By Jim Beard
Gods of a feather flock together!
The Mighty Avengers' headstrong deity Ares dropped in on everyone's favorite demigod Hercules like an atom bomb in INCREDIBLE HERCULES #114 & 115 and Herc's world nearly crashed and burned—can the patron saint of wine, women, and song possibly stand any more god-like visitors?
Too late—here come the Eternals!
A race of superhumans born from the cosmos-spanning Celestials and possessed of powers beyond imagining, the Eternals challenge all notions of divinity and godhood in the Marvel Universe. Created by the one and only Jack "King" Kirby, these incredible
beings sprang forth at the dawn of man and eternally—pun intended—struggle in competition with their divergent cousins, the Deviants. The Eternals form the basis of most classic myths, legends, and fables, and were once looked upon as gods by nascent humankind.
Now, in INCREDIBLE HERCULES #116, writers Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente bring the super-charged Eternals face-to-fist with the Prince of Power as the inimitable immortals demand that which is often the hardest to admit from Hercules: the truth.
"The Eternals have had their memories wiped in the recent [ETERNALS limited series by writer Neil Gaiman and artist John Romita Jr.]," recounts Van Lente. "Only a handful—Ikaris, Sersi, Thena, Makkari, Zuras—have had their true identities restored. So they are on a quest to reawaken all the other 'sleeping' Eternals, to undo their false memories and restore their true pasts. Ikaris and Thena believe Herc doesn't realize he actually is an Eternal. And you know what? They may just be right."
Mighty spirits, deities, and those who claim godhood have long inhabited the Marvel Universe and brought about some of the most cataclysmic battles ever witnessed. INCREDIBLE HERCULES #116 aims to join that mighty roll call of eclectic events.
"Picking up from #115, Athena has brought Amadeus Cho and Hercules to San Francisco" continues Van Lente. "There, in the shadow of the Dreaming Celestial, Ikaris and Thena show up, believing Hercules is an Eternal—one specific Eternal, in fact. And they're going to prove it if it kills Herc. Cut to the smashing!"
"INCREDIBLE HERCULES editor extraordinaire Mark Paniccia had a vision of Hercules trading blows with Ikaris," adds co-writer Pak. "We were dazzled by said vision and realized it could be a perfect set up for our upcoming 'Sacred Invasion' crossover."
We'll get back to the mystery-enshrouded details of said crossover another time, but in the interim let's talk about the daunting task before the bold duo manning the good ship INCREDIBLE HERCULES: namely following in the mammoth footsteps of not only the legendary Kirby, but the acclaimed Gaiman as well.
"Just about every Marvel project I've ever undertaken requires walking in the footsteps of giants," notes Pak. "And heck, with Herc, we're following in the footsteps of
Aeschylus. How dare we, you ask? 'Cause it's our job and our calling. Embracing the heroes and traditions that precede us while striking out new paths and finding new angles on the classic themes—that's what foolhardy storytellers such as we have done from the beginning."
From their original 1976-1978 series, to their 2006-2007 miniseries, the Eternals have appeared in the Marvel Universe proper only on rare and unique occurrences. Pak and Van Lente look upon themselves as enthusiastic devotees of these powerful entities, and savor a few choice pieces of evidence of their past visitations. From these grew their love and respect for the Eternals.
"ETERNALS #13, with the Forgotten One becoming the hero known as…'Hero'!' was the one issue I owned as a kid—and strangely enough, it turned out to be
exactly the issue I needed to have read in preparation for INCREDIBLE HERCULES #116," shares Pak.
"I love that issue, too," Van Lente concurs. "My favorite, though, is probably ETERNALS #7, 'The Fourth Host', with Ajak and the trapped S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in the city of the Celestials. That's one of my all time [favorite] Kirby stories, and I am a card-carrying Kirby fanatic. I love the Eternals; they're among my favorite Marvel characters."
The hefty and hirsute Hercules rolls out the blood-red carpet for his Eternal "friends" in INCREDIBLE HERCULES #116, written by Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente with art by Rafa Sandoval, available April 16. Eternals alumnus John Romita Jr. supplies the sinew-stretching cover!
Travel back to the beginning of the Eternals saga with Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited!
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