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When asked about what Eternals (2021) was going to be about, Marvel Studios’ president Kevin Feige said this to Variety: “[…] a very bold and very ambitious sprawling 7000-year story of humanity and our place in the cosmos.” Director Chloé Zhao makes the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) cosmic in its scale through immortal characters called Eternals and thought-provoking philosophical questions about what it means to have free will, to live forever, and to represent humanity. The film is the first in the MCU to be directed by a woman of color — Zhao herself is Chinese — and contains the most diverse, intersectional cast in the franchise as of yet, even if two of the three main deaths of the film were of characters of color. Zhao’s Eternals takes the MCU in a remarkably different direction with its diverse cast and philosophical ruminations on free will and immortality with its cosmic-sized implications, to great success.
The Story Of Eternals
The Eternals — Ajak, Sersi, Ikaris, Thena, Gilgamesh, Kingo, Sprite, Makkari, Phastos, and Druig — are a race of immortal beings granted superhuman abilities by their god Arishem in order to protect humanity — or so they are told. When they are initially sent to Earth, they are told that they are there to protect humans from the Deviants, a race of monsters created by Arishem before the Eternals, and ensure they create civilizations. They live among humans, influencing their stories and civilizations for thousands of years as they keep them safe. When the last of the Deviants are killed, the Eternals split up and part ways to wait for Arishem’s orders to return to their home planet of Olympia; unfortunately, the Blip’s reversal makes the Deviants return to Earth.
Their leader Ajak’s death brings the Eternals back together again, led by Sersi, as they discover their existence is a lie: they are androids, created and programmed by Arishem to prepare planets for the “Emergence” of Celestials, who create new planets. Sersi is horrified at the prospect of humanity perishing and her existence being a lie. At her urging, the rest of the Eternals join her in attempting to stop the Emergence by putting Earth’s Celestial, Tiamut, to sleep. Her once-lover Ikaris, a devoted follower of Arishem, tries to stop her and the other Eternals and reveals he killed Ajak in order to stall them in stopping the Emergence, which he had known about for years. The Eternals are successful in putting Tiamut to sleep by uniting and becoming the Uni-Mind, but their defiance of Arishem makes them targets of his wrath.
(Mis)Representing Diversity
The MCU has an undeniable whiteness problem. For most of the MCU’s now-thirteen-year-long history, the main cast of characters — as in, those who get solo films and top billing — is white. It was not until Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther (2018) that a character of color received a solo film or a main character role. Characters of color were the friends, the sidekick; Rhodey, Luis, and Sam Wilson come to mind. Slowly but surely, the MCU is embracing racial and cultural diversity in their films and streaming series through Kari Skogland’s series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021), Daniel Destin Cretton’s film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), and now Zhao’s Eternals. Compared to the very-white casts of the Avengers films and Guardians of the Galaxy films — which cast actors of color in the “alien roles” of Gamora, Drax, and Mantis — Eternals’ cast is a “cross-section of humanity” and prominently features Hispanic, Asian, and Black characters.
Of the ten members that make up the Eternals, six are played by actors of color: Salma Hayek plays Ajak, Gemma Chan plays Sersi, Kumail Nanjiani plays Kingo, Don Lee plays Gilgamesh, Brian Tyree Henry plays Phastos, and Lauren Ridloff plays Makkari. The intersectionality of its characters is paramount, too. Phastos is a Black, gay man with a husband and son. Both of the Eternals’ leaders, Ajak and Sersi, are women of color. Makkari is Black and deaf. In a franchise with such global relevance and visibility, having this diversity is important. It reminds audiences, especially younger ones, that anyone can be a hero; they are role models for marginalized communities. Nanjiani said to CBR that Zhao’s diverse cast wasn’t done “to make a point,” but to say “this is how things should always have been.”
But Eternals’ remarkable diversity is not without its faults. While the film is centered around Chan’s Sersi, most of the characters of color are relegated to the supporting cast in lieu of developing the white characters Ikaris, Thena, and Sprite. Kingo and Gilgamesh are the comic relief of the film, falling into the MCU (and larger Hollywood) trap of making the characters of color comedic in lieu of centrality to the story. Kingo gets most of the comedic quips and one-liners in Eternals, and his current life as a Bollywood star is framed as something to be laughed at since he’s so public. Kingo’s valet Karun, who is also Indian, is the butt of Kingo’s jokes and is himself a comedic relief character throughout the film.
Of the three Eternals who die in the film, two are characters of color: Gilgamesh dies defending humans from the Deviants, and Ajak is killed by Ikaris for trying to stop the Emergence. It does not help that these two characters of color were also treated like supporting characters in the story, especially Ajak who was the Eternals’ leader before Sersi. The fault with their deaths is not just that they die; it’s that their deaths develop the arcs of white characters. Gilgamesh’s death gives his partner Thena a stake in fighting the Deviants and stopping the Emergence, and Ajak’s death is used to reveal Ikaris’ twist villain arc. This is disheartening to see from Marvel Studios because of their recent efforts to center characters of color.
Raising Philosophical Questions
Eternals received a lot of flak from critics for its “too-big” story and lack of character development. But perhaps it is more beneficial to see Eternals as a philosophical dialogue rather than a character study, where character types are used as a vehicle for the answers to the philosophical questions the narrative is asking. Philosophical dialogues like Plato’s Symposium use characters in conversation with each other about a host of philosophical questions. Eternals‘ departure from the MCU’s typical character-driven films into story-driven territory allows it to explore philosophical questions with enhanced universality instead of intense individuality. If we approach Eternals as a philosophical dialogue, we see how each character is being used to complicate the vision of free will (or lack thereof), humanity, and immortality.
In a film with ten markedly different characters, it is ultimately impossible to develop each one thoroughly, which is why each Eternal exists as an answer to the host of questions asked by Eternals. For example, when the film asks, “when is defiance acceptable, or even morally necessary?” Ikaris, Sersi, and Sprite each exist as an answer. Ikaris refuses to defy Arishem, citing their existence as instruments of Arishem and implying that he prioritizes leader over creed. Sersi, on the other hand, does not hesitate to defy Arishem out of adherence to their creed of protecting humanity, suggesting devotion to creed rather than leader. Sprite, though, complicates this question. She follows Ikaris for personal reasons due to her eternal childhood and love for him; she follows the path that will bring her personal gain, since stopping Tiamut’s birth means she won’t be reborn again — the only respite from eternally looking like an adolescent.
The cosmic scale of Eternals makes philosophical questions like the meaning of creation and life, the cost of immortality, and the existence of free will and choice inevitable. The MCU has always raised questions about duty, existence, and humanity in their films — Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) is deeply concerned about the invasion of personal privacy at the expense of national security, Avengers: Endgame (2019) explores how far individuals are willing to go — even if it means going back in time — to save lives, and Black Widow (2021) delves into gender-based sex trafficking and bodily control. The philosophical questions Eternals raises about free will and immortality are no different.
Free Will And Choice
In a similar storyline to Captain Marvel, where Carol Danvers discovers she is not a Kree but actually a super-powered human being manipulated and controlled by the Kree Empire, the Eternals discover their totality of relevance. The Eternals’ totality of relevance, or their pre-condition of existence and life purpose, is to be instruments of Arishem by killing Deviants, be killed in the Emergence, and then be born again to help more Celestials thrive on other planets. The Eternals’ true purpose is hidden from them and they are planted with “memories” of their home, and their identities are uploaded to each new body they inhabit — something that glitches in Thena since she sees past worlds they fought on and cannot control her aggression in bouts of Mahd-Wy’ry, a kind of PTSD.
As Sersi learns about the sinister origins of the Eternals, she becomes increasingly distressed that the humans she loves so much are all going to perish. She is horrified at the prospect of them being sacrificed so that a Celestial may be born and, in turn, create more worlds. She clashes with Ikaris and Kingo on this matter, who believe that they should be devoted to Arishem and fulfill their totality of relevance: defeat the Deviants, allow the planet’s population to thrive, and allow the Celestial to be born. Because they were lied to about their existence, she and the other Eternals are shocked to discover that they are androids, human-like machines with no genuine control over their lives and no free will.
For millennia, the Eternals were told by Arishem not to interfere in human conflicts unless they involved Deviants so that the population could continue to grow and sustain the birth of a Celestial. They abided, no matter how much it hurt them to do so. Druig openly rebels in 1521 by using his mind control powers to stop the conquistadors from killing the indigenous Mexicans, leaving the group because he disagreed with keeping distance from humans. Phastos’ technological developments created the atomic bombs that decimated Hiroshima and Nagasaki, something he feels responsible for because he did not interfere and stop them.
This is why Sersi’s decision to defy Arishem and stop Tiamut’s birth matters so much: she has convinced her fellow Eternals to stop the cycle of destruction and to choose for themselves. By becoming the Uni-Mind and rejecting Arishem, the Eternals override their programming and renew their purpose. They become human, in a way, by choosing their own path and rejecting Arishem’s programming. Even Ikaris’ suicide by flying into the sun — a reflection of his mythological counterpart Icarus — is a kind of rejection of Arishem and the first choice he makes for himself.
Immortality And Aging
The Eternals’ android bodies do not age. They are, as their name suggests, “eternal” and frozen in time forever at the age in which their bodies were created by Arishem — Sersi is made to look like a young woman, Ajak like an older woman, Sprite like a young girl. But without Ajak’s healing powers, they cannot truly live forever. It’s a complicated immortal grey area: age cannot kill them, but being violently attacked by a Deviant (in the case of Gilgamesh and Ajak) can.
The Eternals also transcend their “androidness” and become near-human by acting with free will and making their own choices. They are no longer machines built to perform the same function over and over for Arishem when they decide to stop Tiamut. They are essentially AI that have taken on a life of their own and become as close to humans as possible by acting with free will — a reminder that what it means to be human is to have choice and to not be controlled.
Sprite’s character, in particular, brings up the sadder part of the Eternals’ frozen age appearance. Even though she is thousands of years old and has lived multiple lives many times over, she is forever a teenage girl. Interview With The Vampire (1994) also explored a similar theme of “eternal childhood” through the character Claudia, who was made a vampire as a young girl and therefore is unable to grow up and have adult experiences. Sprite can shift into whatever form she likes, even an adult one, but when she does so at Sersi and Dane’s party to flirt with an older man, she becomes fearful of what might transpire between them and leaves. It is also revealed by the Eternal she is closest to, Kingo, that she has always been in love with Ikaris and is jealous of Sersi, who is a more “age-appropriate” match for him. Her immortality and eternal childhood are a sad reminder that the Eternals are frozen in time and unable to act outside their created purpose.
Does Eternals Succeed?
Like every piece of media, Chloé Zhao’s new film Eternals has its shortcomings. Though it features a remarkably diverse and intersectional cast and crew for an MCU film — one that will, in turn, inform how future MCU projects are cast — it falls into the trap of making its characters of color comedic relief, killing them off, and treating them like supporting cast members. The film is much more refreshing and eye-opening for the MCU’s storytelling in the philosophical questions it raises, though. Eternals takes anxieties about free will to a cosmic scale by showing the Eternals defying the natural order of the universe and their reason for existence to protect the humanity they love so much, becoming themselves de facto humans in the process. They transcend their androidness and eternality by acting with free will and making choices that go against their programming, creating for themselves a liminal mortality that expands their capacity to love and protect humanity.
