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Meet The Eternals, the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Newest Team

Marvel Studios

Published Oct 20, 2021

With Eternals releasing on November 5 in theaters only, we are only one month away from when the MCU’s newest team is introduced.

The biggest question surrounding these immortal gods is why haven’t they helped with any other conflicts, such as the fight against Thanos?

Well, this was answered by the director herself, Chloé Zhao. Zhao said, “We like to call them Earth’s original superheroes. So, they were instructed to stand on the sideline once the Deviants were gone to allow humans to develop and progress in the way that we were meant to…and that ultimately led us to someone like Tony [Stark]. So, they’ve always existed in the shadows…you just never know where they might show up again.”

We know from the second trailer that the Celestials instructed them not to interfere with humanity’s conflicts, and with Zhao’s answer, this all makes more sense.

Thousands of years ago, when they were sent to Earth to protect humanity from the Deviants, they completed their job but were then told to blend in and not interfere with other human issues. After being a team for a few centuries, they parted ways. If the Eternals never disbanded, they would’ve impacted humanity in unpredictable ways, but with the new threat of the Emergence, they have to re-assemble.

So, who exactly are The Eternals? Here’s a breakdown of the team’s roster.

Ikaris

Marvel Studios

Ikaris (Richard Madden) is good, but not the best, at every ability. In the trailer, we have seen him shoot laser beams out of his eyes, possess super-strength, fly; and in the comics, he also has telepathic powers and can rearrange the molecules of substances.

Sersi

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Out of anyone on the Eternals, Sersi (Gemma Chan) is the best at manipulating matter and can also cause the greatest amount of destruction as she can reshape anything into whatever she wants. In the movies, she can only transmute non-living matter, but this is still super useful and makes her one of the most powerful members of the team.

Kingo

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Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) is not in many Marvel Comics, and the limitations of his power as an Eternal are unknown.

From what we have seen from the trailer footage, we don’t know if he will be a swordsman in the comics, but we do see him shooting cosmic energy from projectile blasts. We know that Nanjiani took martial arts and dance lessons to fully understand how Kingo would use his body motions while shooting laser blasts.

Gilgamesh

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Gilgamesh (Don Lee) is the only Eternal on Earth who is stronger than Ikaris. Combined with his primary Eternal powers, this puts him on the same level as Hercules and Thor.

Lee revealed that he trained in boxing for this role, and he does have a signature one-punch knockout move which is rumored to be in this film. With all of this said, I think we can all agree that he will be a lot of fun to watch on screen.

Phastos

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Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) has a talent for creating technology and weapons, which he can make from his mind and energy powers. According to the Eternals synopsis, he is an “inventor.” In the second trailer, we see his summoning the team’s ship. We don’t know how he contributes in battle, but he can help the team a lot.

Sprite

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Sprite (Lia McHugh) is immortal and has been alive for thousands of years but still has the physical appearance of a child.

Similar to Loki, her powers involve illusions and trickery. In the first trailer, we see her create fireworks to impress a group of humans. One rumor is that her capabilities include creating clones, and her ability to make illusions opens up many different possibilities for the character in the film.

Thena

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Thena (Angelina Jolie) is described as a “fierce warrior.”

She is the distant cousin of Thanos (yes, that Thanos) and is the daughter of Zuras. She has spent centuries training her powers and is an expert at creating and using a variety of weapons. We have seen many glimpses of her using her powers in training and against villains in the trailers.

Mikkari

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The “speedster” of the Eternals, Mikkari (Lauren Ridloff), and her super-speed creates golden energy within her body. As a creative choice, Zhao decided to make Makkari run in real-time in the movie. This means that we will be able to see Makkari run at the speed she does next to the rest of the team, really showcasing her abilities.

Druig

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Played by Barry Keoghan, Druig is comparable to the other Eternals, but he is more of an anti-hero in the comics. He possesses great control over telepathy, can read and manipulate people’s minds, meaning that he is potentially incredibly dangerous. Whether he is evil or not, his character is fascinating, and I think he is more important than anyone thinks.

Ajak

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Ajak (Salma Hayek) has all of the average Eternal's powers, but she has one of the most critical roles. She is the only one that can communicate directly with their creators, the Celestials, an ability that places the burden of leadership upon her.

Dane Whitman (Black Knight)

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Dane Whitman (Kit Harington) isn’t part of the Eternals, but he is still a vital ally of the team, partly because of his relationship with Sersi. Though Dane is 100% human, he possesses a genius-level intellect, especially in physics and genetics.

In the comics, he gets the “Ebony Blade” and inherits the mantle of Black Knight. While he may not become the Black Knight in this movie, this will likely be teased near the movie’s end or the post-credits scene, and we will undoubtedly see him again in a future MCU project.

The Eternals will introduce a higher scale of power in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and elevate it to the next level.

Don’t miss Eternals when it drops in theaters on November 5th!