Eternals: The Heretic #1
Thanos has a conversation with Uranos in Eternals: The Heretic #1, by writer Kieron Gillen, artists Ryan Bodenheim and Edgar Salazar, colorist Chris O’Halloran, and letterer Clayton Cowles. Gillen and company give readers yet another trip into the Eternals’ past and leave Thanos with a great weapon.
After dragging Druig’s father to a cell, Thanos has a discussion with his aide. Druig gives Thanos a chance to take to Uranos, one of the old Patriarchs of the Eternals, who tells the story of his Exclusion- how he tried to get the other Patriarchs to help him exterminate the Deviants and, when they refused, started without him. The ensuing war saw Druig betray him, and the other two Patriarchs try to wrest his secrets from him but fail, and he holds them, hostage from killing them because of failsafes he put in the Machine. After the tale, the two Eternals come to an understanding, with Uranos decreeing Thanos worthy and giving him a gift and Thanos calling him grandfather.
One of the best parts of Gillen’s Eternals one-shots is they teach new readers valuable history about the race while letting Gillen retcon their history. Long-time fans of the Eternals have met Uranos before, but this issue subtly tweaks his history, allowing it to fit better into Gillen’s narrative for the race. It’s always interesting to learn more about Eternals history, and this book does supply that while also building into Gillen’s plot in Olympia.
Any story that gives Gillen a chance to write more Thanos is always a treat. Seeing him and Uranos play off each other is like watching two Thanos verbally joust and slowly gain respect for each other. Uranos’s opening line, mocking Thanos for only destroying half of all life in the universe, is hilarious and really goes to show who Uranos is as a character. An infographic page reveals Uranos’s original plans for all life, and he and Thanos have a lot in common. His gift to Thanos at the end of their conversation is very intriguing. It will be cool to see how it plays into the future and if the relationship between Thanos and Uranos will play into the future. Thanos doesn’t trust him, but that doesn’t mean he won’t try and use him in the future if only to test out what would happen to the Machine if Uranos died.
This issue represents some of Ryan Bodenheim’s last art, and it’s terrific. Uranos is a massive mountain of muscle, and Thanos is just as intimidating. Bodenheim always did a good job with larger-than-life superhero action, and this issue puts that on stage every chance it can get. Salazar does a great job as a clean-up batter, his style meshing with Bodenheim’s well so there’s no discontinuity of art.
Eternals: The Heretic #1 presents another chapter in Gillen’s unfolding Eternals saga, and it’s a doozy. Uranos is a great character, and it will be interesting to see how he’ll play into the future of the main book. Bodenheim and Salazar’s art beautifully brings the whole thing to life and gives readers another reason to miss Bodenheim. This comic has it all.
