Throughout the past decade, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has introduced its viewers to countless fascinating characters. Despite being superheroes engaged in cosmic conflicts, many of them have dreams, wishes, and struggles very similar to those of a regular human being. That makes them even more relatable and likable, even when they make mistakes. The best example is the most iconic figure of the franchise, Tony Stark, who despite being a very flawed, normal person, manages to become the superhero Iron Man.
Strikingly enough, even cosmic beings can be just as human as Tony. Marvel’s Eternals depicts a wide variety of interesting new characters, all with intricate backgrounds that make them very relatable. While their development isn’t as detailed as it could be, they’re powerful additions to the MCU, regardless. Two particular Eternals – Sprite (Lia McHugh) and Thena (Angelina Jolie) – stand out through their humanity.
10 Sprite Suffers From Body Dysphoria
Like every other Eternal, Sprite is immortal and has lived for over seven thousand years. Even so, she is stuck in a permanently child-like body. The discrepancy between her mind and her physical exterior creates severe body dysphoria issues. Sprite understandably wishes to have a family, to find love, but that’s just not possible because of the way she was created.
Her situation may resonate with members of the transgender community, who often experience similar feelings of helplessness and frustration. While Sprite isn’t the target of prejudice and opprobrium like transgender people are, her emotions and wounds run just as deep.
9 Thena Struggles With The Mental Health Condition Mahd Wy’ry
Mental health issues are a highly sensitive topic, but it’s also one that needs to be addressed. While the MCU has had characters suffering from various such conditions before, Thena is perhaps the first case where the disease is overtly discussed. Mahd Wy’ry appears to be a form of dementia caused by the incomplete erasing of Thena’s memories during a past Emergence. It causes Thena to lose complete track of her surroundings, attack her friends, and occasionally freeze up in battle.
Her struggle has some things in common with Tony Stark’s PTSD and is even more important because it references a dilemma many people in her situation may have had. To cure her, Ajak (Salma Hayek) offers to wipe her memories. But that would be a traumatic treatment that would erase everything that makes Thena who she is. Thena decides against it and instead remains in the care of Gilgamesh (Don Lee), but it’s doubtless that she’s very aware of the threat she poses and possibly feels guilty over being a perceived burden for her partner.
8 Sprite’s Unrequited Feelings For Ikaris Torture Her For Millennia
Sprite’s impossible dream to have romance would have been painful even as a vague notion, but for her, everything is well-defined. She is in love with fellow Eternal Ikaris (Richard Madden). He can never reciprocate her feelings, and not just because he loves Sersi (Gemma Chan).
The physical incompatibility makes it impossible for Ikaris to ever see Sprite as anything except a friend. It tortures Sprite for millennia, and he finally leaves her behind altogether when he commits suicide by self-immolation.
7 Thena Has To Watch Gilgamesh Die
Sprite and Ikaris’ story may be tragic, but the fate of Thena and Gilgamesh’s relationship is perhaps even worse. While seeking out their friend Druig (Barry Keoghan) in the Amazon forest, the Eternals are attacked by deviants. Their leader, Kro, ambushes Thena and Gilgamesh.
Because of her Mahd Wy’ry, Thena is unable to do a thing. Gilgamesh fights the creature, but he is overpowered. Thena is forced to helplessly watch as Gilgamesh is killed in front of her very eyes. The horrible loss is doubtlessly something fans can empathize with, as many have lost friends, lovers, or family, and have been unable to save them.
6 Sprite Hides Her True Emotions Behind Carefully Crafted Illusions
Sprite’s powers allow her to create highly realistic illusions, which she uses to distract her enemies in combat or cover her allies’ retreat. Her powers also come in handy when dealing with the Eternals’ relationship with humans. Because of Sprite’s illusions, Gilgamesh’s feats of strength turn him into a Sumerian legend, and Thena is associated with the Greek goddess Athena.
But her illusions are also a tool that allows her to hide the true extent of her pain. While humans don’t have convenient cosmic powers, it’s not unusual for them to conceal their anguish behind masks or fake smiles. After all, there’s more than one way to create an illusion.
5 Thena Channels Her Anguish Into Her Art
Hiding and suppressing one’s feelings doesn’t help when in a traumatizing situation. Thena knows that. She chooses to channel the anguish caused by her Mahd Wy’ry into her art. It is something many creators go through, using various artistic pursuits as a way to escape and exorcise their proverbial demons. The method is also often used in therapy, giving patients who struggle an outlet of self-expression.
4 Sprite Chooses Ikaris Over Her Friends
There’s nothing more natural in the world than wanting to protect a loved one, but that desire can create conflicts with other people. Sprite’s situation is an extreme case. When she learns Ikaris is behind Ajak’s death, she is initially shocked, as the two had been quite close. In the end, Ikaris is more important, and she joins his side in respecting Arishem's wishes and protecting the Emergence, even if it puts her at odds with the rest of the team.
Her confrontation with Sersi suggests her decision may have been influenced, at least a little, by her bitterness. She is jealous of Sersi, as she has everything Sprite can possibly want, including Ikaris’ affection. The moment she stabs Sersi somewhat ruins Sprite’s likability, but her reasoning still makes sense, especially considering the circumstances.
3 Thena Wishes To Avenge Gilgamesh At All Costs
If Sersi and the rest of the Eternals are motivated by their desire to stop the Emergence, that wish is secondary for Thena. Above all else, she wants to kill Kro and avenge Gilgamesh. When Kro pursues them at the site of the Emergence, everything else stops mattering except that single-minded desire.
It’s a very relatable wish, which many people in a similar situation would have experienced. Thena’s actual fight with Kro makes things both better and worse, as he briefly manages to incapacitate her by pretending to be Gilgamesh. Finding strength in the memory of Gilgamesh’s last words to her, Thena recovers and defeats Kro.
2 Sprite Trades Her Immortality For A Human Existence
In a surprising feat of power, Sersi channels the power of Tiamut himself through the Uni-Mind, using the energy to turn the Celestial to marble. In the aftermath of the failed Emergence, she still has some energy left and offers to turn Sprite into a human – the only way to fulfill her wish. Sprite agrees, which leaves her facing new human challenges. She even complains about school, which is definitely something most viewers can relate to.
1 Thena’s Fighting Spirit And Love For Gilgamesh Are Stronger Than Anything
Eternals hasn’t received the best reviews from critics, and that is in no small part because it doesn’t develop its characters to their full potential. Even so, Thena stands out, her fighting spirit made even more admirable because of her very human vulnerabilities.
Her love for Gilgamesh is stronger than anything, but she also manages to push past her grief and find comfort in her friends and her new goals. Despite the generally dark tone of Eternals, Thena’s arc does have a hopeful ending, encouraging people who find her situation relatable.