Since their creation in the late '70s, the Eternals have remained an odd super team to exist alongside Marvel's mightiest heroes. Created by Jack Kirby, the original artist for many of Marvel's earliest Avengers stories, the Eternals mostly function as copycats of DC's hero roster. Ikaris flies and shoots beams out of his eyes much like Superman, Makkari has super-speed like the Flash, and Thena is a war goddess not unlike Wonder Woman.
These abilities make the immortal protectors of Earth's inhabitants very over-powered, but they are merely a fraction of their gifts. Imbued with cosmic energy by gods known as the Celestials — gods of Marvel's universe — the Eternals each possess a variety of unique gifts that help them stand out and cement them as some of Marvel's weirdest creations.
10 The Eternals Communicate Telepathically
In the early pages of Eternals comics, it was established that all Eternals can communicate with each other through their minds by sending "thought waves." This allows them to communicate telepathically, and seemingly over long distances as well.
Every Eternal also possesses the ability to read one another's thoughts, but the technique can be thwarted by having an intellect strong enough to psychically block such an intrusion. The Eternals movie doesn't feature many telepathic conversations, but it makes sense to choose normal communications as opposed to characters speaking without moving their mouths during the movie.
9 Druig Uses Mind Control To Make Humans Worship Him
Even though all Eternals possessed the same set of abilities, each individual harnessed their cosmic energy to excel in different categories. For Druig (Barry Keoghan), his power of mind control was so vast he forced an entire village in the Amazon to worship him as a cult figure for over 20 generations.
In the comics, Druig even used his powers to become ruler of Vorozheika, a fictional nation in the Marvel universe that broke off from the Soviet Union. Other Eternals, such as Ikaris and Sersi, have used the ability to erase the memories of humans who've seen them use their powers.
8 Sersi Manipulates All Matter On Earth
In the Eternals film, Sersi (Gemma Chan) was given a massive upgrade to her ability to manipulate all matter on Earth. The iteration of Sersi from the original Eternals comics mostly played pranks on enemies by changing their guns into an octopus. In the movie, she was seen creating water for early humans to irrigate and transforming a careening bus into rose petals.
Sersi can basically take any molecule and change it into whatever she pleases, making her one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far. She all but entirely loses the ability at the end of the movie after connecting with the Celestial to save Earth from complete destruction.
7 Eternals Are Immortal, But There's No Consensus On When Their Ages Lock
The Eternals were created one million years ago by the Celestials as all-powerful, immortal beings, meaning that they are resistant to the effects of time or aging. They have watched over thousands of generations of humans during their lifetime, as well as seen countless empires rise and fall.
Oddly, however, there seems to be no standard for how old their physical bodies appear. While many of them resemble humans in their 30s and 40s, others like Sprite (Lia McHugh) are locked in the body of a 12-year-old. They may all be around 20,000 years old, but Sprite isn't given an answer as to why some are created to look more childish — something they've always resented the other Eternals for.
6 Kingo Shoots Cosmic Energy From His Fingers Now
Although more of a samurai in the comics, Kingo was adapted to be a Bollywood film star for actor Kumail Nanjiani. His katana was also traded for his now-signature finger guns. Manipulating cosmic energy into the tips of his fingers, Kingo shoots them toward his foes like a laser gun.
Other Eternals similarly manipulate their cosmic energy, such as Thena's use of swords or Gilgamesh's powerful gauntlets. However, it seems Kingo's finger guns are meant to act as part of the character's comic relief.
5 Ikaris Flies And Makkari Has Super Speed
All Eternals technically possess the same abilities, but Ikaris (Richard Madden) is the only character in the film to harness the power of Superman-style flight. Meanwhile, Makkari (Lauren Ridloff) utilizes her super-speed to run incredibly fast. The unique flight ability is what grants Ikaris his name, based on the winged-hero Icarus from Greek mythology.
Makkari is similarly named after Mercury, the Roman god of finance and communication — although her speedy feet are more aligned with Hermes, the mythological messenger. Makkari is also Marvel's first-ever deaf superhero on the big screen. She communicates with the other Eternals using sign-language, and possesses the ability to sense the vibrations of speech patterns in the air.
4 Eternals Blast Cosmic Energy From Their Eyeballs
Much like Superman's heat vision, Ikaris blasts cosmic energy from his eyes, making for quite the powerful arsenal of attacks. While Eternals are mostly durable to damage (and constantly heal their "wounds"), they're still greatly affected by the impact of Ikaris' eye beams.
Superman's heat vision is explained by the DC hero's ability to hone in on the strongest wavelengths of his X-ray vision, but Ikaris' eye beams are drawn from cells within his body that store cosmic and electromagnetic energy. In Eternals #2, published in 1976, Ikaris even uses a low-level eye beam to briefly knock a human unconscious.
3 The Prime Eternal Can Communicate With The Celestials
The Prime Eternal, elected by the group to serve as a conduit between their work on Earth and the bidding of the Celestials, possesses the ability to communicate openly with the powerful cosmic creators.
In the film, Ajak (Salma Hayek) passes the ability on to Sersi after her death, but many others have served as the Celestials' conduit in the comics, such as Makkari and Zuras (Thena's father and a character taken out of the film to save the MCU from having to explain why some Eternals have parents).
2 Phastos Performs Cosmic Surgery
Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) performs delicate cosmic surgery on Sersi in the film, removing a golden sphere embedded in her chest that allegedly allows her to communicate with the Celestials. A master of technology as well, Phastos then manipulates and removes aspects of the sphere's design to create bracelets the Eternals can wear to harness the Celestial energy.
A championed deviant-slayer and controller of the great machine that brings the Eternals back to life within the pages of the comics, Phastos is the only Eternal in the film who appears to be able to use cosmic energy on a precise scale.
1 The Eternals Can Form The "Uni-Mind"
The "Uni-Mind," a hilariously named convergence of Eternals present throughout the comics and utilized at the end of the Eternals film, is often a last resort for the group in times of conflict. The formation of the Uni-Mind has taken on many forms and explanations of its use throughout the Eternals' storied history. Such forms include: the appearance of a giant golden brain, a humanoid being of green energy, and a technological convergence of shared cosmic power. An ability which makes the Eternals stronger when they come together, the Uni-Mind is the Eternals' Voltron, just without the massive mech suit.