Eternals #6, December 1976

"Gods and Men at City College!"
Edited, written & drawn by Jack Kirby
Letterer & Inker- Mike Royer
Consulting Editor- Archie Goodwin

SUMMARY

Swooping down upon Kro and his Deviants, Thena launches her spear, and from it bursts a ring of energy, holding the army in its place! Kro orders his men to break free, but as they try, the spear suddenly releases a blast of anti-gravity, throwing them all through the air! The police move in, planning to take Kro, just as Thena and Makkari land.

Makkari:"This is FANTASTIC, Thena! Can he possibly be-- KRO?! The Deviant General?"

Thena:"I must admit that the resemblance is remarkable!"

Kro:"So! We meet AGAIN, Thena!"

Thena:"KRO! It IS you! But that's not POSSIBLE! You were alive in the days of the FLOOD! And NOW--!"

Kro:"Now you see me once MORE, Thena, a MILLENNIUM later! It seems to astound you!!"

Thena:"Eternals CANNOT die! But you Deviants have NEVER been known to last THIS long!"

Kro:"The Deviant strain is CONSTANTLY changing! Some of our products are SUPERIOR to others! You have known me WELL, Thena! You must have known that I, TOO, could bridge the centuries!"

Kro admits to his plan- to send humanity into war with the Celestials- and to prove that mankind still fears the devil, he offers to make a truce with the Eternals on any terms Thena wishes.

Aboard Kro's raiding vessel, a pair of Deviants hold guns to Margo and Sersi. Sersi doesn't care much for her guard...

Sersi:"Oh, SHUT UP! I'm BORED with the lot of you!! Even ATTILA THE HUN was more entertaining. He behaved like a SLOB, but at least he liked music and dance!"

Margo:"Really, Sersi! This is HARDLY the time--!"

Sersi:"POh, BLAH!! What do you know about making the most of one's time!! You're only MARGO DAMIAN, a silly little HUMAN who will probably be OLD and BENT before she learns the joy of living! Eternals, on the other hand, have the accumulated knowledge of CENTURIES of living! We love a good laugh-- even at the expense of this kind of DUM-DUM!!"

With that, Sersi tweaks her guard's nose!

Guard:"FOUL ETERNAL FEMALE!! You can't be killed, but one blast from this weapon can turn you into a FRIGHTFUL HOWLING MESS!"

Sersi simply turns his gun into rubber! The second guard is about to shoot Margo when his gun sprouts tentacles and wraps around his head!

Just then, the ship's first officer enters to inform them of the truce.

Sersi:"This is a SHIP OF FOOLS, Deviant! Come in and pick up a few suggestions on 'How to improve your I.Q. and gain popularity!'"

Sersi demands that Ikaris be returned, and the first officer complies- his men have already recovered the torpedo tube. Ikaris is brought inside the vessel and the brain mine is removed from his forehead.

Margo:"I-Ikaris!! D-do you feel any ILL EFFECTS?"

Ikaris:"Oh--hello, Margo. I-I'm fine--just fine. That is, if you can call A LAPSE OF MEMORY 'feeling fine'!"

Ikaris tries to strangle the first officer, but Sersi tells him of the truce, just as Thena, Makkari and Kro appear on a viewscreen. The three of them have a new plan- that the Deviants & Eternals combine efforts and deal with the Celestials peacefully.

Thena:"The humans must LEARN the entire story about their relationship with the space gods and our two species! But it must be revealed first to ACADEMIC sources-- who can ANALYZE and VERIFY the facts!!"

Margo:"SAM HOLDEN! Er--I mean Doctor Samuel Holden! He'd be PERFECT for the job!

Thena:"How does HE qualify?"

Sersi:"Yes, child-- how INTERESTING is this-- Sam Holden?"

Margo:"He's a colleague of father's. He teaches ANTHROPOLOGY...and I'm quite sure YOU'D find him BORING, Sersi!"

Thena:"We shall decide when you get here! Farewell!"

Sersi:"And I shall decide when I MEET him, my dear!"

Ikaris:"ENOUGH, you two! Let's not waste our lives aboard this craft!! WE'RE READY TO DEPART, DEVIANT! And pray that you and I never meet AGAIN--!! For the next clash will see YOU replace ME in that cylinder!"

First officer:"I should GLADLY be sealed in it-- to be FREE of you Eternals!"

Margo travels to City College, where she tells Sam Holden of the Eternals and Deviants- and Sam is excited at meeting them! A week later,
Thena, Makkari, Kro, Sersi & Ikaris are presented to a body of students by Holden.

Students:"WOW! Who are THEY?" "I don't know, they look like the CAST of some new MUSICAL!" "It must some kind of PUT-ON!" "Who cares! Those chicks are COOL!" [heh. at least one student thinks like me]

Makkari:"Good day to you, humans. We come among you scholars in the spirit of friendship and cooperation!"

Kro:"HAH! They deride us! Humans respect only the LASH and the FLAME-GUN!"

Holden:"I've given this class the chance to STUDY these gracious visitors...and I'm curious about your IMPRESSIONS! Even facetious comments will be accepted!"

Ikaris:"He'll get 'em! We must look ALIEN to them!" [I have a problem with that line- just doesn't sound like Ikaris dialogue]

Ikaris and Kro step up to the platform with Holden and tell of the differences between them...

Student:"OKAY! So you're the gods and devils of our past! What brings you out of the closet NOW?"

Kro:"My species has been out before! WE ONCE RULED THE WORLD!"

Ikaris:"DON'T cloud the issue, Kro! The humans must get to KNOW us first!"

Kro:"THEN KNOW THIS-- we're neither gods nor devils! I am of the Deviants!! My species is basically possessed of an UNSTABLE ATOMIC STRUCTURE! Thus, by MANIPULATING our own atoms, we can CHANGE our FORM!" [Kro removes his horns] "MORE than magic..LESS than a miracle! I'M NO LONGER A THREAT! Why, if I ran for office, I daresay, I'd get some of your VOTES!"

Students:"You WOULDN'T get mine! I still think you're the devil!" "SURE! The devil can do exactly what YOU did!"

Kro:"HA HA HAH! Thus the devil remains YOUR fear-- and MY WEAPON!"

Ikaris demonstrates his power to fly, and circles around the room, at which point, one student loudly protests, saying that he thinks its all a trick- so Sersi turns his face into the Thing's! After turning it back, he notes:"At least I won't have to explain the OTHER one to my parents!"

In the Andes Mountains, a team of three SHIELD agents have sighted the dome, and are just reporting in- when Gammenon the Celestial appears! The agents vanish, leaving behind a communicator...

Next: SHIELD vs. the Celestials!

COMMENTS:

Not a bad issue- the scenes at "City College" are a lot of fun, and, once more, Sersi gets a steady stream of funny dialogue. Even Kro gets one devil of a line! And, of course, we meet Sam Holden, the other significant human in this series- though we've yet to arrive at his truly memorable moments...