It's that time again! It's time to rejoin the immortal space gods known as the Eternals as they engage in their greatest battle with their long-time enemies: the Deviants! Last time, quite a bit happened. Fermenting of rebellion in Lemuria, a new Eternal is introduced, we learned a bit about Ikaris's past, he argues with Thena, and Kro finds an ancient bottle. Yup, quite a lot happened. So, what goes down next? Let's find out in Eternals #6!
The cover is a Keith Pollard piece. It's a basic cover, depicting Ikaris and Kro in combat. It gives the impression that this fight is a very big deal.
"Magnificent Obsession!"
Writer: Peter Gillis
Penciler: Sal Buscema
Inker: Sal Buscema
Colorist: George Roussos
Letterer: Rick Parker
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter
The story begins with Thena in Athens, Greece.
 |
| "Oh GAWD, I need therapy..." |
As can be seen in the panel, her mind is torn. She's clearly struggling with what she lost in recent times. Her father Zuras, who was supposed to be this invincible figure immune to the ravages of time and even the touch of Death itself has passed on. Her friendship with Ikaris, who has gone off to try and prevent a major Deviant attack he believes is coming. And finally, Kro...who has taken her heart. He's the leader of her people's sworn enemies, and she can't bring herself to wage war on him.
Thena feels like she's alone and very lost. It's left her somewhat numb, the only thing giving her any comfort is the crystal around her neck, the crystal given to her by Kro. She angrily curses Kro, wondering why she has to be in love with him...as she vanishes.
Let us switch scenes to an Eternal ship, captained by Ikaris and his allies. Ikaris's worst fears have come true. The Deviants breached the Pyramid of the Winds, and now have access to the secrets in there, secrets that could doom the planet.
Ikaris is unsure of what exactly is inside the Pyramid, as his uncle Valkin never told him. Only he and Zuras knew for sure what was inside, but Zuras is dead and Valkin is out in space as part of the Uni-Mind. You'd think they'd leave a note for the other Eternals just in case something like this happened.
Ransak is just wondering "When are we gonna fight?!" Ikaris assures him that there will be plenty of fighting, as they're right near the Deviant fleet.
With the fleet, Lugnar begs Kro to give the priests the container that he found in the Pyramid. After all, this is what the Priests of Lemuria are after, and they should not be defied. Kro points out that he's the leader of the Deviants. He cannot defy orders because he has no bosses. He knows Lugner wanted the container so the Priests can use whatever is inside for their own plans. But Kro will let them have the contents of the container...after he's done with it. Heh.
One of the Priests appears and demands the container. The green-robed figure steps in, saying there's more going on than the Priest realizes. This drama is meant to be played out in a certain way, and the figure is here to make it sure it plays out that way...and they are not to be crossed on this.
Any further infighting is tabled as the Eternals arrive. But the Deviants have a numbers advantage. A big one.
 |
| "Oh shut up, Makkari! I can totally count them!" |
 |
| "MAKKARI, YOU IDIOT! YOU'RE GONNA GET US ALL KILLED!" |
Altering the ship's edges to be sharper than knives, the Eternals' ship slices through the Deviants' ships like a hot knife through butter. A surprisingly unique tactic.
With the ships taken care off, all that's left is the ground troopers. The Eternals' ship puts a forcefield around Ikaris, Kro, and their allies. The blond powerhouse demands that Kro hand over what he got from the Pyramid, but Kro's like "nah, come and get it". And then the two fight.
But enough big epic action for a while. Let's check in on Sersi and her new human project, Dave Chatterton. The two are enjoying some dinner in a fine New York restaurant alongside another human friend of Sersi's: Samuel Holden. They had enjoyed a play, but Dave is more interested in the Eternals' drama than the stage drama. He wants to be in on the whole thing. This is history, and he wants to witness it live and in living color! Sersi warns him that this is dangerous by making a scorpion appear on his hand. Dave waves it off, pointing out she found him when he was about to jump off a building and that he's also aware of her tricks.
He wants to be involved in this because it excites him. He felt like he was left out of everything else in life, but this? This is exciting! Sersi admits she has found the other Eternals' drama quite dull...but seeing it through Dave's eyes makes it exciting again. She also is impressed by his courage. After all, if he can shrug off a scorpion, then real danger wouldn't bother him. Which makes him nervous. Heh heh.
Meanwhile, the Deviants are trying to blast away at the forcefield, but it's having no effect. They keep pouring more power into it, but it has no effect. So, what's their solution? MORE POWER!
Ikaris manages to get his hands on Kro. The Eternal powerhouse gets his hands on Kro's neck and starts to give him the Homer Simpson treatment.
As he gets choked, Kro imagines Ghaur laughing at him, laughing over how he managed to get rid of Kro, his greatest nuisance. Luckily, for the pink-skinned warlord, he has a savior.
 |
| Jim Ross: "BAH GAWD, KING! THAT JEZEBEL THENA!" |
Thena saves Kro, and says she will kill anyone who harms him. While the other Eternals are dumbfounded by this, a robed figure strikes.
 |
| "BY THE GODS, MY SPLEEN! I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO BE SHOCKED THERE!" |
Yeah, because of the coloring, I couldn't tell if it was one of Ghaur's priests or the green-robed figure. I'm assuming it was the green-robed figure because it doesn't look like one of the Priests' robes. One of the Deviant soldiers picks up the phial Kro dropped. Thena wails and holds Kro's body. Both the Deviants and Eternals decide to withdraw. But there's another surprise. Kro is not quite dead. He tells Thena to teleport now. She does so, and Khoryphos leaves as well, seemingly to pursue them. Both sides are left fuming at this whole thing. The story ends with the green-robed figure watching this in satisfaction. All the players are in place. There's still work to do, but so far, things are going as they should...
I did enjoy this issue, although I feel that it's one of those issues that's better read as part of a whole story than as a single issue. There is plenty of action in this issue, with the ship battle and the fight with Ikaris and Kro. Speaking of Kro, Thena's feelings towards him is one of the centers of this issue. It's very clear that this, combined with her unresolved grief regarding Zuras, is affecting her ability to lead.
It does give the idea that such tragedy is so rare among the Eternals that they don't know how to really deal with it. After all, Eternals are immortal. They can killed, but it's just very difficult to actually do. So it makes sense that part of Thena's struggle is the very idea that she can lose someone she loves. It makes her betrayal to aid Kro make more sense. She fears losing him, too. She's honestly the most fascinating character in this maxi-series so far. I do wish the issue touched a bit more on Kro's rebellion in Lemuria. It gave some complexity to the Deviants, and it does feel like the rebellion is an afterthought.
I don't really have any complaints about Sal Buscema's art. It's perfectly fine. Although I would have loved to see how Jack Kirby himself would have done this, though.
If you wish to read this 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!
No comments:
Post a Comment