Eternals (comics)

The Eternals are a fictional race of superhumans appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are described as an offshoot of the evolutionary process that created sentient life on Earth. The original instigators of this process, the alien Celestials, intended the Eternals to be the defenders of Earth, which leads to the inevitability of war against their destructive counterparts, the Deviants. The Eternals were created by Jack Kirby and made their first appearance in The Eternals #1 (July 1976).

Publication history

In 1970, Jack Kirby left Marvel Comics to work at DC Comics, where he began the saga of the New Gods, an epic story involving mythological and science fiction concepts, and planned to have a definite ending. However, the saga was left incomplete after the cancellation of the titles involved. Kirby began The Eternals when he returned to Marvel. The Eternals' saga was thematically similar to the New Gods', and the series was also eventually canceled without resolving many of its plots, particularly the Celestials' judgment over humanity (see Fictional Biography below). Initially, the comic book was not intended to be part of the normal Marvel continuity but a stand-alone publication. The Eternals continuity was officially made part of the Marvel-616 continuity in Eternals, Vol. 1 #6, with the introduction of three S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Nick Fury being mentioned by name, and an official statement made on the letters page of that issue.