“Eternals” brings diversity to the Marvel Cinematic Universe
With a new set of superheroes and a storyline inspired by Greek mythology, the movie “Eternals” arrived in theaters on Nov. 5 and boasts new and diverse characters unlike other Marvel movies seen before.
While not staying in one location or time, the movie took place a year after Endgame, another Marvel movie released prior to “Eternals.” The movie stars ten brand new characters, called the Eternals, who are ancient aliens that were sent to earth seven thousand years ago on a mission to destroy the last of the deviants, who have been on earth for centuries terrorizing the cities that have been trying to develop and evolve. Now they have realized if these creatures keep getting in the way of everything they have built, humans will never evolve. Each with an individual power, the Eternals will do their very best to bring down mankind’s worst enemy.
At the beginning of the film, I realized one of the characters was androgynous and I was impressed that Marvel included such a diverse character into this set of superheroes. As I continued to watch the movie, I saw so many characters who were proud of their gender expression, sexuality and ethnic culture. Seeing a big production company produce a movie with such an open perspective on personal topics made this film much more appealing.
It was not only fascinating to see so many new characters, but the plot made the film more enjoyable. While listening and trying to remember each character’s name, I heard the name Ikaris in the film. ‘Icarus’ is known in Greek mythology as the kid who flew too close to the sun and melted his wax wings. As I focused on the film I also heard the names Sersi, Gilgamesh and Thena, who all stem from Greek Gods and kings. Seeing the mythological stories we grew up learning being put into a movie series was amazing to watch.
For the most part, this movie was action packed and entertaining. Most Marvel movies are extremely lengthy, but this film was two and a half hours and it was not tiring in the least. Not only did this movie really make a difference in showing appreciation for race and gender expression, but it also stands out in comparison to the other movies. It is not typical of previous Marvel films, and separates itself nicely from other stories and heroes. I think that Marvel has outdone itself this time and I can not wait to see what they do next.
