Coming up fast and furious (can we still use that phrase?) is Marvel’s Eternals, a title that will supposedly flip the MCU on its ear. It features a brand-new race of ultra-super-powered men and women who, according to comics history, seeded this planet with the first sparks of intelligence for our prehistoric simian ancestors. As told by Kevin Feige, this tale will span thousands of years, from the very beginnings of the Marvel Universe all the way to present day. But even more intriguing than the Eternals themselves are their creators, the Celestials, who will seemingly feature prominently in the film.
If you’re wondering, “Who the f--- are the Celestials,” fear not – that’s what we’re here for. You may not recognize the name, but a handful of Celestials have already appeared in Marvel movies. In one case, only the entity’s head made an appearance. I’m speaking, of course, about Knowhere, a giant, decapitated skull in space that doubles as a space station for the Guardians of the Galaxy. Another Celestial, Eson the Searcher, was shown in a flashback wielding the Power Stone to great catastrophe, as the Collector (Benicio del Toro) described the Celestials as some of the only beings powerful enough to use the Infinity Stones.
Another Celestial that's made the leap to the big screen is Ego, the Living Planet. In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Ego (Kurt Russell) tracks down his son, Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), after hearing of his feat in taking hold of the Power Stone and not dying horribly, something which would be impossible for a mere mortal.
Getting back to the history lesson here, as depicted in the pages of Jack Kirby's original comics, the Celestials gave birth to the Eternals (and their evil counterparts, the Deviants) by experimenting on prehistoric humans. However, creation was not the extent of the Celestials' involvement in life on Earth. During the Elementals’ short comic run, they were visited by their creators on a number of occasions. In fact, one set photo from the film depicts the City of the Space Gods, which is the location of the Cosmic Beacon, a device which can be used by the Eternals to summon the Celestials to Earth. Further, the latest trailer for the Eternals depicts a Celestial in full form, that being Arishem the Judge, one of the most prominent and powerful of all Celestials. This could mean good or bad things for us here on planet Earth. You see, the return of the Celestials usually entails judgment has come upon the planet’s inhabitants, and if we’re not worthy, well then… time to go. However, if we are judged worthy, the Celestials may wipe out our problems for us, namely the Deviants. Along with Arishem, the Celestial known as Nezarr the Calculator can be seen in the trailer.
The history of The Celestials is long and storied, starting with the First Firmament, a sentient universe that felt lonely and decided to create life. The result was the Celestials. Of course, war broke out soon thereafter, with some Celestials wanting to create life of their own, and others loyal to the First Firmament. Eventually, those opposed to The First Firmament prevailed, resulting in that universe’s destruction and the birth of the Marvel multiverse.
As for creating life itself, the Celestials accomplish this in four phases per particular planet. This includes one “seeding” of a planet, followed by two visits to evaluate the resulting lifeforms, and a final visit of fifty years, during which they would judge the resulting dominant intelligent life on the planet. If the planet’s life is too imperfect, it’s game over. Regarding the creation of life on Earth, it started four billion years ago with a Celestial infected with a space parasite known as the Horde. The Celestial fell to Earth and died, vomiting blood across the primordial landscape. And now here we are: humans. It explains a lot.
As for the Eternals, they were created by the Celestials to monitor the progression of the accidental “spill” on Earth. The Celestials also created an equal number of Deviants in their experiments to see how far they could take the newly birthed genetic pool. Oh, and they went ahead and developed the X-Gene that created mutants while they were on a roll.
A more recent interaction with the Celestials occurred in the 20th century, the beings returning to Earth to judge the final result of all of their genetic experiments on the planet’s life. During their years of judgment, they sealed themselves away from S.H.I.E.L.D. and other interfering forces. Odin, Thor and the Eternals put up a fight, but couldn’t best the near omnipotence of the Celestials. However, the elder goddess, Gaea brought an olive branch in the form of twelve special humans selected from every walk of life. The Celestials were pleased, and skedaddled without further trouble. But only after erasing mankind’s memory of these events.
Much of Marvel Comics’ lore about the Celestials is tied to the possible future of their presence in the MCU, as well as their involvement with the X-Men. Whether this will be explored in further MCU films is a question only Kevin Feige may be able to answer. The takeaway here is that the Celestials are godlike entities that shouldn’t be messed with by anyone who doesn’t share the same status. Here’s to seeing their first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.