Marvel Studios ‘Eternals’: Every Eternal’s Background and SuperPower Explained

Eternals are considered to be a byproduct of the evolutionary process that gave rise to sentient life on Earth. The alien Celestials, who started this process, intended the Eternals to be Earth's defenders, which means battle with their destructive counterparts, the Deviants, is inevitable.

The cast of Eternals elaborated more on their characters and discussed their powers during a recent interview with Total Film Magazine.

Marvel Studios ‘Eternals’ will hit theaters around the world on November 5, 2021. But, before you head to the theaters, here is a guide that introduces you to each of the Eternals present in the film. We have compared them and their abilities in the films (as described by the actors) to those in the Marvel comics.

 

Richard Madden as Ikaris: "His abilities are pretty cool. He's extremely powerful, with the ability to fly and shoot lasers from his eyes. I suppose the main issue was making something appear effortless."

In the Comics: Ikaris' life force is supplemented by cosmic energy, and he has complete mental control over his physical shape and bodily processes even while sleeping or unconscious. As a result, he is nearly immortal, resistant to sickness and aging, and impervious to traditional forms of harm. Ikaris can project cosmic energy as beams from his eyes or flashes from his palms. 

Ikaris can lift himself by mentally manipulating gravitons around him. He can also lift other people and items while also levitating himself. Ikaris can fly at 850 miles per hour using self-levitation, which is faster than most other Eternals.

Lauren Ridloff as Makkari: "Her most obvious power is speed, but the way she uses speed as a weapon is ingenious, therefore her ultimate power is her intelligence." Ridloff is playing Makkari making this version of the character a woman of color, as well as deaf. 

In the Comics: Makkari was a male in the comics. Makkari can run in circles and produce cyclones, as well as run over walls and through the water. Makkari's body ultimately builds up tiredness toxins and becomes vulnerable to damage. Makkari has the standard powers of an Eternal; nevertheless, his fixation with speed prompted him to focus the majority of his body's Cosmic Energy to improving his running speed.

Barry Keoghan as Druig: "He manipulates and controls individuals through mind control. He doesn't use his hands at all. He simply stands there staring, which is kind of cool."

In the Comics: Druig has the traditional skills of an Eternal; he can manipulate all types of matter and energy, including his atoms. He can teleport, manipulate gravitons to fly, influence other people's minds, and project energy from his body, generally through his hands or eyes.

 

Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos: "They refer to him as a techno-path, which implies he can use his mind and energy to virtually assemble anything out of any technology around him."

In the Comics: Phastos possesses the Eternal's traditional characteristics as well as certain exceptional powers developed via rigorous discipline. His life force, like that of all Eternals, is enhanced by cosmic energy. He had worked as a master technologist for the Earth's Eternals, creating several weapons and innovations for them.

Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo: "He can fire beams from his arms. Obviously, they add laser beams in the post. I didn't take that approach. I did martial arts and dance training to figure out how he would move when shooting."

In the Comics: Kingo probably possesses all of the standard Eternal abilities, including near-immortality, super-strength, flying, energy projection, and molecular manipulation. However, he refuses to employ these abilities in battle, preferring to fight in the traditional Samurai method.

Lia McHugh as Sprite: "Sprite has the ability to create illusions! In Eternals, her powers are used in a variety of inventive ways that become highly crucial to the story."

In the Comics: Sprite is a male Eternal and has all the qualities of an Eternal. He can transform cosmic radiation into bursts of heat or force, lift himself and others, and create illusions. He possesses superhuman strength, however, it is less than that of most Eternals due to his diminutive size and childlike body. His Eternal body appears to be that of a pre-adolescent child, although he is hundreds of thousands of years old.

Gemma Chan as Sersi: "Sersi has the ability to manipulate matter. So inanimate - I suppose - substances or objects, she can transmute them into other things. Which is pretty useful. That's a good thing."

In the Comics: Sersi possesses the typical talents of Earth's Eternals, although she has channeled the majority of her power into transmutational abilities throughout the centuries, passing it off as illusion or magic. Sersi is the only living Fifth Level who can transmute matter (on a 1-5 scale). She possesses the power to change the molecular and atomic structures of all matter, including living organisms. She has, however, indicated difficulty in rearranging subatomic matter.

 

Angelina Jolie as Thena: "I was given the 'could manifest weapons in my hands'. It was a lot of fun for me to try to figure out how to fight that manner during my training."

In the Comics: Thena has all the qualities of an Eternal. Thena wears body armor of unknown composition. She wields a bow that shoots arrows that emit "cold energy," as well as an energy spear that surrounds victims in a ring of extreme heat and light or bombards them with anti-gravitons. Thena has a brilliant mind and has studied with the greatest Eternal and human scholars throughout her existence. She is well-educated in a wide range of Eternal and Human knowledge. Thena is also a formidable hand-to-hand combatant, having had considerable training in unarmed combat as well as the usage of numerous ancient and Eternal high-tech weaponry.

Salma Hayek as Ajak: "Another factor that influenced me was her superpower of healing. That is very much a mother's sensation."

In the Comics: Ajak possesses all the superhuman qualities of an Eternal. She can also communicate directly with the Celestials when they are nearby.

Don Lee as Gilgamesh: "Gilgamesh is immortal, possesses superhuman strength and is regarded as the most powerful of the Eternals. Like a heavyweight boxer, he has a one-punch knockout attack. As a long-time boxer, I tried to incorporate a lot of genuine boxing movements."

In the Comics: Along with all the qualities of an Eternal, Gilgamesh is one of the most accomplished hand-to-hand combatants among the Eternals. He is an exceptional melee fighter who is well-versed in the majority of hand-to-hand fighting techniques used by ancient Earth civilizations. He sometimes wears unidentified war gear and mainly defends himself with simple hand weapons such as an ax, spear, or club. He also possesses highly developed senses, which helped him compensate for his former blindness and enable him to be an amazing hunter and tracker.

Kit Harington as Dane Whitman: "I'd just like a Power. It was very cool, my interaction with those characters. It was cool to see - and also very jealous-making."

In the Comics: Dane Whitman is also called Black Knight. Sersi and Dane Whitman have a special bond. His strength, speed, and other physical attributes were mildly boosted while he was with Sersi. Whitman, who began as a scientist, is an exceptional swordsman whose abilities have allowed him to defeat Swordsman in combat. He has also shown strong leadership qualities.