Get to Know the 'Eternals' With This Character Guide

The ‘Eternals’ features an entirely new batch of Marvel superheroes, so we’re here to let you know all you need to know before watching the movie.

(L-R): Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Sprite (Lia McHugh), Sersi (Gemma Chan), Ikaris (Richard Madden), Thena (Angelina Jolie), and Gilgamesh (Don Lee) in Marvel Studios' 'Eternals'

Marvel’s ‘Eternals’ brings together the most cosmic team the studio has ever introduced! If you thought the Guardians of the Galaxy were out there, welcome to the Celestials! Coming from the pages of 1970s and the mind of legendary Jack Kirby. But who are the Eternals? We’ve put together some details to get up to speed on the new team in ‘Eternals.’ A quick note, unless stated, every character was first introduced in The Eternals (1976) written by Jack Kirby.

Sersi - played by Gemma Chan

Sersi is the Eternal who wields magic, similar to 'Doctor Strange,' just immensely more powerful. A master in the art of illusions and transmutation, which makes her most likely one of the bigger threats in the group. Seeing as the Eternals were made to watch over humanity, it’s safe to say that Sersi has heard of the "Sorcerer Supreme."

Ikaris - played by Richard Madden

Ikaris is a hands-on type, at least when it comes to a fighting. He uses his superhuman strength and even shoots energy beams from his eyes (or sometimes considered disintegration beams, as the trailers show them in action). In the comics, he’s the Eternal that’s seemingly always ready to jump into battle, maybe even a bit of a showoff. We get a hint of that in the trailers with his insane, flying action scenes.

Thena - played by Angelina Jolie

Perhaps even more than Ikaris, Thena is probably the Eternal with the most skill in hand-to-hand combat, as the trailer shows her conjuring a spear and shield. With a knowledge of every weapon and style of combat ever used in earth’s history, she is most likely the worst person you want to go up again. Interesting enough, all Eternals have a weakness around their own mental control. The less control they have over their body, the more they are likely to get injured. It’s curious to see if the film will touch on this.

Ajak - played by Salma Hayek

Now for one of the more interesting additions to the film; Ajak in the comics was the leader of the Eternals. And male. But, in the movie, we have the talented Salma Hayek playing the most powerful and dutiful of the group. Ajak is indeed a male character, but in comic lore, he did start off as female. Could we see this play out in the movie? It’s unlikely, as Marvel cast just a highly talented and beloved actress for the role, but it is a possibility. But, as Marvel has showed with recent TV show choices, it’s not out of the realm of possibility.

Kingo - played by Kumail Nanjiani

In the comics, Kingo hailed from the Japanese mountains, later becoming a film star in the same country. In the new movie, Kingo has a long-lasting film career, but he keeps his age a secret from his fans.

Sprite - played by Lia McHugh

Sprite has a very fun history in the comics. In Marvel lore, Sprite is forever in the body of a child, and they were the inspiration for both the Shakespeare character Puck and the creation of Peter Pan. They were also another Eternal, besides Ajak, that started off male, and then later changed to female. In the comics, Sprite is considered a trickster, using their magic to play pranks on unsuspecting victims. It’ll be interesting to see how the child actress Lia McHugh portrays a character meant to be a millennia year old in the body of a small child.

Phastos - played by Brian Tyree Henry

The Eternals' technological expert, Phastos, in the comics, was the creator of many of their weapons and gadgets for the group. Using his Celestial smarts and abilities, he’s partially the reason the Eternals have won all their battles - his tech gives them some great advantages. In the film, it appears he is the member of the group that has grown accustomed to “human” life the most, even getting an apartment and normal, human furniture! While we doubt we’ll see this in the movie, he did have a shaky alliance with Thanos during a major story arc, making us wonder if he’s not above teaming up with other cosmic level threats.

Makkari - played by Lauren Ridloff

Makkari is the child of two other Eternals, Veron and Mara. An engineer and a speedster, they combined both loves and made multiple gadgets related to high velocity transport. In the comics, they were also called Mercury, who is the Greek god of eloquence, communication and many other things. In the trailers, they confirm the comic lore that the Eternals were the basis for the ancient Greek gods, and presumably others as well. Another Eternal that had changed genders in the comics, it’s possible Marvel could be leaving most of their comic lore intact.

Gilgamesh - played by Don Lee

Gilgamesh has gone by many names in the comics, from Samson to Hercules, and eventually settling on the name Gilgamesh and becoming King of Uruk.

Druig - played by Barry Keoghan

Finally, Druig is the next major villain to make an appearance in the MCU. A fellow Eternal, the Celestial worked with the likes of Ajak and his cousin, Ikaris. But all too often, he has grown too power-hungry, even summoning a giant Deviant that Thor needed to help the Eternals defeat.

There you have it! Every member of the Eternals that you need to know watching the movie. While the comics and films are obviously two different mediums, we can only hope that Marvel Studios embraces the Cosmic weirdness of the Celestials and the Eternals, because it's given us some amazing (if not completely mind-boggling) stories, events and battles over the years.

Marvel's 'Eternals' is now in theaters.