Marvel Will Have To Change One Of The Eternals' Powers

In the comic books, the Eternals have a multitude of superpowers, and even though many of them may be translated to the big screen, one in particular may be changed or removed for the MCU. Given that the Eternals are among the most powerful characters in Marvel Comics, it's expected that the same will be true when Ikaris (Richard Madden), Thena (Angelina Jolie), Sersi (Gemma Chan), and all the others join the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Directed by Chloe Zhao and currently set for a February 2021 release, Marvel's Eternals movie will tell the story of an ancient race of immortal aliens who have been sharing the Earth with humans in secret for thousands of years. On a mission given to them by their creators, the Celestials, the Eternals will battle the Deviants, who are being as described as mankind's greatest enemy. Eternals is based on characters created in the 1970s by Jack Kirby, one of the most celebrated comic book writers and artists in the industry.

Based on what's been revealed so far, it would seem that the MCU's Eternals will be incredibly powerful, much like the comic book characters, but will they have all their powers? One that may be missing in Eternals is their indestructibility. In the comics, the Eternals possess a shared set of abilities, including super strength. Thanks to the cosmic energy that flows through their veins, the Eternals can manipulate matter, fly, read minds, create illusions, and more. Also, they're practically incapable of being killed. The Eternals have complete control over the molecules in their body, so if one is wounded, they can simply regenerate. That makes it difficult to put them in harm's way in a movie if audiences know they'll survive no matter what.

Ikaris takes flight with the Eternals in Marvel Comics.

Furthermore, if someone does manage to destroy an Eternal's body, even this won't be enough to kill them permanently. The Celestials built a mysterious "Machine" that keeps the Eternals from dying. As characters like Sersi have explained, Eternals simply do not die. At some point in the future, their bodies will always reform. This is how heroes like Gilgamesh and Ikaris have come back after being seemingly destroyed. To stop an Eternals' eventual restoration, their molecules have to be completely spread out, but even this isn't a foolproof method of killing an Eternal. To die forever, an Eternal would have to lose mental control over their molecules. For instance, if an Eternal was mind-controlled when he died, he may not be able to return. Killing them is possible, but extremely difficult to do.

There's evidence that the MCU's Eternals will share many of their comic book counterparts' powers, but this is one that may not be present in the movie - and for good reason. It's of course going to be important to Marvel that audiences believe that the characters in the film can die. Avengers: Endgame proved that Marvel is certainly willing to kill off beloved characters, but viewers may have no need to be concerned about what will happen to Ikaris and Thena if they believe them to be indestructible. That being said, Marvel can easily take away this one power without detracting from their reputation as Marvel's most powerful superhero team. They could still do everything else - which would be far more than what most heroes can already do in the MCU.

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