Eternals #12 - "Hail Thanos, Finale"

[laughing_tree]

"Eternal" doesn't mean immortal. "Eternal" means unchanging. That's a different thing. Gaiman and Romita Jr. very much brought this aspect out, and we're pushing it even further. There can be something comforting about the Eternals, but there's also something fundamentally disturbing to it. The old superhero cliché of "The Never-ending battle against crime" is one of those lines which, if you take it out of context for a second and think about it, seems absolutely Sisyphean in its hopelessness. Yet, to lift a line from Camus, we must imagine Sisyphus happy – the Eternals have been doing this for so long, they must be accepting of it? Right? -- Kieron Gillen

Comments

[arilou_skiff]

How does this align with the non-earth deviants though? (like the skrulls) or did they just forget about them?

[numeronone]

I feel like the focus for Eternals of Earth is any deviation that started on Earth.

[numeronone]

Of COURSE the one thing that could defeat Thanos is a bratty family member pulling a prank on him.

[numeronone]

Oh, also, I really REALLY like the irony here - in "The Heretic", Gillen established Uranos as the great shameful villain of the Eternals pre-Thanos because he considered any Deviation - really, anything that wasn't an Eternal - to be "Excess Deviation".

That story ended with Uranos deeming Thanos his worthy heir based on their shared nihilistic bloodlust, despite Thanos being just his grand-nephew. It seemed to be setting up the terrifying idea of the Mad Titan having his finger on the world's deadliest arsenal.

But the REAL danger all along was Uranos' grandson, Druig. Who, as we see from the final page above, can't help but follow in his predecessor's footsteps...

[arilou_skiff]

And the difference is that Druig is well aware this is just bullshit: He's just looking for something to point the Eternals, and an achievement.

[arilou_skiff]

TBH, a merely planet-destroying weapon feels a bit beneath Thanos' usual level, so I never quite got the hype.

[akodo_rokku]

He just REALLY wanted to destroy the Earth.

[remial]

same

[arilou_skiff]

Which again feels weird, Thanos usually doesen't care much about earth specifically.

[akodo_rokku]

I believe this was specifically about wanting to wipe out the source of his origins, since he can't make use of it as a weapon against everything else.

[cainofdreaming]

And more specifically wanting to wipe out his parents, after he found out they would always just be resurrected by the Machine.

[iamrman]

I half expect a storyline to come alomg and explain this wasn't Thanos after all, it was a clone all along.

[mindsweeper]

I didn't think Starlin was willing to work for Marvel anymore.

[iamrman]

Probably why Thanos lost.

[cainofdreaming]

I'd prefer Hickman's Thanos be retconned first. Talk about writing the character as a blunt instrument...

[nyadnar17]

""The Never-ending battle against crime" is one of those lines which, if you take it out of context for a second and think about it, seems absolutely Sisyphean in its hopelessness."

I mean, not really? The only way battles end is if dissent is utterly crushed. As long as the battle is being waged then freedom exist.

[icon_uk]

The only way battles end is if dissent is utterly crushed.

Or if the world has changed enough that there is no further need for the battle to be fought. The dissent can be crushed, or a mutual compromise achieved.

[blues32]

"How dare a god make us so?!"

That's just delicious. I was hoping she'd react like that when told that she was wrong and that the Avengers can do what they want with that god corpse. It's her fault for assuming her own superiority.