In Eternals: The 500 Year War, the Earth’s oldest protectors recount the events of their war against a group of Deviants, spanning five centuries. What lessons did they learn? And has the war come to an end?
Eternals: The 500 Year War
Dan Abnett (Writer), Marcio Fiorito (Artist), Geoffo (Artist), Gunji (Artist), Yifan Jiang (Writer), Do Gyun Kim (Artist), David Macho (Writer), Carlos Macias (Colours), Matt Milla (Colours), Pete Pantazis (Colours), Ju-Yeon Park (Writer), Magda Price (Artist), VC’s Joe Sabino (Letters), Rafael Scavone (Writer), Jongmin Shin (Writer), Fernando Sifuentes (Colours), Felipe Sobreiro (Colours), Rickie Yagawa (Artist), Aki Yanagi (Writer)
Marvel Comics and WEBTOON
January 20, 2022
Eternals: The 500 Year War takes place in the ruins of Babylon, 16th century. The Eternals—Ajak, Ikaris, Sersi, Phastos, Thena, Gilgamesh, Kingo, Sprite, Makkari, and Druig—prepare to search the Earth for Deviants, dangerous beings that the Eternals have been sworn to protect Earth from. As they’re packing up, Sersi mulls over her massive collection of Earth’s forgotten artifacts, which leads the Eternals to share stories about their centuries-long war against the Deviants.
Once thought of little more than mindless creatures, the Eternals learn the hard way that there’s more to the Deviants than they had been led to believe. Considering the events of the Eternals film, everything that happens in this series has deeper significance for the characters and readers.
With writers, artists, and colourists from around the world, Eternals: The 500 Year War is a feast for the eyes. A gorgeously illustrated trip through human and superhero history, the seven-issue limited Marvel and WEBTOON series will scratch the itch that every Eternals fan has been feeling since watching the film in 2021.
I know Eternals wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I fell in love with the characters and this series gave me just enough of the characters to tide me over until, well, hopefully, another series! In the opening issue, I sensed a touch of fanservice in Eternals: The 500 Year War. And that’s not a bad thing! I loved seeing a hasty Makkari speed through the Eternals’ ship, the Domo, in search of Sersi, a collector of Earth’s relics. Is it any surprise that Sersi ended up working in a museum? This first issue also explained why the Domo was so full of antiquities and artifacts in the film.
The 500-year war begins with an adventure with a fan-favourite pairing: Makkari and Druig. Drukkari fans will be delighted that the speedster and mind-controller get so much time together. It may not be overly romantic, but Marvel knows what they’re doing by pairing them up so early on in the story. Another pairing, Thena and Gilgamesh, get an issue in Eternals: The 500 Year War all to themselves. Again, they’re not really romantic, but their connection translates well from screen to page. They don’t need to announce in a speech bubble that they care for each other. They work in tandem to fight an oceanic Deviant, rarely having to share their plans out loud. These two know how to work in sync.
Film leads Ikaris and Sersi also share the heroic spotlight in an issue. I was surprised that their romantic relationship, a centerpiece of the Eternals film, wasn’t obvious in the series. Yes, Sersi shows some concern when Ikaris is under siege, but if one didn’t know about their long love story, you’d mistake them for colleagues, not two people who had been married for centuries.
I would have loved it if Kingo had more to do. Kumail Nanjiani’s Kingo was undoubtedly my favourite (being a fellow South-Asian, I had a lot of feelings about seeing someone like me as a Marvel superhero). But Eternals: The 500 Year War gives Kingo little to do or say. In his adventure with Sprite, Kingo gets captured quickly. While he does get some quips throughout the series, I felt a bit short-changed as a Kingo fan. Sprite, probably one of the most tragic Eternals, is at her spriteliest (pun intended) in this series. Not only does she use her powers of illusion to retell all the stories, but she gets to be the hero in her adventure.
I was surprised at how somber Ajak and Phastos’ story turned out to be. Salma Hayek’s Ajak had a smaller role in the film than I had anticipated and while she does get some of her dues here, I wanted a more effervescent version of Ajak. She’s very much the beleaguered leader in both the film and Eternals: The 500 Year War—someone who wants to honour her mission but is also fearful for humanity’s need for destruction and violence. Phastos is a good foil for Ajak in this series—he’s the one questioning their mission and their place on Earth, among the humans. You can see a direct correlation between their scenes in Eternals and this series. But I would have liked to see a lighter side to Ajak and Phastos.
As someone who loved the characters in the film, Eternals: The 500 Year War was a satisfying read. And that’s my summation even if I look past the characters. I like the interconnectedness of the stories, even though, at first, they seem like chance meetings between the Eternals and the Deviants, taking place in a variety of different regions across the globe. The ending ties it all together with an exciting fight scene that sees all the heroes hold their own against the Deviants.
In general, I don’t think any of the writers captured the tone or inflections of the film’s Eternals. Despite the number of writers working on this series, it felt like a cohesive story, which is quite a feat. Every story flowed organically into the next, adding on what had been shared in the previous installments, building up to the climax, written by Dan Abnett, who wrote the first issue. Eternals: The 500 Year War brings the reader full circle. That takes some planning, and it was well-executed.
The art felt quite disparate, which is understandable. Each artist and colourist brought their unique style to The 500 Year War. Going from issue to issue, it did feel jarring, but that feeling wore off quickly for me. No matter who the artist was, the art in Eternals: The 500 Year War was spectacular. Gorgeous detail prevailed, whether it was the architecture, the landscapes, the characters, the costumes; the differing styles only made the experience more thrilling. It was like being in an art museum, with every episode being a room for a new era. Magda Price’s and Pete Pantazis’ work on episode 4 (with Ajak and Phastos) was my favourite. Every panel felt like it was a work of art on a museum wall. Price’s style is one I am partial to, so it stood out for me, but it really made my jaw drop.
I knew I was going to love Eternals: The 500 Year War because I loved the film and the characters. I’ve also fallen in love with WEBTOONs over the past few months, so I was delighted that I got to read all seven issues on the app. In other words, this series was a combination of things that made me happy in 2021, so I was determined to enjoy myself. If you loved watching Eternals, want to spend more time with its immortal cast, or want a Marvel story full of action, jokes, and stunning art, this is the perfect limited series for you.
