Eternals #7 (April 1986)

It's that time again! It time to rejoin the Eternals in their greatest battle against the Deviants! Last time around, we had some fighting, some nice little moments with Sersi and Dave, and Thena decided to take a page from Hulk Hogan at the 1996 Bash at the Beach and betray WCW, I mean, betray the Eternals. So, where do we go from here? Let's find out in Eternals #7!

The cover is a Bob Layton piece. It's pretty good. It depicts Kro and Thena running for their lives from a horde of angry Deviants. What amuses me is that Thena is depicted in her regular gold outfit and Kro is in trunks. And considering the puddles on the ground behind them, I get the impression that the story is that Kro snuck into a closed pool to take a swim, and Thena was supposed to be a lookout...but she didn't do the best job. Dang it, Thena!

"Naked to Mine Enemies"
Writer: Peter Gillis
Penciler: Sal Buscema
Inker: Danny Bulanadi
Colorist: George Roussos
Letterer: Rick Parker
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins right after the events of the last issue. Thena and Kro have managed to teleport to Lemuria, the Deviants' home city. The two are now fugitives from their own people. Luckily, they're in an area of the city that Kro knows quite well. After all, his favorite bar is here, and he really needs a drink.

Naw, I'm kidding. The actual reason Kro knows this area well is because it's one of the places he has been meeting up with the anti-Priesthood resistance. He then sees something that shocks him. 

The priests have declared it as "Purity Time". Thena is familiar with it. It's the time when those Deviants who have been determined to be too genetically monstrous are taken to be purified. As in killed.

Yeah, Deviant culture can be pretty horrific by human standards. The two renegades are spotted, and they have to run for it.

Thena points out she could easily destroy the guards, but Kro counters that if she does, Ghaur will know about it, and it's best for the both of them if he is unaware they're in Lemuria. The two are able to make their way to a hiding spot hidden by a grate. Meanwhile, Ghaur himself is demanding a report. One of the priests announces that Kro escaped, but they did get the vial from the Pyramid of the Winds. Ghaur is disappointed that Kro didn't end up a martyr, but he is still happy that the vial is in the Priests' hands. And they are sending it to Lemuria via Rocket Mail. 

Ghaur mulls over the situation. True to Kro's prediction, Ghaur has no idea he and Thena are in Lemuria at the moment. He does vow to hunt them down and kill them. Ghaur finds a bit of amusement in Thena's betrayal, as it would allow him to create a temporary alliance with the Eternals to hunt them down. This also would provide a nice distraction for the Eternals, too. 

On the Eternals' ship, Makkari is struggling with the idea that Thena would betray the Eternals. Ransak is...not being helpful. Kingo points out that Eternals do grow smarter as time passes, but they can also grow ignorant. Bonds between Eternals can grow, but so can secrets between them. Ransak gets angry, pointing out Thena was an idiot. Kingo reminds him that Thena was the one who rescued Ransak from the Deviants' gladiatorial arenas. Ransak wants to put some Deviants six feet under. Kingo tells him he acts like a rabid animal...and then shows why the man is superior to the animal.

Ikaris mans the controls of the ship...and a silence falls between him and his human love, Margo Damien. Margo tries to offer him words of comfort, but it seemingly does little to abate the grim mood Ikaris is in. Meanwhile, Lemuria also get another surprise visitor. 

"Aw man, you ruined my carpet!"

Yeah, remember in the last issue, when Khoryphos jumped in the portal? Well, he ended up in Yrdisis's art studio. The green-skinned woman understandably freaks out.

Khoryphos assures her he means her no harm. After all, he is an artist first, and a warrior second. He looks around and sees her paintings. He is genuinely impressed with her work. A freaked out Yrdisis isn't hearing it and runs out into the dark. Elsewhere in the city, Kro and Thena flee. An angry Thena refuses to come along with the pink-skinned Warlord. She's done playing his games. Kro points out they need each other right now. Both the Eternals and the Deviants want their heads. Things are more complicated now. He takes her to his ally Ahqlau's house. Turns out she wasn't much of an ally after all.

"You still owe me 20 bucks, Kro!"

Yeah. Back to the Eternals. Makkari agrees to find Thena and bring her to Olympia. And that's when Sersi shows up.

"Sersi, we're tired of babysitting your projects!"

She leaves Dave Chatterton with them. Yeah, she just does that.

Ransak gets mad and picks a fight with Dave, and Dave KOs him, with some hidden help from Kingo.

Back to Lemuria! The Priests have Kro and Thena at swordpoint, but Thena is basically like, "Bye!" and teleports herself and Kro away...only to end up at the Flame Pits, the place where the Deviants considered too monstrous go to...get purified.

Kro wants Thena to see what happens to the Deviants who have to go through this. It's here the two make quite a discovery. You see, the Deviants aren't burned to death...they're led to a transport chamber, taken to an unknown place. Kro bursts out laughing. He laughs in rage and fury. All the pain, all the self-loathing...just to maintain a lie. Really shows the manipulative horror of the Priesthood. Thena pleads with Kro to let her help stop this madness, and seals her point with a kiss. Ghaur and his goons discover the two.

"I told you this is a terrible makeout spot, Thena!"

Ghaur tells the two they can't escape. After all, the place is shielded from Thena's power. This chamber is old. Very old. It was built by the priesthood before the Second Host of the Celestials, before they sunk Lemuria into the sea. Ghaur explains this plot has been going long before even he was born, he's just a continuation. Thanks to certain events, most of the Eternals are gone. The Deviants have an opportunity to finally become the dominant race on Earth. Kro states he's insane.

Kro points out that the last time the Deviants tried this, the Celestials came down on their heads. They will not be happy with a second attempt. It might lead to them all getting destroyed. Ghaur isn't worried. After all, he believes the Celestials can be...replaced. But before he can explain, the Eternals burst in.

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

Thena sees an opportunity to escape (the Eternals bursting in made a gap in the anti-teleportation shielding), so she and Kro teleport out. The story ends with both Ghaur and the Eternals left enraged, and determined to capture the two. 

I enjoyed this comic. We get a further hinting of Ghaur's endgame, and there's lots of nice little character moments. I did get a good chuckle from Dave Chatterton KO'ing the angry Ransak the Reject with a little help from Kingo. Sometimes, a little tough love is necessary to get the message across. I also really liked the scene with Khoryphos and Yrdisis. Sadly, I don't think anything more with them is done in this miniseries. It's a shame, really. I would like to have seen those two bonding over a mutual love of art and being talented artists themselves, Khoryphos being a musician and Yrdisis being a painter. 

The revelation of the true nature of the "Purity Time" is horrifying in its own right. Not because of the writing, but because it's been shown that Deviants have had to become cold and uncaring because their own loved ones could be sacrificed due to being "too genetically impure". However, it was something that did not need to happen, as the "Purity Time" actually takes them...elsewhere. Where exactly is not revealed, maybe in future issues. 

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!