Eternals #5, November 1976

"Olympia" 
Conceived, written & illustrated by Jack Kirby
Inker/Letterer- Mike Royer
Consulting Editor- Archie Goodwin

SUMMARY

An image of a man in a red helmet appears upon Sersi's mirror. He is the speedster, Makkari!

Sersi:"Mirror, mirror, on the wall-- who's the oldest JUVENILE of all?" [er...wouldn't that be Sprite?]
Makkari:"That's funky CORN, Sersi! I hope you have a LESS WHIMSICAL reason for contacting Olympia..."

When Margo reacts to the strange mirror...

Sersi:"As you can see, Makkari, there is a HUMAN with me. She is under MY protection!"
Makkari:"If she requires protection, it should be from your HUMOR, Sersi! Now-- WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT!?"

Margo notes that Makkari's name is reminiscent of "Mercury", and Makkari seems to indicate that that is his name, but humans are always mispronouncing it. Sersi tells Makkari of the Deviants' attack, and how the city has been set ablaze. Just then, two green Deviants creep in through Sersi's smashed window, knock her out, and carry her and Margo off!

Makkari sees all of this, and runs off to contact the "prime one". As he runs, he thinks...

Makkari:"Leave it to Sersi to be in the WRONG SPOT at the WRONG TIME! I once had to yank her out of ANCIENT ROME during Nero's big bonfire!"

Other Eternals watch Makkari's dash, and muse "Makkari would go into SHOCK if he had to stand STILL!" "It is said that he learned to run BEFORE he could WALK!" "It gives one pause to speculate if Makkari ever stops to DINE!!" "Join me in MEDITATION, Makkari! Fleetness is NOT wisdom!" [side note- the last speaker is an old Eternal, meditating. I wonder if this could be Makkari's mentor, Master Elo? (re:Quasar#12)]

Switching to levitation, Makkari arrives in the Temple of Command, where we find an Eternal before a computer bank, entering information. He is Domo. Makkari shocks Domo with the news of the Deviant attack- but Domo disbelieves him. Makkari demands to see the "great one"[how many titles does Zuras have?].

Domo:"If I were you, I'd retire somewhere and dream up a more REALISTIC REASON for risking the Great One's WRATH!"

Back in New York, people run in panic-

Person:"RUN! RUN! THE DEVIL"S COME BACK FROM SPACE with an army of DEMONS!"

[Heh. Sounds like a bad sci-fi movie]

In the midst of this, the police fight back desperately wtih rifles, trying to contain the attackers!

Sersi and Margo are brought before Kro, dressed in his armor and with large horns upon his head.

Kro:"WELCOME to the PARTY, fair Eternal."

Margo:"W-who is he, SERSI? I-is this REALLY SATAN?"

[Odd. Margo met Kro earlier in #1-2. He doesn't look that different.]

When Sersi threatens to tell the humans who Kro really is, he reaches out to strike her- so she turns his hand into a "gnarled and twisted stump of wood"!

Kro:"UNDO THIS BRAZEN DEED, YOU DEFIANT WENCH!! UNDO THIS ABOMINATION, I SAY!"

Sersi:"It looks no worse than your face, Kro!"

Knowing that Eternals are honor-bound to protect their human charges, Kro orders his men to threaten Margo- and Sersi returns his hand to normal to protect her.

Sersi:"I recant with GREAT RELUCTANCE, Kro! Mistreat me again and I'll fix you for GOOD, on my NEXT try!"

Kro orders his men to take Sersi and Margo aboard their smaller vessel and dive beneath the waters to the main attack ship.

Back in Olympia, a gold-haired woman and her red-haired father play with a couple of robots ("Auto-Boxers") they man through remote control [the Eternal version of "Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots"?]. The woman is victorious over her father, but he claims he was distracted by the buzzer, and answers to it.

Great One:"FIREBALLS AND COMETS, DOMO! WHAT KIND OF CALAMITY HAS SPARKED THIS CONFOUNDED BUZZING"

["Fireballs and comets"? He sounds like Kirby's Mr. Little]

Domo nervously tells the Great One- Zuras- that Makkari wishes to see him, and Makkari is sent in.

Zuras:"Fill my cup, THENA! I can tolerate that racing nut once I'm AMPLY fortified!"

Makkari formally greets Zuras, lord of the Eternals, and his daughter, Thena.

Thena:"GLIE TONGUES usually make LARGE REQUESTS!"

Zuras:"DON'T SPARE ME, Makkari! Has the moon fallen into the sun? Is Olympia TOPPLING from its mountain crest?"

Makkari:" You strike CLOSE, Prime Eternal!! And ancient plague has REAPPEARED, to sow havoc in this century!!"

Thena:"Don't keep us GUESSING! Is it animal, mineral, or vegetable?"

Makkari tells them of the Deviants' attack, and Zuras requests full detail. Makkari wants to save Sersi, but...

Thena:"Never fear for THAT bundle of trouble! Pity the DEVIANTS who took her captive!"

Zuras:"Are we NEVER to spend our days in peaceful pursuits!? Must we remain forever CHAINED to savage cousins with whom we share this world?" [as thunderbolts fly from his body]

Thena:"FATHER! You'll RUIN the FURNITURE!"

Zuras allows Thena to go to the humans' rescue, knowing that she wishes to. She picks Makkari up with one arm, and they depart.

Thena:"You HEARD him! WE LEAVE AT ONCE!"

Makkari:"Y-your wish i-is my command, Thena!"

Makkari and Thena strap themselves into a rocket-shaped vessel of Makkari's design.

Makkari:"If you have NO QUALMS about travelling at the SPEED OF LIGHT, Thena, then this craft should please you!!"

Thena:"I hope that this is one of your faster vehicles, Makkari! I don't like to waste time when there's action involved!"

Kro leads his men up against an army of policemen led by officer James Fisher who refuse to budge- even in the face of the flame-throwing weapons!

Suddenly, a blazing object streaks down from the sky and crashes in the midst of the Deviants! Thena and Makkari have already arrived! Armed with her crossbow, Thena starts picking off Deviants left right and center while Makkari pilots the ship! A Deviant manages to smash the crossbow with a pole, but Thena replies by smacking him into a building!

Now that Thena is unarmed, the flying Deviants start moving in to surround the ship! Makkari responds by unleashing a blast of cold energy from the ship- freezing the Deviants in mid-air!

Thena:"Brrrrrrr!! It took INTENSE CONCENTRATION to ENDURE that bit of whimsy!"

Thena spies Kro, and the two of them fly down to have it out with him!

The Pentagon. A colonel shows a general s set of pictures showing a vessel landing at the Temple of the Sun, the dome that now surrounds the temple, and the Celestial we knows as Arishem.

Colonel:"SPACE DEVILS-- ALIEN GIANTS!! What can it all mean, sir?"

General:"It MAY add up to the damndest WAR we're ever fought!"
[Kirby was editor- typos like this are common]

COMMENTS

Fun issue- lots of great dialogue I just had to share! Slow-moving in places- I mean, this fight started at the end of #3, and it's only now that Thena and Makkari have joined! Their entrance is one of the best parts of the book- watching Thena blast down every Deviant she gets her sights on!

So, let's try and wrap this little war up next time, shall we?

Oh, and the Hostess ads returned this ish. This one is Spider-Man in "The Spider and the Fly" with Spider-Man fighting [who else?] the Fly! This one is funny too- Spidey pulls the twinkies from his utility belt- but I don't think it's worth summarizing in full- I just HAD to summarize that Captain America one earlier though.