Eternals #8 (1977)
by Jack Kirby
While the series started with Kro being a generic bad guy, it didn’t take long before we had signs he was a more complex character. This is where he fully develops.
We begin in Lemuria, where a Deviant fighting in the gladiator pits is not shown any respect because he’s incredibly ugly.
At least for Deviant standards, because he looks completely human.
We’ll get back to the Reject later, but first we need to get to the main focus of the issue: Kro’s doomed romance with Thena.
Credit where it’s due, he’s been friendzoned for 20,000 years and he STILL hasn’t lost hope!
Kirby treats this romance with his usual subtlety, but I’ve always appreciated their relationship: it really comes off as a timeless fable.
Meanwhile the Eternals, who I remind you were supposed to be trying to teach humanity about the hidden history of the Celestials, are still wasting time.
Get used to this depiction of the three races, Kirby really likes it; even later series use the busts.
This scene serves no true purpose, but it gives Sersi the chance to lighten up the mood.
While the rest of the Eternals are busy with… well with nothing really… Thena travels to the Deviant city with Kro.
Despite the warm welcome, Thena is not spared the ugly side of the Deviants… well ALL of their sides are VISUALLY ugly, but they also oppress the more genetically unstable.
Yeah, uhm, “purity time” is exactly what you think it is.
The Deviants practice eugenics.
The reason why certain Deviants are considered undesirable is not very clear, which I actually think enhances the creepiness of the story.
And sadly its realism.
Thena is naturally appalled by all this, and it kills her interest in Kro. For all his previous talk about his nobility, he really can’t see the problem with this ritual.
But she’s still supposed to be on a diplomatic mission, so she agrees to see the Deviant leader.
The leader is a good mood because there’s a gladiatorial fight coming up, and the two exchange views on whether watching people kill each other is fun.
But you have to remember that MOST Eternals are not exactly heroes, so she reluctantly agrees to do nothing.
One of the gladiators is, of course, the Reject who looks like a human.
He’s going to be a recurring character, and it’s a running gag that EVERYONE thinks he’s hot.
And we close with the tease of his incoming fight with the monstrous Karkas.
Historical significance: 3/10
These two are going to form one of the best and weirdest duos in comics: the Reject is handsome but he’s a real jackass, and Karkas is a monster with a heart of gold.
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
Well there’s the closest thing to an on-panel genocide that the Comics Code can allow, so…
Does it stand the test of time? 8/10
Other than the fact that this is a VERY fast read… even more so than the average from this series… this was pretty solid.
The Deviant civilization is more complex than “they’re the bad guys”, and even the self-described noble Kro has no problems with it’s the de-humanization (de-deviantification?) of undesirables.
Thena is simultaneously kind enough to sympathize with the oppressed and amoral enough to do absolutely nothing about it. So despite acting as the morally superior one, she’s not much better than Kro.
I don’t think Kirby was consciously looking for this level of complexity, but he’s growing past his usual “ugly characters are evil and hot characters are good” phase.
Does this fit the Marvel Universe? 10/10
Nothing egregious here, the action is far from the public view and there’s plenty of hidden civilizations already.
Splash pages: 3 out of 17 (18%)
no double splash pages
Most Kirby panel
Most WTF panel
The busts make no sense: the whole point of the Deviants is that they all look different from each other, and Eternals just look like hot humans!
