| Celestials | |
|---|---|
 The Celestial Fourth Host – (left to right) Hargen, Tefral, Nezzar, Gammenon, Arishem, Jemiah, Eson, Oneg and Ziran. Scene from Thor #300 (Oct. 1980). Art by Keith Pollard. |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Eternals (July 1976) |
| Created by | Jack Kirby |
| Characteristics | |
| Place of origin | Unknown |
| Notable members | List of Celestials members |
| Inherent abilities | Each member possesses cosmic powers on an indeterminable scale. |
The Celestials are a group of fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters first appear in Eternals #1 (July 1976) and were created by writer-artist Jack Kirby.
Contents |
Publication history
First appearing in the title Eternals, the Celestials feature as silent, armored humanoids with an average height of 2,000 feet (610 m).[1] The characters are apparently responsible for the creation of two offshoots of humanity — the Eternals and the Deviants — on Earth over a million years ago. The Celestials' experiments and genetic manipulations are also responsible for the existence of superpowers in mutants (such as the the X-Men).[2]
Each race that the Celestials have experimented on is periodically assessed by Arishem the Judge, and if a race "fails" by Celestial standards, Arishem will send an execution code to Exitar the Exterminator, a 20,000-foot (6,100 m) tall Celestial who carries out Arishem's sentence. The group appear in the title Thor, and Exitar terraforms a planet into a garden paradise, with only the "evil" inhabitants being destroyed.[3] Races that fail the genetic test, however, are destroyed with their planet.[4] The Celestials' policy of interference is in sharp contrast to the Watchers' policy of observation, and the two races have been enemies for many eons.[5]
Very few beings on Earth are aware of their existence. The Eternals and Deviants call the Celestials "Space Gods" and know that they visit Earth in "Hosts" at thousand-year intervals to monitor humankind's progress. Resenting the presence of the Celestials, the Skyfather figures of Earth (e.g., Odin, Zeus, and Vishnu) attempted to stop the Third Host, but were quickly outmatched. The Skyfathers then develop a plan to stop the Fourth Host from judging Earth again. This plan fails, but as a result of the offering of the Skymothers (e.g., Frigga and Hera) Earth is left in peace until the time of the Fifth Host.[6]
In the third Eternals limited series, writer Neil Gaiman states the Celestials and their "opposites", a group of entities known as the Horde, are instruments of an entity referred to as the Fulcrum.
At the direction of the Fulcrum, the Celestials induce genetic mutations to determine how a race evolves, be it as Eternal, Deviant or "baseline" - a neutral option that represents the human race on Earth.[7] The Fulcrum later offers the Dreaming Celestial a promotion to companionship at the Fulcrum's side, for overcoming the limits of its original programming and thinking for itself.[8]
The team the Guardians of the Galaxy makes a base at a location dubbed Knowhere that appears to be the severed head of a Celestial.[9][10]
Members
The One Above All (Leader of the Celestials); Arishem the Judge (Field leader for ground teams); Tefral the Surveyor; Eson the Searcher; Jemiah the Analyzer; Gammenon the Gatherer; Hargen the Measurer; Oneg the Prober; Nezarr the Calculator; Ziran the Tester; Ashema the Listener and Exitar the Exterminator.
There is an additional, "greater" Celestial — Tiamut — usually referred to as the Dreaming Celestial, the Apostate, or the Great Renegade. Tiamut apparently rebels against the rest of the Second Host when they are visiting Earth, and after a drawn-out battle is then imprisoned under a mountain range by the other Celestials, and condemned to sleep for eternity. In the modern age the Deviant Ghaur siphons off the Dreaming Celestial's power, but falls under Tiamut's control. Ghaur is eventually defeated by the Eternals and Avengers.[11] Due to the machinations of the Eternal Sprite and several Deviants, Tiamut is reawakened and adopts the role of an observer of events on Earth, resolved to pronounce judgment "when the last shadow falls". Tiamut also becomes the companion of the Fulcrum.[12]
Other characters include Ashema the Listener;[13] Devron the Experimenter and Gamiel the Manipulator;[14] Scathan the Approver;[15] the Monolith Gatherer;[16] and the Red and Blue Celestials.[17] The android Machine Man also has an encounter with a Celestial, Ea the Wise.[18]
Powers and abilities
The Celestials are depicted as being capable of almost any feat, with Fantastic Four member Reed Richards theorizing that the Celestials' source of power is Hyperspace itself – the source of all energy in the Marvel Universe.[19] The characters were capable of reducing the Asgardian construct known as the Destroyer — thought to be indestructible — to slag (at a time when the Destroyer was imbued with the life force of all Asgardian gods with the exception of Thor);[20] can move planets at will;[21] and create, contain, or seal off pocket universes.[13] The Celestials also appear capable of instant regeneration as blows from the Odinsword (wielded by the Destroyer) were repaired within seconds.[22] According to the Dreaming Celestial, the entities cannot truly be destroyed, even by other Celestials.[23]
Other versions
- In the alternate universe limited series Earth X, the Celestials are beings of energy encased in armor composed of vibranium, a metal with properties that prevent their dissipation. They reproduce by planting a fragment of their essence in a planet, which matures into a new Celestial over the course of eons. The cosmic entity Galactus is an enemy of the Celestials, as the character devours planets that incubate Celestial "eggs" to prevent the Celestials from overpopulating the universe.[24]
- The Celestials appear in an issue of the second volume of the title What If, returning to Earth in a distant future and deeming humanity unfit due to the genetic tampering of the High Evolutionary.[25] The characters are also featured in two What If? one-shot publications: In the first, the superhero Iron Man attempts to use Celestial armor powered by the Negative Zone to stop the supervillain Thanos,[26] while the second depicts a 427-year war between supervillain Doctor Doom (possessing the powers of the Infinity Gauntlet and the Beyonder) and the entire Celestial race.[27]
Footnotes
- ^ Eternals #1 (July 1976)
- ^ The Eternals #1–12 (July 1976 – June 1977)
- ^ Thor #387–389 (Jan.–March 1988)
- ^ Quasar #24 (July 1991)
- ^ Fantastic Four #400 (May 1995)
- ^ Thor Annual #7 (1978), Thor #283–300 (May 1979 - Oct. 1980)
- ^ Eternals vol. 3, # 1-7 (Aug. 2006 - Feb. 2007)
- ^ Eternals vol. #4, Issue #9
- ^ Nova vol. 4, #4 (Sept. 2007)
- ^ The Eternals vol. 3, #5 (Dec. 2006)
- ^ Eternals vol. 2, #1–12 (1985 – 1986)
- ^ Eternals vol. 3, #6 (Jan. 2007)
- ^ a b Heroes Reborn: The Return 4 issues (Dec. 1997)
- ^ Marvel Monsters: Devil Dinosaur #1 (Dec. 2005)
- ^ Guardians of the Galaxy #48–50 (May - July 1994)
- ^ X-51 #1–13 (Sept. 1999 – July 2000)
- ^ Thor #424 (Oct. 1990)
- ^ Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E #5 (July 2006)
- ^ Fantastic Four #400 (May 1985)
- ^ Thor #300 (Oct. 1980)
- ^ Infinity Gauntlet #5 (Nov. 1991)
- ^ Thor #300 (Oct. 1980)
- ^ Eternals vol. 4, #3 (Aug. 2006)
- ^ Earth X #0 (March 1999); #0.5 (Jan. 2000); #1-10 (April 1999 - Jan. 2000); #11-12 (March-April 2000); #13 (June 2000)
- ^ What If vol. 2, #1 (July 1989)
- ^ What If? Newer Fantastic Four #1 (Feb. 2009)
- ^ What If: Secret Wars #1 (Jan. 2009)
External links
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