The Eternals #2 (November 1985)

It's time again! It's time to join a certain group of immortal superhuman Deviant-punchers as they undergo their greatest adventure! Last time, we got caught up with the who the Eternals are, the warrior Thena rose to her throne, and Ikaris got himself into a wrestling match with stakes much higher than the world championship. What will happen next with our immortal heroes? What are the Deviants up to? Let's find out in The Eternals #2!

The cover is a Walt Simonson piece. I like it. It depicts the main villain of the piece, Ghaur, front and center, his costume bearing the faces of various Deviants on it. He is miscolored on the cover, though. You'll see what I mean. In the front are various Eternals and their human allies/loved ones. I also love this masthead logo for the title. The Greek pottery aesthetic helps broadcast the idea that the main characters are ancient beings.

"The Old Priest Writ Large..."
Writer: Peter Gillis
Penciler: Sal Buscema
Inker: Al Gordon
Colorist: George Roussos
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins in Lemuria. Lemuria is an ancient city, home of the Deviants. 

"Gods, what a day. I need to get good and blitzed."

A hooded figure walks into a nearby tavern and orders some Lemurian booze. Evidently, this figure plans to get drunk tonight.

Well, not exactly. You see, the hooded figure may want some booze, but they're not here to get their brains soaked in alcohol, like the other tavern regulars. The figure pulls back their hood, revealing a shaved pink head, which makes him look like a pencil.

"Is everything prepared for the surprise party?"

A group of Deviants join Warlord Kro at his table, wondering how he is still alive. They wonder how as he was part of the court of their former leader, Brother Tode. But Tode is dead now, and so is the rest of the court. How did he come back?

Well, don't you worry, we actually get one in the form of Kro recapping the events of Iron Man Annual #6. Kro escaped that fate thanks to the help of the Eternal Thena. It turns out that Thena once had a romance with one of Kro's ancestors, who was also named Kro. Does that mean Kro is actually a surname? Either that, or Kro's family has zero imagination with names.

Anyway, because Thena is immortal, like all Eternals, she mistook Kro for that descendant. Thing is, Kro himself has shapeshifting powers that he can use to make himself effectively immortal. So, yeah. He was around then, too. She gave him a little gift.

"It's ugly, but it gets the job done. And that's all that matters."

It's called a bonding crystal, presumably a gift Eternals give loved ones. Kro wants to know how things are going since Tode got himself killed. Kro expected a revolution, but instead...things are quiet. The other Deviants are relieved Tode is dead, but otherwise that...nothing. One Deviant informs Kro that there is a reason for this. The priests are on the move. Kro tells his compatriots that he can handle these priests. The military is ready to move towards taking over. And there are "others" that a Deviant woman named Ahqlau has gotten under one banner. Kro is very satisfied. Everyone is ready to go. He just needs to take care of some things before this group can move and take over the reins of the Deviants.

When Kro leaves the tavern, he finally expresses some worry. He did not expect these "priests" to be so aggressive. This could be a spanner he did not need in his works. He finds himself palming the crystal Thena gave him, thinking of the blonde Eternal. And speaking of Thena...

"So, what does the horse do again?"

Thena herself is enjoying a game of chess with Karkas, a Deviant ally of the Eternals. Thena isn't really able to concentrate on her game, allowing Karkas to get the win. Go, Karkas!

Thena then notices Ikaris and Margo arrive. She greets them sourly, still miffed Ikaris didn't attend her coronation in person. Ikaris points out that he's been investigating Deviant strongholds, and he thinks they're up to something big. Real big. Karkas believes that the Deviants are all dead. Ikaris reminds him only their rulers were dead. There's still lots of them out there.

Thena isn't convinced. Things have been rather quiet on the Deviant front recently, outside of Ikaris's tussle in the last issue. She thinks he's just itching to pick a fight. Ikaris believes that Thena's grief is affecting her judgement. After all, Eternals are immortal. Death would be a strange thing to them. She stomps off and uses her crystal to try and contact Kro. Meanwhile, in Lemuria, some humans have found themselves in a bit of a bind.

Deviant women have weird courting rituals.

These musclemen were kidnapped from a gym by the Deviants. They're ferried off to meet a green orc-like Deviant called Ranar. Ranar is the son of the former Deviant leader Tode. As such, he sees himself as the next rightful leader of the Deviants. He decides to ride through Lemuria in style, using the human musclemen as basically an engine for his cart.

Ranar was too cheap to put wheels on his cart.

They make their way to the palace, where Ranar heads to the throne room. He has his guards deal with the gym rats. Fatally. He makes his claim to the throne to this blue guy here.

"That's right. My name is Ghaur, and I am the High Priest of Swag."

Meet Ghaur, basically the head of the Deviants' priests. Does that make him like a Pope or something?

Ghaur isn't really impressed by Ranar. He feels the big green galoot has no right to the throne. You see, he sees Ranar as a moron who only became heir due to luck. Ranar is furious with this and moves to blast the priest with his staff. Ghaur is not intimidated. He's well aware of Ranar's genetic code, and uses Ranar's own tears to cover his mouth, and has his guard kill the usurper. This is observed by a small robot disguised as a rat. The robot's information is transmitted to Kro. And he is very disturbed by this.

 In Olympia, Ikaris, Makkari, and Margo are taking a ship to Lemuria. Margo is suspicious about it as the Eternals didn't do this when the Deviants invaded Olympia months earlier in Avengers #246. Ikaris explains that the Eternals can defend themselves from the Deviants, whereas most regular humans cannot. Despite the fact that Earth has quite a few superheroes protecting it.

Back in Lemuria, Kro contemplates his situation. He expected to easily take the throne, but the priests now are a complication. The priests were an important part of Deviant society, weeding out the Deviants who were too monstrous even for them. Kro wants the power of the throne, but he realizes that with the priests around, he will essentially be a prisoner of it...and he may end up having to go to war with Thena. To help decide what to do, he goes to seek an audience with Ghaur.

"Are you going to go on about that drunken misadventure we had in London? Again?!"

Ghaur asks why he should allow Kro to take the throne. It's here that it's revealed that Ghaur and Kro have been friends for a long time. Ghaur points out he needs justification for letting Kro take the throne. Kro points out that he was the only Deviant present when Zuras, the previous leader of the Eternals, died. Because of that, he is privy to many of the secrets Zuras held...secret knowledge that would be beneficial to a leader if the Deviants.

Ghaur is seemingly convinced and allows Kro to take on a circlet.

"You'd think this crown would be a little more...ornate."

A guard "accidentally" knocks over the headband and crushes it. Ghaur takes his leave, leaving a confused Kro with the crushed circlet. Elsewhere in Lemuria, a Deviant finds himself encountering a mysterious figure. The Deviants have no name for him. The humans have many. And the Eternals? They only know him...as the Forgotten One...

"You ain't that forgotten, pal!"

This was...an interesting comic. It doesn't have a lot of action, it's more dedicated to setting up things. What I do appreciate about this comic is that the creatives are clearly trying to show why the Eternals are rather unique. There is something rather...Shakespearian about the way the characters speak, especially Kro. At least to me. I liked that the issue touched on Thena's emotional troubles following the death of Zuras. It does make a strange sort of sense that for some Eternals, the concept of death is a...hard one to handle. After all, Eternals can be very hard to kill. Add immortality on top of it, and...yeah. I did like the introduction of Ghaur, though. That was cool. 

If you want to read the story for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2020 trade paperback The Eternals: The Dreaming Celestial Saga. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!