Eternals #4 (January 1986)

It's that time again! It's time to join the Eternals as they battle their greatest threat: Ghaur, Priest Lord of the Deviants! Last time, we got formally introduced to the Eternals' resident inventor Phastos, and the fun-loving Sersi was trying to help a suicidal man re-embrace life. And the Deviants got ready for a massive attack. So, what will happen next? Let's find out in Eternals #4! 

The cover is a Keith Pollard piece, and I have to say, it's my favorite of the covers so far. It's very dynamic, showing the Eternals fighting a monster. It's a cover that promises some big monster-fighting action, and who does not love that?

"Masked Gods!"
Writer: Peter B. Gillis
Penciler: Sal Buscema
Inker: Keith Williams
Colorist: George Roussos
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins with the Eternals and their human ally Margo Damian trying to convince Phastos to help them in their latest war. But Phastos adamantly refuses to help.

Phastos has no desire to help as he does not want to ravage the Earth with more war. Phastos sees war as just an endless source of pain and madness. Kingo tries to convince him that not moving against the Deviants could just as easily result in the ravaging of the Earth as well. Phastos tells them if they need a mystery solved or a device built, he will happily do it, but he will no longer fight. The group goes through a portal that takes them to a steel plant in Germany. The group are disguised as simple workers.

Phastos has a secret identity of his own: the chief engineer of this plant. And he's actually quite happy with that. The plant gets a special alert. The plant has a special hidden system that picks up warnings of Deviant attack. And this one is big.

"Ahhhh, poopsicle."

Yeah, the Deviants are unleashing a full armada. They're going big with this one.

Ikaris feared this was happening. Phastos wishes the Eternals luck. As they leave, he wonders why they don't understand his position. He has a goal of his own, and that is all he cares about. Out in the Pacific Ocean, the Deviant fleet is heading towards its destination. On the flagship, Kro is thinking. he's now the ruler of the Deviants, but yet...he is still a puppet. A puppet of Ghaur and the Priests. Kro has long sought the rulership of the Deviants, and he understands the symbolism of the Priest stepping on the circlet in issue #2. His quest is a failure. He is still held down. However, this doesn't keep him down. Kro vows to learn Ghaur's endgame...and he will bring the blue monster down. 

He starts to activate a small gem but puts it away when he gets a visit. 

"Put that away, Kro. Nobody wants to see what you look at on the Internet."

The green-hooded figure claims that he thought Kro had summoned him. I'm presuming this is the same figure that appeared at the end of issue #2. He asks to inspect Kro's command chair, as he believes the mistaken summons may have been due to a glitch in the chair's system. Kro allows it.

The figure easily diagnoses and fixes the problem: A faulty sequencer. The figure leaves, and Kro is wary of him. He knows that the figure is not one of Ghaur's spies. He will have to keep an eye on the jade-cloaked being...

Over in Olympia, Thena and Karkas are observing the Deviant fleet. Karkas notes the sensors are picking up a signal from the flagship. It's not on the standard Deviant channels, and it's omnidirectional. Thena realizes what it is.

Thena swore never to do cocaine with that bear again.

Thena tells Karkas he has to keep secret what she's about to do. She places the crystal in a special dais, and it starts broadcasting.

"Every streaming service and STILL nothing good on!"

Karkas is naturally shocked. Kro was supposed to have been dead. How is he still alive?

This causes Thena to have a flashback...

A younger Thena is shown angrily asking her father Zuras why they don't just wipe the Deviants off the face of the Earth, considering the threat they face? Zuras points out that there must be a balance between Human, Eternal, and Deviant. This causes an infuriated Thena to storm out of Olympia. She is stewing over this on the cliffs of Greece when she gets a visitor.

"Can't an Eternal brood in peace, man?!"

A younger Warlord Kro. You see, Thena and Kro have one of those Romeo and Juliet-type things going between them. Because of this, and Kro's new position, she's in a bit of a bind. She loves the bald pink Deviant, but he's moving against the world. She orders the launch of the Alpha Craft. Karkas is shocked.

You see, the Alpha Craft is only supposed to be deployed in the most dire of emergencies. Even Zuras refused to it because it can really wreck some stuff. Thena pulls rank on the Deviant defector (alongside threatening to outright kill him), and he obeys. 

Out in the Pacific, Kro's ships pick up a vessel heading towards them. 

"WAHHHH-HOOOOOOOO!"

The vessel contains our heroes. Makkari, Ikaris, and Kingo engage the Deviant ships. And it's a slaughter. With the help of Ransak, the group decimate much of the Deviant fleet. But Kro has a nasty little surprise for our heroes. 

Well, not a Kraken, but he does have a powerful beast under his command.

"HUGGGGGGGGGG!"

Say hello to the Banderhude! This big kaiju is known as a "mind-siren", and it shows why when it sings its song. The song torments the minds of the heroes, but we only see Ikaris's torture. He finds himself standing at a cliff, lamenting that he lost someone. He will no longer fight for Earth if love is the price for it. A bit of foreshadowing there...

He finds himself back in reality. A certain party animal brought him back.

"🎵 Here I come to save the dayyyyy...🎵"

Yup, our girl Sersi used her own telepathic powers to free Ikaris and the others. Ikaris engages the warships further. They rise into the air. Ikaris tries to bring them down, but something stops him, and the dreadnoughts flee. Kro orders the fleet to head north, quickly. The Eternals are unable to pursue, the battle having drained them. Margo wants to know how they escaped. Ikaris realizes only one thing allowed that to happen: The Alpha Craft. The ultimate weapon of the Eternals. And only Thena, as the ruler of the Eternals, could authorize its use. She betrayed the Eternals.

I did like this issue, although it does feel like it's one of those issues that is read best as part of a whole than on its own. I like that we do learn a little bit more about Phastos, and his desire for neutrality. His position is understandable, but I hope his arc here is that he does realize that Ghaur is not going to care, and he's going to have to fight. This episode has plenty of action, and we get to see Thena give in to her feelings for Kro. A little bit of intrigue, a bit of action, and some characterization. This issue had it all. I did wish it touched on Sersi's trying to help Dave embrace life again, but that took up quite a bit of the last issue, so I can forgive it.

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, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!