Marvel Just Brought Back The Eternals After 3 Years, Just To Insult Them

By Zoe Miskelly

Published Dec 23, 2024

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Image Made By Zoe Miskelly

Three years after the MCU timeline will bring these storylines back into the fold.

Recent history has made this seem more possible than ever, as Marvel movies and shows could do the same. Indeed, the MCU's most recent release also brought the Eternals back in its plot, though this reappearance isn't quite an epic return.

The Eternals Have Been Missing From The MCU For 3 Years

Though Eternals saw some mixed response upon its release, the 2021 project raised a lot of interesting story avenues for the MCU. The idea that the Earth itself had been the subject of a cosmic plan that left a being of immense power lying dormant inside it - only for said being to then be killed and left with half of its body poking out of the planet's crust - is something that seemed to change the MCU in a big way, and indeed still may with Captain America: Brave New World's teased exploration of the storyline.

However, the titular team who starred in the project have been essentially absent from the MCU since Eternals' 2021 release. There have been some small exceptions - for example, Kingo cropping up in The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special via reference to his in-universe movies - the team hasn't reappeared in any meaningful way, despite Eternals' ending closing on some huge notes, with half of the remaining team going off with Arishem the Judge to help decide if Arishem will destroy Earth, and the other half adventuring through space having just met Starfox, who is Thanos' brother in the comics.

What If Season 3 Brings Back The Eternals, Only To Defeat Them Easily

What If...? season 3, episode 2 brings the Eternals' story back into the limelight, with Kingo facing off against Agatha Harkness and eventually teaming up with her in order to prevent Arishem from destroying the planet. While this premise brings the Eternals back into the public eye, the story quickly downplays the team in a major way, with Agatha revealing to Kingo that she defeated the rest of the group off-screen before the episode began, and took their powers for her own.

What If...? season 3 debuted on December 22, 2024, with episodes set to release daily until December 29, 2024.

As much as Agatha and Kingo's dynamic on-screen together is a fun one, the fact this story comes at the price of saying the Eternals can be defeated by a single magic- - who, while powerful, generally doesn't appear to even be one of the franchise's strongest - really undermines the Eternals, especially since the Eternals movie itself took care to establish them as powerful individuals and an even more powerful group. Hopefully, whenever the team's come back in the main MCU timeline, the franchise makes up for their most recent return being one that minimizes their importance and significance.