When Eternals premiered, Lauren Ridloff became the first deaf superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the actress took on the role of Makkari. The speedster has been one of the Eternals since Jack Kirby's 1976 comic book series' early days, but has only recently been depicted as deaf in the comics as well.
In fact, much of Ridloff's Makkari portrayal is unique to the MCU as the Eternals have gone through a lot of changes from their original comic book counterparts. For fans who are only familiar with Makkari through the movie instead of the Eternals comics, there's a lot more to know about the character.
10 Makkari Is Traditionally A Male Character
There are definitely more male-named Eternals in the comics than there are female—at least when they're first introduced. In the original lineup, the only female characters with names and significant stories were Sersi and Thena. The majority of the Eternals who would become well-known amongst comic book fans were male, including Makkari.
More recent comics have changed that. In the comics, Eternals can be brought back to life repeatedly through the resurrection machine. When they are resurrected, they don't have to come back as the same gender they had in their previous life. Characters like Sprite, Ajak, and Makkari all became female in their recent resurrection, though they were initially depicted as male.
9 He Had A Relationship With Sersi
In the MCU, Sersi's primary relationships are with Ikaris and Dane Whitman. While Dane Whitman and Sersi do have a pretty epic romance in the comics, she also has a relationship with a different Eternal.
Makkari and Sersi have an on-again-off-again relationship throughout the different Eternals series. At one point, Sersi discovers that their relationship might have even been planned by a Celestial as she's told she's meant to protect Makkari. When she fails and Makkari is killed, Sersi uses her abilities of molecular transformation to completely turn herself into Makkari. She's so thorough in her work that even she doesn't realize she's not Makkari for a long time.
8 Makkari Taught Egyptians How To Write
Because the Eternals have such a long life, they've embedded themselves into many societies over the years, and myths have been built around them. For example, Makkari was once confused for the Roman god Mercury, but that's not the only one.
The Egyptian god Thoth was said to be the underworld's scribe. He's thought of as the one responsible for bringing writing to Egyptian society and was worshipped by ancient scribes for that very reason. In Marvel comics, the Thoth who brought writing to the Egyptians was actually Makkari.
7 He Pretended To Be Thor's Son
Eternals was first published in 1976, but because the characters were said to have been on Earth for thousands of years, stories that were previously told in earlier comics were retconned to include the Eternals pretending to be mythological figures. This was especially true for the Greek gods, but they weren't the only characters to get the Eternals retcon.
In 1941, the Captain America comics featured a character who used the name Hurricane. Hurricane was thought to be Thor's son and he used the alias Harry Kane as his civilian identity. He was a detective and a superhero, and he even had his own sidekick.
6 Recent Comics Make Makkari Closer To Her MCU Counterpart
When the comics revealed that Eternals could change their gender upon resurrection, Makkari didn't just become a woman in their latest incarnation. They also became closer to their MCU counterpart, allowing movie fans just becoming interested in the comics to have a familiar face.
Makkari's design is clearly based on the likeness of actress Lauren Ridloff. She also communicates through sign language in the modern comics. Like her MCU counterpart, she is depicted as deaf. The comics take that a step farther though, as Makkari is also unable to telepathically communicate with her fellow Eternals upon her resurrection, something that hadn't happened before.
5 Makkari Can Teleport
While each of the Eternals has a special gift in which they excel, at their core, they all have the same power set. That's because they can manipulate cosmic energy to perform superhuman feats.
One of those powers is teleportation. Most of the Eternals rarely like it, calling the sensation of teleportation "uncomfortable." Most of the time, it's only used when all of the Eternals are called to their home base of Olympia.
4 Makkari Sacrificed Other Powers For Speed
Of course, since Makkari has super speed, teleportation isn't really a necessity for this particular Eternal. Makkari is very likely the fastest person on the planet.
In order to increase his speed, Makkari spent a lot of time meditating and finding ways to transfer his cosmic energy directly to his super speed. It meant he sacrificed some abilities, but increased his speed significantly.
3 Makkari Raced Barry Allen
One of Makkari's adventures away from the other Eternals occurred when an Elder of the universe, known as the Runner, picked Makkari as one of the fastest superhumans to participate in a contest. Makkari raced against other speedsters but came in second place.
Makkari lost to someone whose name he didn't quite catch, but sounded like "Buried Alien." Barry Allen, of course, is DC comics' The Flash, but couldn't officially be used in a Marvel comic book.
2 Makkari's Helmet Has A Special Function
In the MCU, all of the Eternals have special garments when they gear up for a confrontation, but missing from Makkari's is the helmet the character often wears in the comics. According to Marvel, the helmet is able to "withstand the rigors of high-velocity movement." Essentially, the crash helmet is meant to protect his head from a speedy impact.
While that's certainly safety conscious, it's also not entirely needed for Makkari. As an Eternal, the character is already more durable than even the average superhuman, and heals faster than normal.
1 Makkari Had A Direct Celestial Connection
In the comics, Ajak is the Eternal who chooses the path of becoming a Celestial priest. He devotes much of his time to learning how to communicate with Celestials. When the Dreaming Celestial chooses an Eternal to communicate with though, it's Makkari.
The Dreaming Celestial had been previously ostracized by the other Celestials, so some Eternals found the action suspicious. Ajak was jealous, but Sersi was tasked by the Dreaming Celestial with protecting Makkari, whom the Celestial decided was his prophet.