Who Is Kingo? Kumail Nanjiani's Bollywood Eternals Superhero Explained

Kumail Nanjiani’s MCU character in Marvel’s Eternals movie is Kingo, a Bollywood superhero. The third Phase 4 film is confirmed to introduce ten members of an alien race of super-powered immortals who came to Earth thousands of years ago, and have been living there in secret ever since. Nanjiani’s Kingo will be among the ten Eternals featured in the story.

Similar to Shang-Chi, Eternals is a lesser-known property in Marvel Comics. Created by the legendary Jack Kirby, the Eternals starred in a short-lived comic book series that established a unique corner of the Marvel Universe through the introduction of the titular characters, the Celestials, and the Deviants. Over the years, Marvel has periodically found uses for the Eternals by giving them guest appearances in other comics and an occasional miniseries, but for the most part, the Eternals have had an extremely limited presence. But regardless of their lack of popularity, Marvel is pulling ten of them straight out of the comics and onto the big screen.

All of the confirmed Marvel characters in Eternals are far from household names, but at least a few - such as Gilgamesh and Sersi - have had their fair share of adventures, both with their own team and with other Marvel Comics superheroes. However, the same can’t be said for Kingo, who is one of the most obscure Eternals appearing in the movie. Prior to the reveal that Eternals would be part of the MCU, Kingo had actually appeared in less than two dozen comics in total. But, his popularity could move in a completely different direction when he officially joins the MCU.

Kingo's Eternals Origin In Marvel Comics

Known primarily for his role in the 12-issue Eternals miniseries from the mid-1980s, Kingo Sunen is a member of the Olympian branch of Eternals led by Zuras. Like others of his species, Kingo has lived on Earth for thousands of years, all the while keeping his identity a secret from humanity. On Zuras’ orders, the Eternals avoided interfering in human history and kept to themselves. Most dwelled in the hidden city of Olympia, whereas a few spent some time adventuring in various parts of the Earth. One such Eternal was Kingo, who wandered through 16th century Japan as a Samurai. Centuries later, Kingo continued to fall back on his experiences in the feudal era by becoming an actor and starring in Japanese Samurai movies.

Eventually, Kingo once again crossed paths with the Olympian Eternals and aided their efforts to save the Earth from destruction. Sometime after that, Kingo formed a kinship with the Marvel Comics hero, Ransak the Reject, a Deviant who looks like a human. As a result, Kingo took the Reject under his wing and trained him to be not only his Samurai apprentice, but a stuntman in his Japanese movies. Alongside the Reject and several others, Kingo helped his people in their battle to defeat Warlord Kro, Ghaur, and their Deviant army.

Kingo's Eternals Powers In Marvel Comics

As an Eternal, Kingo's powers come from being imbued with cosmic energy, which gives him access to a wide range of abilities. All Eternals - Kingo included – can fly, shoot cosmic beams out of their eyes and hands, read minds, telekinetically move objects, teleport (but not without great discomfort), manipulate matter, and slowly reconstitute their bodies in case they’re destroyed. They’re also superhumanly strong and are capable of transmutation. There are some Eternals who boast unique powers of their own - but Kingo isn’t one of them. Even so, there is one thing that makes Kingo stand out on the battlefield when he’s fighting beside the Eternals. Due to years of intense training as a Samurai in Japan, Kingo is an expert fighter who prefers his sword over all his other abilities.

Kumail Nanjiani Plays Kingo In Eternals

Marvel Eternas Kumail Nanjiana and Kingo

While Kingo Sunen is Japanese in Marvel Comics, his MCU counterpart will be played by Pakistani-American actor Kumail Nanjiani. Known mostly for his comedic work, Nanjiani earned fame for playing Dinesh Chugtai in HBO’s Silicon Valley for all six seasons, in addition to being a main character on TNT’s Franklin & Bash. He’s also had a successful movie career with starring roles in Stuber and The Big Stick. To play Kingo in Marvel’s Eternals, Nanjiani took martial arts and dance classes in an effort to properly prepare for the role.

How Kingo Is Different In Eternals Compared To Marvel Comics

Marketing for Eternals as well as the actor chosen to play Kingo have made it abundantly clear that Marvel won’t be using his comic backstory as a Samurai movie actor. Instead, he’ll be a Bollywood star based in India. As for his abilities, the MCU’s approach to the Eternals as a whole indicate that his powerset won’t be at all like the comic character. Presumably to make each hero fundamentally different to one another, the MCU has seemingly dropped one of the team’s core concepts, which is the Eternals' shared powers.

For instance, all Eternals could read minds in the comics, but the movie seems to be limiting this power to Barry Keoghan’s Druig. For this reason, Nanjiani’s Kingo is likely to lose the majority of the capabilities he had in the comic books. The only one he’s confirmed to keep is the power to project cosmic energy blasts from his hands. He could be the only Eternal who has this ability in the MCU. As for his swordsmanship, this too may have been scraped, possibly on account of the decision to abandon his Samurai connections. Kingo hasn’t been spotted with a sword in any of the trailers.

Kingo's MCU Future After Eternals

Kingo and Karun at the desert in Eternals

As noted above, crossovers with other Marvel heroes became possible for the team after their first storyline concluded. The same could apply to the MCU’s interpretations of the Eternals. They haven’t been allowed to help humanity, but once they come out into the open to save the world from the Emergence in Eternals, this rule could get nixed. If so, the Eternals may start mixing with other MCU heroes and making appearances in upcoming MCU movies and Disney+ shows. So if Kingo survives Eternals, he could return not only in a potential Eternals 2, but other MCU team-ups that Marvel has on the horizon. None of the confirmed movies or shows are obvious fits for Kingo, but there’s a chance he could show up in a TV series like Secret Invasion or a possible MCU Phase 5 crossover movie.

Next: Every Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie, Ranked Worst To Best