A million years ago the Earth belonged to a tribe of ape-men known as the Wanderers, or Homo erectus the “evolutionary borderline between apes and humans”. One night the tribe witnessed the arrival of ten Celestials, known as the First Host, under the supervision of Gaea. The Celestial known as Gammenon the Gatherer collected the ape-men and sent them to three other Celestials, Ziran the Tester, Nezarr the Calculator and Oneg the Prober. Those sent to the Tester were mutated to have an unstable genome, creating the Deviants(Homo descendus), a race with altering genetic mutations often deformed and hideous; those sent to the Calculator became the Eternals(Homo immortalis), hairless, upright beings with the ability to access cosmic power, who resembled their cousins, Homo sapiens; those who had been sent to the Prober became the aforementioned Homo sapiens and were given a latent gene for the potential of human evolution.

ETERNALS

The Eternals lived peacefully on Earth for millennia but eventually broke into two factions, a benevolent and peaceful side led by Kronos and warlike one that sought to rule the planet led by his brother, Uranos. The two sides eventually came to blows in a bitter civil war with Kronos and his followers emerging victorious while Uranos and his followers were exiled to Saturn’s moon, Titan. The remaining Eternals on Earth were led Kronos until his death where his son Zuras was elected to become the Eternals leader in the first Uni-Mind.

All Eternals posses superhuman strength, speed, stamina, durability, agility, and reflexes, the capacity for teleportation, illusion casting, telepathy, flight, transmutation of organic and inorganic matter and the generation of various forms of energy from eyes and hands, including force, heat, light, cosmic and various forms of electromagnetic radiation. An Eternal may devote themselves to specializing in distinct power set, increasing their mastery in one area by decreasing their power in another. Eternals are virtually immune to disease, aging, extreme temperatures, injury and can completely regenerate their entire body if necessary.

One Eternal serves as the Prime Eternal and can generate a blue flame that allows anyone who passes through it t form into a Uni-Mind, a powerful being made of pure energy possessing the collective power of every individual who created it. A Uni-Mind requires at least seven Eternals to be created successfully.

DEVIANTS

The Deviants are less powerful than the Eternals and all posses a random physical or cosmetic mutation. Few Deviant children survive and when they do, they do not often resemble their parents. Extremely deformed or mutated Deviants are known as “mutates” and many monsters of myth have actually been Deviant mutates. On the other hand, Deviants who did not mutate enough and looked “too human” were often exiled or even killed. The typical Deviant has one or more traits that exceed the human norm, such as life span, strength, durability, intelligence or manifesting a completely new ability. The Deviants are devoutly religious, revering the Dreaming Celestial, whom the Deviants credit with their creation. The Deviants believe the Dreaming Celestial granted them dominion over Earth and that this agreement was treacherously broken by the other Celestials. The Deviants had already developed advanced technology while the humans were still living in caves. 

The Deviants should not be confused with Thanos the Mad Titan who suffers from Deviant Syndrome. The Deviants are a race unto their own as are the Eternals, Thanos was born to two Eternal parents but suffered a genetic mutation that led to his purple, hulking appearance. It is not known if only Titanian Eternals or all Eternals posses the mutation as Thanos is the only known individual afflicted with Deviant Syndrome and the Eternals do not often mate. 

Below are short bios of the Eternals who are confirmed to appear in Eternals, a couple rumored Eternals, the prominent Deviant, Kro, and a handful of older Eternals who may or may not show up in the movie but inform other characters backstory or potential plot points for Eternals. The following Eternals are confirmed to appear in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movie – Ikaris, Sersi, Thena, Gilgamesh, Druig, Ajax, Kingo Sunen, Phastos, Sprite and Makkari; Dane Whiteman/Black Knight has been confirmed as well although he is not an Eternal. Recently, it has been rumored that Eros and Zuras will both have roles in the movie, although they are currently not cast. Kro is a Deviant who is likely to appear in the movie but is unconfirmed at the time. Kronos, Uranos, A’Lars and Sui-San are featured as well although there is nor guarantee they will show up in the Eternals.

Ikaris – Richard Madden

Around 20,000 years old, Ikaris is one of the Polar Eternals and hails from the city of Polaria. The son of Virako and Tulayn, his real name is lost to history. Ikaris chose his name due to a tragic accident hundred of years ago. While fighting Deviants in Greece, the man who would become Ikaris falls in love with a human women and weds her, and together have a son named Icarus. Icarus loves to soar over the mountains and seas with his father, who eventually builds his son a set of mechanical wings so he may fly too. When his father disappears fighting Deviants, Icarus equips his mechanical wings, setting out to find his father. Inexperienced at solo flight, Icarus flies too high, losing consciousness in the upper atmosphere and crashes back to Earth. Finding his son dead, the Eternal father takes the name, Ikaris, in his fallen son’s memory. After his father, Virako’s death, around 1000 AD, Ikaris’ uncle, Valkin reveals his secret Arctic home, the Pyramid of Winds to Ikaris. In modern times, Druig, Valkin’ son would torture Ikaris for the location of the Pyramid of Winds, with this conflict ending in Druig’s death at the hands of Ikaris. Ikaris and Thena hold a strong dislike for each other and eventually come into conflict when Thena becomes Prime Eternal after the death of Zuras. Ikaris questions Thena’s worth as Prime Eternal, the two face off in the Hall of Eternal Judgement. Ikaris emerges victorious becoming the new Prime Eternal. Ikaris possesses the typical Eternal powers and the abilities of flight by levitation, thought to be the fastest Eternal, low level psychic abilities allowing him to read the thoughts of minds lesser than his own, mentally project illusions, psionically manipulate atoms and molecules changing objects shape, teleportation, project cosmic energy from his eyes and hands that can vaporize solid objects and can be projected as force, heat, light energies. 

Thena – Angelina Jolie

Only 4,000 years old, Thena is one of the youngest Eternals but is the eldest daughter of the ruler of the Eternals of Earth, Zuras. Born Azura, Thena received her new name when a pact was struck between the Eternals and the Gods of Olympus. Millennia later, Thena met Kro, Deviant Warlord and ruler of Lemuria. The two became lovers and had a set of twins. At the passing of her father, Thena became the Prime Eternal although she subsequently lost this position to Ikaris in trial by combat. Thena possesses the typical Eternal powers and the abilities to can project cosmic energy from her eyes and hands, flight through levitation, the psionic ability to rearrange the molecular structure of objects, cast illusions, teleportation, is a expertly skilled combatant and highly intelligent and she has learned from the greatest minds of the Eternals and human scholars. 

Sersi – Gemma Chan

Sersi is the daughter of the Eternals Helios and Perse, and is likely over 10,000 years old. Unlike the other Eternals, Sersi revels in her humanity and has spent more time amongst humans then all other Eternals, save the Forgotten One/Gilgamesh. She inspired the story of Circe in Homer’s Odyssey, assisted Merlin, spent time in King Arthur Pendragon’s court, Nero’s Rome and Mesopotamia. Sersi was once manipulated into losing her mind by an alternate reality version of the Black Knight named Proctor. Sersi possesses the typical Eternal powers and the abilities to can project cosmic energy from her eyes and hands, flight through levitation, cast illusions, teleportation, her psionic ability to rearrange the molecular structure of objects is far greater than that of any other Eternal, the limits on these powers are yet to be revealed and is a centuries trained dancer thus possessing an extraordinary athletic ability and is proficient martial artist. 

Dane Whitman/Black Knight – Kit Harrington

Dane Whitman is not an Eternal, rather he is a brilliant scientist and descendant of Sir Percy of Scandia, whom lived during the reign of King Arthur. Whitman received the Black Knight mantle from his dying uncle, who had tarnished both the Black Knight name and their family legacy. Whitman has multiple stints with the Avengers and eventually crosses paths with the Eternal, Sersi. Whitman and Sersi become engaged in a romantic relationship but this new romance quickly comes under strain as Sersi grows increasingly unstable due to the machinations of a man named Proctor. Ikaris mentally bonds Sersi and Whitman with an Eternal technique known as the “gann josin,” but this does little to stabilize Sersi. Proctor is revealed to be from an alternate universe who was rejected by his universe’s Sersi and had his mind twisted by both the Ebony Blade and the gann josin, this version of Whitman traverses the Multiverse killing every version of Sersi he can find. Whitman possesses no super powers, although he does briefly gain heightened abilities when mentally bonded with Sersi, Whitman rather, creates advanced equipment and utilizes the Ebony Blade. Whitman possesses a power lance that can fire energy blasts, a suit of highly protective body armor, and rides Aragorn, a genetically engineered winged horse. Whitman also possesses the Ebony Blade, a powerfully enchanted weapon made forged from a meteor and created by the wizard Merlin. The Ebony Blade is thought to be indestructible and possesses many mystical properties that include the ability to cut through almost all known materials, cut through mystical barriers, deflect and/or absorbs all forms of energy and previously made the wielder invulnerable to all weapons but ones created from the same meteor. The Ebony Blade is afflicted by a blood curse due to all the blood the original Black Knight, Sir Percy, spilled with the sword. The curse afflicts each wielder differently but with the assistance of Doctor Strange, Whitman was able to remove the curse. 

Ajak – Selma Hayek

Ajak is one of the Polar Eternals, hailing from the city of Polaria. Ajax is one of few Eternals known to have communicated with the Celestials but was once turned into a murderous monster when the human archaeologist, Dr. Daniel Damian, used Celestial technology on Ajak. Ajak possesses the typical Eternal powers and the abilities to can project cosmic energy from his eyes and hands, flight through levitation and the psionic ability to rearrange the molecular structure of objects.

Ajak is one of three Eternals who have been gender flipped for the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie.

Sprite – Lia McHugh

Sprite is one of the eldest Eternals but has the appearance of an adolescent human child. Sprite is known as trickster and enjoys playing pranks on both his fellow Inhumans and mortals, although mortals tend to suffer dire consequences from this “playful” behavior. Sprite is thought to be the inspiration for Puck from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. Sprite once stripped every Eternal(with the exception of Ikaris) of their power and made them forget their Eternal past as revenge for them for treating him as a child for millennia. Sprite is caught but temporarily escapes until  he is recaptured by Zuras. Showing no remorse for his actions, Zuras snaps Sprite’s neck, apparently killing him. Sprite possesses the typical powers of Eternals—immortality, super-strength, flight, energy projection, and molecular manipulation, however he possesses a mastery over molecular reconstruction second in this power only to Sersi. While Sprite does posses superhuman strength, he is weaker than the other Eternals as he is the size of a pre-adolescent child. 

Sprite is one of three Eternals who have been gender flipped for the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie. 

Makkari – Lauren Ridloff

Makkari is the son of Verona and Mara, born in Olympia, the capital city of the Eternals on Earth. He is a member of the Eternals Technologist’s Guild and is a highly skilled engineer and capable of designing and building high-speed vehicles. Makkari has spent a significant amount of time on Earth, often at the behest of Zuras. Under the name Thoth, he taught writing to the Egyptians, he was taught philosophy by Plato, he rescued Sersi from Nero’s Fire, spent time as the charioteer of Darius I of Persia and witnessed the Trojam War, reign of Vlad the Impaler and the battle at the Alamo. He has posed as many different superheroes throughout Marvel comics history, all of whom who posses superhuman speed. Makkari possesses base powers of all Eternals but has refocused most of his body’s Cosmic Energy into enhancing his running speed. As a result, Makkari has lost the ability to fly, possesses none of the psionic abilities of other Eternals(levitation, ocular force projection and molecular rearrangement) but can create cyclones by running in circles, run across water and up walls and run at light speed for short periods of time.

Makkari is one of three Eternals who have been gender flipped for the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie.

Gilgamesh – Dong-seok Ma

A warrior and adventurer, the Eternal known as the Forgotten One has used the names of or was mistaken for many heroes of legend or myth, including Hercules and Gilgamesh(his name in the MCU iteration). Gilgamesh was confined to Olympia for centuries for meddling in the affairs of humanity. He eventually regained his freedom when he helped foil an attack by the Deviants on Olympia. Gilgamesh possesses the typical Eternal powers and is thought to be the physically strongest of the Eternals and can rival that of Thor and Hercules. Gilgamesh is an excellent tracker and hunter and the most accomplished hand to hand combatant amongst the Eternals, and possesses the knowledge of most types of hand to hand combat from ancient Earth civilizations. Gilgamesh possesses the ability to project energy and manipulate matter but is not adept as most other Eternals are with these powers. 

Druig – Barry Keoghan

Druig is the son of Valkin and cousin to Ikaris. He once tortured his cousin in an attempt to gain “The Weapon”, the location of the Pyramid of Winds that would allow him to attempt to kill a Celestial. When Sprite made the Eternals forget their past and lose their powers, Druig eventually became the absolute ruler of Vorozheika, a fictional country to the northeast of Chechnya, formerly part of the USSR) Druig possesses the typical powers of all Eternals but it is unknown to what degree, although he does posses the unique power of being able to see a person’s most traumatic memory and forcing them to relive that memory. Druig also seems to posses the ability to influence the minds of others so that they do not see him but the limits of this ability are unclear.

Kingo Sunen – Kumail Nanjiana

Kingo spent centuries in Japan learning the ways of the Samurai and is one of the most skilled swordsman on the planet. In the present day, Kingo utilizes these skills to become a major action star in Japan. Kingo is thought to posses the typical powers of Eternals—immortality, super-strength, flight, energy projection, and molecular manipulation, however forgoes using these abilities, preferring to fight in the traditional manner of a Samurai. Kingo wields a blade forged by Phastos that can cut through virtually any material. 

Phastos – Brain Tyree Henry

Phastos histoy is murky at best. He is a third or fourth generation Eternal, is one of the Eternals foremost minds and is a brilliant engineer, technologist and inventor. He possesses the typical Eternal powers and the abilities to can project cosmic energy from her eyes and hands, flight through levitation, the psionic ability to rearrange the molecular structure of objects, cast illusions, teleportation and wields a special hammer that is capable of firing unknown energy blasts. 

Zuras – Rumored to appear, not cast 

Zuras was born in the first Eternal city, Titanos and is the son of the leader of the Earth Eternals, Kronos and his wife Cybele. He is the brother of A’lars(Thanos’ father) and the father to Thena. Zuras was the consummate warrior, first fighting for the Eternals and then eventually leading them. After their father, Kronos, death, Zuras and his brother A’Lars held a general assembly of the remaining Earth Eternals to decide who would lead them. During the assembly, Zuras and A’Lars initiated the first Uni-Mind, with the assembly choosing Zuras. A’Lars left the colony to avoid the fraternal rivalry that led to the first Eternal civil war. After this Assembly, Zuras directed the construction of the new Eternal capital city, Olympia, in the mountainous regions of Greece. When the civilization of ancient Greece began to rise, Zeus decided to make the presence of the Olympian gods known so the people would worship them. The main nexus between Earth and the dimension of Olympus atop Mount Olympus, near the Eternal city of Olympia. Zeus and Athena held a meeting Zuras and Azura, where it was decided that the Eternals would be the Olympian gods representatives on Earth. As the leader of the Eternals, Zuras is ever aware of the threat of the Deviants and has sent multiple Eternals to fight them throughout history. He aided the government in studying the Celestials and assisted the U.S. State Department in the investigation of a Celestial threat. During the Fourth Celestial host arrival, Zuras attempted to combat the Celestials using the Uni-Mind but a cosmic blast from the Celestials Gammenon and Jemiah, caused the mind meld to disintegrate into the component Eternals but the backlash caused Zuras’ brain to die, although his spirit continued to exist in his body. His body was eventually destroyed freeing Thena but Zuras’ spirit still endures and occasionally appears within Olympia. When Sprite erased the Eternals memories, histories and powers, he managed to deceive Zuras’ spirit into visiting the tomb of the Dreaming Celestial, thereby forming a Uni-Mind, providing Sprite with the power to alter certain aspects of reality. 

Zuras possesses the typical Eternal powers and the abilities to can project cosmic energy from her eyes and hands, flight through levitation, the psionic ability to rearrange the molecular structure of objects, cast illusions, teleportation and is one of the strongest and well rounded Eternals due to his age and training. Zuras also possesses extensive knowledge of ancient and arcane wisdom he has accumulated throughout the ages. 

Eros/Starfox – Rumored to appear, not cast 

Eros is the son of A’Lars and Sui-San and younger brother to Thanos. Eros grew up on Titan to become a fun-loving and carefree, traversing the galaxy in search of pleasure and adventure, a stark contrast to his nihilistic, blood thirsty older brother Thanos. Eros began to take life more seriously after Thanos first large scale attack on Titan that nearly wiped out the entire population. Eros has spent much of his life alternating between stopping his brother’s rampages and galavanting around the galaxy seeking recreation and pleasurable company. Throughout his adventures, Eros routinely crosses paths with the Avengers and has spent time as a rostered member of the team. After the “Infinity Wars” comic storyline, Eros goes on to form the Dark Guardians. Eros possesses the base powers of all Eternals but as he hails from Titan, he is weaker than his Earthbound cousin Eternals due to his mother Sui-San leaving Earth before Eros’ uncle, Kronos, experimented with the cosmic energy that animates the Eternals. As Eros is half Cosmic Eternal(all Earth Eternals) and half Titanian Eternal, Eros is still effectively immortal but is far from invulnerable and can be injured, although he has a superhuman healing factor. In addition to the base Eternal powers, Eros possesses the ability of pleasure stimulation, allowing him to stimulate the pleasure centers of all beings with in a 25 foot radius of himself. This power, which emanates from him at all times, can be magnified if Eros concentrates, which provokes extreme pleasurable sensations causing a person to become highly aroused, euphoric, or totally sedated, as the case may be.

Eros and Thanos have a custom where once every Eternal year(equal to 1,000 Earth years) convene in a neutral location, often bearing gifts. This ritual is known as The Truce and was initiated years ago by their father A’Lars, who demanded that despite their differences, the two had the same blood running in their veins and needed a reminder. 

Kro – Unconfirmed 

Kro is a Deviant born over 20,000 years ago as he was alive during the Celestial’s Second Host where the majority of his race was exterminated. Kro possesses a set of traits that appears unique amongst his race, chief among them his longevity and near indestructibility, mirroring the Eternals, and a limited shape shifting factor. Kro has fiercely guarded the secret of his identity among his race, as he feared he would be subjected to genetic experimentation to discover the mutation that gave him his near immortality. Using his powers to change facial features, Kro assumed the role of different Deviants throughout history, often leading the Deviant empire or armies under a different guise.Thena and Kro have a romantic history and share a set of twins and often come to the other’s aid when in peril. Kro is a master strategist and military commander, superb hand to hand combatant and an expert in Deviant weaponry. Kro is nearly indestructible, but this largely due to his healing factor and he can be injured in combat. He has close to three times the physical endurance of human athletes and can press over 800 pounds(most Deviants are not physically stronger than humans although there are many Deviants that posses superhuman strength). 

Kronos – Background

Kronos is a first generation Eternal and is the brother of Uranos. Kronos was the leader of a group of Eternals who sought peace with the rest of the world rather than war. This instigated a civil war between the Eternals, with Kronos’ brother, Uranos, leading a warlike side. Kronos emerged victorious, becoming the leader of the Earth Eternals and exiling his brother and followers into space. Kronos became the foremost scientist of the Eternals, eventually experimenting with the Cosmic Energy that animated the Eternals. These experiments led to the Earth Eternals becoming stronger and more hardy than their spacefaring cousins. While Kronos’ experiments with Cosmic Energy led to these advancements, they also led to his “death”. During one of his experiments, he caused an explosion involving Cosmic Energy that destroyed both Titanos, the original Eternal capital city, and blew his atoms apart, although his mind survived the explosion and Kronos became a Cosmic Entity with control over time. Kronos possessed all of the capabilities of the Eternal race but was one of the strongest Eternals as he was from the first generation, with Thanos categorizing him on a power level with Galactus, Zeus and Odin. Kronos also possesses a level of intelligence far past superhuman, high level telepathy skills and cosmic awareness. He is able to exert a certain amount of control over the souls of dead mortals, to the extent of using these souls to animate artificial bodies that he can create from inanimate matter. Once his physical body was destroyed, Kronos became even more powerful and is recognized as a Cosmic Entity capable of controlling the flow of time.

Uranos – Background

Uranos is a first generation Eternal and is the brother of Kronos. Uranos believed that Eternals should use their superior might and powers to conquer the Earth and was opposed by his brother, Kronos. Kronos and Uranos disagreement about the future of the Eternals led to a bitter civil war. Kronos emerged victorious while Uranos and his followers were exiled into space.  Uranos and his followers first landed on Uranus where they found a Kree supply depot guarded by Sentry 213, which they promptly destroyed. At there supply depot, the Uranos and his followers found ships and weapons with which, they planned to use for revenge against Kronos and the remaining Eternals on Earth. Uranos and company were attacked en route to Earth by a Kree armada coming to check on Sentry 213. Uranos and his followers survived the destruction of their ships and landed on Titan. There they settled and formed a society and lived in peace until the Dragon of the Moon eventually incited the survivors into a civil war that killed Uranos and all his followers, save Sui-San. 

A’Lars/Mentor – Background

A’Lars, also known as Mentor, is the son of Kronos, brother to Zuras and father to Thanos and Eros. Following the death of their father, Kronos, A’Lars and Zuras held the first Uni-Mind where it was decided Zuras would be the leader of the Earth Eternals. To avoid the fates of their father, Kronos and brother, Uranos, civil war, A’Lars then left Earth and settled on Saturn’s moon, Titan. On Titan, he met Sui-San, the sole survivor of the exiled followers of Uranos. Under the new alias of Mentor, A’Lars and Sui-San repopulated Titan through genetic engineering and cloning, turning Titan into a paradise. Mentor and Sui-Sun had two sons, Thanos and Eros. While Eros grew to be a carefree, fun loving womanizer, Thanos grew to be his opposite, a nihilistic, power hungry warlord and conqueror and would be the downfall of both A’Lars and Titan. 

Sui-San – Background

Sui-San is a Titanian Eternal, the wife of A’Lars and mother to Thanos and Eros. Sui-San was the sole survivor of a civil war between the original Eternals who settled Titan. When A’Lars left Earth, he arrived on Titan and met Sui-San. The two repopulated Titan using genetic engineering and cloning. Sui-San bore A’Lars two sons, The Mad Titan, Thanos and adventuring womanizer, Eros. 

Sui-San’s relationship with her son Thanos is constantly retconned from one story to another. At times she appears loving and caring for her son, while others she is disgusted by him, his Deviant Syndrome and has tried to kill baby Thanos as she could see the death in his eyes. The circumstances of her death are another matter of contention as in some stories she is killed in his initial assault on Titan and in others, he murders her with his own hands. 

Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this post, you can find more of my thoughts on twitter, @historyofthemcu. Additionally, @bloodybaroness and myself host The History of the MCU Podcast, a weekly podcast that reviews and analyzes not only the Infinity Saga but the new Marvel Studios Disney+ shows beginning with WandaVision. We would love if you gave us a listen and are currently available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio and Amazon Music.