Eternals Discussion

 WARNING: Contains spoilers for Eternals

It's fair to say that Eternals has proved somewhat divisive amongst MCU fans. I suspect that's partly because it feels like it's own story with pretty limited connections to the MCU and also because the film is Marvel's most mature film yet. Personally though I really liked the film. 

The complicated family dynamic of the Eternals was really interesting. As we see the flashbacks in Earth's history we see how the characters conflict with each other and also fall in love with each other. Part of the film is about this family being reunited and dealing with their previous issues. Druig in particular wants nothing more to do with the eternals but eventually is persuaded to get back involved. 

Unlike most MCU films, there's no obvious villain here. First it appears like it's the deviants but actually they are just creatures who are doing what they were made to do. When we learn that the celestials are created by being born out of planets with large populations they feel like the enemy but they are not evil and they create more life than they ultimately destroy. Then there's Ikaris. When he learns the true purpose of the eternals he is determined to achieve that purpose, even if it means killing and fighting those he cares about. He's clearly not evil and he cares very much for the other eternals, especially Sersi. You can see the internal conflict in him as he wishes that the other eternals would share his beliefs and that he didn't have to fight them. 

I also thought it was fascinating that Kingo actually shared Ikaris' view that they should do what the celestials want but decides he won't fight the other eternals for it. It's pretty hard to decide if he is wrong to do this. Is it worse to have a belief and not fight for it? In a different way Sprite also joins the side of the celestials but her motivation is to do anything to get close to Ikaris. 

She has been in love with him for thousands of years and has struggled to cope with being permanently stuck in the body of a child. The film had little choice but to undo this trait as actor Lia McHugh will obviously age so in order for this to make sense in future films she is turned human at the conclusion of Eternals. I actually thought this was neatly done and made sense for the character's story in this film. 

The film ends with the surviving Eternals on Earth being taken by Arishem to be judged for saving Earth and humanity. What happens next looks likely to be seen in an Eternals sequel but very little suggestion is given of quite what that might entail. We do get a hint though as the mid-credits scene introduces Eros (played by Harry Styles) along with Pip the Troll. Eros is the brother of Thanos and it'll be interesting to see what his thoughts on Thanos are and indeed how the Avengers will react if they ever meet him. In the comic books Pip the Troll was associated with Adam Warlock but actually it makes a lot of sense for him to be with Eros as they both enjoy a life of debauchery in the comic books. Eros tells his fellow Eternals that he knows where Sersi, Kingo and Phastos have been taken so it seems likely we'll see the Eternal ship head that way. 

The post-credits scene focuses on Dane Whitman. Dane is depicted as a normal human in the film who just happens to be dating Sersi but he does tell her that he has an interesting family history. We know that in the comic books that he takes the mantle the Black Knight and the post-credits scene see him about to pick up the ebony blade for the first time. A voice speaks to him and director Chloe Zhao has confirmed that it is the voice of Maharasha Ali's Blade. We have no idea when we'll see Dane as Black Knight but Blade seems like a possibility at this point. It'll be great to see Black Knight come to life and his existence leads to the possibility of other British superheroes appearing in the MCU in future, especially Captain Britain. 

I'll be fascinated to see where these character go next. Will we ever see them link up with the Avengers? They are so powerful that perhaps they are better suited to their own cosmic corner of the MCU but who knows what Marvel has in store for us?