Eternals #2 (August 1976)

Let's look at Eternals #2!

The cover is a Jack Kirby piece. Naturally, it's pretty epic. It depicts what looks like a possible spaceship raining down on the main characters of the comic so far.

"The Celestials"
Writer: Jack Kirby
Penciler: Jack Kirby
Inker: John Verpooten
Colorist: Glynis Wein
Letterer: John Costanza
Editors: Jack Kirby, Marv Wolfman
Editor-in-Chief: Marv Wolfman

The story begins with a spaceship making a landing. The place it's landing in has markings in it that are reminiscent of the Nazca Lines. 

Warlord Kro angrily starts yelling at the ship like Grampa Abe Simpson after a thunderstorm.

He proclaims the Deviants will kick the heads in of the ship's inhabitants and send them running back to the stars. However, the ship is like "LOL, no", and blasts at him with lightning. 

This sends Kro, Ikaris, and the Damians running back into the ruins, as they would allow the group to survive their attack. 

Margo Damian asks Ikaris if he could do something about the ship. Ikaris says that he can't...but he may know of someone who could. There's another Eternal that was worshipped by the Incan people as "Tecumotzin, Lord of Flight". However, this Eternal vanished with the Incas. Kro warns them that the gods will ensure Ikaris's fate will be the same as Tecumotzin's as he and his troops flee. 

The ship's attack has stopped, but Ikaris and the Damians are trapped. The Eternal takes the opportunity to fill them in one some hidden human history. You see, once upon a time, the Deviants conquered the world, building ancient, advanced cities in places like Lemuria. 

Page 31, Panel 3

The Deviants enslaved ancient man for centuries, until a spaceship appeared in the sky. The Deviants arrogantly attacked the ship, but the ship had much more powerful weaponry, blowing the Deviant empire to shreds. This event would become known as the Great Cataclysm. The continent of Lemuria would be sunk into the waves, alongside many other places like the future Atlantis.

Page 32, Panel 4

Ikaris managed to save a large wooden vessel that contained a cargo of humans and animals, implying that the Great Cataclysm was the biblical Flood and that the vessel was Noah's Ark. Ikaris finds a strange chamber. It's a Resurrection Crypt, presumably something similar to the Activation Chamber from the current Eternals series. and this is what will be used to bring back Tecumotzin. He activates the crypt, and Tecumotzin is reborn...

Page 35, Full Page.

Say hello to Ajak, everyone! Now, I know what you're thinking, "Wait, isn't Ajak a woman?" Sort of. In the MCU movie The Eternals, Ajak was portrayed by Mexican-Lebanese-American actress Salma Hayek. Eternals #1 (March 2021) revealed that Eternals can change their appearances every 20-25,000 years, and they often do so. This was used to revamp Ajax's appearance to resemble Hayek, as thanks to the film, the mainstream sees Ajax as a Latina/Hispanic woman (I know there's a difference, but I can never remember it, unfortunately). So, there you go. And since Ajak has been both male and female in the comics, I shall refer to the character with they/them pronouns.

Anyway, Ajak was not the only one to make a big return. It turns out they had a crew of Inca warriors with them as well. The crew man what appears to be an ancient-style control room.

Page 37, Panel 1

Ajak was the chosen Eternal to speak to their creators, the Celestials. He activates a ceremonial pylon to receive their guest.

Page 39, Full Page

Arishem the Judge has arrived. You may know him from the Eternals movie. And like his cinematic counterpart, he plans to do some judging. 

I did enjoy this issue, but I admit...it's not exactly the most memorable, in my opinion. Jack Kirby's art is awesome. It's dynamic and epic. It's wonderful. I know it's not popular to really criticize the guy, but...I do think he is slightly stronger as an artist than as a writer. His work is incredibly imaginative, but I honestly feel that his dialogue is a bit stilted. 

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2021 trade paperback Eternals by Jack Kirby: The Complete Collection. 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 vaccinated! See you next time!