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Learn Who's Who In Marvel's 'Eternals'

Get to know the next big Superhero team

By Kristy AndersonPublished 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago 8 min read
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Credit: The Cast of 'Eternals'.

Marvel's next big film, Eternals, is due to hit theatres in November. The film follows a group of super-powered immortals who have lived undercover on our planet for over 7000 years, and come out of hiding when Earth is once again threatened by their evil counterparts, the Deviants.

Eternals is already generating Oscar buzz due to the involvement of Director Chloe Zhao. On the other hand, many have deemed it Marvel Studios' biggest risk in recent years, due to the characters being widely unknown to general audiences.

To help, here's a quick rundown of who's who in Eternals.

Sersi

Credit: Marvel

In the comics, Sersi is born into the fourth generation of Eternals, as the child of Helios and Perse. On top of the usual superhuman abilities all Eternals possess, such as strength, speed, and durability, Sersi can also alter the molecular structure of objects and beings, which she usually passes off as magic or illusions while on Earth.

Sersi develops a deeper affinity for humanity than most of her kind, and her desire for a more normal life among humans sometimes gets in the way of her duties as an Eternal. Sersi has served as a member of the Avengers, Heroes For Hire, and joins regular ally Thor in Hercules’s 'God Squad', a team of God-like beings brought together to battle the evil Chaos King after all of humanity is rendered temoprarily unconscious.

Credit: Marvel.

In Eternals, Sersi will be played by Gemma Chan. While she has been in love with fellow Eternal Ikaris for centuries, but when the film begins, is dating the human Dane Whitman, whom she works alongside while posing as a Curator in a Natural History Museum. The character has been described as the film's lead.

Ikaris

Credit: Marvel.

In early stories, the Eternals were often portrayed as having links with mythological figures. The Eternal whom eventually became Ikaris was said to have fathered Icarus with a mortal woman, and overcome with grief when the boy was killed flying too close to the Sun, took the name Ikaris in his memory. While most Eternals can fly to some extent, Ikaris is a Master of the art, able to fly much faster than others of his kind. He also has the ability to fire beams of energy from his eyes and hands.

Ikaris is a leadership figure among the Eternals, and is often the one to fetch Sersi when she misses meetings with the rest of the group. He has fought alongside the Avengers, and, for a time, fought in the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation, a wrestling team for enhanced individuals, as Ike 'Iceberg' Harris. In a 2006 soft reboot of the characters, Ikaris was the only Eternal to retain his memory of his true nature, and must search the world for the rest of the team.

Credit: Marvel.

In the upcoming film, Ikaris will be played by former Game Of Thrones star Richard Madden. The character will have a long, complicated romantic history with Sersi. While Sersi feels empathy and compassion for humans, Ikaris struggles to connect with them, not seeing the point due to the Eternals' extended life-span.

Sprite

Sprite is an Eternal with the appearance of an eleven-year old child. In the comics, the character is believed to have inspired J.M Barrie to create the character of Peter Pan. Sprite's most commonly used ability is the creation of illusions. He is mischievous to a fault, often not realising how dangerous his pranks could be.

In the 2006 soft reboot of the Eternals, the loss of the other Eternals' memories is eventually revealed to be Sprite's doing. Tired of being stuck in the body of a child, not taken seriously, and never able to indulge in adult pleasures, Sprite uses the powers of the Eternal's creator, the Dreaming Celestial, to warp reality, erasing the memories of his fellow Eternals and transforming himself into a real human child with the ability to age. Unfortunately, Sprite's actions bring about a lot of unnecessary trouble.

In Eternals, Sprite will be portrayed by young actress Lia McHugh. Despite her youthful appearance, the character is described as an old soul.

Kingo

Credit: Marvel

In the comics, Kingo is an Eternal who attempts to blend in on Earth by starring in, and later directing, Samurai films, under the alias Kingo Sunen. On top of the usual strength and near invulnerability of the Eternals, Kingo can project cosmic energy projectiles from his hands.

Credit: Disney

In the film, Kingo will be played by Kumail Nanjiani. The character has become enamoured with fame, but instead of Samurai films, Kingo will instead be posing as a Bollywood Star.

Phastos

Credit: Marvel.

Phastos is the Eternal responsible for buliding many of the devices and weapons used by others of his kind, including Kingo's sword, and a flight harness gifted by Ikaris to his ill-fated son. Phastos possesses a special hammer that can manipulate machinery in unusual ways. He once helped Thor battle the Deviants when the other Eternals were unavailable.

Credit: Disney.

In Eternals, Brian Tyree Henry will play Phastos. Making a living as a Technology expert, Phastos will be the MCU's first Gay superhero, having married and adopted a child with a human Architect.

Ajak

Credit: Marvel

In the comics, Ajak originally lead a splinter group doubing themselves the Polar Eternals, members of his race who had based themselves in Russia. The group protected the Earth when the Deviant Warlord Kro attacked Babylon. Ajak possesses the power to easily communicate with the Eternals creators, the Celestials, when they are nearby.

As the Eternal who usually contacts the Celestials, Ajak becomes jealous when another Eternal, Makkari, is chosen as the Dreaming Celestial's main communicator in the 2006 comic. He begins secretly working against Makkari, keeping him from reaching other Eternals that need reawakening.

Credit: Disney

In Eternals, Ajak has been gender-flipped, and will be played by Salma Hayek. The character is said to be the spiritual leader of the group, as well as the strongest link between them and their creators, the Celestials. She also holds the ability to heal.

Makkari

Credit: Marvel.

While not as emotionally connected to humans as Sersi, Makkari has been known to involve himself in human affairs more often than other Eternals. He taught writing to Egyptians, learned Philosophy from Plato, witnessed the Trojan War, and rescued fellow Eternal Sersi from the Great Fire of Rome. Makkari is less physically strong than many of the other Eternals, having given up the majority of his Eternal abilities in favour of greatly enhanced speed.

In the 2006 soft-reboot, Makkari, living as young student Mark Curry, is one of the first Eternals to be found and reawakened by Ikaris. Soon after, Makkari is chosen by the Dreaming Celestial as their main communicator. It becomes a race against time between Makkari and a less scrupulous Eternal, Druig, to find and reawaken their brethren.

Credit: Disney

In Eternals, Makkari, like Ajak, has been gender-flipped, played by The Walking Dead actress Lauren Ridloff. Ridloff's status as a proud member of the Deaf community has also been incorporated into the character, making Makkari the MCU's first deaf superhero.

Thena

Credit: Marvel

Born under the name Azura, Thena’s name was eventually changed to match Athena, the daughter of Zeus, in recognition of a peace treaty between the Eternals and the Greek Gods. Thena has long been known as one of the Eternals’ greatest warriors. Despite the ancient enmity between the Eternals and the Deviants, Thena carried on a centuries-long romantic relationship with the Deviant Warlord Kro, even having children with him. The safety of these children, left to be raised by a human family, sometimes forces the Eternals and Deviants to work together.

Credit: Disney.

In the film, Thena will be played by Angelina Jolie. To fit the characters warrior status, her power has been tweaked to include the creation of weapons out of cosmic energy. She is also said to have formed a close bond with her fellow Eternal, Gilgamesh.

Gilgamesh

Credit: Marvel.

The character that will be known as Gilgamesh in the film as gone through many names in the comics, including Gilgamesh, The Forgotten One, and simply Hero. In the early days of the Eternals, The Forgotten One was deemed too proud of his interventions in human affairs, so much so that he was often mistaken for human heroes. As a consequence, he was banished to a hidden area of the Eternals homeworld, Olympia. Centuries later, he was lured out of exile by Sprite, to help his fellow Eternals during a deviant attack.

During a time when the Avengers were suffering from a severely depleted roster, The Forgotten One joined the team under the name Gilgamesh. He also once allied with Thor to fend off a Deviant attack.

Gilgamesh will be played in the film by Korean-American Don Lee. He is the most physically strong Eternal, and shares a close bond with Thena.

Druig

Credit: Marvel

In the comics, Druig is a rare Eternal who regularly seeks to harm humanity. While posing as a KGB Agent, Druig takes a liking to toruring people. For his misdeeds, he is eventually disintegrated by Ikaris. He reappears in the 2006 series as Ivan Druig, Deputy Prime Minister of the fictional nation of Vorozheika. After his Eternal identity is reawakened, Druig races against Makkari to find and awaken other Eternals to draw to his side. While he doesn’t have the full use of his usual mind control powers at this point, he has developed a terrifying ability to force people to relive their most traumatic memory.

In Eternals, Druig will be played by Barry Keoghan. Like I’m the comics, character has the ability to manipulate the minds of others.

Dane Whitman/ The Black Knight

Credit: Marvel.

After supervillain Nathan Garrett/Black Knight II is mortally wounded by Iron Man, he uses the last of his strength to reach his nephew, Dane Whitman. Regretting his crimes, Garrett begs his nephew to restore their family's honour. Dane takes up his uncle's enhanced armour and weapons as a new, heroic Black Knight. He has served on multiple super hero teams over the years, including The Avengers, The Defenders, Excalibur, and Heroes for Hire.

Whitman was a member of The Avengers at the same time as the Eternal Sersi, and developed a romantic relationship with her. For a time, they shared a mental bond that boosted Whitman's strength and speed. After being chosen as the new generation's Pendragon by the Lady of the Lake, he also gains the ability to see through minor illusions.

Credit: Disney.

In the upcoming film, Dane Whitman will be played by former Game of Thrones star Kit Harington. He begins the film working at London's Natural History Museum, before being caught up in the Eternals' struggles due to his relationship with Sersi.

We can't wait to get to know them all better when Eternals hits theatres in November.

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About the Creator

Kristy Anderson

Passionate About all things Entertainment!

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