Is Thanos an Eternal? Marvel’s latest Disney+ movie explained
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Marvel Studios Eternals was released to US cinemas on November 5th, 2021, and ushered in a new phase for the cinematic universe. Whilst Thanos does not appear in the film Eternals, fans have been quick to question whether he was an Eternal.
Following its cinematic release, Eternals is now available to stream across Disney+. With the introduction of Eros (Harry Styles) as Thanos’s brother, there is a possibility for Thanos’s backstory to be explored in subsequent Eternal’s installments.
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Is Thanos an Eternal?
Yes, Thanos is an Eternal. In the Marvel Comics, Thanos has a strong connection to the Eternals as he is directly descended from them. Thanos is the son of Al’ars, whose father was Kronos. Following a civil war that divided the Eternals colony, Kronos ruled the Eternals of Earth.
Described as ‘the most evil, bloodthirsty and powerful villain in the universe’, Thanos is an Eternals-Deviant hybrid. It is his dual identity as Eternal and Deviant that accounts for his difference in appearance (most notably his purple colour and prominent chin).
In a post-credit scene, fans are introduced to Eros (Harry Styles), who is introduced by his sidekick Pip as being Thanos’s brother. Whilst Thanos’s story arc was concluded in Avengers: Endgame back in 2019, the family connection between him and the Eternals could mean his backstory is further explored in any Eternals sequels that may follow.
Poster from Disney
Who are the Eternals?
In a press statement from Disney, the Eternals are described as ‘a group of immortal heroes forced out of the shadows to reunite against man-kinds oldest enemy, The Deviants”. The film introduced fans to an array of characters, who band together when the Celestials task the Eternals with protecting mankind from the Deviants.
The film featured an all-star cast, with Richard Madden (best known for his roles in Game of Thrones and The Bodyguard) as Ikaris. Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie appeared as Thena, another blood relation to Thanos. They were also joined by Gemma Chan (Sersi) and Salma Hayek (Ajak).
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Where to watch Marvel’s Eternals
Disney+ released Eternals to their platform on January 12th, 2022. The film is now available to stream across the UK and Ireland.
Eternals will join 13 other Marvel Studios films that are available on Disney+. All Marvel films on the platform are available to stream in IMAX Enhanced, which provides audiences with ‘an immersive viewing experience at home”.
Wait, Who Are the Eternals?
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The 2021 MCU entry is finally streaming on Disney+. Here’s what you need to know before hitting play. Art: Marvel
When contract disputes and creative differences sent veteran Marvel comics artist Jack Kirby — the man who co-created Captain America, the Avengers, and the X-Men, among others — into the arms of DC Comics in 1970, New Gods was born. It constituted a thematic continuation of the stories he’d been crafting for the Asgardians in Thor, featuring an original pantheon of characters powerful to the point of godhood. The New Gods were divided into two planets: Genesis, a world of peace led by the Highfather, and Apokolips, a planet of cruelty ruled by the despot Darkseid. The two opposed civilizations had struck a deal: The sons of Highfather and Darkseid would be traded, so Apokolips-born Orion would grow up on Genesis and Genesis-born Scott Free (better known as Mister Miracle) would be raised on Apokolips. The arrangement was part treaty and part experiment; neither world would wage war on the other with a prince in the way, and it could settle the question of the nature versus nurture debate, too.
But the series didn’t perform well at the time and was canceled in 1972, leaving a climactic battle between Orion and his father Darkseid unresolved. There are no New Gods movies currently streaming on HBO Max, although Ava Duvernay nearly adapted it and several of Apokolips’s villains feature in Wonder Woman and Justice League. Still, the story proved to be an influential property in DC’s superheroic canon, with Darkseid going on to fight Superman numerous times and become the central antagonist of the Great Darkness Saga over in Legion of Super Heroes and the Final Crisis miniseries decades later.
More than that, New Gods proved influential across the comics aisle. The story of the Eternals, who feature in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 2021 entry named after them (which is currently streaming on Disney+), owes a lot to the demise of New Gods. After its end, Kirby bounced around various DC projects before once again growing creatively dissatisfied and jumping ship. By 1975, he was back at Marvel, and one of the first things to spring from his pen was 1976’s The Eternals. Having previously drawn on Norse mythology to build his deities, Kirby drew from Incan history this time around; the gods once worshipped by Incans, he suggested, were in fact a divergent evolution of the “Dawn Ape” — mankind’s progenitor. The Celestials, gigantic and inscrutable ur-gods, created both the Eternals and their nemeses, the Deviants, alongside humanity but distinct from it, from a prehistoric ape. The Eternals were “few in number” and “immune to time and death,” and each of them possessed unique powers, while the Deviants were “ever-changing and destructive,” an unstable species that mutated in new and monstrous ways with each new generation, prone to constant warfare. The Deviants sought out the depths of the Earth to hide, and the Eternals took to mountaintops, forming vast cities like Olympia in Greece and Polaria in Siberia. Eventually even these peaks would prove lacking, and the Eternals took to space, only visiting Earth occasionally to check in on humanity’s progress.
Kirby’s original Eternals story isn’t set in the time of the Inca, but centers around the Eternals’ return to Earth in modern times. His lead is the golden-haired and golden-eyed Ikaris, who, under the alias Ike Harris, leads a father-daughter pair of explorers into an ancient underwater Incan ruin and reignites a beacon that leads the Eternals back to Earth — and right behind them, their creators. The impossibly old Celestials stand in judgment of all intelligent life; if the Eternals (and New Gods and Asgardians) reflect the enormity of polytheistic pantheons, the Celestials rise above even that, with the power to end entire planets. Moviegoers have seen at least a few Celestials on the MCU screen — the colony of Knowhere, featured in Guardians of the Galaxy, exists in the skull of a dead Celestial. Later in the same film, the Collector (Benecio Del Toro) views footage of the Celestial Eson the Searcher. And while he is definitively not a Celestial in the comics, the cinematic version of Ego the Living Planet (Kurt Russel) claims to be a Celestial in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
The Celestial Arishem, with the power to judge humanity in the palm of his hand. Art: Marvel
The Celestial Arishem the Judge is the first to appear in the comics. Massive and encased in red armor, he does nothing when he arrives but stand atop a rock and judge Earth’s progress (according to metrics known only to the Celestials themselves). The set-up: If he judges in Earth’s favor, the planet lives, and if not, Earth is to be destroyed. More directly interested in the Earth’s destruction are the Deviants, who are eager to expand an empire, as they once did in the days of pre-history. To this end, they’re ruled by a squat, green Deviant named Tode, who commands an underling named Kro. Kro, a largely human-shaped creature with reddish skin and the ability to manipulate his own atomic structure, would go on to become a central antagonist in the Eternals’ saga. Within the first few issues, he uses his powers to grow a pair of horns, so that he might resemble the Devil and play on humanity’s fears.
After Ikaris, Kirby introduces Ajak (named after the Greek hero Ajax), Sersi (after the Greek figure Circe), Makkari (after the Roman god, Mercury), Zuras and Thena (after Zeus and Athena), and more. While each Eternal’s powers vary — for instance, Ikaris can levitate and shoot energy beams from his eyes, while Makkari has super-speed, and Thena is a masterful hand-to-hand combatant and scholar — all Eternals generally have the same abilities. They include invulnerability, longevity, and immunity to disease, as well as teleportation, some low-level telepathic ability, the ability to project illusions, and complete molecular control over their entire bodies. In crafting their individual and collective storylines, Kirby wove in not just fantastic fiction, but his own ideas about religion and humanity, his feelings about global politics, and even elements of his time serving in World War II. For example, in recounting the ancient history of the Eternals and Deviants, he describes a pre-emptive strike akin to Pearl Harbor followed by a mushroom cloud retaliation that is roughly analogous to his perception of U.S. involvement in World War II. Here, Kirby not so subtly equates his gods with American forces, and the monstrous deviants with the Japanese.
Art: Marvel
But the lines between the Eternals and Deviants did get blurry; within a few issues, two Deviants are shown living under the protection of the Eternals, away from their own kind. Kirby leaned on the idea of “good” people and “evil” people, but he also repeated the same trick he pulled with New Gods, placing paramount importance on a given character’s moral choice in a moment. A character could be born a Deviant, but choose the path of good, and vice versa. Take Druig’s betrayal of his fellow Eternals, culminating in his attempt to destroy one of the Celestials in the book’s final issue.
Unfortunately, like New Gods before them, The Eternals was canceled after 19 issues due to low sales, leaving plotlines unresolved once more. Marvel revived the series a few times throughout the years, and each revival was shorter than the last; as of this writing, there are a grand total of 56 issues starring the group. The second volume of The Eternals was a 12-issue series started by Peter Gillis, finished by Walt Simonson, and released in 1985. It continued the group’s story, with Thena leading the Eternals following the demise of Zuras. The Deviants’ loyalties are split between Kro and a new character, the leader of a religious sect by the name of Priestlord Ghaur. But Ghuar’s ambitions, like Druig’s in the original series, result in his own annihilation. By the end of the series, Ikaris, arguably the main character all along, assumes leadership (after Thena began a love affair with Kro). There wouldn’t be another Eternals series for 20 years, though some of the characters kept busy in the meantime. Several joined the Avengers in various capacities, and a story arc from Avengers #246-248, by Roger Stern and Al Milgrom, established that there were Eternals offshoots known by different names. The most notable of these is familiar to moviegoing audiences: His name is Thanos.
Art: Marvel
So the story goes, Thanos is one of two sons of the Eternal known as A’lars, or Mentor. A’lars was a brother to Zuras, who left Earth to form a civilization on Titan, the moon of Saturn. There, with another Eternal named Sui-san, he fathered both Thanos and his brother, Eros. Thanos and Eros were originally created by Jim Starlin in 1972 for the pages of Iron Man, and were not originally intended to be Eternals, though they were based on Greek myth. It was not until the pages of Avengers nearly a decade later that the link between the Titanians and Eternals was established. By then, Thanos’ brother Eros was known more widely as Starfox, and was a card-carrying member of the Avengers right alongside Sersi.
Marvel finally began publishing a third volume of the Eternals in 2006, penned by Neil Gaiman with art by John Romita Jr. Internecine squabbles were common, resulting in multiple betrayals. For example, Sprite, an Eternal who lives forever in the body of a child, hatches a scheme to kill his fellow Eternals and to render himself mortal so that he might finally age. His plan fails, but not before another Celestial known as the Dreaming Celestial nearly ends the world. In one of the third volume’s final and most disturbing scenes, Zuras catches up with the pint-size trickster turned murderer and quietly snaps his neck aboard a train.
Death, of course, is rarely the end — for Sprite or any of the other Eternals. If Kirby presented the characters as a kind of space-faring, exploratory people, deity impersonators who shaped the course of human history, Gaiman codified the idea even more clearly. He ritualized the idea of Eternals not as simply immortal, but as extremely long-lived super beings who are resurrected by ancient Celestial-designed machinery to continue their work of standing in preservation of Earth. He built on the initial cyclical ideas presented by Kirby’s original work; the Eternals live to defend, maintain, and preserve Earth, then eventually die, only to rise again and repeat the process.
Ikaris explains the Eternals’ role in the grand scheme of things. Art: Marvel
A new Eternals, penned by Charles Knauf with art by Daniel Acuna, began in 2008 focused on continuing Gaiman’s modernization of the franchise. Though it was canceled early, it prompted the Celestials move toward the forefront of Marvel lore. After the Dreaming Celestial of the 2008 volume awoke and stood above San Francisco, he was often seen in the background of X-Men comics set in the Bay Area. Celestials featured prominently in Uncanny Avengers, a mixed team of Avengers and X-Men designed to heal tensions between mutants and superheroes in the aftermath of a large-scale conflict that pitted the two groups against each other. (X-Men-Celestial history goes back further; it was the Celestials who created the Life and Death Seeds, artifacts with the power to jumpstart creation and extinction, and a common tool of the villain Apocalypse.) Most notably, an entire army of Celestials appeared as the antagonists of Jason Aaron’s 2018 run of Avengers, a conflict that once again resulted in the Eternals dying, this time without even the benefit of a book of their own.
But last January they returned with a fifth volume, written by Kieron Gillen and Esad Ribic, the story’s rise and fall forever reflecting the cyclical nature of its narrative conflict. If the post-credits scene of the new Eternals movie is any indication, the Marvel world and the Marvel Cinematic Universe are hardly done with Kirby’s invention.
Who is Black Roger in Marvel’s Eternals? Meet the MCU villain
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Eternals (2021) provided fans with some context on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But, who is the MCU villain Black Roger?
Marvel’s Eternals introduced Harry Styles in the cast as Eros, aka Starfox, in the end-credit scene.
The cosmic adventurer is introduced as “the brother of Thanos and defeater of Black Roger.” But, the identity and origin of Black Roger is yet to be revealed.
Screenshot from Marvel Studios’ Eternals | Official Teaser | YouTube
Who is Black Roger in Marvel’s Eternals?
Before diving into Black Roger’s identity, we need to understand who Harry Styles’ Eros is.
Eros, aka Starfox, is an MCU character in the Marvel universe. Not only is he an adventurer and the brother of Thanos, but also an Eternal.
Eros’ carefree personality often lands him in trouble and this is exactly what happens in Marvel Comics Presents #65 by Howard Mackie and Mark Texeira.
In the story “Wang Dang Doodle,” the cosmic adventurer comes face to face with Dark Roger, who could be the Black Roger mentioned in Eternals.
Black Roger is apparently a celebrated monarch of the Mystery Planet. The planet is literally called ‘mystery’ because no one in the universe has been able to find its location.
Its monarch, Dark Roger, aka Black Roger, prefers it that way and also stays in hiding until he eventually decides to emerge.
In Marvel Comics, Dark Roger is shown adorning a unique all-grey armour that looks like a mixture of Iron Man and the villain Stilt-Man’s costumes. Not much is known about the MCU villain’s abilities.
But, we do learn that he commands a massive army and weapons.
This content could not be loaded starfox eros harry styles marvel eternals mcu feels like the first time fancam edit pic.twitter.com/bOQrCrcLgZ — 📁nora made this (@poIaroidrrymp4) January 12, 2022
What happens between Black Roger and Eros?
Black Roger apparently drops the veil of mystery to woo a woman named Heater Delight but ends up coming face to face with Eros. Hardcore MCU fans know that Eros never readily seeks combat but does not back away once he finds it.
Although Black Roger stands his ground, his army and abilities turn out to be no match for Eros. He is eventually defeated in the face-off and a new title ‘defeater of Black Roger’ is credited to Eros.
What are Eros’ powers?
MCU fans have always had mixed feelings about Eros’ powers and the morality behind using them.
Eros can connect an individual’s pleasure centres and also bridge emotions between two people.
In the comics, Eros has been depicted as using this power to manipulate people’s thinking and perceptions of him as well as others. He causes them physical bliss until they are unable to move and become paralyzed.
He is known to have a carefree attitude but that changes after his elder brother Thanos goes on a destructive rampage across Titan, killing most of their population of Eternals, including their own mother.
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In other news, Who is Black Roger in Marvel’s Eternals? Meet the MCU villain
Marvel’s ‘Eternals’ Ending, Explained
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Warning: This article contains major Eternals spoilers. Scroll at your own risk!
Eternals doesn’t introduce a new superhero into the Marvel Cinematic Universe — it introduces 10 of them.
Helmed by Academy Award-winning director Chloé Zhao, the film centers on its titular team of ultra-powerful beings, who have secretly protected Earth for thousands of years (yes, even when the whole Thanos situation went down). After drifting apart, they’re forced to join forces once again when their ancient foes, the Deviants, return. Eternals’ all-star cast includes Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Gemma Chan, and many more familiar faces.
If you’d rather read up on Eternals spoilers before checking out the movie on Disney+ — or if you saw the movie and walked away confused — check out Decider’s Eternals plot summary, as well as the Eternals ending explained, below. Wondering how Eternals ends? Or maybe you’re just wondering, when does Harry Styles show up in Eternals? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
WHAT HAPPENS IN THE ETERNALS PLOT? ETERNALS PLOT SUMMARY:
Just like another recent Marvel release, Shang-Chi, Zhao’s film opens thousands of years ago — more specifically, in the year 5,000 BC as the godlike Celestial Arishem sends the 10 Eternals to defeat the Deviants (aka muddy, robot-looking monsters). Once that’s taken care of, they live largely separate lives for 500 years, awaiting Arishem’s return.
In the present day, powerful Eternal Sersi’s new life with human boyfriend Dan (Kit Harington) is upended when (gasp!) the Deviants suddenly return. So she and fellow Eternals Sprite (Lia McHugh) and Ikaris (Richard Madden, playing Sersi’s ex-lover) decide to convene with Eternals leader Ajak (Salma Hayek), only to find that she’s been murdered by the Deviant Kro (Bill Skarsgård).
Things take a turn when Arishem admits to Sersi that the Eternals weren’t actually sent to Earth to protect it. Instead, they were sent to prepare the planet for the “Emergence” (aka the birth of a new Celstial called Tiamut), which will wipe out all life on Earth.
Horrified, Sersi and her friends set out to reunite the rest of the Eternals and save humanity from the Emergence. But guess what? There’s another big twist: Ikaris reveals that Ajak warned him about the Emergence six days earlier, but he chose to side with Arishem and is her real murderer. After Sprite joins Ikaris due to her unrequited love for him, the rest of the Eternals are left to fight against them.
HOW DOES ETERNALS END? ETERNALS ENDING EXPLAINED:
Ikraris ultimately surrenders due to his love for Sersi, allowing her to vanquish Tiamut. Filled with guilt, Ikaris flies directly into the sun. Sersi decides to turn Sprite into a human, which gives her the chance to finally grow out of her perpetual childlike appearance. Meanwhile, Eternals team members Thena (Angelina Jolie), Druig (Barry Keoghan), and Makkari (Lauren Ridloff) set off in search of other Eternals spread across the galaxy.
The film ends on a cliffhanger, as Arishem drags Sersi and her fellow Eternals Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) and Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) into space. He agrees to spare humanity by combing through the Eternals’ memories and deciding for himself whether or not humans deserve to exist.
ETERNALS END CREDITS SCENES EXPLAINED: WHEN DOES HARRY STYLES SHOW UP IN ETERNALS?
During Eternals‘ mid-credits scene, Thena, Druig, and Makkari encounter Thanos’ brother, Eros (Mr. “Watermelon Sugar” himself, Harry Styles). He and his assistant Pip the Troll (Patton Oswalt) offer to help the gang out with their Eternals search.
And don’t worry, Sersi’s irrelevant human boyfriend is about to get way more relevant! In the film’s post-credits scene, Dan opens an old chest from his ancestors containing an ominous-looking sword. “Sure you’re ready for that, Mr. Whitman?” a mysterious voice asks.
That voice belongs to Blade the Vampire Hunter, who’s set to be played by Mahershala Ali. With Blade and Eros joining the mix, the MCU is about to get bigger than ever before!
Stream Eternals on Disney+
Marvel’s Black Knight: Eternals end credit scenes explained, who is the Black Knight, and what role will Dane Whitman play in Marvel?
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Eternals has come out as the lowest ranked Marvel film, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
The movie scored just 47%, lagging behind the next film, Thor: The Dark World, at 66%.
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Eternals had a star-studded cast and introduced a team of alien superheroes who had apparently been living on Earth for thousands of years, since the dawn of human civilisation.
Dane Whitman entered the MCU as the boyfriend of Sersei, one of the Eternals. Photo: Disney.
As the film itself was not well-received by fans, the end credit scenes still delivered on what they have done in various MCU films over the years: set up future storylines for Marvel Studios to come back to.
Here’s what the end credit scenes in Eternals point to, and what future stories will be told.
Eternals end credit scenes explained
Mahershala Ali will show his face, not just his voice, in the MCU in Blade, coming in 2023. Photo: Disney.
The mid credit scenes saw a well-known face enter the MCU: Harry Styles, playing Thanos’ brother Starfox, entering alongside Patton Oswalt’s Pip the Troll.
He warns three Eternals, Thena, Makkari, and Druig, that their other friends are in danger, highlighting that he will surely return to face down whatever danger he’s talking about in a future film.
The end credit scene gives us more to go on, returning to a throwaway lane from Dane Whitman, played by Kit Harington, that he has a “complicated family history”.
We see Dane open a box containing a dark sword, with the words ‘death is my reward’ inscribed on the box in Latin.
Dane hesitates before picking up the sword, when a mysterious voice says: “Sure you’re ready for that Mr Whitman?”
Who is the Black Knight in Marvel?
Fans have already begun theorising that this will lead to the formal introduction of the Black Knight in the MCU.
The Black Knight first appeared in Marvel comics in 1967.
Several different people have carried the title, but Dane Whitman is the name most closely associated.
The Black Knight wields the Ebony Blade, a sword forged from meteorite and passed down the Whitman family line.
Like Mjolnir, it can be summoned telekinetically, while also absorbing energy and cutting through almost any material.
Despite all these powers, the Ebony Blade is known to slowly drive its users insane, which might cause problems for Dane.
The body-less voice is confirmed to belong to Blade the Vampire Hunter, played by House of Cards actor, Mahershala Ali.
This character is canonically a vampire hunter and part of the Midnight Sons, an occult team gathered by Doctor Strange.
It might be that we see Ali take up the role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, due for release in May, but nothing is yet confirmed.
What we do now is that Blade will get a solo film in 2023, with Ali confirmed to star.
There’s no word as to whether Harington will get a role alongside him.
Who is Dane Whitman in Marvel’s Eternals?
Marvel audiences have already got to know Dane Whitman a little bit from Eternals, as he entered the film as the boyfriend of Sersei, one of the Eternals.