Eternals #1 (1976)

[mistersandman]

"Could it be that God was an extra-terrestrial? What do we mean when we say that heaven is in the clouds? From Jesus Christ to Elvis Presley, every culture tells us of high-flying bird men who zoom around the world creating magnificent works of art and choosing willing followers to share in the eternal glory from beyond the stars. Can all these related phenomena merely be dismissed as coincidence?" --  Erich von Däniken, Chariots of the Gods, 1968







But before enigmatic cameraman "Ike Harris" can explain further, we cut to an underwater base somewhere in the Pacific off the coast of South America...



Ike Harris--who reveals his true name is Ikaris--explains:

"It all began with the coming of the gods to Earth when it was populated only by the beasts of the field! Still, it was the presence of life which drew these cosmic beings to this planet. Their huge space-vessel surveyed the land -- and descended..."



Ikaris tells Dr. Damian and Margot that the space gods have visited Earth many times. Their last visit was to the Incas, when the structure they have been exploring was built. Ikaris activates a cosmic beacon that will summon the space gods once more, just as Kro and his Deviants attack.

There is a fight and then...



Eternals is probably everyone's least favorite version of Jack Kirby playing with these themes, and considering that list includes the Inhumans, that's saying something. The whole "Chariots of the Gods" idea is really off-putting to me. I think it betrays a lack of imagination to say that the Incas and other civilizations could not have built wonders that have stood the test of time without extraterrestrial help... and may betray yet more unpleasant qualities than mere lack of imagination.

I read a couple issues of this series on MU when the Eternals movie was first rumored to go into production, but didn't get very far. I didn't think it was terribly compelling compared to the verve of his earlier work like Fantastic Four or contemporary series like X-Men. (The month after this comic came out, X-Men #100 saw Jean sacrifice herself to save the X-Men!)

Still, it could be interesting to get caught up on King Kirby's original run with these characters, before they were even officially in the Marvel Universe! At the very least, we'll get to see some cool Kirby art and designs. How great are Kro's sunglasses?

Comments

[tinygaylaura]

"From Jesus Christ to Elvis Presley, every culture tells us of high-flying bird men who zoom around the world"

.................

I feel like his recollections of biblical scripture and the life and times of Elvis Aaron Presley may not be wholly accurate

I also somewhat question his insinuation here that we have no proof Elvis Presley existed

The designs on display here are fantastic classic Kirby stuff but I do agree that as plot tropes go the whole "I'm not saying it was aliens but it was aliens" one comes with a lot of really insulting and kind of racist implications. Not always intentionally. I certainly don't think Kirby was a racist. But its still bad

[mistersandman]

I feel like his recollections of biblical scripture and the life and times of Elvis Aaron Presley may not be wholly accurate

This killed me. Kirby has an interesting take on the Old Testament in the next issue that I might prioritize over Ajak's Incan cosplay.

I definitely don't think Kirby was a racist. His interest in ancient aliens is clearly in the aliens themselves instead of ignoring parsimonious explanations for the achievements of ancient societies.

[tinygaylaura]

Yeah it's not meant offensively here its just a trope that is best left in the past

[mistersandman]

And yet we're getting an all-star Eternals movie this November... With so much talent behind the project I'm sure it will be great, but it doesn't explain why they'd want to make an Eternals movie in the first place when the concept has that baggage.

[thehood]

I don't think people had a problem with the Inhumans themselves, but with how they tried to use them as replacements for mutants. I don't think anyone had a problem with the Inhumans before that.

[tinygaylaura]

It ironically made me actively hate the Inhumans when before I barely had a clue who or what they even were

[shakalooloo]

I dunno, a society of royals that rule over a subclass of 'alpha primitives' is not a good look. They work fine as an exotic society that the Fantastic Four stumbles across in their travels, but not as the protagonists of a story.

[mistersandman]

The books that I enjoyed the most from the Inhumans push--Karnak, Royals, and Black Bolt--were the ones that challenged the structure of Inhuman society and/or underlined how despicable some of these characters actually were.

[mistersandman]

I'd even say that I was mildly fond of the Inhumans (when I thought about them) before the mutant replacement era. At least, I thought Lockjaw was awesome and Black Bolt was an interesting cosmic heavy for stories like War of Kings.

[scorntx]

In fairness, it's hard not to love Lockjaw.

[tinygaylaura]

I cannot trust people who don't like dogs

[thehood]

I think people still like Lockjaw and he is still around. I was always fond of Crystal too.

[tinygaylaura]

Lockjaw is a good boy :)

[scorntx]

-"You're intimating that the human species is sharing this world with related forms of life"-

Eternals wasn't meant to be in the Marvel universe, and only got folded in later, and it shows. Because in a universe where Mutants, Inhumans, Atlanteans and All The Rest wander around, Dr. Damien and "Ike" look like plonkers.

"Homo Sapiens has relatives!"
"You mean like the Mutants?"
"What?"
"Humans born with an extra gene that gives them powers beyond ordinary men."
"Uh, no. I think these might be predecessors to humans who were experimented on by an alien intelligence beyond ours."
"Ohhh. Like the Inhumans."
"Who? No. Beings so far advanced compared to man they may as well be gods."
"So, the Asgardians."
"Shut up!"

[john_wyatt]

Since the Eternals had characters who were misidentified as Gods (Makkari as Mercury), I always assumed "Ike Harris" meant we should pronounce Ikaris the same way ("Eye-care-us") not like Icarus ("Ick-uh-rus").

But I think the movie is using "Ick-uh-rus" which means unlearning decades of pronunciation for me. That's fine, I've always said "Sivana" wrong and haven't figured out how to fix it.

[icon_uk]

koff-koff- Darkseid -koff-koff

[jkcarrier]

Anyone else think the Deviants have the right idea here? "Um, let's maybe NOT send out an invitation to the Space Gods with a fetish for eugenics and a history of genocide? Ya think?"