Marvel Teases the Arrival of a Mysterious Eternal
The following contains major spoilers for A.X.E.: Eve of Judgment #1, available now from Marvel.
Marvel teases the impending arrival of a new mystery Eternal ahead of the next big crossover event.
A.X.E.: Eve of Judgment #1 sees the Eternals toiling away at their respective efforts, all while the living Machine that effectively is their world narrates their exploits and explains the nuances of their existence. When remarking on the curious nature of Phastos, the Machine breaks the fourth wall by bringing readers’ attention to a list of the 100 Eternals created by the Celestials and how the list actually contains 101 names.
The Machine remarks, “The Delphan Brothers count as two, long story. So…Counting them as two…Why are 101 on the list? We’ll return to that another time.” The list in question has several spots that are effectively blank, giving fans plenty of room for speculation. These include every member of The Hex being listed as “<Classified>” and another which simply reads “(All Records Lost).”
The Eternals made their first proper appearance in the Marvel Universe in the pages of 1976’s Eternals by Jack Kirby. These near all-powerful cosmic beings were created by the Celestials and set loose on Earth with three guiding principles: Protect the Celestials, protect the Machine and correct excess deviation. The latter of these three principles has most often come in the form of the Eternals battling their twisted brethren, the Deviants, who were also created in the same number by their Celestial progenitors.
Most recently, the Eternals have found themselves at odds with both one another and themselves. The discovery that their own resurrections were fueled by mortal sacrifices drove more overtly heroic Eternals such as Ikaris to leave their established society. All the while, the scheming Druig has turned his latest play for power into a successful acquisition of the title of Prime Eternal. So far, Druig’s endeavors have seen him attempt to annihilate all of mutantkind on Krakoa, as well as the living island itself.
A.X.E.: Eve of Judgment #1 is written by Kieron Gillen with art by Pasqual Ferry, colors by Dean White, and letters by VC’s Clayton Cowles. Main cover art is provided by Carlos Pacheco, Rafael Fonteriz, and Rachelle Rosenberg, with variant cover art courtesy of Ashley Witter, John Cassaday and Laura Martin, Lucas Werneck, Mr Garcin, Peach Momoko, and Phil Noto. A.X.E.: Eve of Judgment #1 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.