Huge spoilers follow for Eternals’ ending. You have been warned.
Eternals has finally been released in theaters, and it appears to set up some new Marvel projects through its ending and post-credits scenes. Yep, there are two end credits scenes to stick around for, but you should know that Marvel loves to tease us by now.
But what exactly do they tease? And how does this fit into the wider MCU? Below, we’ll attempt to answer those questions with our comic book knowledge, as well as what we know from Marvel’s other movie and TV productions.
Be warned, though: we’re about to delve into massive spoilers for Eternals’ ending, and potentially for future Marvel projects – so if you haven’t seen the movie yet, you’ll want to leave this page now.
Eternals ending explained: what happens to Sersi, Kingo and Phastos?
After defeating the Deviants and preventing Tiamut’s emergence – an event that would have destroyed the Earth – the Eternals prepare to go their separate ways again.
Or so they think. Sersi reunites with Dane Whitman in London but, just as Dane is about to tell Sersi about his own family secret, the skies darken. Arishem the Judge, the Eternals’ creator and Lord of the Celestials, suddenly appears through the clouds, which scatters the assembled crowd.
Furious with the Eternals for stopping the birth of a new Celestial – namely, Tiamut – Arishem grabs Sersi and takes her into space, before doing likewise with Kingo and Phastos.
Surprisingly, though, Arishem tells Sersi, Kingo and Phastos that, despite their betrayal, he won’t exact judgement on Earth or its human population for the time being. But he will return, and make a decision on whether humanity deserves to live or die. Arishem departs with his captives, and the skies over London clear. The camera zooms in on a shocked Dane before the screen cuts to black.
Confused? Thankfully, Marvel’s comics hold the key to explaining why Arishem may return to Earth and exact judgement on humanity. The Celestials – who created the Marvel universe – regularly return to planets that support intelligent life. When they do, they check to see how each world’s dominant species, which they created, is progressing. If they aren’t evolving fast enough, or if they’ve followed the wrong path, such as enslaving other species on their planet, the Celestials destroy that world’s dominant species and start over. These occasions are known as Host events.
So it seems that an Eternals sequel might be centered around Arishem’s return to judge whether humanity should be allowed to survive. There’s no guarantee that Eternals 2 will happen, though. Eternals producer Nate Moore recently told The Toronto Sun that a sequel wasn’t a “must-have”, so we’ll have to wait and see if a follow-up is forthcoming.
Eternals mid-credits scene explained: who is Starfox, aka Eros the Titan?
Eternals’ mid-credits scene takes place on the Domo, the supergroup’s spaceship. Thena, Makkari and Druig, who departed Earth in order to find other Eternals, are concerned that they haven’t heard from Sersi and company in weeks,
Suddenly, the trio’s conversation is interrupted by an unknown individual. They prepare to fight their ship’s invader – but, to their surprise, the person in question is nothing more than a beer-swilling troll. He introduces himself as Pip, who is voiced by Patton Oswalt (MODOK, Parks and Recreation).
Pip, though, isn’t the mid-credits scene’s major reveal. Stepping back, he announces the arrival of Thanos’s brother – Starfox, aka Eros the Titan, who is portrayed by none other than Harry Styles (Dunkirk). He tells the trio that he can help to locate Sersi and the others, before revealing that he’s also in possession of one of the Celestials’ communication devices. And then the screen cuts to black again.
So who is Starfox? As we said, he’s Thanos’s brother but, unlike the MCU’s first big bad, Starfox isn’t a Deviant. Instead, he’s an Eternal who possesses numerous abilities. Those include superhuman strength, speed, endurance, flight, and the ability to control other people’s emotions.
Starfox made his comic debut in February 1973 as part of an Iron Man series run. In the near 50-year period since, he’s been a member of the Eternals, the Avengers, and the Dark Guardians, although the latter group is yet to appear in the MCU.
As for Pip the troll, his first comic appearance was in February 1975. Initially a villain who fought Adam Warlock, Pip becomes an ally of Marvel’s superheroes, including Silver Surfer. His only superpower is the ability to teleport, though, so he’s not exactly useful in major battles.
How, then, will the pair fit into the MCU? It seems that Starfox could play a key role in an Eternals sequel. If he knows where Arishem has taken Sersi, Kingo and Phastos, the other Eternals will need his help. It’ll also be interesting to learn where Starfox’s Eternals group is, given that he and Pip are the only ones who appear before Thena, Makkari and Druig. Are his allies dead, or simply waiting for the duo to return with more Eternals? That’s currently unclear, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the former. This is the MCU after all, so while Starfox may give off the impression that he’s a confident, fun-loving ladies’ man, he may have some deep-seated trauma that may be revealed in the future.
Alternatively, Starfox and the Eternals could find themselves teaming up with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Marvel loves its superhero crossovers and, as we stated above, Pip has a comic book history with Adam Warlock, who’s set to appear in Guardians 3. Could we see an intergalactic team-up between the two groups in a battle against the Celestials? It’s possible, although the current Guardians team won’t be the one that might tackle Arishem and company. Guardians 3 director James Gunn has already confirmed that the current lineup won’t survive past the series’ third installment. Still, it would be fun to see it happen.
Eternals post-credits scene explained: who is Kit Haringon’s Black Knight?
Once the credits have rolled, we’re reunited with Dane Whitman. He’s in his office at London’s Natural History Museum, and he’s standing in front of his desk with a lengthy, rectangular box sitting on it.
Dane psyches himself up to open it, and he lifts the lid to reveal a rather menacing-looking black sword that’s wrapped in bandages. Evil whispers dissipate into the air after he opens the box, too, which doesn’t fill us or Dane with confidence. Dane reads an inscription on the inside of the box – ‘Death is my reward’ – before he apologizes to an unnamed individual and says “I have to try.”.
No sooner has he finished his sentence, however, than a mysterious off-screen character makes themselves heard. “Are you sure you’re ready for that, Mr. Whitman?”, the person asks. Dane spins around to see who it is – and, yes, you’ve guessed it, the screen cuts to black.
If you’ve been keeping up with Eternals’ development, you’ll know what this scene teases. If you’re unfamiliar with the source material, though, allow us to explain…
In the comics, Dane is the latest Whitman family descendant, and he holds a particularly ominous title: the Black Knight. This individual possesses the Ebony Blade, a mystical sword – the black blade that we mentioned above, no less – created as a dark counterpart to Excalibur, King Arthur’s legendary sword. It grants superhuman abilities to its user, including the ability to deflect magic, quickly heal a user’s wounds, manifest shadow armor, cut through physical objects and absorb all forms of energy.
But the Ebony Blade carries a curse. The original Black Knight – Nathan Garrett, who was Dane’s uncle – was a supervillain, and the blood that he spilled led to the blade becoming cursed. After he assumes the mantle, though, Dane vows to use it for good, even though the Ebony Blade’s curse feeds on the negative traits of its wielder.
So it seems that much of the Black Knight’s comic origins will carry over into the MCU. We suspect that Dane will wield the Ebony Blade to try and save Sersi, but he’ll need to enter the MCU’s more mystical realms to do so. Could that lead to a crossover with magic wielders like Doctor Strange or Shang-Chi? In our view, it’s entirely possible. But, there is someone else that he may team up with first…
Eternals post-credits scene explained: who was the voice at the end?
As for who that mysterious off-screen person is: it’s none other than Mahershala Ali’s Blade, with Zhao confirming as much in an interview with Fandom. Does that mean we’ll see Dane team up with the vampiric superhero in the latter’s upcoming solo movie? We certainly hope so. When asked about Dane’s future MCU appearances, producer Nate Moore told ComicBook.com “that is something that we get to play with down the road”. So it seems that Dane will be crossing over into a few other Marvel productions.
Alternatively, the Black Knight could get his own spin-off. We’d be down for a Black Knight Disney Plus series, and given that other Marvel movie supporting characters have gotten, or will get, their own spin-offs, the Black Knight seems like the perfect candidate for a similar treatment. Hopefully, it won’t be too long before we find out more.
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