Marvel’s Eternals is set to introduce perhaps the most powerful superhero team we’ve ever seen in the MCU to date. Immortal and imbued with various superpowers by the godlike Celestials, the Eternals are far above most of the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy in terms of their skill-sets — probably only the likes of Captain Marvel and Thor could take them. That’s why it’s often said that they would have been handy allies in the fight against Thanos.
But Eternals star Richard Madden isn’t so sure. His character, Ikaris, is one of the most powerful of the group, possessing flight, laser vision, super-strength and other Superman-like abilities. While he could definitely give the Mad Titan a run for his money, though, Madden thinks that Ikaris’ inhuman nature might mean that he wouldn’t get involved in a battle against Thanos in the first place. Here’s what he had to say on the topic to ComicBook.com:
“I don’t know if Ikaris would have been like… Ikaris can sometimes be detached and be like, ‘Okay, what’s this guy doing? All right. It’s none of my business, I’ll just stand back,'” Madden said with a laugh. “So I don’t know what he would have done.”
Madden reminds us of the other thing that makes the Eternals different from other heroes we’ve met in the MCU before: they don’t feel the need to get involved. When they were ordered to watch over humanity thousands of years ago by the Celestials, the Eternals were only allowed to intervene when it came to their old enemies, the Deviants. That’s why we didn’t see them in the Avengers movies. But Madden indicates it’s not just their orders that kept them from doing anything. Maybe they just didn’t care that much.
But this film will see them having to step up and protect the planet when the Deviants return. What’s more, Ikaris seems to be a secret fanboy of the Avengers, given all his Captain America references, as seen in the trailers. So maybe he’ll get a taste for being a hero and help out next time a Thanos-level threat turns up.
Eternals opens in theaters this Friday, November 5.