ETERNALS #4 - Review & Spoilers

[Expletive Deleted]

ETERNALS #4 - NG & JRJR - Out today . . .

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Ah, so that's what's going on.

This issue basically explains what's going on here, amnesia-wise. It's all Sprite's doing. Gaiman does a riff on the Eternal Youth thing (ie. how much it would suck to never grow up) and most of the issue is Sprite explaining the goings-on to Makkari. The rest of the cast doesn't get a whole hell of a lot of screen time, with Druig, Sersi, and Thena rediscovering their powers.

So, the skinny: Sprite, sick of being eleven years old since the dawn of time and corrupted by the Dreaming Celestial, reactivated clones of Zuras and Ajak and used them to form a Uni-Mind powered by the Great Renegade. He used that Uni-Mind to change reality so that the remaining Eternals became human and forgot who they really were. Parallel to that story, Ikaris wakes up. His body has been cloned by the machines of Olympia and his soul is reattached to it. The computers of Olympia tell him what's going on, and he goes to find Thena so they can stop the Dreaming Celestial from waking up.

Honestly, this is my favorite issue thus far. Great art, a great explanation for everything (including Ikaris's faulty recollection in #1), and, best of all, no Civil War!

[Hybrid2]

Is it said or was it said.why Sprite cant grow up?
I asumed eternals growed like humans until puberty or something.

[Expletive Deleted]

He blames the Celestials.

I think previous stories claimed he was an eternal (no pun intended) kid because he wanted to be that way, but I don't think it's too much a stretch to lightly retcon that. Especially since it'd be a retcon of post-Kirby Eternals stories rather than of the King's work.

[Armless Penguin]

This is consistently one of my favorite titles every month, and the "reveal" this issue was quite fun. I'm guessing the last two issues are going to be more action focused, and while that's nice, I've enjoyed all the character drama thus far.

Oh, and I hope Sersi changed her cat back.

[static]

how did Ikaris end up being recloned ??

[RonnieThunderbolts]

They were Neanderthals, or some missing link, messed with by Celestials turned into Eternals, right? So, none of the original set of Eternals aged normally until adulthood, but they were transformed in the same general time period, stuck at the ages they were (why Zuras was old, and Sprite was young) right? I could be wrong, but I know they weren't "born" Eternals, and were experimented on, I know I've read that. I don't see why its weird that he'd been stuck at one age at all. Please, explain where it says differently, and I'd appreciate it.

[static]

i am pretty sure your right about them being experimented on and then stuck at a certain age...why would it be 'weird" to be 11 for a million years?? it would suck ass to be 11 forever! no women will have sex with you!! hell at 11 you dont even have the proper hormones to even know what the big deal about sex is! how can you observe that for a million years and not get pissed!??! it is only the prime mover for the civilization and your on the outside looking in! never taken seriously, never listened to or looked upon as an equal...just a kid forever with the intellectual experience of a million year old...and all the others are gorgeous 25 year olds getting more ass than a toilet seat !@@

[Syzygy]

This is a truly welcome deconstruction of the Eternal mythology. The idea that someone would choose to remain a child for thousands of years always struck me as ludicrous. Much better if he can't grow older physically, and grows to hate it as his mind matures.

Of course, Gaiman has aged all the Eternals. They used to be mere thousands or tens of thousands of years old. That that's been retconned to a million doesn't bother me in and of itself. But wouldn't all the Eternals be monstrously bored with physical life on Earth, then?

Take Sersi. How many centuries of parties can she attend before they all start to look the same? Three? Five? Ten?

After several thousand years of life--after that much experience--a person's mental growth would be so great that their interests probably wouldn't even be remotely human. And after a million years? Isn't it time to leave Earth and explore the omniverse as a whole?

The point is, they're all a little like Sprite, aren't they?

Peace,
Syzygy

[Lord S]

Parallel to that story, Ikaris wakes up. His body has been cloned by the machines of Olympia and his soul is reattached to it.

So is that the clone of Ikaris we're seeing or his real body? If it's a clone, then where's his real body?

[Expletive Deleted]

Destroyed last issue. Atomized by the high tech gizmo those two Deviants strapped him to.

[lucifernomi]

Isn't it time to leave Earth and explore the omniverse as a whole?

This issue mentioned that the Earth Eternals were somehow forbidden or incapable of leaving their solar system.

As for Ikaris, I don't think he was "cloned" so much as recreated because hsi body was destroyed.

[Lord S]

Destroyed last issue. Atomized by the high tech gizmo those two Deviants strapped him to.

Oh ok, I didn't think he was really dead in the last issue...thought they only beat him down and then buried him in the Artic. Can't remember now...

[jsg2295]

I like the art...That said I really dont know why I am reading this because it has gone on for four issues and nothing has really happened in it.
I like the concept of Sprite being a child all his life and hating it.
It bears in mind the idea of eternal life in general to me. Brrr...too scary to wrap my brain around. I will leave that to when I have a bottle to consume.

[berk]

This is a truly welcome deconstruction of the Eternal mythology. The idea that someone would choose to remain a child for thousands of years always struck me as ludicrous. Much better if he can't grow older physically, and grows to hate it as his mind matures.

Of course, Gaiman has aged all the Eternals. They used to be mere thousands or tens of thousands of years old. That that's been retconned to a million doesn't bother me in and of itself. But wouldn't all the Eternals be monstrously bored with physical life on Earth, then?

Take Sersi. How many centuries of parties can she attend before they all start to look the same? Three? Five? Ten?

After several thousand years of life--after that much experience--a person's mental growth would be so great that their interests probably wouldn't even be remotely human. And after a million years? Isn't it time to leave Earth and explore the omniverse as a whole?

The point is, they're all a little like Sprite, aren't they?

Peace,
Syzygy

Breaking my promise not to comment till the series is over, but I can't resist:

I suspected Gaiman would do something like this as soon as I read that he'd become interested in the idea of immortality. Actually, my guess at the time was that he'd have the Eternals deliberately lose their memories and make themselves think they were ordinary humans in order to stave off the boredom of doing the same things over and over for thousands of years.

Personally, I find this (Gaiman's general idea, not just the particular instantiation I'd guessed at) a pretty obvious and shallow take on the immortality problem, and one that Gaiman might have avoided had he spent more time reading and thinking about Kirby's series. Unfortunately, he appears to have wasted some of that time reading a lot of non-Kirby MU-Eternals nonsense ("Dreaming Celestial"? I despair, I really do). In a way it's appropriate, though, since the current story has much in common with all those post-Kirby travesties and little to nothing with the original. I don't know if I'll ever be able to take Gaiman seriously again, after this performance.

[Deus ex Chris]

Destroyed last issue. Atomized by the high tech gizmo those two Deviants strapped him to.

Yes, but is that body considered a clone or just his reconstituted bits?