With the long-awaited release of Eternals, Marvel Comics and MCU fans finally get to see how this adaptation of a particularly obscure Jack Kirby creation by director Chloe Zhao shakes out. Many things are often changed in adaptation, as it is the nature of this kind of transformation. Eternals in particular alters a lot of the source material to tell its own original and unique story.

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Given how little Eternals material there is in Marvel Comics compared to the likes of the Avengers or even the Guardians of the Galaxy, this isn't especially surprising; however, noting what is changed and why is still worthwhile, especially for fans who enjoy both types of media. Expect spoilers for Eternals up ahead.

13 Earth's Eternal Population Is Smaller & More Social

A dinner scene featuring multiple characters from Eternals

In the Marvel Comics incarnation of the Eternals, they are a full and functioning society that lives completely apart from humanity. They rarely socialized with homo sapiens for much of their existence, and only came into contact with humans when a Deviant threat arose.

There are around 100 Eternals living on Earth in the comics, whereas they are a nomadic 10 in the movie. Most have a purpose pertaining to "The Machine," which all Eternals serve on Earth. The likes of Ikaris, Makkari, Ajak, and Thena have more action-oriented purposes, which lead them out into the world to face threats like the Deviants.

12 The Eternals Are Less Self-Aware

Phastos from Eternals

The Eternals of the MCU are less certain of their purpose and internal biology than their counterparts in the original material. In the comics, the Eternals are more or less aware that they are humanoid machines bound to serve the Celestials, fight Deviants, and preserve some equilibrium on Earth.

In the movie, however, they don't realize much of their true purpose or just how different they are biologically from humans. This different sense of self makes them very different characters.

11 Their Creation & Age

Ikaris from Eternals

Within the original comics, each planet that has an Eternal population has its own Eternals that were specifically created for the planet. This isn't the case in the film, where the same Eternals seem to be recycled and repurposed across planets that have received attention from the Celestials.

On a similar note, the Eternals' time of appearance on Earth also differs. In the comics, they are as old as mankind in the comics, meaning they have been a presence on Earth for millions of years. By contrast, the MCU Eternals have only been on Earth for about 7,000 years.

10 The Omission & Changing Of Roles

Zuras Brooding In Eternals Comics Cropped

One of the most glaring alterations in the film is the removal of the Prime Eternal Zuras, who played a crucial role in the comics. Zuras is a sort of Zeus or Odin figure for the Eternals (or Highfather of DC's New Gods). He is wise but often cold and even cruel. Zuras, as well as a few other Eternals who have been added over the years such as Legba and Valkin, have been seemingly erased.

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In the film, Zuras' leadership role in the Eternals has been taken over by Ajak, as played by Selma Hayak. In the comics, however, Ajak has never been a leader or Prime Eternal. Instead, she is more of a warrior or assassin, and is often considered to be the most dangerous of the Eternals.

9 Sersi & Dane Whitman's Meeting

Gemma Chan as Sersi in Eternals confused

Sersi and her romantic partner in the movie, Dane Whitman (the Black Knight of the comics), have both spent some time with the Avengers in the past. In fact, that is where they first met and fell in love--though that relationship later falls apart.

In the movie, they met in their teaching jobs in London. Though it's not a major change, it's still one that alters the characters' backstories.

8 The Eternals' Dissolving Their Society

Sprite from Eternals

In the movie, Ajak disbands the Eternals after the last of the Deviants have been wiped from the planet. This has never really happened in the comics, especially given that the Eternals have their own hidden society they can return to.

Their society has been dissolved before, but it was due to a mass mind-wipe that scattered the Eternals throughout the world. Never in the comics have they dissolved willingly as they do in the film.

7 The Deviants

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In the Eternals movie, the Deviants are bestial creatures who seem to only operate on instinct and malice. It isn't until one of them begins absorbing the powers of the Eternals that it becomes sentient and humanoid.

In Marvel Comics, on the other hand, Deviants are sentient and often quite humanoid. Thena even has a romantic history with a Deviant named Kro in the comics, resulting in children who later become the entity known as Dark Angel. The comics' depictions of the Deviants are capable of speech and forming a society. Furthermore, they are far more distinct from one another in the comics, as their biology causes each one to appear vastly different from the others.

6 Gilgamesh, The Forgotten Eternal

gilgamesh eternals

Gilgamesh wasn't known to be an Eternal for much of his personal history. He was an immortal that traveled around the world looking for excitement and adventure. However, he reunited with the Eternals in the modern era, and accepted his birthright among their number.

He has also spent some time as part of the Avengers and is friends with the Olympian demigod, Hercules (who has spent extensive time among the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy).

5 Death Has Become (Somewhat) Eternal

A scene featuring multiple characters from Eternals

When an Eternal dies in Marvel Comics, it's not long before they are resurrected by the Machine that they tend in their hidden city. They are restored to their most recent state, though they can be physically altered depending on their personal preferences.

In the movie, meanwhile, when an Eternal dies, they seem to be dead for good. They can be resurrected during the next cycle on another planet, but they are dormant and functionally dead until then.

4 Arishem Is Chatty For A Celestial

Arishem

Arishem, the Celestial that the Eternals serve and were created by, speaks directly with the Eternals several times throughout the movie. This is quite different from the comics, where Celestials rarely speak. Most have never been depicted speaking, with the exception of Tiamut.

Usually, an Eternal's will and intent have to be interpreted and parsed out by the heroes. Sometimes, they telepathically communicate their will to characters, not even speaking aloud.

3 Tiamut's Role In The Story

Earth X Cover by Alex Ross Cropped

Tiamut is also known as the Dreaming Celestial in the comics. Millennia ago, he tried to destroy the Earth to eradicate the Deviants, but he was stopped by Arishem and put in a dormant state. In the modern era in an Eternals series by Neil Gaiman and John Romita Jr, he was awakened by the Deviants with the help of Sprite. Tiamut then became fascinated by humanity, and even tried to forge his own identity outside of his role as a Celestial.

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In the movie, the Eternals are tasked with protecting the egg that contains Tiamut inside the Earth's core. He is set to emerge soon and feed on the psychic energy of Earth's populace, destroying them and the planet in the process. This resembles the Earth X story by Alex Ross and the late John Paul Leon. The Eternals were oddly absent from that story, though their role is similar to that of Uatu the Watcher in Earth X.

2 Ikaris Turning On The Other Eternals

Ikaris eternals

There isn't really a distinctly evil member of the Eternals, though Druig and even Sprite have caused havoc in the past. The big twist in the Eternals movie is Ikaris turning on the other Eternals, trying to ensure that Tiamut is born and destroys Earth.

This is particularly surprising, as Ikaris is often the main character of Eternals comics and is usually the most heroic out of their number.

1 The Vagueries Of The Uni-Mind

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The Uni-Mind is a confusing concept in the comics. The broad idea is that the Eternals form a single psychic entity with far greater power than they could muster on their own. This entity is actually distinct from that of the Eternals themselves, and is its own creature that can only exist when all the Eternals will it.

In the movie, the Uni-Mind seems to simply be the sharing of cosmic energy among the Eternals, allowing them to boost the power of Sersi to stop Tiamut's Emergence.

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