Eternals #12 Reveals a Deviant Little Secret

The Deviants’ secret is revealed at last as the Eternals take on Thanos and the stage is set for Judgment in the series’ finale, Eternals #12, written by Kieron Gillen, drawn by Esad Ribić, colored by Matthew Wilson, and lettering/design by Clayton Cowles.

Karen Charm: Zoe! Hey Zoe! You’ve been in that hot tub forever, we’ve gotta write about the last issue of Eternals!

Zoe Tunnell: But it’s so comfy! I’m just going to write from the hot tub. No one will know the difference anyways.

Karen: That’s ok, just glad you’re here to wrap up this series with me!

Seeds Planted by Celestial Hands

Ajak laments the Eternals following the Celestials

Karen: All the plot threads are woven together pretty tightly since this is the final issue, but let’s start where we left off in #11 – Ajak learns the truth about the Deviants. As she puts it, “they are the important ones.” To which I thought, ““well yeah obviously,” but then we get one of Clayton Cowles’ handy data pages to outline what exactly this means. The Celestial “necrofluids” (“seeds” are so last year) that’s responsible for all supernatural stuff in the Marvel Universe was a little too volatile. The Deviants with their unstable, changing nature sort of supercharge natural selection to reach a stable form of “strange” life-forms.

It’s more complicated a reveal than “a human dies whenever an Eternal is resurrected,” so the impact is a bit diluted.

I’m very happy Ribić returns to draw Ajak’s beefy arms slung over the felled body of a Celestial ghost. I can’t believe that it took me this long to notice the dark magenta shading across Ajak’s forehead, but I checked and it’s been there from Celestia. I’m sorry Matthew Wilson.

Zoe: I think this issue might have made Ajak my favorite Eternal??? I have been enjoying her more aggressively devout turn through the series so far but between deciding blunt-force prayer was the most efficient method last issue and processing her entire life being a lie by smashing Thor in the face with a flail…yeah, I’m kind of in love, here.

This issue is also where the Trans-Sapphic subtext of Ajak and Makkari becomes a lot louder in ways that genuinely shocked me. Makkari trying to soothe Ajak via a personal, private form of language she communicates via touch that is described as her at her “most intimate”? Ajak angrily weeping as she learns her entire life, her entire idea of who she is and what she lives for, is a lie while gritting out “How dare a God make us so”? At this point, it’s as close to textual as I could ever expect from these characters given their natures and I’m truly impressed and affected. It’s some potent stuff.

Karen: It’s something we’ve seen each of the Eternals tear themselves apart over throughout this series and it never hurts less. But with these two, yeah. Phew. Makkari is so tender :<

Existential angst aside, did you have any thoughts at all about the Deviant reveal? I found myself wishing we could have seen some reaction from some of the Changing People, but I understand the page real-estate was particularly tight this issue.

Zoe: I think it’s interesting! As fun as I find it, narratively, it does feel a little bit like a hat on a hat, to me? When you’re busting out two “everything you know is wrong” revelations in the span of 12 issues (and some specials) the second one is gonna lose a bit of the luster, for me. It’s a good beat and very cleanly sets up Judgement Day in all sorts of ways, but I didn’t get the same visceral “holy shit” moment that I did with the reveal of the cost of Eternal resurrection, y’know?

Karen: Totally. I wonder if they’re going to relaunch this series as The Deviants…

Zoe: Gillen is already writing Immortal X-Men, though. Same thing.

So Deviant It’s a God-Damned Shame

Karen: Thanos…

Zoe: Karen I laughed SO HARD AT HIM GETTING CHUMPED. IT’S SUCH A GOOD JOKE.

Karen: Thanos gets chumped so good. It’s amazing. Rewinding a bit, Thanos is also learning things from his father’s mind. Look, I love the A’larsasaurus here, and Wilson is coloring it in a way that calls to mind Frazer Irving’s Limbo from Uncanny X-Men which I love to think about. These pages are beautiful.

Zoe: It’s haunting! It’s like someone threw Bosch and Kirby in the machine from The Fly and let it run wild. Big fan.

Karen: That sounds terrifying and I agree. With his design documents in hand, Thanos once again tries to integrate himself into the Machine except… it still doesn’t work! We find out from Domo that Thanos got a little too much Deviant in his Eternal and has, well, changed. Now this is a reveal I tip my hat to, especially since the futility of change has been such a major theme throughout this run. Gillen uses this as another opportunity for Thanos to gloat about his superiority, but just wait, you chump.

Zoe: I love that Domo specifies he is clogged with death-stuff, some unknown substance that cannot be properly identified. The concept of Thanos building up residual death-goo from his many years making out with Death herself is such a delightfully comic book-y plot point.

But yes, now that Thanos knows he can’t properly join with The Machine as Prime Eternal and has nothing else to do on Earth, he pulls the trigger on Uranos’ doomsday hoard, dooming the entire planet in the process. Which is pretty bad timing considering the Eternals, the important ones anyways, are still busy fighting the Avengers. As dramatic as it is, and with AXE: Judgement Day looming, I appreciate that the Avengers call a ceasefire the second Sersi says “hey nope, sorry, something actually bad is happening now”.

Karen: No Zoe, the Deviants are the important ones, remember? I do love Cap having the trust in them, and wishing Kingo godspeed. The Eternals intercept Thanos at Titanos and engage in another spectacular Ribić fight scene, everyone zooming around and smashing into each other. Basically, if the Eternals can kill Thanos, they’ll save the world. If. Always the tricky part, that. Ok, now do you want to talk about the chumping?

Zoe: God it’s so good. After 12+ issues of Thanos being this terrifying specter of death and pain, seconds before his demolition of Earth, he gets wrecked like he stumbled on the set of Jackass. Druig sneaking in a failsafe that was safe even from his own mind, only to be activated in the event that Thanos was about to destroy the world? Outstanding. Druig timing it for maximum dramatics and calling Thanos his “bumpkin cousin”? Perfection.

Karen: I don’t think anything beats that panel where all of his limbs are turning into mushrooms and he’s just staring – no mouth – like “wut.” We’ve been so hungry for this comeuppance and it’s so grand. I will say, given how much else needs to be tackled this issue, it’s just a tad too quick. I wonder what would have happened if the change had activated the Eternals’ “Excess Deviation” alarms. As is, I’m satisfied. Into the timestream with you!

Only Ongoings Are Eternal

Karen: Hooray! Crisis averted, Earth is saved! What? It’s over? We’re all going home now? I guess it’s time to clean up. I quite like this denouement, which is one part tying up loose threads and two parts set up for the next thing. First off, Sersi finally tells the Avengers the truth…

Zoe: Sersi’s scene here is my favorite thing she’s done in the whole series. The first speech, that humanity will never be anything but temporary tenants on the Eternals’ planet, is exactly the sort of grand, sweeping dramatics that Eternals have been spouting for the entire series. It’s fun! It’s punchy! What follo`ws, where Sersi, exhausted, drops her constant facade and charm to give an honest warning to the Avengers about trusting the Eternals, though? That’s an incredible beat. I can’t wait to see how that plays out in Judgement Day.

Karen: The Avengers’ role in this arc is so well-done as both relevant to the current story while also sowing seeds for the next conflict. It certainly does give them a reason to take part in A.X.E. The funniest line for me was when Tony tries to “I told you so” Namor who replies “And I told you I didn’t care.” I really don’t like modern Namor pretty much ever but Gillen has breached my defenses here. He’s good at that.

Zoe: Hickman gets a lot of credit for Namor over the course of his Avengers epic but dang if Gillen didn’t spend a few years paving that road for him over in X-Men.

Karen: Sersi is my MVP of the whole run, I love her! The way she so naturally falls into the leadership role even if that involves subterfuge and manipulation, she honestly should be the new Prime Eternal. Unfortunately… Druig gets the job. Ay yi yi.

Zoe: Oh, it’ll be fiiiiine. What’s he going to do? It’s not like there’s a whole sprawling, thriving nation of newly-classified Deviants out there to spark a war over.

Anyway, how’s Krakoa doing?

Karen: Krakoa is CHANGING. In classic X-Men tradition, the mutants are being observed on a monitor by someone up to no good. In this case it’s Druig, and yes, the Machine informs him that Krakoa is one of the highest concentrations of distant, biological descendants to Deviants, and that there are even more on Mars. Thus the stage is set for war.

Zoe: If Judgement Day is even half as good as Eternals has been, then we’re in for a treat. Haven’t been this excited for line-wide crossover since Secret Wars.

Karen: I’m really very excited but this development has thrown me for a loop. Resident Marvel scholar (and noted Eternals not-fan) Zach Rabiroff was quick to point out that mutants being Deviants is as old a concept as Steve Englehart Silver Surfer comics, so we can maybe see this as another example of Gillen tidying up the mess of continuity that’s sprawled out of its bin the last few decades. Still, people are going to freak out. I don’t look forward to trying to defend the Eternals on twitter.

Zoe: Of COURSE Rabiroff knew that. This is what happens when you talk to folks who know what they’re talking about, Karen.

Karen: Imagine knowing things… weird.

Finally, if you couldn’t tell this was the end of the series, Ikaris returns to the Robson household to get some closure. Sophia, Toby’s mom, saw Ikaris’ heroic rescue of Little Hollow on the news and has found room in her heart to forgive the big lug, if even just a tiny bit. Please pass the tissues.

Zoe: The redemption of Ikaris from flat, cardboard cut out of a man to a genuinely endearing, heroic soul who only hopes he would still be a hero without his programming is probably the single biggest feat Gillen and Ribić have done in this book. He’s not a Zoe Fave (™) quite yet but I sure did smile at his being recognized for his efforts. You deserve it, you giant beef boy.

Karen: I am really sad to see this series end. I’ve worked out a semi-elaborate metaphor for the way reading this issue has felt, if you’ll bear with me. I’ve arrived at an unfamiliar but beautiful vacation destination, and I need to take a scenic bus ride from the airport to wherever I need to go. Maybe there’s a glamorous outdoor screening of Eternals, who knows. I’m enjoying the ride very much when all of a sudden the bus changes directions before coming to a stop well short of its destination. All the passengers are ushered off the bus, service has stopped for this line, and we’re told a shuttle will be coming to get us. To take us the rest of the way? Back to the airport? Maybe you’re going to be taken to see a better movie, it’s unclear. You just have to believe what you’re told. (If we’re being honest, in this case you’ve had this happen to you with this bus company before, more times than you can count. But then the metaphor starts to unravel.) I know this is how it’s always been, it’s a “feature not a bug,” but it does color the reading experience, especially considering this comic just has the standard 20 pages. I wish there were more.

I think at the moment, I’m more on the bitter end of bittersweet, but I’m genetically inclined to find the bright side eventually. For one thing, I’ve gotten to talk about the Eternals (and Kro) so much with you, Zoe. That’s 1.5+ years worth of sunshine that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

Zoe: Kaaaaaaaren, you’re gonna make me cry! I agree, it is disappointing that this story is ending here, even with a potential post-event continuation. Having gone through this song and dance with a dozen different titles (Hi, Black Cat) it gets tiresome. Please just let creative teams have a decent run, y’all. It’ll pay off down the road!

This was actually the first CXF column I signed up for! I remember seeing the announcement and immediately reaching out to Chris (hi, Chris!) [Ed. Note: Hello!] about putting my hat in the ring for it. When I was told I’d be writing it with you, I was ECSTATIC. You’ve been an endless beacon of positivity and joy through some pretty rough times and I’m thrilled we got to talk about this wonderful book about our weirdo faves together. You’re the best, Karen.

Karen: Awww. I need more tissues! At least Pascual Ferry is drawing the next issue.

Zoe: AW HELL, YOU’RE RIGHT THAT’S GONNA BE GORGEOUS. Ignore all the sappy shit I said, it’s not important anymore.

Marvelous Musings

I’m voting for Kro in next year’s X-Men election
*Elvis Costello voice* “You might have never heard of God’s vomit”
Wow, I just got it… AXE, like Judgment, like the Axe is gonna fall…
*fat bong rip* Whoa.
I demand to learn more about the Eternal Matriarchs, what’s going on with the Delphan Brothers, who is Blind Orla, and we HAVE to get more Damocles Foundation (Eternals, Deviants, and humans all working together, mass hysteria)!
Thanks everyone for reading, and thank you Chris for editing! Xoxoxaxe *whoa*