Eternals #9 (1977)
by Jack Kirby
In retrospect, knowing the character’s eventual evolution it’s fun to see Karkas was being pushed as an unstoppable monster.
Ikaris, Makkari and Margo have gone back to Olympia, where they’re unexpectedly attacked by a double splash page.
I’m guessing Kirby was in a rush, because there’s some iffy anatomy here.
Makkari immediately figures out that the monster is not real, but the creation of another Eternal… Sprite, who makes his debut in this issue.
Yeah, uhm, Sprite is quite insufferable in the original series.
Which I guess makes sense, considering his entire characterization is being an obnoxious “it’s just a prank bro” kid… but that doesn’t make him any less irritating.
Also, the fact that the rest of the Eternals tolerate his shenanigans and just react with a generic “boys will be boys” doesn’t help.
Nor does the fact that, while they consistently call him a child, he’s drawn like he’s at least a teenager. Not that it would make much difference for a race of immortals, but it does matter for the reader at a subconscious level.
He’s also out of place for what is supposed to be a serious moment for the Eternals, considering that after last issue there are a bunch of Celestials roaming the planet.
The first one we see is spotted by the Soviet Union. This is Nezarr The Calculator (spelled Nezzarr in this issue, but the spelling later changes).
He sports my absolute favorite design of any Celestial.
Next we have Oneg The Prober and Hargen The Measurer. They’re some of the Celestials we see the least, something unusual for the ones created by Kirby.
But as you saw, we barely got a good look at them. Kirby wats before showing off his next Celestial, possibly because he was itching to draw a woman in a bikini.
But then we have an entire splash page dedicated to Eson The Searcher, and this is probably the gold standard of how to properly depict a Celestial.
You get a good sense of the sheer scale, the panicked reactions of humans, and the ambiguity of whether he’s looking at them or completely ignoring them.
The best-looking Celestials either don’t have eyes or have a very inhuman way of depicting them, and Eson’s design fits the latter.
Incidentally, he’s also the first Celestial to show up in live action, in Guardians Of The Galaxy.
Eson doesn’t stay on the surface for long, because he’s not headed for Miami: he’s headed for the underwater Lemuria.
Which is an… odd decision to say the least, considering Lemuria is IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN.
(near the Mariana Trench according to some stories).
I get that he’s an unfathomably powerful super-alien, but Eson sure took the long road!
But the cover promised us Karkas, so we’re going back to Lemuria to continue last issue’s plot.
Notice the not-so-subtle fact that Thena is quick to judge the Eternals for ostracizing Reject because of his looks, while at the same time assuming Karkas is a monster for the same reason.
Reject wins the fight…
…and then turns against the Deviants. Who could have guessed that throwing your best warrior into a gladiator match could potentially backfire?
Still, the Deviants in the VIP section are smart enough to protect themselves.
Reject is about to be executed, but he’s saved by SUDDEN EARTHQUAKE!
That’s the work of Eson, who is draining power from the entire city for some reason.
Which completely frees Reject, and that’s our cliffhanger.
Historical significance: 6/10
Sprite is consistently a waste of a character for decades of Eternals stories, until Volume 3 basically reinvents him from scratch and turns him (later “her”) into an actual character.
Silver Age-ness: 3/10
The Eternals are not as lenient with Sprite as the Asgardians are with Loki, but it’s still dumb.
Does it stand the test of time? 7/10
The series is very close to hitting its stride; its major flaw is how slowly everything seems to be moving. And I blame Kirby’s overuse of splash and double splash pages, in addition to the fact that Reject’s fight drags on longer than it needs.
If only Kirby had been able to restrain himself, he could have joined this issue together with the previous one or with the next, seriously elevating the quality.
Does this fit the Marvel Universe? 3/10
Even in 1977, there are enough superheroes in the USA that would certainly decide to check out the giant robot thing that inexplicably showed up in Miami.
Granted, Eson stays there for what seem to be a few minutes and then sinks into the ocean, but still.
Splash pages: 2 out of 17 (12%)
Splash + double splash pages: 3 out of 17 (24%)
Celestials named: 9
We almost doubled the count in two pages.
Most Kirby panel
Most WTF panel
I have no clue what kind of “living evidence” Kro is getting out of the fact that Reject is a fighter with worse anger management issues than Orion.
