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Eternals
Movie

Eternals

2021 • Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Woke Score
8
out of 10

Plot

Following the events of Avengers: Endgame (2019), an unexpected tragedy forces the Eternals, ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years, out of the shadows to reunite against mankind's most ancient enemy, the Deviants.

Overall Series Review

Eternals is an ambitious, self-consciously diverse entry into the superhero genre, featuring an ensemble cast that spans multiple races, genders, and sexual orientations. The movie's core plot revolves around the heroes discovering their true purpose, which requires them to rebel against their creator, a god-like entity. The narrative explicitly positions a human-derived, subjective morality—one based on love, individual choice, and the preservation of all life—against a rigid, ancient, divine plan based on duty and a utilitarian 'greater good.' This philosophical conflict drives the film's themes, leading to a strong deconstruction of traditional authority, whether spiritual or civilizational. The film deliberately features an intersectional cast, including the MCU's first openly gay superhero and a deaf superhero. Gender-swapping of characters from the comics and placing women in the main leadership and world-saving roles is a clear pattern. The film highlights humanity's historical acts of violence and genocide as a point of crisis for the heroes, framing the decision to save Earth as a choice made *despite* the flaws of human history.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics8/10

The cast is explicitly and overtly designed as the most diverse in franchise history, featuring multiple race and gender swaps from the original comics. The central hero's arc belongs to a non-white female character. One major character is explicitly defined by his disability (deafness) and another by his sexuality and race, underscoring immutable characteristics over simple character merit in the public presentation of the group.

Oikophobia7/10

The film explicitly uses a historical event—the Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlan—to frame European expansion as 'genocide' and a symbol of humanity's destructive, savage nature. The main male character who adheres to the old 'duty' and betrays the group is white, while the moral compass and new leaders are characters of color. The narrative frames the human civilization's violent history as the major source of the heroes' moral dilemma and disgust.

Feminism8/10

The leader of the group, Ajak, is gender-swapped to a woman of color, and her successor, the hero who saves the planet, is Sersi, also a woman of color. Three prominent male characters from the comics are gender-swapped to female (Ajak, Makkari, Sprite). The primary male hero, Ikaris, who represents duty and adherence to the master plan, becomes the traitor and ultimate anti-hero, with his arc ending in self-destruction. The core conflict is resolved by the female lead prioritizing love and empathy over the traditional masculine virtue of duty.

LGBTQ+9/10

The movie introduces the MCU's first openly gay superhero, Phastos, who is shown with his husband and son. The narrative features a chaste kiss between the two men. This inclusion is a highly publicized, essential aspect of the film's identity and led to the film being banned in multiple countries, demonstrating its centering of alternative sexuality as a major point of focus and controversy.

Anti-Theism9/10

The core of the plot involves the heroes discovering their creator, Arishem (a 'Father God' figure), is not benevolent, but is using humanity's destruction as a tool for new creation. The entire mission of the Eternals, built on dogma and blind faith, is exposed as a lie. The heroes reject this ultimate authority and its 'grand design,' choosing a human-centric, subjective morality (love) and culminating in the main protagonist using her power to 'kill a god' (the emerging Celestial).