Eternals #10 (July 1986)

It's that time again! It's time to join the Eternals in their greatest battle yet against the Deviants! Last time, Thena and Ikaris duked it out for the role of Prime Eternal, Ghaur made off with Margo, and the mad Deviant priest's endgame was revealed. Where do we go from here? Let's find out in Eternals #10!

The cover is an Al Milgrom piece. It's pretty cool. It depicts Sersi turning Ikaris into a Deviant. It has the vibe of a horror comic cover. It's also a nice bit of bait-and-switch. You'll see what I mean.

"A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste!"
Writer: Walt Simsonson
Penciler: Keith Pollard
Inkers: Danny Bulanadi
Colorist: George Roussos
Letterer: Rick Parker
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins with Ikaris calling his band to war. It's a small group (Kingo, Karkas, Ransak, Makkari, and Cybele...yeah, I don't know where Cybele's been, either), but they're ready to rock and roll on some Deviants.

Ikaris asks Cybele to stay behind and monitor the world for any further Deviant threats. There is still one Eternal left that Ikaris wants on board: Sersi. Phastos is staying out of this, and Khoryphos vanished. However, Sersi isn't coming along, either. She finds it boring. Yeah, Sersi. Saving the world is boring. 🙄 Ikaris reminds her that the Deviants have a weapon that could allow them to destroy the world. Sersi's mentality towards it is that the Deviants couldn't handle such a weapon. She suggests that he just take Margo out on a date. Loosen up a bit, enjoy yourself, man! Take a break from being so serious!

This is when Ikaris finally remembers Margo, realizing she's not with him. And she's not with Sersi, either. Sersi herself thought she left with them.

Meanwhile, Kro and Thena have managed to teleport to the underbelly of the Deviants' home city in Lemuria. Kro then takes the lead, guiding Thena to a hidden labyrinth known only to the higher-ups in the city...including Kro himself. In the labyrinth is a meeting place for the leaders of Lemuria's military. Their power was usurped by Ghaur and the Priests. Naturally, they aren't too happy about that.

"Guys! She wants to join us for a D&D session!"

Kro informs the generals about the truth of the Priests' Purity Time. However, Ghaur arrives with some guards...thanks to the generals' betrayal. In Olympia, Sersi decides to show her face. She uses her transmutation powers to disguise the group as Deviants.

Sersi's attempt at a reality show makeover did not go so well.

With Karkas also staying behind, the group head out to Lemuria. There's also a killer pizza place there, so they may want to get some grub.

In Lemuria, Kro and Thena try to fight off Ghaur's guards, but fail thanks to Thena being hit with a weapon called a brain mine. This allows Ghaur to control people, which he demonstrates by making a general shoot himself.

Ghaur reveals that he is the product of centuries of work by the Priests. They had been playing eugenicist, secretly breeding certain Deviant bloodlines to create a "master" for the Deviant race. Meanwhile, the Eternals make their way to Lemuria, while detecting another Eternal is there. The Eternals split up. Ikaris and Makkari will find the hidden Eternal. Kingo and Ransak will seek out the Priests' temple. The Forgotten One will go find Ghaur himself. Yeah, ol' Forgotten One joined up with the Eternals last issue. And Sersi? Well, Ikaris tells her to go do whatever she wants. She likely will, anyway. Why not ask her to go find Margo, dude? I mean, aren't Sersi and Margo friends? Ikaris sucks as a boyfriend. 

Anwyay, Ghaur takes Kro and Thena to his throne room. 

Normally, Ghaur uses this room with his concubines.

Ghaur reveals that thanks to all the work the Priests have done, they had a complete record of the DNA of every known Deviant. This was used to create Ghaur. Thanks to that, Ghaur has the power to control any Deviant. He can make them do anything he asks. This explains why many of Kro's anti-Ghaur allies suddenly betrayed him. Kro points out that if he could really do that, then Kro himself would fall under Ghaur's control. Ghaur believes that Kro's willpower allows him immunity to the blue tyrant's control. He moves to toss Kro and Thena to the fire pits.

So, where did Margo Damian end up? Well, she's right here.

All of this because she wanted a nose piercing.

Some Deviants are preparing to subject the lady to an experiment. And Ghaur, unaware that Ikaris is no longer in Olympia, decides to give him a call. And it's not to say he loves him. He gets Karkas, who uses a hologram to disguise himself as Ikaris. Ghaur basically tells "Ikaris" the whole "Stay in Olympia, or Margo dies" bit. For some reason, Karkas cannot contact Ikaris directly (seriously, do those people not have earpieces or communicators of some kind?), but he activates a warning beacon in the craft the Eternals used to get to Lemuria. A Deviant at a monitoring station picks it up and orders some men to look into it. 

Back in the labs, the Deviants begin their experiment. What they're trying to do is turn a human into a Deviant, and it seems to work.

The Deviants' attempt at a makeover reality show also didn't go well.

The Deviants' take on a makeover reality show ALSO didn't go over well.

However, there's a problem. The transformation ended up killing Margo. Whoops.

Ghaur is furious about this, but not at the scientists. The whole thing went to pot because the Deviants never could capture many humans to experiment on. They're going to need to fool Ikaris with a fake Margo, as...well, Margo was his girlfriend, and considering what a hothead he is...yeah. Ghaur knows someone who can help with that, and as such, he has a cunning plan.

In the City of Toads (the city within Lemuria where the Deviants reside), the disguised Ikaris and Makkari see the Deviant artist Yrdisis, and also see Ghaur's guards take her away. 

Back in Sersi's apartment in NYC, Dave Chatterton and Samuel Holden are hanging out. I can imagine those two got clean-up duty after Sersi's party. Chatterton is not a happy camper right now. You see, Sersi, being Sersi, just decided to go help the other Eternals, while leaving him and Holden in her apartment. He feels like Sersi threw him away after all she did to show that his life was worth living. And he's going to help her, whether she likes it or not. And now we go to Lemuria once more. Yeah, I feel like a ping-pong ball, too.

Ikaris and Makkari find the hidden Eternal: Khoryphos. He's been staying in Yrdisis's place since the events of issue #7, and he is enamored with her art skills.

"Ikaris, I'm hiring this chick to paint a cover for my next album!"

He sees her art as proof the Deviants aren't these mindless warmongering monsters. Makkari realizes that was the woman Ghaur's guards made off with. Khoryphos is infuriated at this, and demands the Eternals save her. He also tells the two that Ghaur and his Priests now essentially rule Lemuria with an iron fist. This whole thing gets Ikaris wondering if Kro really was that much of a traitor to his people. Same with Thena. 

Meanwhile, a disguised Sersi spots Yrdisis being taken to the House of the Priests. With the help of a couple of illusions, Sersi disguises herself as Yrdisis and takes her place. She's hoping this'll fool Ghaur and the priests enough to find out what they're up to. She is taken to the Deviant lab. Ghaur reveals he plans to turn Yrdisis into a double for the now late Margo. She undergoes the process, using her illusion powers to fake being turned into Margo. However, Ghaur has a surprise.

Ghaur...didn't quite get checkers.

Yup, Ghaur realized it was Sersi, and hit her with a brain mine. The same fate that befell Kro and Thena. Ghaur is feeling pretty triumphant at the moment. He has the crystal and the vial. He has everything he needs to become an equal to the Celestials themselves. An attendant informs him that the Eternals' craft has been found. The story ends with Ghaur planning to trick the Eternals into their own doom, with Sersi as the weapon...

I am a bit...mixed on the issue to be honest. Ghaur is a delightful villain. I really do like to hate him, which makes a good villain, if you ask me. I also quite like the character of Yrdisis. Yeah, she doesn't really do much, but I like her because she helps show that Deviant society is more complex than one thinks. I do think there was a great missed opportunity for her and Khoryphos to strike up a little romance, a nice parallel to Kro and Thena. Both of them bonding over being artists, that kind of thing whereas Kro and Thena is bound by their being authority figures. 

My main issue with this comic is the death of Margo Damien. The whole Women in Refrigerators thing aside, Margo's death here feels pointless. The character barely appeared in the miniseries to this point, much less really interacted with any of the main cast. It does feel like she was killed off because they didn't know what else to do with her. In essence, she was seen as an afterthought. I mean, considering Ghaur's goals, I doubt Ikaris would have needed the extra push to take him down anyway. I wonder if this was a Simonson thing, or it was originally intended by Gillis. Personally, I would have had her be successfully transformed into a Deviant and used against Ikaris by Ghaur. Just a thought.

If you want to read this for yourself, I suggest you track 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!