It’s finally 2020 and that means that Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe begins this year! First up is Black Widow, which will give us more of the story of our favorite Marvel spy and then in November comes Eternals. Chloé Zhao’s film will introduce us to a brand new team of characters that we’ve never met before, but that doesn’t mean that their presence hasn’t been felt. In fact, it looks like Thor: Ragnarok actually teased The Eternals. Check it out:
from r/marvelstudios
Thank goodness these MCU die-hards and internet sleuths are around to sniff out these Easter eggs, no matter how hidden or obscure they may be. Based on this post from a user on Reddit, Thor: Ragnarok contains an Easter egg that actually teased The Eternals, who we will finally be meeting this year. That Easter egg comes in the form of a distinct-looking ship that appears in the Taika Waititi film.
As you can see above, the ship shows up during Thor, Hulk and Valkyrie’s escape from Sakaar in Thor: Ragnarok. When Valkyrie is hopping from ship to ship, destroying their pursuers, this green ship shows up in the background as one of the vessels chasing them. The user on Reddit noticed that the ship bears a striking resemblance to one from the comics.
As far as I can tell this comic panel is from 1976’s issue number two of The Eternals by comics legend Jack Kirby. There are definitely a number of similarities between the ship in that comic and the one that appears in Thor: Ragnarok. In the movie, the ship only appears briefly and we don’t get a great look at it, but the shape and design cues of the two crafts seem to be basically identical.
There are a few differences mainly with the green and red coloring of the ship in the film, but the ships are too alike for this to be merely coincidental and it is clear that this ship from Thor: Ragnarok was a reference to The Eternals. However, it should be noted that the ship in the comics seems to have been much larger and it didn't belong to the Eternals themselves, but to their creators, Rhe Celestials.
So given that history, the ship’s scale and its unimportance in the film, I think we can assume that this wasn’t actually The Celestials' ship that showed up in Thor: Ragnarok. Instead, it seems that it was a cleverly placed nod to Jack Kirby, teasing the Eternals that will soon be making their way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
It’s also a great catch by this MCU fan on Reddit. The ship only shows up for a few seconds during a fast-paced action scene where it is in the background. Spotting this Easter egg and knowing its reference point requires an eagle eye and extensive retained knowledge of a comic book from over 40 years ago. Bravo.
We haven't seen much from Eternals, but if it has any of this kind of weird, cosmic Jack Kirby flavor exemplified in this ship (which it seems it will), we have a lot to look forward to.
Eternals opens in theaters on November 6. Check out our 2020 Release Schedule to keep track of all of the big movies coming in this new year.
