It's that time again! It's time to join the Eternals in their greatest battle against the Deviants! Last time, Warlord Kro went out a-plottin', we met Ghaur, and a new figure made their first appearance. So, what will happen in this latest issue? Let's look at Eternals #3!
The cover is a Keith Pollard piece. It's pretty awesome, in my opinion. Front-and-center is an Eternal named Phastos fighting Deviants. He's billed as "the Deviant-slayer Supreme"! It's...a bit deceptive. You'll see what I mean. I think it's a great cover.
Before we begin, I do want to warn you all: This issue does deal with themes of suicide. If this is something that makes you uncomfortable, then I would suggest you avoid reading this blog entry. I know there are people out there who may have some issues with that, for a variety of reasons. As such, I do feel I should put this warning out here just in case.
"The Strategies of Suicide"
Writer: Peter B. Gillis
Penciller: Sal Buscema
Inker: Al Gordon
Colorist: George Roussos
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter
The story begins with a man. A man named David Chatterton.
He is a man who feels he has nothing to live for, no reason to exist. He figures if he jumps off the building, nobody would care. However, the building he jumps off of contains the apartment of Sersi. The Eternal woman stops his fall, curiously asking him why he's jumping. He explains that he's been looking at his life. All like is to him now is gray. Gray, small days. Meaningless days of a meaningless life. Sersi is unimpressed by this and brings him into her apartment.
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| "I bet a couch here costs more than I make in a year!" |
He gets introduced to Samuel Holden and we get caught up on who the Eternals are and what they're about. We get a nice little humanizing moment with Sersi as she tries to help cheer Dave up. She gets a call from Ikaris and Makkari. They need an update on the location of the Eternal named Kingo Sunen. You see, when Makkari attempted to fix up some machines, they somehow erased the addresses. Oops.
Luckily, Makkari didn't get them completely screwed. Sersi still has files on him, and they're theirs to use. Sersi then uses her powers to give Dave a nice suit, and she takes her two human friends out to party. Meanwhile, Makkari, Ikaris, and Margo travel to Japan. On the way, their ship picks up a big concentration of energy near Lemuria, the Deviants' home. But they can't investigate it right now. Hang on to that.
The three arrive in Japan, at the home of Kingo himself.
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| In case you weren't aware this was made in the 1980s... |
You may be wondering, "Wait, wasn't Kingo Indian?". Well, that's a bit complicated. You see, in the comics, Kingo is an actor like his MCU counterpart, but comic Kingo is Japanese in appearance. I have heard somewhere that Jack Kirby drew inspiration from Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune, but I can't confirm that. The MCU version was revamped to be a Bollywood star. Anyway, Kingo seemingly gets attacked by ninja vampires. I am not making this up. Ninja. Vampires. I love comics.
However, it turns out to be a movie being made. Yup, Kingo is working at his day job when not being an Eternal: acting. One of the extras in the film is another Eternal: Ransak the Reject. He's called "the Reject" because even though he's one of the Deviants, his appearance is handsome by human standards, which the other Deviants did not like. We get a nice character moment between the two as Kingo tries to help Ransak develop discipline but is hampered by Ransak's anger and temper. The two meet up with Ikaris, Makkari, and Margo. Ikaris briefs the two on the situation, and they agree to help.
In New York City, one of the subway trains races through a tunnel. A group of typical 80s punkers look for passengers on the train to bother. They find what looks like seemingly a homeless man and another man just reading the paper. When the punkers hassle them, they get a shocking surprise.
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| "This is why I hate taking human subways, Tenatclor!" |
Yes, the two "men" were actually Deviants. You'd think in the Marvel Universe, people would be used to weird stuff like this in New York City.
The train makes its way through a new tunnel. One that is not part of any official NYC subway line. Its destination is this complex.
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| "This thing better be able to run DOOM..." |
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| "Behold, brothers! We can now finally open the red door on Phobos Base!" |
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| "I told you stupid salesmen, we don't want any!" |
Yes, he did make a brief cameo in the first issue, but he fully shows himself here. Everyone, say hello to Phastos. You may know him from the MCU film The Eternals, portrayed by Brian Tyree Henry. Evidently, Sigmar was an old student of his, and he's not happy with these Deviants messing up the lab. He gives them a choice: Clean it up and leave...or get some serious pain.
The Deviants think he's nuts, so they charge him. Phastos activates the machines in the lab, letting them restrain the Deviants for him. Phastos demands the "tablet" (the red circuit board-looking thingy that they were looking for). The Deviant refuses, saying his life doesn't matter, just the mission. He seemingly kills himself by melting into a puddle. He tells the other Deviants that the machines will free them tomorrow. If they feel their lives are meaningless like their comrade, then he pities them. He was there himself once, and that's worse than anything he could do to them.
Unnoticed by the Eternal, the Deviant puddle moves, taking the chip with him. Should've picked up the chip, Phastos.
The puddle that was once a Deviant warrior slithers away. It heads back to the train car, to a little device that was placed under it. The slime somehow reads what is on the chip and uses the device to transmit what it read somewhere, then stops moving...forever. So, where is the info going? To Warlord Kro, of course. The chip reveals where a weapon that can be used to destroy the Eternals is located: up in the North Pole, in a place called the "Pyramid of the Winds". Now that he has a destination, the Deviant undersea fleet have a place to go. Kro then gives his men a rousing speech.
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| "Not bad for something I just babbled off the top of my head..." |
It gets the soldiers jazzed up and ready to throw down, but Kro himself has...other thoughts. You see, he was sent on this journey by the Priests of Lemuria, and he doesn't know the real reason why he's on this mission. That scares Kro. And a scared Kro is a dangerous Kro.
Let's check in on Sersi, shall we? Back in New York City, the resident party animal of the Eternals is doing what she does best: Throwing a party!
She is chatting it up with some movers and shakers. After all, Sersi is known for throwing the best parties in town. Dave Chatterton is with her, and sadly, he's still hurting. A model introduces herself to him briefly. He feels cynical about it. He's a curiosity to her, something to just ease her boredom for a while. Nothing more than a cheap novelty. Sersi uses her powers to illustrate something to Dave: that to her, every human is a novelty because to an Eternal, a human's lifespan is a mere heartbeat. She basically scares him a bit, telling him that that's what makes his life so precious. It's fragile. The story ends with Ikaris calling in. The Eternals are at war.
I did feel this issue was a bit...weak compared to the other two. When it comes to a twelve-issue miniseries, it is understandable to me that there are going to be issues that read better when you're reading the story as a whole instead of the issue on its own. It's a necessary evil to me, and I try to keep that in mind here. I do think this issue had some potential that it really What I found interesting in this issue is the theme of suicide throughout the issue. Dave Chatterton is a suicidal man, one of the Deviants attacking Sigmar's lab willingly gives its life (twice) for a mission, and Phastos describes the attacking Deviants' view of their lives as a form of suicide. Speaking on that theme, I did frown a bit at Sersi's tactic to try and basically scare Dave Chatterton out of his cynical nature. I do get the reason for it. But it feels like the worst way to handle the situation.
Speaking of Phastos, I did feel that we didn't really get much of his personality or character. A real shame, as the cover gave the impression that he would play a major role here.
If you want 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 ,a
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