Eternals has quickly become my favorite solo property in the MCU regardless of its terrible critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. Whether or not the film will receive a sequel is yet to be determined (though its strong global box office might tip the odds in Chloe Zhao’s favor), I think it is very likely that the (surviving) characters will appear again somewhere in the future. So, for fun, I wanted to go through our ten Eternals and rank them from least to most favorite!

10. Sersi: It’s a shame! No offense to Gemma Chan who I think did a fine job in the role, but of then ten principal characters, Sersi just didn’t land for me. I understood the intention to have her be a passive character that gets to take the heroic moment at the film’s climax, but throughout the story she feels like the least to standout.

However, I will defend Sersi when people say her powers are “too passive” or “lame.” In my opinion you just aren’t being creative enough! Being able to change all matter to whatever she wants means she could put her hands on the ground and create volcanic eruptions. She said on the plane that she can turn a rock into air meaning she can make a bottomless pit underneath enemies if needed. With the right fighting skills she could turn any household item into a vibranium weapon; the possibilities are endless.

9. Ikarus: Probably looked the coolest in his suit. Have to give it to him there. Powers were also really cool. Yet, the character himself does such a good job at being the faithful soldier/ prisoner of a dogma that he almost comes off as totally flat.

Even his relationships and connection with Sersi feels like it has little to no heat. It’s tricky when two of the centerpieces for the story end up being the weakest links. Fortunately, the cast as a whole is so strong that it’s easy to get over this, but I can understand some criticisms.

Also, Superman? Been there done that. As central as Ikarus is in the comics it makes sense that the MCU wanted to conclude him flying into the sun; that’s DC’s bag.

8. Sprite: Sprite had a great plot through the movie and you felt for her pain. I enjoyed how her struggle was able to translate for the third act pushing her to side with Ikarus to just get off that planet and be done with her suffering.

Overall, just not the strongest in this big cast. Also, powers of illusion was another “been there done that” with Loki’s abilities within the MCU.

7. Ajak: I loved her role as a guide and mother to the rest of the family. There is such a strong sense of heart and empathy that she has for her children. Her comforting Phastos in Hiroshima, calming Thena, her heartbreak for Ikarus, and even that short moment of seeing her dance with Sprite in the illusion. Though she is not with her kids in the present-day-side of the film her presence is still felt.

Her death scene at the hands of the deviants was one particularly hard to watch, and found it to be some new ground in the MCU in terms of how evil is depicted, but as much as it was difficult to watch I applauded it at the same time; Ajak did her job of having the audience see her as her children did; a good soul that didn’t deserve cruelty.

6. Gilgamesh: He made spit beer. What more do you need? Ok, fine. I particularly enjoyed his child-like energy. There was almost an innocence and a teddy bear element to him. Though Kingo and Phastos provide a lot of the laughs I think where Gilgamesh appeared had its own great moments of comedy.

I would have loved more time with him and Kingo. I think that would have been tons of fun to see on screen.

His addition to the humor isn’t the only reason I hated his death… The few moments we had of him with Thena felt more impactful than anything we got with Sersi and Ikarus. Yes, that was due largely to the talent that is Angelina Jolie, but what Don Lee brought to those moments was so sincere and generous. I just wanted more time!

5. Druig: Barry Keoghan is an actor. I wasn’t expecting Druig to get any attention from me nor did I think he would be a good guy considering what his power is. Yet, Druig earns the fandom in this movie. I particularly was blown away by his moment in Mexico as he turns his back on his family to break the rules and stop the violence down below.

Also, once more, what he brought to the connection with Makari was 100x more impactful than anything we got from Sersi and Ikarus. Hell, it was more impactful than anything we got from Sersi and Dane. Whatever is to come I hope there is more screen time for them together.

4. Makari: Makari is just a good time, man! Her smile lights up the room, you have to enjoy her positive attitude, and who doesn’t like a speedster sequence?

Something in particular I loved about her character was how she seemed to wake up/excite those around her in her family. Everyone seems genuinely excited and more energetic in her presence and I felt that as well. I’m glad she wasn’t a casualty in this movie and even more so that she wasn’t one of the eternals taken by Arishem. This means we may be more likely to see her and the other two before we get to see the fate of those taken.

3. Thena: It’s Angelina Jolie, yall. I don’t know what you want me to say. This woman understands nuances in performance and can communicate an entire emotional journey with the move of an eyebrow. Her moments with Gilgamesh as she’s struggling to stay present to how she expresses her eagerness to fight were amazing. Many of the deep emotional moments came from her and I’m looking forward to seeing more.

2. Kingo: There is no denying this movie would have been a SNOOZE if Kingo wasn’t in it. Yes, his humor is traditional MCU style humor, but it worked! He was a ton of fun and I need him to return. I’m not even upset that he wasn’t in the final battle. I appreciate the creative choice to have that diversity in opinion regarding what is at stake. He doesn’t want to hurt them, but he won’t join them either.

THAT BEING SAID, he did point his energy fingers at Ikarus and told him, “you don’t turn your back on your family” and then that is pretty much exactly what he did. There are alot of contradictions in him and I don’t see them as weakness in writing but elements to further explore with the character.

1. Phastos: I loved him. The end. Humor, check. Emotion, check. Action, check. Seeing the transition from Hiroshima to the present day with his family got my heart strings! His journey from giving up on humanity to finding a small peice of it to keep and protect moved me. If we were advanced enough as an audience I really believe the film would have been much more impactful being told through his point of view. Here is a character who has helped man progress and his actions have also contributed to the nightmares humanity has created. What does that do to him in the years that have passed? How does he balance his loss of faith with his faith in love?

Abilities wise, he is categorized as one of the five “thinker” eternals opposed to the five “warrior” eternals. However, of the five thinkers he seems the most equipped for the warrior life. He is able to create technological weapons therefore giving him a Thena-like ability. He is also able to use those weapons to create ranged attacks as we saw much like Kingo. He’s essentially two of the ten in one.

It was also something special for me to see him be the one to subdue Ikarus. Whether intentional or not, seeing this character representing progress, innovation, advancement, and change, whether throug his personal life or abilities, win against a character that represents the curse of blind faith, dogmas, the dismisal of empathy and free thought was very impactful.

I love you, Phastos!