With the advent of the Eternals on the big screen, it seems the MCU is finally bringing out more of its big guns. Their appearance poised to expand the MCU and its many parallels in the multiverse in cosmic levels never before seen in cinema. In short, it's going to be exciting. Those who are probably unfamiliar with the comic books might be puzzled regarding the Eternals' identity and purpose.
In hindsight, that doesn't really matter much. What each of them can do is more important and precedes their identity. Granted, the MCU tweaked a few of them so how they perform compared to their comic book counterparts will be more or less different. That's why it's worth taking a look at how their original comic book powers and counterparts make them measure up against one another in terms of hierarchy.
It's worth noting that all Eternals have the usual superpowers as their average capabilities but some specialize in certain fields than others.
10 Druig
- Comic book specialty: Mind control
Druig, in the comic books, is the odd one out among the Eternals. He's to the Eternals as Loki is to Asgardians. Treacherous, scheming, and deceptive, Druig has caused many problems for the Eternals in the past particularly in their war against the Deviants.
While Druig can manipulate and transmute matter like many other Eternals, his forte appears to be telepathy. He uses it expertly to control organizations and factions into performing his bidding. It's not clear yet whether Druig in the MCU version will be faithful to his comic book counterpart but he does have the same abilities.
9 Kingo
- Comic book specialty: Combat
One Eternal that got a total makeover or even a re-imagining is Kingo. Originally, Kingo Sunen is of Japanese or East Asian ethnicity in the comic books. He has the usual Eternal superpowers of super-strength, speed, immortality, durability, energy manipulation, etc. but chooses to fight traditionally like a samurai, using his weapons.
Kingo in the MCU is vastly different as he's played by Kumail Nanjiani and looks like he will forego his favored weapons for the more practical energy projection. In any case, Kingo in the comic books doesn't rank that high because he chooses to handicap himself.
8 Sprite
- Comic book specialty: Matter manipulation
Sprite is another Eternal who was tweaked a bit for some reason. He was gender-swapped in the MCU but still sports similar powers. Sprite in the comic books can control and transmute matter to create or change objects into any form, shape, or type he wants.
His only quirk is that he remains stuck in a child's body. The same goes for the female Sprite in the MCU. That doesn't hinder his/her average Eternal superpowers one bit. It does appear that the MCU version will focus more on being an illusionist than a transmuter.
7 Phastos
- Specialty: Cosmic blacksmith & inventor
By now, it's apparent that some Eternals prefer using weapons. Normal human or Earth weapons won't do and will likely break under pressure. So the Eternals thankfully have Phastos to provide their armaments. He's the resident blacksmith and technologist of Earth's Eternals.
Luckily for them, Phastos has a genius-level intellect to be able to create such inventions. That's on top of his excellent cosmic energy manipulation skills that allow him to create inventions from scratch or weaponize energy beams, basically shooting lasers out of his eyes.
6 Sersi
- Specialty: Matter manipulation
On to the heavyweights. Sersi is one of the top Eternals in the collective and she specializes in transforming matter or molecules into any creation she sees fit. The trailer was rather generous in showcasing Sersi's abilities as an Eternal.
She can make barren soil grow plants and even turn a vehicle into rose petals. She's pretty much the same in the comic books with her fun powers that she uses creatively. Among all the transmuters of the Eternals, Sersi ranks the highest. At her worst and most uncontrolled, she can come close to the havoc similar to that caused by Jean Grey of the X-Men.
5 Makkari
- Specialty: Super speed
There has to be that one Eternal who chose to prioritize speed training over anything else, right? Well, Makkari is there to fit the role. He's the fastest among the Eternals and enjoys that notion. Makkari even dreamed to be the fastest man on Earth and once beat Quicksilver in a race.
That was in the comic books. It remains to be seen whether there's someone else who can beat or even chase Makkari in the MCU (probably none). Makkari also got gender-swapped and will be played by actress Lauren Ridloff.
4 Gilgamesh
- Specialty: Super strength & durability
One doesn't have to think too much about Gilgamesh's Eternals power. The name implies it all. He's the muscle and the beef among the Eternals. Gilgamesh is so strong that he can rival both Thor and Hercules in the Marvel comic books.
Thus, Gilgamesh is surmised to be even stronger than the most combat-capable or powerful Eternal. By no means does that imply that he's at the top of the hierarchy though. Strength isn't everything. Beyond raw muscle, Gilgamesh is also tough and can take a beating more so than the regular Eternal.
3 Thena
- Specialty: Martial arts & weapons master
If there was one way to make Thena more familiar, one only needs to compare her to Wonder Woman from the DC universe. Like her, she's also a warrior maiden who has honed her skills and devoted eons to perfecting her martial capabilities.
Hence, she's the best fighter or hand-to-hand combatant the Earth Eternals have on their roster. Her repute and skill are so great that she has assumed the leadership role many times among the Eternals and effectively lead them to many victories.
2 Ikaris
- Specialty: All-around Eternal
One common contender that Thena had in her leadership tenure is Ikaris. As far as Eternals go, he's the most stereotypical superhero figure (and also looks like one). That's because Ikaris is an Eternals everyman. He chose to be good at everything but that means he's the best at nothing.
Ikaris can essentially do what every Eternal can with impressive skill. In a sense, he's a Superman-analog since he possesses similar omnipotence and is second only to Gilgamesh in terms of strength. In the comic books, he's one of the few Eternals who can fly and it's the same for his Marvel version.
1 Ajak
- Specialty: Most powerful warrior among the Eternals
Finally, the last of the three Eternals in the MCU who got gender-swapped, Ajak. In the comic books, Ajak was an imposing male who's considered in the annals of the Eternals history to be their most powerful warrior. There was even a time when the Eternals had to call upon a slumbering Ajak in order to defeat a threat they cannot handle.
In the MCU, Ajak is played by Salma Hayek and while it remains to be seen whether she will take after the comic book version, her role there is still important as she's the de facto leader there. She's also the only one who can communicate with the Celestials, their creators so at the very least, Ajak in the MCU still has a huge role.