It’s been a while since we last discussed artist/writer/editor Jack Kirby’s Eternals in this space — so, as will come as no surprise to regular readers of the blog, prior to jumping in to the issue referred to both by this post’s title and by its featured cover image (the work of Kirby and Frank Giacoia, by the way), we’re going to spend some time catching up with the episodes of the ongoing saga which had appeared in the intervening months between the release of issues #2 and #6, way back in 1976… beginning, naturally enough, with issue #3, whose cover (also by Kirby and Giacoia) is shown at left.

Eternals #3’s “The Devil in New York!” (featuring the inks of John Verpoorten, who’d also done those honors for the title’s first two issues) picks up right where the previous installment had left off — which, in case you need a reminder, was with the full-page reveal of the awesome Arishem, leader of the Fourth Host of the space gods known as the Celestials.  The present chapter opens as “Ike Harris” — originally introduced in issue #1 as a mere guide to archaeologist Daniel Damian and his daughter Margo, but who’d quickly outed himself as Ikaris, a member of an immortal, super-powered sibling race to Homo sapiens who call themselves Eternals — poses the question to his fellow Eternal, Ajak: “Does this Arishem herald the coming of disastrous times, such as befell man in the distant past?” 

The Damians have come to this remote site in the Andes to investigate ancient mysteries — and they’ve been wildly successful so far, thanks to having arrived just ahead of the Fourth Host.  But, as Ajak explains, Arishem and his associates are about to seal off the whole area for half a century — the span of time which the Celestials have allocated for passing judgement upon the three branches of humanity: us, the Eternals, and a third group called the Deviants.  If the two ordinary humans don’t leave right away, they won’t be able to leave for fifty years (or, in Daniel’s case, ever) — and the growing rumbling noise that heralds the final descent of the Fourth Host signals that they have but moments left in which to choose…

Ikaris carries the protesting Margo to the small plane in which they arrived; before taking off, he zaps her into unconsciousness with twin energy beams shot from his eyes, all the while assuring her, “Some day, you’ll thank me for this.”  (Yeah, right.)  The plane gets airborne seconds before the Fourth Host seal the high plateau behind “an impenetrable atom shield“.

Meanwhile, in the undersea realm of Lemuria, the ruler of the Deviants, Brother Tode, is overseeing the painful physical punishment of his subordinate, Warlord Kro, whose efforts to prevent the return of the Celestials had been stymied in issues #1 and #2 by Ikaris and his allies.  But when Kro claims to have a great new plan for defeating the hated space gods, Tode decides to hear him out..

Back on the plane, Margo returns to awareness in time to see that a gleaming white dome now covers the rapidly receding plateau where the Fourth Host is busily establishing their base of operations.  She quickly gets another surprise when Ikaris suddenly takes his hands off the cockpit’s controls, blithely assuring her as he does so that there’s no need to panic: “This plane is now flying in response to my very thought.”  Then, as if the young woman wasn’t freaked out enough already, the Eternal uses his mental powers to make another, equally hands-free adjustment:

Three issues in, it’s about time we see Ikaris displaying the ability for which his mythological namesake is best known (though, as previously noted in our Eternals #1 post, we can only hope that “Ike” is better at it than that Greek guy).

Ikaris manages to evade the next blast from the attacking vessel — which, naturally, is full of Deviants, and commanded by Warlord Kro, besides.  (That dude works fast, it appears.)  Returning to the plane, he once again uses his natural mental abilities to first encapsulate the aircraft in a protective shield, then to send it hurtling high above the Earth, into “regions where it was never meant to fly”.  From the perspective of the Deviants, the little plane appears to have simply vanished…

Once they’ve reached the New York metro area, Ikaris allows the capsule to dissolve before bringing the plane in for a normal landing at JFK Airport.  Then, he and Margo take a cab to an apartment building on Manhattan’s West Side.  “We have a friend in this building,” Ikaris tells his charge.  “Someone who will help you during your stay…”

And so we’re introduced to yet another Eternal, one who’ll soon prove to be a major member of this series’ regular cast — Sersi (or, as it’s spelled for this one issue, “Sersy”).

Both Ikaris and Sersi understand that, as the latter puts it, “the Deviants have chosen New York for their first strike!”  Ikaris is determined to meet them when they arrive, and Sersi accedes to his request to watch over Margo until the danger is past.  As Ikaris makes his exit, Sersi calls encouragingly after him, “Give the rotten little bastards what they well deserve!”

I’m unaware of any religious or folkloric tradition that has “space” as the Devil’s point of origin; usually, we think of Old Scratch as coming from “down there”, rather than any location up above.  On the other hand, if I ever actually encountered a reddish-hued guy with horns walking unharmed through fire, and he told me he was the Devil, “returned from space to reclaim this domain!“, I might well be inclined to take him at his word.  Who knows?

Anyway, let’s move on to Eternals #4, where behind yet another cover by Kirby and Giacoia, we find Kirby and Verpoorten resuming the narrative just where you’d expect, with Ikaris confronting the Deviant horde…

This powerhouse double-page spread seems to herald an epic battle to come, reminiscent of, say, the New Gods’ Orion throwing down against a swarm of parademons, or Thor mixing it up with a mess of trolls.  But, instead, Kirby goes against our expectations. Ikaris gets to satisfyingly blast just one group of Deviants with his eye beams, after which…

The missile turns out to be a “brain mine” — a small object which affixes itself to Ikaris’ forehead, then swiftly drives him into a deep state of unconsciousness, thereby taking him out of action for the foreseeable future.

Arriving on the scene almost immediately, Warlord Kro orders that the now-helpless Eternal be conveyed to the Deviant vessel waiting off-shore; this done, he returns his full attention to the assault on New York…

In this issue, Kirby introduces the concept of a particular subset of Deviants called “Mutates“.  But we’ll have to wait another few issues for an explanation as to just how these specimens differ from your average, run-of-the-mill Deviants — who, after all, are already genetic mutants by definition.  At this point, all we have to go on is visual evidence; and it indicates that, if nothing else, the Mutates are even more monstrous-looking than others of their race.

Our story now turns back to Sersi and Margo, who’ve been watching TV news coverage of the invasion…

I suspect that Kirby intended for us to assume that Sersi was known to King Arthur’s court by the name Morgan le Fay — though, of course, there are plenty of other named enchantresses in the Arthurian legends whom she could have been just as easily.  It’s an amusing bit, in any case.

Sersi’s eye-blasts make quick work of the Mutate — alas, he’s quickly followed through the now-broken window by a trio of “ordinary” Deviants wielding flame-pistols…

Meanwhile, on board the Deviant raiding ship lurking below the surface of New York Harbor, poor Ikaris is being loaded into a torpedo-like capsule…

Moments later, the capsule is ejected into the watery depths… and the heroic figure whom most readers have, up to now, surely assumed must be this series’ leading man is taken not just out of action, but out of sight — not only for the remainder of this issue, but for the whole of Eternals #5, to boot.

Yeah, Ajak could see to Ikaris’ immediate release, but hey, what’s the hurry?  The “Lord of Flight” decides instead to let his old chum cool his heels for a spell; in the meantime, he ambles over for a chat with Dr. Damian about the latter’s progress in deciphering some interesting old Incan tablets.  This narrative device allows Kirby to remind us readers that behind all the sound and fury of the Deviants’ attack on NYC, the main interest of this series remains with the Celestials, and their mysterious, and possibly apocalyptic, intentions towards our planet.  It’s a theme that’s dramatically underscored by the full-page splash panel that closes out the issue — yet another jaw-dropping gawp at the ever-impressive Arishem:

The “Next” blurb at the bottom of that last page promises readers that, come issue #5, we’re finally going to get a decent look at the home of the Eternals, aka Olympia — and that book’s cover by (say it with me) Kirby and Giacoia raises expectations even further, giving us our first look at four of that locale’s denizens… including one who looks an awful lot like the Marvel version of Zeus, lord of Olympus (who, incidentally, was himself making an appearance this very same month in Thor Annual #5), and another who can’t help but remind fans of Kirby’s “Fourth World” saga for DC Comics of one of its most prominent supporting players, Metron of the New Gods.

As for the other two newbies, we’re given a closer look of one of them as early as the story’s opening splash page, courtesy of Sersi’s “mirror”:

Before we move on to learn the name of this “juvenile” Eternal with the questionable (but very Kirbyesque) command of 1970s vernacular (“funky corn“?  Really?), we’ll pause to note a significant change in the title’s creative team, as, after inking the first four issues, John Verpoorten has been replaced by Mike Royer.  In 1976, Royer was already a familiar name to Kirby’s fans, having been the King’s regular inker for much of the auteur’s recent stint at DC; as he he’d done there, Royer picked up the lettering duties here as well.

So, Makarri=Mercury, eh?  Well, that fits right in with all the other Eternals we’ve met to date, whose names (and, at least to some extent, natures) have all been derived from famous figures of classical mythology.

Makarri fumes helplessly at his viewscreen for a few moments, then goes sprinting off to find the only person who can approve his taking action — the Eternals’ “Prime One”.

Obviously, “Olympia, city of the Eternals” is directly inspired by Mount Olympus, home of the gods in Greco-Roman mythology.  But any Jack Kirby fan will recognize a more recent antecedent in Supertown, home of the gods of New Genesis in the Fourth World mythos.  Even more specifically, this particular scene echoes Kirby’s introduction of the speed-loving Fastbak in New Gods #5 (Oct.-Nov., 1971).

Domo is the first Eternal we’ve met who doesn’t have a clear precursor in classical myth.  While, as previously noted, he somewhat resembles the New Gods’ Metron in appearance, he seems to function more as an office administrator than that character, who was consistently portrayed as an insatiable seeker after the secrets of the universe — an impression that is buttressed by Domo’s very name, which is pretty obviously derived from the word “majordomo”.  In any case, he’s dismissive of Makkari’s demand to see the Prime One, suggesting that his fellow Eternal “retire somewhere and dream up a more realistic reason for risking the great one’s wrath!”

Kro frantically demands that Sersi reverse this bizarre transformation, but she refuses — at least until one of the Deviants puts a gun to Margo Damian’s head and threatens to pull the trigger.  Acknowledging that, as Sersi herself puts it, “Eternals are honor bound to protect those in their charge, she reluctantly returns the warlord’s hand to its normal state — after which Kro summons an air shuttle to come and take the two prisoners to the same undersea vessel where he’d previously sent Ikaris…

Zuras?  Gee, that’s awfully suggestive of Zeus, isn’t it?  And the lord of Olympia has a daughter named Ath — excuse me, named Thena?  Yeah, after that one detour with Domo, I’d say we’re back on familiar Greco-Roman ground…

Zuras isn’t quite a 100% dead ringer for Kirby’s design for Zeus, which had made its “modern” Marvel Universe debut back in 1965, in Journey into Mystery Annual #1 (see right; text by Stan Lee, art by Kirby and Vince Coletta) — if for no other reason than the new guy’s facial hair doesn’t include a mustache.  Still, they’re close enough in appearance (as well as in other attributes) that, even if one doesn’t consider Zuras to be an outright remake of his mythical almost-namesake, it’s hard not to see him as a new variation on a familiar theme.

Back in New York, Kro and his Deviant forces continue to rampage through the city, spreading terror in their wake.  There’s a certain irony here, as the ultimate goal is for the humans to cease fleeing and to fight back… only that fight is meant to take place against the Celestials, whom the Deviants are attempting to frame for the current chaos with their constant declarations of “We’ve come back from space to reclaim the Earth!“, and so forth…

Police Inspector James Fisher is a recognizable Kirby character-type:  the middle-aged representative of official authority who, despite being an ordinary man, shows unyielding determination and courage in the face of an extraordinary threat.  It’s very easy to imagine him swapping stories over a few beers with Det. Sgt. Dan “Terrible” Turpin (from New Gods) and General Argyle Fist (from Captain America).

Before Thena can take down any more Deviants with her crossbow-like weapon, a flying Mutate swoops in and smashes it with a metal club.  Thena promptly turns the tables on that enemy by grabbing his club and knocking him into a wall; but then…

As he had in the previous issue, Kirby closes things out in #5 with a scene that returns the focus to the Celestials; he even includes another shot of Arishem, albeit not in the form of a full-page splash this time around.

Eternals #6 begins with an opening splash that, like the book’s cover, highlights the figures of Thena and Makkari as they prepare to continue their fight against the Deviant foe…

The police quickly surround and draw their weapons against the still-earthbound Kro, who remains defiant but calm as his Eternal enemies approach…

Kro’s unexpected gallantry towards Thena — and her readiness to take him at his word — is the first inking we’re given of a history between these two which, as it’s explored further in the issues to come, will prove to be one of the most compelling character arcs of the series.  Perhaps even more significantly, it opens up the possibility that the Deviants may not be as thoroughly, irredeemably evil as they first appeared… and that the “Eternals versus Deviants” dynamic doesn’t map onto the Fourth World’s “New Genesis versus Apokolips” moral conflict quite as cleanly as longtime Jack Kirby fans might have assumed up to this point.

Sersi proceeds to mess further with her and Margo’s guards by turning their weapons rubbery and so forth.  Finally, however, the ship’s commander arrives to break things up…

The capsule is opened, the brain mine is removed, and then…

Everyone involved in this conversation seems to be aware that the world may have just arrived at a critical inflection point, and that what happens in the days and weeks to come could determine the future of all three of Earth’s sentient races.  But the most immediate concern — at least for the four Eternals and the single representative of Homo sapiens currently present — is to prevent a war from breaking out between the humans and the space gods…

Only “fright and property damage“?  No physical human casualties whatsoever?  Based on what we’ve been shown as well as told over these past few issues, that seems highly unlikely… but we’re going to have to take Kirby’s word for it, I reckon.

It’s interesting that Kirby is so specific in telling us that a whole week has passed since the previous page; I suspect he may have realized that even if the Deviants’ little escapade had only resulted in “fright and property damage”, there’d need to be time for more detailed negotiations with the appropriate local and federal authorities — as well as for tempers to cool and nerves to settle — before it could be considered feasible that a public institution such as CCNY would invite the leader of a terror attack to address a class of students.

“…I daresay I’d get some of your votes!”  I have to say, that line sounded a lot more over the top half a century ago than it does today, at least to me.

For those readers who might have been wondering if The Eternals was taking place in the “main” Marvel Universe, this scene would appear to answer that question in the affirmative.  Or does it?  After all, nothing in the dialogue of the last two panels above specifies that the Fantastic Four are real people, as opposed to simply being comic-book characters.

On the other hand, the appearance of these S.H.I.E.L.D. agents — specifically identified as “Nick Fury’s men” — seems to allow for no other interpretation than that the events we’re observing are taking place on the same old Marvel-Earth that we’ve been reading about since 1962.  So I guess that settles that, huh?

Well, maybe not — if only because of the all the other questions that arise if, indeed, the Eternals (and the Deviants, and the Celestials) share the same fictional setting as the FF, Nick Fury, and the Mighty Thor, starting with this one: in a world that already has an Olympus, Zeus, Athena, et al, what precisely is the point of Zuras and his fellow Olympians?

Three months prior to this, the main issues involved with integrating Kirby’s new characters and concepts into the fictional reality he’d had such a huge hand in originally creating had been well laid out in the letters page of Eternals #3 by Ralph Macchio.  Though he’d be joining Marvel’s editorial staff in the very near future, at the time he wrote his missive Macchio was still “just” a letterhack (though a very prolific one).

Following an opening paragraph expressing his general admiration for Eternals #1, Macchio had gone on to say:

Much as I’m pleased with THE ETERNALS, there is a matter inherent in their design which is as important as the publication itself.  I’m referring to this new concept being fit into the already overcrowded Marvel Universe.  I’m sure there’ll be many a gleam in fannish eyes over the prospect of Spider Man or the Thing teaming with Ikaris and fighting Deviants in New York.  But I firmly believe, after much thought, that the Earth inhabited by the Eternals should not be the Earth of the Marvel Super-Heroes.  In fact, it’s imperative they be kept separate.  In this new series, Jack is going to be answering many of the questions about the why’s of human existence and purpose on this planet, which is all well and good; but even if the answers do not contradict already established laws of the Marvel Universe, they will severely limit any possible storylines which might deal with the creation of Man and his reason for being here.  In the Marvel World, the truly Big Questions should be left reasonably open to allow for sufficient latitude in storytelling.  If you graft the new Kirby-mythos onto the Marvel mythos, you’re asking for inevitable contradictions that will destroy two of the most important elements that make Marvel, Marvel: continuity and verisimilitude.  And I feel that if we go off in this direction, Marvel is going to find its space/time continuum unalterably locked up in the future.

Macchio wrapped up his letter by proposing a solution to the problem he’d identified: Marvel should establish the setting of The Eternals as being “a parallel Earth that hopefully does not have carbon copies of the Fantastic Four, Avengers, etc.”  Doing so would allow Kirby “to utilize his imagination to the fullest extent, populating his own special world with as many characters and concepts as he saw fit”, while, at the same time, leaving the established Marvel Universe “to continue evolving without being forced to align itself to a whole new series of unexpected constants that would limit its growth and stagnate it.”

Marvel’s anonymous editorial response was essentially dismissive, if cordial:

We appreciate your concern, Ralph, but it is really doubtful that our newly-revealed race of Eternals will contradict any of the already established Marvel Universe.  But, as always, we are interested in what the rest of Marveldom Assembled thinks.  So let us know, hear?

As it turned out, plenty of other fans did have opinions on the matter, and the question of The Eternals‘ place in the MU would be argued back and forth in the letters column for many months to come.  The controversy would, inevitably, seep into the title’s actual art and story — and arguably derail what, as of issue #6, still seemed a very promising series.  How it all ultimately played out, creatively and otherwise, will, naturally, be a topic for future posts; I hope you’ll return to be part of the ongoing discussion.