Eternals: Celestia pits Makkari and Ajak against the 1,000,000 BC Avengers

cover of Eternals: Celestia #1 — (Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Two of Marvel's Eternals, Ajak and Makkari, have been absent from writer Kieron Gillen and artist Esad Ribic's Eternals ongoing title. But now, they'll finally be reborn in a new one-shot titled Eternals: Celestia by Gillen and artist Kei Zama, going on sale this October while the core Eternals title is on hiatus.

In Eternals: Celestia, Ajak and Makkari, both traditionally depicted as male characters, will be reintroduced as women - something not unprecedented for Eternals (or for Marvel's other divine characters - Lady Loki comes to mind), and in line with their depiction by the Eternals film actors Selma Hayek (AJak) and Lauren Ridloff (Makkari).

Though Makkari hasn't appeared in the core Eternals title yet, she does appear on the cover of Eternals Forever #1, another upcoming Eternals one-shot which will tell a flashback tale.

Judging by Marvel's announcement, there appears to be a mystery surrounding the current fates of Ajak and Makkari, and it all ties back to the 1,000,000 BC Avengers - a team of prehistoric predecessors to many modern Marvel heroes including Odin, the Phoenix Force, Starbrand, Ghost Rider, and more.

"Now that the truth of their existence is revealed, Ajak and Makkari must pick up the pieces and try to find a road forward... no matter how terrifying it will be, or how their choices will irrevocably shock the rest of the Eternals?" asks Marvel's announcement of Eternals: Celestia #1. "And how do the Avengers of 1,000,000 BCE figure into it?"

Esad Ribic's cover for the one-shot depicts Ajak and Makkari, in forms closer to those they'll take in the upcoming MCU Eternals film, squaring off with a Celestial - specifically Arishem the Judge, whose traditional role is to determine if planets under Celestial watch will be wiped clean of life and start over.

The Celestials are the creators of the Eternals, whom they designed as part of a grand experiment in which 100 Eternals and 100 Deviants (the twisted opposites of the Eternals) are placed on a planet, with the Celestials returning some time later to determine whether Eternals or Deviants are more dominant - and if it's the latter, wipe the planet clean and start over.

"When developing Eternals, Ajak and Makkari were two of the characters I was most excited about. I had so many ideas," states Gillen in the announcement. "The problem was trying to find a place to introduce them in a way which gives enough space to show what a fascinating, funny, and genuinely heartbreaking odd-couple they are."

"Suffice to say, this is the space, and I can't wait to show what Kei, Esad, and I have cooked up with them," Gillen concludes. "Also, taking the Avengers of 1,000,000 BCE out for a spin. I'll be honest - the first time I saw Ghost Rider on the back of a Mammoth, I did think 'I'll be having some of that, thank you very much'."

Eternals: Celestia #1 goes on sale in October with covers from Esad Ribic and Nelson Blake II. Stay tuned to Newsarama for Marvel's full October 2021 solicitations, coming later this month.

Jack Kirby created the Eternals, along with a huge swath of the Marvel Universe. Check out Jack Kirby's best comic book creations.

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)