If you’ve seen Marvel’s latest non-super hero, super hero movie, Eternals, you’ll know that there are two, yes TWO, extra sequences at the end of the movie. One in the middle of the credits and another at the very end. But what do they mean? Read on to find out!
NOTE: If you haven’t yet seen Eternals, get out of here!
Go on!
Git!
Come back once you’ve seen it!
Seriously, final warning, there are going to be spoilers and suppositions for Eternals and Marvel’s upcoming slate from here on.
What Happens in the First Eternals Mid-Credits Scene?
In the first mid-credits scene, Thena (Angelina Jolie), Druig (Barry Keoghan, and Makkari(Lauren Ridloff) are aboard their ship, the Doma, puzzling over the lack of communication from their fellow Eternals back on Earth. Suddenly they “feel something” before a pair of intruders appear on the ship.
Seeing as the pair who appear aren’t quite as easily recognizable as Thanos was at the end of the first Avengers movie, they introduce themselves as Starfox (Harry Styles) and Pip the Troll (voiced by Patton Oslwalt).
Starfox quickly introduces himself as the brother of Thanos, informs the assembled Eternals that he knows where their colleagues are, that they are in a great deal of trouble, and that they’ll need his help to rescue them. Oh, and he has one of those communication orbs that Ajak and Sersei used throughout the movie to contact the Celestial Arishem.
So What Was All That About?
Well, in the comics, the Eternals background is a little different to that in the MCU. In the movie, the Celestial Arishem tells Sersei (Gemma Chan) that the Eternals are advanced machines that were created to serve its will, wiping their memories over time.
Starfox, also known as Eros due to his romantic adventures, is indeed the brother of Thanos. How could that be you might ask? Harry Styles ain’t purple, and he sure as hell doesn’t have Thanos’ distinctive chin.
The Eternals are actually a genetic offshoot of humanity. They were elevated by the Celestials when they visited earth millions of years ago and gave them their super powers. This was also when they created the Deviants.
The Eternals of the comic were also left to watch over the planet and fight the Deviants, but after many conflicts over thousands of years, they splintered, with some spreading to Uranus and Titan forming colonies there.
Titan?
While the Titan visited by Thanos, and some of The Avengers, at the end of Avengers: Infinity War bears little resemblance to the moon of Saturn, we’re sure that the MCU will explain this away somehow. Maybe planets like Titan are like towns called Springfield. They’re everywhere.
As for why Starfox doesn’t share the purple skin colour and… ahem… distinctive chin of his brother? Well, Thanos was born with Deviant Syndrome which is a thing that can happen to Eternals apparently.
So does this make Thanos an Eternal? If so, why didn’t any Celestials stop this purge of half the life in the galaxy?
My guess is that Starfox is probably lying to self-aggrandise himself and this will turn out to be a bit of a white lie on his behalf.
Who Is Starfox/Eros?
Starfox as a character has been around since the 1970’s. He was created by Jim Starlin who also created Thanos, Gamora, Drax, and Pip the Troll.
During that time he has been a member of The Avengers and had a brief fling with She-Hulk Jennifer Walters (who’s getting her own series with Tatiana Maslany in 2022). He has the usual Eternal powers of great strength and agility, along with the added bonus of flight. He can also influence the emotions of those around them, something we expect may be coming into play with his self-aggrandizing entrance. In fact, She-Hulk once wondered if he had manipulated her emotions during their relationship.
Who Is Pip the Troll?
Pip is another Jin Starlin creation and another member of the more cosmic side of the Marvel Universe. He’s a Space Troll from the planet Laxidazia, as opposed to a “fantasy troll from under a bridge,” or Thor, or something. In the comics, Pip was involved in the Infinity Gauntlet storyline and was even entrusted with taking care of the Space Gem (aka the Space Stone/Tesseract) after Thanos had been vanquished. Why is he paired up with Starfox? Probably because his ability to teleport might come in handy for whatever adventure Marvel has in store next for the Eternals.
But What Does It All Mean?
Apart from Marvel needing to promote a fresh cast of characters from their deep roster into the limelight to replace the stars who’s contracts are up or want to be free to do other work, Starfox and Pip’s appearance might hint at the direction of the cosmic side of Phase 4 of the MCU. We already know that Adam Warlock is due to appear in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Warlock is yet another Jim Starlin creation, and he and Pip met during the Infinity Gauntlet saga. Could Marvel be building towards another Avengers: Infinity War/Endgame level event with these characters slotting into the roles they missed out on in the MCU?
Perhaps.
Going up against a Celestial would require a a collection of many money making heroes working together, although Peter Quill managed to pull it off all by himself in GOTG Vol. 2.
We have no idea how this could tie into the post credits scene from Shang-Chi though.
What Happens in the Second Eternals Post-credits Scene?
The second post-credits sting sees Kit Harington’s Dane Whitman dithering over a box.
Okay, there’s a little more to it than that. While non-Marvel fans may have been left nonplussed by this, Marvel-stans will know that the box contained THE EBONY BLADE. The inside lid of the box lid was etched with the words, “Death is my reward,” and the sword within seemed to be reaching out as Dane’s hand neared it. Before he could touch it, however, a mysterious voice interjects, asking him if he’s “sure he wants to do that?”
What?
Dane and the magical Ebony Blade are another set of characters from the comics and another indicator of Marvel’s blending of the sci-fi and fantasy sides of it’s universe. Dane is the latest in a long line of Black Knights to wield The Ebony Blade (which was created by Merlin – yes, THAT Merlin – and Sir Percival of King Arthur’s court). The Blade’s power protects its user, deflects magic, and can cut though any object. Unfortunately, the blade is also cursed and over time will corrupt its wielder, turning them into a bloodthirsty villain (hence the words: “Death is my reward”). The more impure your heart, the more powerful the blade becomes.
Dane seems to be aware of this as he struggles with taking up the blade, even to save his love Sersei.
Who Stopped Dane? UPDATED!
As for the identity of the owner of the voice who stopped Dane from picking up the sword? We here at Goggler are stumped. Some of us thought it might be Nick Fury, but that didn’t quite stick for me.
So thanks to Michael Cheang of The Star for suggesting two other candidates that proved to be a much better fit: Jeffrey Wright’s Watcher from Marvel’s What If…?, or Benedict Cumberbatch’s Dr. Strange.
For our money, Dr. Strange seems the safest bet. Defending the Earth from a bloodthirsty nutter with a magic sword would seem to fit his job description.
UPDATE: It looks like we were all wrong as it’s been confirmed that the person talking to Dane was none other than the Daywalker himself Mahershala Ali’s Blade! With details scarce on the Blade movie so far (like the Fantastic Four) we had been a little skeptical about Blade eventual reappearance in the MCU but hopefully we’ll be seeing more of him soon!
What Does This Mean for Phase 4?
We’re only three movies into Phase 4 of the MCU. With another nine movies and multiple TV shows to come, it’s too early to guess where Marvel plans to take their cinematic universe.
Will we see Dane in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness? Will everyone team up in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3? How does Kang fit into all of this? Are the Skrulls behind everything, or will Secret Invasion be about something else?
Only time will tell. No matter what happens though, we’re pretty sure Mephisto won’t be turning up any time soon.(Please.)
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