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The Eternals, arriving in theaters tonight, were introduced in the pages of Marvel comics in 1976, but it took a little longer for them to become a part of the Marvel Universe proper.
Written and drawn by the legendary Jack Kirby -- co-creator of Captain America, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Thor and creator of DC's New Gods and Demon among many others -- "The Eternals" was about a race of immortal super-beings and their horrifying opposite number, the Deviants. Genetically engineered by the massive, mysterious Celestials, these races inspired, as Kirby's tale goes, many myths and religions on Earth. But they were relegated to secret societies until their cosmic creators returned to judge the planet, forcing them out into the open.
Many of the characters had names evoking the stories they inspired: Ikaris, who interacts with humanity and tries to hold the darker members of his people in check; Sersi, whose powers allow the transmutation of matter; the speedster Makkari; Zuras, the all-powerful leader; Thena, his wise daughter who was romantically entangled with a prominent Deviant; and the Forgotten One, revealed to be the basis for many heroes of legend.
When the Eternals need to make major decisions, they form the Uni-Mind, a giant, glowing brain that combines all their essences, and powers, into one. I'll be shocked if this doesn't make it into the movie.
The movie's casting switches up a lot of the characters' ethnicities and genders, but despite their longevity, I don't know a lot of dyed-in-the-wool Eternals fans who will be upset by the changes.
Kirby apparently didn't see his opus as part of the wider Marvel universe, but others wanted it to be. There are a handful of references to characters but no direct crossover.
The series ended after 19 issues and an annual, but the characters resurfaced about a year-and-a-half later in the pages of "Thor." The resulting "Eternals (or Celestial) Saga" spanned nearly two years of Thor comics, although it essentially turns into "How Thor Met His Mother" in the second half, delving into the origins of the thunder god, Asgard and a lot of other non-Eternal topics.
A series of backup stories in Marvel's "What If" series explored their origins further, showing how they split into factions, some of whom went into space and became ancestors of a Deviant-gene-carrying despot named Thanos.
Eventually, many of the Earthbound Eternals decided their destiny also lay in the stars. Those who stayed behind occasionally interacted with other Marvel characters. Sersi and the Forgotten One even joined the Avengers.
A 2000 one-shot introduced several new Eternals and tried to recast them in more of a traditional superhero role, but they faded back into obscurity until fan-favorite writer Neil Gaiman took on the characters in 2006. He revealed the secret to their immortality was a reactivation chamber that rebuilt their bodies and downloaded their souls after death. In this series, the Eternals' memories had been erased and they were living as humans, until Ikaris attempted to awaken them, with vengeance-seeking Deviants hot on his trail.
Of all the elements Kirby introduced with the Eternals, the Celestials have had the most staying power, as key components of Marvel's cosmic tapestry. The most recent Avengers relaunch showed that a dying Celestial was responsible for the development of so many superhumans on Earth and the Eternals weren't created as protectors so much as caretakers minding humanity in case it developed something powerful enough to stop the Celestials' foes, the insectoid Horde.
With the movie on the horizon, a new "Eternals" series recently launched, with the immortals trying to find their place in the world.
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com
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Recommended Reading
* "Eternals by Jack Kirby" -- Available in two volumes or one omnibus, this collects all 19 issues and the annual written, drawn and edited by the legendary Kirby as he introduced the sprawling Eternals saga.
* "Thor and the Eternals: The Celestial Saga" -- Other creators pick up Kirby's creations and integrate them into the main Marvel Universe, in a story that also has far-reaching ramifications for Thor and his past.
* "Eternals: To Slay a God" -- Picking up after Neil Gaiman's revival, this series further revises the characters' history and sets up a status quo that only lasted a few more issues.