With Marvel's Eternals finally out, fans of the MCU and Marvel Comics have the chance to check out the movie and see what it has to offer. For comic book fans, there is more to enjoy about these movies than just seeing how the story pans out. It's also an opportunity to see what director Chloe Zhao changes from the comics, as well as what little details are hidden that reference deeper comics lore.
Movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe are well-known for dropping in details for the comics' fans in the audience to pick up on, and they are really enjoyable to discover. Expect spoilers for Marvel's Eternals up ahead.
7 Olympia Is The Hidden Home Of The Earth Eternals
Early in the movie, it is said that the homeplanet of the Eternals is Olympia, the planet upon which Arishem created them. However, this is later revealed to be a lie, as Arishem created the Eternals in his World Forge, and recreates them everytime they die during a new Celestial's Emergence.
However, Olympia does exist in Marvel Comics: it has been the longtime home of the Eternals on Earth. It is a hidden city in which Eternal society lives, as there are more Earth Eternals in the comics than there are in the movie.
6 The Dark Angel Graffiti In The Background Of The London Fight
One of the most well-hidden and interesting easter eggs is dropped fairly early in the movie as well. It is in the background of the London fight when Kro (the head Deviant villain) attacks Sersi (Gemma Chan), Ikaris (Richard Madden), and Sprite (Lia McHugh). The words "Dark Angel" are spray-painted on a building in the background.
The Dark Angel, in Eternals lore, is actually the entity that the children of Thena (Angelina Jolie) and Kro (Bill Skarsgard) can become. It's worth mentioning that, in the comics, Kro and most Deviants are sentient and humanoid as opposed to their bestial forms in the movie. Thena had an on-again off-again relationship with Kro, and they even had children together. Their names were Deborah and Donald Ritter, and they could fuse into an ultra-powerful Eternal-Deviant hybrid known as the Dark Angel.
5 All The Hints About Dane Whitman & His Family
Dane Whitman (Kit Harrington) isn't in very much of Eternals, but much of his screen time is spent dropping little hints about his background and family history. He references his feud with his uncle, who is named Nathan Garrett in the comics and was a villain known as the Black Knight. This is a title that Dane himself later adopts, and he even joins the Avengers.
There's also a reference to the Ebony Blade on the Domo, the Eternals' ship. The Ebony Blade is the signature weapon of the Black Knight, and is the same Ebony Blade that is revealed in the second post-credit scene which Dane prepares to lift.
4 Sprite's Internal Struggle References Eternals (2006)
Sprite is an Eternal forever trapped in a child's body. She can never develop into an adult, as an Eternal never matures past their current state. Her lamenting over this fact actually mirrors Eternals (2006) by Neil Gaiman and John Romita Jr.
In that story, Sprite betrays the other Eternals to the Deviants as part of a mental breakdown brought about by being forever trapped in her child form. She eventually is stopped by the other Eternals, and she has recently returned in the current Eternals run by Kieron Gillen and Esad Ribic.
3 Starfox & Pip The Troll Make Their Appearance
The first post-credit scene for Eternals has Thena, Druig (Barry Koeghan), and Makkari (Lauren Ridloff) meeting Starfox (Harry Styles) and Pip the Troll (Patton Oswalt). Starfox, aka Eros, is a Titanian Eternal and brother to the infamous Thanos. Thanos is actually an Eternal as well, though that has not been referenced in the MCU until now.
Pip the Troll is a teleporting entity who once was commonly seen alongside Adam Warlock and Gamora. He's not actually known to accompany Starfox all that often, but they have traveled in similar circles.
2 Tiamut, The Dreaming Celestial From Eternals & X-Men Comics
Tiamut, AKA the Dreaming Celestial, is actually a part of Sprite's plan against the Eternals. Tiamut, in the comics, is actually a Celestial who once planned to eradicate the Earth as a means of eliminating the Deviants. He was stopped by Arishem and and buried beneath the Earth. He later awoke and became fascinated by human society, staying on Earth for a long time afterward.
He was actually a fixture of Kieron Gillen and Carlos Pacheco's Uncanny X-Men for a time after that. It eventually led to Arishem returning to Earth and clashing with the X-Men.
1 The Emergence Refers To Earth X
Earth X is an alternate universe Marvel story by Alex Ross and the late great John Paul Leo. Set in a future where superpowers become more common, it shows the world falling into chaos. The climax of the story reveals that the Earth has an Celestial egg inside, which will destroy the world when it hatches. Uatu the Watcher and the Celestials play the villains trying to ensure that this will happen.
This story is set on an alternate Earth different from the mainstream Marvel Universe in many ways, but it still seems to be the inspiration for the Eternals movie. Tiamut is set to erupt from the Earth in an event called "the Emergence," and Arishem wanted the Eternals to ensure that Tiamut is born safely. Funnily enough, despite their ties to the Celestials, the Eternals were actually not present in the original Earth X story.