Warning: This post contains major SPOILERS for Eternals.
The the Eternals villain twists explained, and a theory behind a new Big Bad that could rise to the surface (hint: it's Galactus).
The Marvel movie follows the titular heroes in their quest to protect Earth from the Deviants, the main Eternals villains created by the Celestials, cosmic beings who look like giant robots. After 7,000 years on the planet, the Eternals learn through Arishem the Judge — the Celestial who created them — that their true purpose is to ensure the Emergence. The process of Emergence holds great consequence, as the birth of a Celestial growing beneath the surface will destroy the planet it's growing in. And in this case, it's Earth. This revelation creates plenty of discord within the group, leading to some major shifts in the team's status and the Eternals’ alliances.
While the mid-credits and post-credits scenes in the film look forward to what comes next in the MCU’s overarching story, Eternals has quite a few twists and turns when it comes to the antagonists. Eternals' villains are not always as clear-cut as in other superhero films, as the stakes are at an all-time high, and their job is to remain neutral about the destruction and rebirth of new worlds. Here is every antagonist twist, the Celestials’ true intent, what ultimately led Ikaris to turn against his fellow Eternals, and the theory behind a new Eternals villain: Galactus.
Arishem Is Eternals Big Villain: Celestial Plan Explained
The movie firmly pits the eponymous heroes against the Deviants, aka Eternals' main villains. However, the film reveals that the Deviants aren’t really the Eternals' biggest problem. In fact, the cosmic creatures were sent to Earth before the Eternals. Essentially, they were tasked with the same goal, which was to get rid of predators to allow humanity to evolve and grow their population. When Sersi takes over as leader from the deceased Ajak, Arishem reveals the truth: a Celestial cell is embedded within a planet, and the Emergence occurs when the Celestial (Tiamut in this case) is ready to rise from its confines, feeding off of the energy of Earth’s population — now over a whopping seven billion — before consuming the planet altogether.
Arishem explained that Tiamut (who never fully emerged) and other Celestials used the energy from a planet’s destruction to continue creating worlds. That’s how the universe stayed intact, constantly making and remaking itself through kinetic transfer. The Eternals were essentially pawns in the grander scheme of things, forced to protect and look after the intelligent beings of the planet so that the Celestials could destroy them. Ultimately, Arishem is the Eternals villain in the heroes' eyes because he lied to them, erased their identities, and took away their free will, programming them to serve him and the mission of the Emergence.
Ikaris Is Eternals Secret Villain: Why He Betrays The Team
While Arishem is the primary villain in Eternals, Ikaris’ betrayal of his teammates hits the hardest. For the centuries the group has been on Earth, Ikaris was ired, loved, and a natural leader to them after Ajak. Unlike Ajak and Sersi, however, he did not have the same adoration for humans and grew resentful that he knew about the Emergence. What’s more, Ikaris didn’t see the Emergence as wrong. Rather, a natural state of things. He was greatly loyal to Arishem and struggled to break from what he was programmed to do, believing it was his duty to make sure the plan went as intended. If that meant killing his fellow Eternals to ensure Tiamut’s emergence happened and the Earth destroyed, then so be it. In this way, Ikaris is another Eternals villain, though his antagonism is less complex than Arishem's.
It’s why Ikaris killed Ajak, who began to have doubts about the Emergence after growing fond of humans. Ikaris went along with Sersi’s plan to unite the Eternals, believing they would be distracted with hunting the Deviants, who had returned to the surface, now more evolved. When he realized they were earnest about stopping Tiamut’s rise, Ikaris fully turned against them in a desperate bid to stop them. To some extent, Ikaris remained a sympathetic figure because he thought, with so much conviction, that he was doing the right thing all along. It’s unlikely he predicted his actions centuries before, but his choices showcase how powerful Arishem’s programming and design really is. Ikaris' Eternals villain twist was a shocking one, but at the same time, he was only doing what Arishem asked in addition to his sworn duty as an Eternal.
Why Sprite s Ikaris
Sprite was in love with the Eternals villain Ikaris all along. In addition, she was envious of her fellow Eternals who, like Sersi and Phastos, could blend in with and live among humans without too much suspicion. Sprite looked like a kid and had not evolved for seven millennia, so she felt left out and lonely because she couldn’t live a normal life. She was essentially Peter Pan's Tinkerbell, somewhat of an outsider looking in. And so, the loss of Earth wasn’t much of an issue for her; she could go to another planet afterward in the hopes of starting over. These things, combined with her unrequited love for Ikaris, are why she s the Eternals villain in his plan to make sure the Emergence occurs.
Why Kingo Doesn't Side With Ikaris
While Kingo had a deep fondness for Ikaris, he also knew he couldn’t beat him. However, Kingo was conflicted between ing him and remaining with the other Eternals. Instead of choosing between the heroes and Eternals' new villain, Kingo decided to bail instead, seemingly unable to handle the pressure and upset by the turn of events. Still, there’s something in him that ultimately cares for humanity and Earth that gave him pause enough to keep him from ing Ikaris and Sprite in their plans to ensure the planet’s destruction.
Does Ikaris Die At The End Of Eternals?
Ikaris does die at the end of Eternals. Unable to kill Sersi out of his deep love for her, and having been connected with the other Eternals through their collective uni-mind takedown of Tiamut, Ikaris is somewhat distraught and feeling guilty for his actions. With the crisis averted, the Eternals villain Ikaris likely felt he couldn’t return to the group after betraying and attempting to kill them. He apologizes to Sersi for what he did and flies off into space. It seemed at first he might disappear into the darkness of the universe or find another planet to settle on. Instead, Ikaris flies directly into the sun, his metaphorical wings clipped for good. His death is not unlike the myth of Icarus, who also died due to his hubris and unwillingness to listen.
The Eternals Might Have Introduced Galactus
Galactus is a renowned antagonist in the Marvel comics, and the Eternals' could have been setting him up as MCU Phase 4's new major villain. The MCU has been establishing the framework for Galactus' appearance for a while, starting with Guardians of the Galaxy's reveal of Ego. Galactus is the sole survivor of one of the previous iterations of the galaxy created by the Celestials. He wanders about the planets, using the Silver Surfer as a Herald, looking for worlds to consume so that he can store enough energy to let out a new Big Bang. Galactus would act as a new Thanos in the MCU, as his powers are literally world-destroying, and the events of Eternals build even more momentum toward his eventual introduction.
At the end of the movie, Arishem the Judge promises that there will be consequences for the Eternals' actions in stopping Tiamut. Galactus could very well be that consequence. Earth is emitting more energy now that Tiamut is half-formed and over 7 billion people are milling about. Its through this excess energy creation that Eternals sets up its new Big Bad as the planet is essentially a beacon of power in the sky, signaling to the world-destroyer that it may be dinnertime. If Galactus isn't working with Arishem directly, he could be hunting down planets that contain Celestial seeds for energy. Since Eternals' Earth contains Tiamut, it's a potent feeding ground for the villain and a hard snack to up.
