Ikaris, Sersi, Sprite: Meet the Eternals, Marvel’s new heroes

Last year, Marvel introduced viewers to Agatha Harkness and Monica Rambeau, Sylvie and Mobius, Yelena, Shang-Chi and a new Captain America, to name a few.

Get ready, tired fans, because the Marvel’s Cinematic Universe (better known as MCU) is adding at least 10 more new superheroes and villains this month in “Eternals,” the new film from Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao.

Viewers will have just over a month to memorize their names and stories before Marvel releases “Spider-Man: No Back Home” in theaters (and a few weeks after that, another hero will have his own Disney+ show).

Faced with so many releases, see a guide to help memorize new personalities and understand the future of the franchise. The excerpt below has spoilers (important information about the plot) from the comics.

Who and what are the Eternals

The Eternals aren’t exactly people, not exactly gods – although humans often confuse them with gods, which irritates the space deities who created them, and the Greek gods who name some of the Eternals.

Although each has unique powers, they are all skilled warriors with super strength, speed and agility.

Heroes are mostly immortal – even if their bodies are destroyed, they can live in other ways. However, they keep their powers a secret, as they live among humans.

They were sent to Earth by the Celestials, an ancient group of divine beings, some 7,000 years before the events of the film, to defend humanity against the Deviants, mutated monsters also created by the Celestials when some tests with Earth’s first inhabitants failed. .

Eternals are advised not to interfere in cases unrelated to Deviants, acting as mere bystanders to human conflicts, unless Deviants are involved.

Although the Eternals have obeyed the Celestials until now, they are finally beginning to question their mission and the beings who created them.

Like most MCU protagonists who have their own origin stories, the Eternals probably don’t imagine themselves superheroes.

However, by the end of the movie, after having gone through several transformations and defeated several enemies, they will likely be among the most powerful heroes of the MCU, and perhaps the MCM – the Marvel Cinematographic Multiverse.

Meet the 10 Eternals of Marvel

Ikaris

Interpreted by: Richard Madden

In the comics, the Eternals are usually led by Ikaris, usually portrayed as a muscular man with blond hair and blue eyes that resemble those of He-Man, but emit lasers. In some comic book appearances, he has been named the Chief Eternal, or the Eternal who rules over the rest.

Powers: Laser eyes, plus several others. It can fly at speeds of up to 1360 kilometers per hour, creates convincing illusions, among many other abilities.

Curiosity: In the comics, when he is disguised as a human, he goes by the name “Ike Harris”. Ikaris is definitely one of the more muscular Eternals, but creative he isn’t.

Sersi

Interpreted by: Gemma Chan

If it’s Ikaris who normally commands the Eternals in the comic book sphere, Sersi is his heart. She’s something of a historian of humanity, having had a front-row seat for events like the fall of Rome and the French Revolution, according to Marvel.

Sersi is dressed in green, a nod, perhaps, of her deep love and appreciation for the Earth and its inhabitants. She also had an endless centuries-long relationship with her Eternal companion, Ikaris.

Powers: Transmutation of matter. Basically, she can change the story into any shape she chooses (remember in the trailer for “Eternals” when she seems to dissolve a double-decker bus into a parade of petals?).

Curiosities: In the comics, Sersi joined the Avengers for a while. Although she later left the group full-time, she still sometimes helps them when they need a helping hand from a divine hero.

Sprite

Interpreted by: Lia McHugh

Sprite is a young and mischievous spirit. Although she is as old as her peers, she has the perpetual look of a pre-teen, which she uses to her advantage – in a comic book sequel, she starring in her own teen series. Its naivete can also be disastrous: in one series, the Sprite “altered reality on a cosmic scale,” according to Marvel. Sprite was also written as a man in the comics for much of the character’s career.

Powers: Illusions. The group’s “grand storyteller”, Sprite casts realistic mirages and can teleport if necessary.

Curiosity: She was once, according to Marvel, a thorn in the side of William Shakespeare, inspiring the character “Puck” in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.

Phastos

Interpreted by: Brian Tyree Henry

The group’s inventor and a sworn pacifist, Phastos is also MCU’s first openly gay superhero.

While the Marvel comics feature a host of queer characters, only a few other characters – including Valkyrie and Loki – have been suggested, albeit unconfirmed, as homosexuals in the onscreen versions of the comics.

Based on the movie’s trailers, he’s also a shrewd home decorator, with a penchant for Ikea furniture and sarcasm.

Powers: Invention and “technopathy”. If Phastos can imagine something in his mind, he can make it real – he has the ability to conjure weapons and other inventions with little more than a thought.

Curiosity: At one point in the comics, he adopted the code name “Ceasefire” (which resembles the word for “cease-fire” in English) – a nod to his stand against the war. He doesn’t like to be reminded that he is a being created to fight a war against monsters!

the allegations

Interpreted by: Angelina Jolie

It’s no accident that Thena’s name is so similar to the Greek goddess of war strategy – according to Marvel, Thena feels “more comfortable in battle than anywhere else.” Like Phastos, she can conjure weapons with her mind, though unlike her colleague, she takes pleasure in wielding them and unleashing cosmic carnage.

Powers: Superhuman fighting skills. She is incredibly fast, strong, with efficient reflexes: an almost unstoppable warrior.

Curiosity: In the comics, she once dated a Deviant leader named Kro, and their tumultuous relationship got in the way of the Eternals and their enemies.

Invite

Interpreted by: Salma Hayek

Although in the comics Ajak is portrayed as a man, Hayek said she sees her character as a mother figure, a kind of “spiritual leader” who connects with each of them even when they are in conflict and keeps the group on mission.

Powers: Cure. Ajak heals humans and Eternals, and she is one of the few to have direct contact with the Celestials to receive updates on her quest.

Curiosity: In the comics, Ajak is “a brilliant archaeologist and a skilled fighter,” says Marvel. Even divine heroes need hobbies.

Makkari

Interpreted by: Lauren Ridloff

Sprinter Makkari has raced all over the planet and is, frankly, bored with what she found. In the movie, the Eternals ask her to let go of her boredom for a few days to help them defeat the Deviants and save the world so she can traverse other planets.

Powers: Super speed. Makkari is the “fastest woman in the universe,” says Marvel.

Curiosity: Ridloff is deaf – and Makkari is the first deaf superheroine on the MCU – so the Eternals communicate with Makkari via sign language.

Kingo

Interpreted by: Kumail Nanjiani

While many of the other Eternals chose to live anonymously among humanity, Kingo became a movie star (in the comics, he’s an actor known for Japanese samurai movies; in the movie, he’s a Bollywood artist).

Powers: Fight in style. Kingo can do what basically every Eternal can do – defeat enemies with little effort, though he prefers to fend them off with the bravery of a protagonist. He also has the ego of one.

Curiosity: Kingo apparently transforms into the star of the Forevers, which often irritates Thena and Ikaris.

Gilgamesh

Interpreted by: Don Lee

The strongest of the Eternals and Thena’s partner, Gilgamesh is a fearsome warrior, but also a very nice guy, according to Marvel.

Powers: Indomitable strength. In battle, Gilgamesh employs a golden “exoskeleton” that protects his arms and wrists and delivers devastating blows to enemies.

Curiosity: In the comics, he was known as “The Forgotten”, because he didn’t know he was an Eternal for many years.

Druig

Interpreted by: Barry Keoghan

There is a darkness in Druig that other Eternals lack. In the comics, he always values ​​his own success above the Eternals’ success and his mission to protect humans, which makes him dangerous. Also in the comics, he was designed to look like some kind of vampire.

Powers: Mind control. Druig can read the minds of humans and exploit their vulnerabilities.

Curiosity: Druig isolates himself from other Eternals due to his opposing view of how to live alongside humans, he tells Marvel.

Bonus Hero: Dane Whitman

Interpreted by: Kit Harington

Whitman is not a member of the Eternals, but he is Sersi’s human boyfriend in the film. He could play a bigger and more heroic role in Marvel’s upcoming projects, though nothing has been confirmed. We won’t go into detail about their comic book, but for readers who don’t mind spoilers, Marvel has an extensive biography.

Translated text. Read the original in English.