The mastermind behind the most recent relaunch of Marvel's Eternals, Kieron Gillen, believes that the group of immortal demigods had a fundamental flaw that explains their fluctuating success in the Marvel Universe, which he tried to fix.

The Eternals were created by Marvel's godfather Jack Kirby in 1976, and they perfectly represent Kirby's style and imagination, which often mixed sci-fi and mythology. Created by the experiments of the all-powerful Celestials from the primitive life forms of Earth, the Eternals are, as the name suggests, immortal creatures with incredible powers, tasked with watching over the planet and protecting mankind. Over the years, the Eternals mythos has greatly expanded, as well as their relationship with Earth and the Celestials. However, the characters struggled to find enduring success in terms of sales, a trend confirmed by the lackluster performance of their debut in the MCU in 2021. Kieron Gillen was given the task of steering the newest Eternals series (which also began in 2021), along with artist Esad Ribic, and they made it one of the most critically acclaimed Marvel books on the market. According to the writer, the secret ingredient for this success hides in a simple but fundamental change he implemented.

Related: X-Men's Deadly New Threat, The Hex, Revealed As War with Eternals Looms

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gillen breaks down his approach to Eternals ahead of the upcoming launch of Marvel's big event of the Summer, Judgment Day, which will see the Eternals declaring war on the X-Men, with the Avengers caught in the middle. According to Gillen, "The core reason why the Eternals didn't work in the Marvel universe is they had no fundamental tragedy. Spider-Man didn't become Spider-Man when he was bit by the spider; Spider-Man became Spider-Man when Uncle Ben died." This is the reason why the writer immediately changed the rules of the Eternals' immortality. They are constantly reborn after death, reconstructed by The Machine (powerful Celestial technology that regulates Earth), but every time they do, a human dies. The discovery of this terrible secret at the beginning of the current Eternals series completely changed the group's outlook and perspective.

Gillen's observation is straight on point. Marvel heroes have always been characterized by loss: "superheroes with super problems" is the formula that made Marvel stand out from rival DC Comics in the 1960s, and it still works today. The Eternals, however, fell very far from that tree. They have often been compared to angels for their reclusiveness and their mission to watch over mankind. This makes them much more similar to Superman or Wonder Woman, characters who inspire mankind by being almost unreachable ideals of perfection, rather than Hulk or Daredevil, who are defined by their ability to overcome their shortcomings and failures. Gillen realized that "to make them feel more Marvel," the Eternals had to pay a price for their immortality, and it's a terrible one.

The success of the series proves that Gillen has been able to make these characters feel more relatable, but he's also managed to not lose that original Jack Kirby-esque mix of mythology and science fiction that makes the Eternals stand out. Of course, there is not just one good way of writing Marvel characters. Neil Gaiman's short run on Eternals was also very successful, and he took a pretty different approach from Gillen. However, Kieron Gillen has managed to make the Eternals fit much more in the Marvel Universe, allowing them to take part in big crossover events such as Judgment Day.

Next: The Eternals' Secret Weakness Will Lead to War with the X-Men

Source: Entertainment Weekly