It’s that time of the year again, and the third time this year that too. After Black Widow and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals is the next Marvel biggie hitting the big screens in 2021. This is the first time that the Eternals, first created by Jack Kirby in 1976, will leap right out of the Marvel comics and come alive on the big screen. What’s even more exciting is the fact that Eternals has been directed by Chloe Zhao, the Chinese-born filmmaker who won an Oscar and a BAFTA in 2021 for directing Nomadland.
But that’s not all that should get women excited about the Eternals. The fact that the movie features some extremely powerful and inspiring women, should. To be honest, this is not the first Marvel movie to feature powerful women superheroes or even characters inspired by myths and legends from around the world. All Marvel movies and series around Thor (including Loki and What If…?) feature many gods and goddesses from Norse mythology. But Eternals does something more.
The Eternals is the first time we’ll be going beyond characters inspired by one mythology. With gender flips and a wide range of backgrounds, the cast and characters of Eternals represent almost every ethnicity in the world. Moreover, the cross-section of women characters in the movie is really exciting too. Now, if you’re wondering who these women—dare we say, goddesses—are and which mythological stories their characters are inspired by, read on!
Thena/Athena from Greek Mythology
Angelina Jolie plays Thena in the movie, and her character is clearly inspired by the Greek goddess, Athena. Athena, daughter of Zeus, was the goddess of wisdom and war. She is a conduit of boundless knowledge, and even though she is often represented as aggressive sometimes, she is also a patron of peace, art and handicrafts. But Thena from Marvel comics is not completely like Athena as she is also depicted as someone who can be impulsive, albeit with hidden depths.
Makkari/Mercury from Roman Mythology
Makkari is one of the Eternals whose gender has been changed from the comics to the movie. Played by Lauren Ridloff in the movie (making her the first deaf superhero in the MCU), it’s quite clear that Makkari is inspired by the Roman god, Mercury. A counterpart of the Greek god, Hermes, Mercury was the god of travellers and merchants. It’s therefore natural that this god would have immense speed—and that’s precisely the power Makkari has. Makkari also has the same speed and acuity when it comes to processing information, which makes her one of the most intelligent of the Eternals. Mercury also plays the bridge between the gods and humans, so will Makkari play a similar role? Both Mercury and Hermes are also tricksters, and that may also make you wonder if Makkari will be the same.
Sersi/Circe from Greek Mythology
Sersi, inspired by the Greek mythological character of Circe, is played by Gemma Chan in the movie. Every trailer of the movie depicts Sersi as an Eternal with the strongest connection with humanity. This is also represented in the relationship she has with Dane Whitman, played by Kit Harrington. But the story of Circe is quite unlike that of Sersi, if the myths are anything to go by. Circe was a powerful sorceress who had the ability to transform humans into animals. The Greek hero Odysseus fell in love with Circe and stayed a year with her on her island, and this certainly goes in tandem with what we know of Sersi’s love life from the comics.
Ajak/Ajax from Greek Mythology/Quetzalcoatl from Mesoamerican Mythology
Ajak, played by Salma Hayek, is not inspired by one powerful mythological character, but two! It is believed that her character is inspired by Ajax, a Greek hero who has immense strength and bravery. Ajak, who is male in the comics, is a fierce wrestler, making this connection with Ajax quite apparent. However, in the comics, Ajak also assumes the character of the Mesoamerican god, Quetzalcoatl, the god of wind and rain. A patron of learning, agriculture, science and the arts, Quetzalcoatl is also quite intelligent. In Ajak, therefore, the combination of Ajax’s brawns and Quetzalcoatl’s brains can be perfectly seen.
Sprite/Sprites from European Mythology
Sprite, played by Lia McHugh, is perhaps the most interesting character among the Eternals, primarily because this character is a mix of a number of characters from European mythology—all of them of the same ilk. Sprites are basically immortal elves or fairies who have small, youthful bodies and are touched by a sense of mischief. The Sprite in Eternals has been around for centuries and still has the body of a child. Now whether she has the same mischief as sprites in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, or not, will only be known after we watch the movie.