamesh, Helios, Perse, Rakar, Tulayn, Valkin, Virako, Zuras.
- Third Generation Eternal (those born after Chronos' experiment but before the Second Host): Aginar, Ajak, Arex, Atlo, Domo, Ikaris, Interloper, Mara, Phastos, Sigmar, Thena, Veron, Zarin.
- Fourth Generation Eternal (those born after the coming of the Second Host, 20,000 years ago): Argos, Ceyote, Chi Demon, the Delphan brothers, Druig, Khoryphos, Makkari, Psykos, Sersi, Kingo Sunen, El Vampiro.
- Fifth Generation Eternal (those born after the coming of the Third Host, 3,000 years ago): Aurelle, Sprite, Titanis.
Antecedents
- Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. ClarkeSir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
's book Childhood's EndChildhood's EndChildhood's End is a 1953 science fiction novel by the British author Arthur C. Clarke. The story follows the peaceful alien invasion of Earth by the mysterious Overlords, whose arrival ends all war, helps form a world government, and turns the planet into a near-utopia...
from 1953 provided large inspiration, including the idea of "Overlords" who control Earth's fate and will reveal themselves further after a 50-year waiting period, the idea of demons being humanity's memory of another species, and the "Overmind" concept which seems to influence the comic's "Uni-mind". - Erich von DänikenErich von DänikenErich Anton Paul von Däniken is a Swiss author best known for his controversial claims about extraterrestrial influences on early human culture, in books such as Chariots of the Gods?, published in 1968...
's book Chariots of the Gods, a 1968 non-fiction best-seller, postulated the concept of alien gods as real. Kirby acknowledged in dialogue with fans of the Eternals that he owed some debt to Däniken's book. - The Hurricane and Mercury, two characters of Timely ComicsTimely ComicsTimely Comics, an imprint of Timely Publications, was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics....
, the 1940s predecessor of Marvel, were retconned as being guises of the Eternal Makkari. - Thematically, the Eternals were similar to another Kirby creation, the New GodsNew GodsThe New Gods are a fictional race appearing in publications by DC Comics, as well as the title for four series of comic books about those characters. They first appeared in New Gods #1 , and were created and designed by Jack Kirby....
— another group of ancient godlike beings in an epic struggle with their opposites, with humanity caught in between.
The Eternal
The Eternal is a series from Marvel's MAXMAX (comics)
MAX is an imprint of Marvel Comics aimed at a niche 'adults only' audience, launched in 2001 after Marvel broke with the Comics Code Authority and established its own rating system...
imprint written by Chuck Austen
Chuck Austen
Chuck Austen is an American comic book writer/artist, TV writer and animator. In the comics industry, he is known for his work on War Machine, Elektra, Action Comics, and the X-Men franchise, and in television, he is known for co-creating the aniamted TV series Tripping the Rift.-Early life:Austen...
, based on an idea he had been working on for a while: "I pitched this back when I first started working at Marvel, but Joe Quesada was against doing it. He saw no future in this particular old Kirby concept." Austen described the plot as involving "Ikaeden, the leader of the Eternals, who arrives on Earth at the dawn of man, and evolves humankind from homo-erectus
Homo erectus
Homo erectus is an extinct species of hominid that lived from the end of the Pliocene epoch to the later Pleistocene, about . The species originated in Africa and spread as far as India, China and Java. There is still disagreement on the subject of the classification, ancestry, and progeny of H...
so he can use them as slaves to mine raw materials for the Celestials, his bosses, basically," as well as "Kurassus, who is the second-in-command of the mining mission, and who is determined to undermine Ikaeden and kill Ikaeden's precious slave-girl and son." In an interview with Newsarama
Newsarama
Newsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews and essays about the American comic book industry.-History:Newsarama began in Summer 1995 as a series of Internet forum postings on the Prodigy comic-book message boards by fan Mike Doran. In these short messages. Doran shared...
he gave an outline of his planned plot:
Originally planned as an ongoing series, it ended up being cancelled after six issues.
Reception of the series was mixed. Peter Sanderson calls it "a ghastly mini-series ... which utilized the names like 'Eternal' and 'Celestial' from Kirby’s series but otherwise had nothing to do with it." Les Bowman on ICv2, replying to specific concerns about the sexual content, said that "[m]uch like the Rawhide Kid
Rawhide Kid
The Rawhide Kid is a fictional Old West cowboy in comic books published by Marvel Comics. A heroic gunfighter of the 19th-century American West who was unjustly wanted as an outlaw, he is one of Marvel's most prolific Western characters...
, Marvel's editorial staff has decided to completely wreck the heritage of a well liked character, or in the case of the Eternals, a group, by perverting it for the reason of free press coverage." However, reviews at Comics Bulletin
Comics Bulletin
Comics Bulletin is a website with an emphasis on the American comic book industry, updated daily with news, reviews, interviews, and editorial content. Coverage ranges from mainstream to independent/small press comic book and graphic novel publishers.-History:...
were much more positive, with the one for the final issue saying that the cancellation of the title was "a damn shame because it was the only MAX series to live up to the billing of the imprint" and that "[i]If you want to read a 1980s EPIC
Epic Comics
Epic Comics was a creator-owned imprint of Marvel Comics started in 1982, lasting through the mid-1990s, and being briefly revived on a small scale in the mid-2000s.- Origins :...
style comic buy this issue and all the others that came before, I doubt there will ever be a trade."
Eternals titles
The main Eternals titles include:- Eternals (vol. 1) #1–19 (written and penciledPencillerA penciller is an artist who works in the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms.The penciller is the first step in rendering the story in visual form and may require several steps of feedback with the writer. These artists are concerned with layout to showcase...
by Jack KirbyJack KirbyJack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
, July 1976 - Jan. 1978) - Eternals Annual #1 (written and penciled by Jack KirbyJack KirbyJack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
, 1977) - Eternals (vol. 2) #1–12 (limited seriesLimited seriesA limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
, Oct. 1985 - Sept. 1986) - Eternals: The Herod Factor (March 1991)
- The New Eternals: Apocalypse Now (also known as Eternals: The New Breed) #1 (Feb. 2000)
- Eternals (vol. 3) #1–7 (written by Neil GaimanNeil GaimanNeil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
, limited series, Jun. 2006 - Feb. 2007) - Eternals (vol 4.) #1–9, Annual #1 (August 2008 - March 2009)
Others include:
- The Eternal #1–6 (written by Chuck AustenChuck AustenChuck Austen is an American comic book writer/artist, TV writer and animator. In the comics industry, he is known for his work on War Machine, Elektra, Action Comics, and the X-Men franchise, and in television, he is known for co-creating the aniamted TV series Tripping the Rift.-Early life:Austen...
, with pencils by Kev WalkerKev WalkerKevin "Kev" Walker is a British comics artist and illustrator, based in Leeds, who worked mainly on 2000 AD and Warhammer comics and the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering...
and inks by Simon ColebySimon ColebySimon Coleby is a British comic book artist who has worked mainly for British sci-fi comic 2000 AD and Marvel Comics.-Biography:...
, Aug. 2003 - Jan. 2004)
Collected editions
A number of the series featuring the Eternals have been collected into trade paperbacksTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
- The Eternals (collects Eternals (vol. 1) #1-19 and Eternals Annual #1, 1976–1978, Marvel OmnibusMarvel OmnibusMarvel Omnibus is a line of comic book series collections published by Marvel Comics. These collections provide full color compilations of several comics, aiming at complete runs...
hardback, 392 pages, July 2006, ISBN 0-7851-2205-2) collected as a softcovers:- Volume 1 (collects Eternals (vol. 1) #1-11, softcover, 208 pages, July 2008, ISBN 0-7851-3313-5)
- Volume 2 (collects Eternals (vol. 1) #12-19 and Eternals Annual #1, softcover, 188 pages, October 2008, ISBN 0-7851-3442-5)
- Thor: The Eternals Saga:
- Volume 1 (collects Thor Annual #7 and Thor #283-291, softcover, 208 pages, October 2006, ISBN 0-7851-2404-7)
- Volume 2 (collects Thor #292-301, softcover, 216 pages, April 2007, ISBN 0-7851-2405-5)
- Eternals (collects Eternals (vol. 3) #1-7, 2006, softcover, 256 pages, Marvel Comics, July 2008, ISBN 0785121773, March 2007, Panini ComicsPanini ComicsPanini Comics is an Italian comic book publisher. A division of Panini Group, best known for their collectible stickers, it is headquartered in Modena, Italy...
, ISBN 1-905239-57-2, hardcover, 256 pages, May 2007, ISBN 0-7851-2176-5, April 2007, ISBN 0-7851-2541-8)
- Eternals:
- Volume 1: To Slay A God (collects Eternals (vol. 4) #1-6, softcover, 184 pages, March 2009, ISBN 0-7851-2978-2)
- Volume 2: Manifest DestinyX-Men: Manifest Destiny"Manifest Destiny" is an American comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics through the X-Men related titles and a number of limited series, including a self titled one...
(collects Eternals (vol. 4) #7-9 and Eternals Annual, softcover, 104 pages, September 2009, ISBN 0-7851-2979-0)
Awards
- 2007: Nominated for "Best Archival Collection/Project--Comic Books" Eisner Award, for Marvel OmnibusMarvel OmnibusMarvel Omnibus is a line of comic book series collections published by Marvel Comics. These collections provide full color compilations of several comics, aiming at complete runs...
collection
External links
- Eternals on the Marvel Universe
- Eternals at the Marvel Database Project
- Know Your Eternals I: The Eternals, NewsaramaNewsaramaNewsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews and essays about the American comic book industry.-History:Newsarama began in Summer 1995 as a series of Internet forum postings on the Prodigy comic-book message boards by fan Mike Doran. In these short messages. Doran shared...
, April 21, 2006 - Know Your Eternals II: Celestials & Deviants, NewsaramaNewsaramaNewsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews and essays about the American comic book industry.-History:Newsarama began in Summer 1995 as a series of Internet forum postings on the Prodigy comic-book message boards by fan Mike Doran. In these short messages. Doran shared...
, April 25, 2006 - Know Your Eternals III: Kirby & The Eternals (I), NewsaramaNewsaramaNewsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews and essays about the American comic book industry.-History:Newsarama began in Summer 1995 as a series of Internet forum postings on the Prodigy comic-book message boards by fan Mike Doran. In these short messages. Doran shared...
, April 28, 2006 - Know Your Eternals IV: The Marvel Universe and The Eternals, NewsaramaNewsaramaNewsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews and essays about the American comic book industry.-History:Newsarama began in Summer 1995 as a series of Internet forum postings on the Prodigy comic-book message boards by fan Mike Doran. In these short messages. Doran shared...
, May 4, 2006
Reviews
- Best Shots Extra: The Eternals #1, NewsaramaNewsaramaNewsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews and essays about the American comic book industry.-History:Newsarama began in Summer 1995 as a series of Internet forum postings on the Prodigy comic-book message boards by fan Mike Doran. In these short messages. Doran shared...
, June 9, 2008