Marvel Studios may have rewritten the Eternals‘ origins to ensure they’re not too similar to the X-Men. There’s a sense in which Eternals is one of Marvel’s riskiest movies to date; although the characters were created by the legendary Jack Kirby, their brand is one of the weakest in the comics. Still, this is the studio that made audiences fall in love with a walking tree and a talking raccoon in Guardians of the Galaxy, so there’s every reason to assume Marvel can pull it off.
In the comics, the Eternals and their arch-enemies the Deviants are two evolutionary offshoots of humanity created in prehistoric times by a powerful race of aliens called the Celestials. The Eternals are the basis for countless human legends, and in fact many of them are the inspiration for the gods of ancient Greece; in recent times, however, they’ve retreated into the shadows and attempted to pursue a more isolationist existence. The Eternals defend humanity from the threat of the Deviants and prepare for the return of the Celestials, who they believe will judge the Earth.
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Curiously, though, there’s some evidence Marvel has rewritten the Eternals’ origin story – likely a smart way of avoiding unwittingly creating a new brand with marked similarities to the X-Men.
Eternals Seems To Have Rewritten The Race’s Origin
Marvel is notoriously secretive, but from the outset they’ve been subtly hinting they won’t be taking an entirely comics-accurate approach with the Eternals. Back in June 2018, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige openly discussed the idea of the Eternals as “ancient aliens,“ claiming they’ve been interacting with humanity in secret for millennia and may be the truth behind countless legends. Speaking at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, actor Kumail Nanjiani discussed the Eternals’ origin in a little more detail; “We were sent to Earth thousands of years ago to protect Earth from these monsters, the Deviants,” he explained. “By this point, we’ve been on Earth for a long time.“
While Feige had seemed to only be referring to the classic sci-fi trope, Nanjiani’s comments hinted that the “ancient aliens” concept should be taken literally. He was openly discussing an extraterrestrial origin for the Eternals, suggesting they had been sent to Earth rather than originating there. This concept is supported by the official Eternals synopsis, which released in January 2020. “Marvel Studios’ “The Eternals” features an exciting new team of Super Heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” it observed, “ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years.” Notice even the timescale has changed; in the comics, the Eternals were created around one million years ago, but here they’ve only been on Earth for some thousands of years.
The Eternals’ New Origin Makes Them Different From The X-Men
It’s not hard to see why such an approach would be a smart one; as a high-level concept, the Eternals could quite easily be seen as something of an X-Men rip-off. After all, both the Eternals and mutants are super-powered evolutionary offshoots of humanity; in fact, in the comics the Celestials were responsible for the X-Gene that triggers mutant powers, so technically they have a shared origin. Marvel wouldn’t want to risk creating a superhero team who felt like X-Men rip-offs.
The issue would have been compounded when Disney completed their acquisition of the bulk of Fox’s TV and film empire. As part of that, Marvel regained the film rights to mutants, and it’s just a matter of time before the X-Men make their MCU debut. That would have meant Marvel introducing two similar concepts in relatively quick succession, further inviting comparison between the two – likely to the Eternals’ detriment, given the popularity of the X-Men brand.
The Implications Of The Eternals’ New Origin For The MCU
This simple rewrite has intriguing implications for the MCU. For one thing, it potentially transforms Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame into direct setups for Eternals. In the comics, Thanos’ homeworld of Titan was an Eternal colony, but perhaps that has been inverted in the MCU and Titan is their homeworld. Oddly enough, this inversion would explain one of Marvel’s most curious decisions from the last few years; they declared Barry Lyga’s novel Thanos: Titan Consumed, an origin story for the Mad Titan, as non-canon. Lyga collaborated closely with Marvel while writing the book, and both he and his publisher believed it was canon. ”In some areas I was given great latitude and a free hand,” Lyga explained in an interview, “while in others I had to tip-toe very carefully through the MCU.” And yet, almost as soon as the book was announced, the publisher was contacted by Marvel and asked to clarify the point. Clearly something had changed; it didn’t appear to be related to Thanos, given the book’s portrayal dovetailed perfectly with his MCU story, so it’s reasonable to assume Marvel had altered their plans for Titan.
Meanwhile, this new origin story would of course require an altered background for the Deviants as well. In the comics, the Deviants and Eternals were created as rival offshoots of humanity, but perhaps in the MCU they are simply another race of aliens who have secretly infiltrated human society with the intention of conquering Earth. That would fit with comments Feige made at CCXP 2019, where he noted the film will introduce “a new form of Deviants,” indicating deviation from the comics. Such a revised origin is a simpler story, and it avoids any hints of the discredited pseudoscience of eugenics, which was a lot more popular at the time Kirby created the Eternals.
Concept art has confirmed the Celestials, the Eternals’ comic book creators, will appear in the movie. But what would their role be in this rewritten origin? It’s possible that – mirroring the comics – the Celestials are the gods of the Eternals. If so, they may be the ones who sent this group of Eternals to Earth to protect humanity from the Deviants. That would be a far more benevolent take than the one hinted at by the Collector in Guardians of the Galaxy, but it shouldn’t be discounted. It’s going to be fascinating to see how this plays out, and hopefully, it won’t be long before an official Eternals trailer gives viewers a better sense of what’s coming.
