Ikaris is a fictional character appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. He first appeared in ''The Eternals'' #1 (July 1976) and was created by Jack Kirby. The character is depicted as a member of a race known as the Eternals. Richard Madden played Ikaris in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

, debuting in '' Eternals'' (2021).

Publication history

Ikaris first appeared in '' Eternals'' #1 (July 1976) and was created by

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

, with artist John Romita, Jr., created a 2006 miniseries, which helped bring the Eternals' role in the modern Marvel Universe up-to-date. Originally solicited as a six-issue series, an extra issue was added to the run, because, according to editor

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock, power pop and New wave music, new wave,All-New Invaders'' as a villain, when he is controlled by the Kree, who use the God's Whisper on him.

Fictional character biography

Origins

Ikaris was born over 20,000 years ago in Polaria, in the area now known as

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. He is the son of the Eternals Virako and Tulayn. His real birth name is unknown. When the Second Host of the

Celestials The Celestials are fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Depicted as cosmic beings, they debuted in the Bronze Age of Comic Books and have reappeared on numerous occasions. They also appeared in the ...

sank the Deviant

Lemuria Lemuria (), or Limuria, was a continent proposed in 1864 by zoologist Philip Sclater, theorized to have sunk beneath the Indian Ocean, later appropriated by occultists in supposed accounts of human origins. The theory was discredited with the dis ...

in what is known as the "Great Cataclysm", Ikaris guides a ship of humans to safety. The humans mistake Ikaris for a bird, and he is memorialized as the dove that guided

Noah Noah (; , also Noach) appears as the last of the Antediluvian Patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5–9), the Quran and Baháʼí literature, ...

to the

Mountains of Ararat In the Book of Genesis, the mountains of Ararat (Biblical Hebrew , Tiberian ', Septuagint: ) is the term used to designate the region in which Noah's Ark comes to rest after the Great Flood. It corresponds to the ancient Assyrian term Urartu ...

Early centuries

Ikaris chose his name due to a tragic accident hundreds of years ago. While fighting the Deviants in ancient

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, the man eventually known as Ikaris meets and weds a human woman. Together they bear a son named

Icarus In Greek mythology, Icarus (; , ) was the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the architect of the labyrinth of Crete. After Theseus, king of Athens and enemy of King Minos, escaped from the labyrinth, Minos suspected that Icarus and Daedalu ...

, who loves to soar with his father high above the seas and mountains of Greece. In time, the Eternal builds his son mechanical wings so the boy can fly on his own. When his father disappears while fighting the Deviants, the young Icarus seeks him out using the mechanical wings. Too inexperienced to fly on his own, young Icarus soars too high, loses consciousness in the upper atmosphere, and falls to his death. Finding his son dead, the father Eternal takes the name of his son, ''Ikaris'', in his memory. Around 1000 AD, Virako, Ikaris' father, dies in battle against the Deviant Dromedan. Ikaris is then adopted by his uncle Valkin, who reveals to him his secret Arctic home, the Pyramid of the Winds. At some point during the early centuries, Ikaris and the Eternals would come into conflict with the immortal mutant,

Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre originating in Judaism in the centuries following the Babylonian exile (597–587 BCE) but persisting in Christianity and Islam. In apocalypse, a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a ...

. This conflict would end with Ikaris and the Eternals defeating him, and Ikaris believing Apocalypse to be dead. In 1823, as part of the Eternals' preparation for the coming of the Fourth Host of the Celestials,

Zuras Zuras is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as a member of the Eternals who is the uncle of Thanos and Starfox. Created by Martin A. Bursten and Jack Kirby, the charact ...

orders Ikaris to perfect his cosmic senses in anticipation of their coming. When they draw near, Ikaris is ordered to go to the City of the Space Gods and revive the sleeping Eternal

Ajak Ajak is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Jack Kirby, Ajak first appeared in '' The Eternals'' #2 (August 1976). The character is usually depicted as a member of the Eternals, a human ...

to greet them.

Modern age

When the Celestials arrive on Earth around a century and a half later, Ikaris succeeds in this mission with the aid of human archaeologist Dr. Daniel Damian and his daughter, Margo. Ikaris witnesses the arrival of the Fourth Celestial Host on Earth. He then publicly reveals himself as all Eternals do. He later battles a "cosmic Hulk" robot, and fights Dromedan. During the Fourth Host, Valkin's son Druig captures and tortures Ikaris to force him to reveal the location of the Pyramid of the Winds. Ikaris catches up with Druig and kills him, but not before Druig is able to fire a weapon at a Celestial; the Celestial, however, is unharmed. Later, he encountered

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

for the first time. He next participated in a battle between the Eternals and the

Olympian gods upright=1.8, Fragment of a relief (1st century BC1st century AD) depicting the twelve Olympians carrying their attributes in procession; from left to right: Hestia (scepter), Hermes (winged cap and staff), Aphrodite (veiled), Ares (helmet and s ...

defeating Ares. Not long after that, he learned of the demise of

, the Prime Eternal (leader of Earth's Eternals). Later, it was revealed how Ikaris first encountered the

Inhumans The Inhumans are a superhuman race of super beings appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The comic book series has usually focused more specifically on the adventures of the Inhuman Royal Family, and many people associat ...

. Ikaris was later captured with the other Eternals by a Deviant army. He joined with the other Eternals and

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...

(Jim Rhodes) in defeating the Deviants. After that, Ikaris battled

Maelstrom Maelstrom may refer to: * Maelstrom (whirlpool), a powerful whirlpool ** originally the Moskstraumen in English Amusement rides * Maelstrom (ride), a former log flume dark ride attraction in the Epcot theme park at Walt Disney World Resort ...

alongside the other Eternals and the

Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...

. After the battle, he was selected by the Uni-Mind to remain on Earth. During his long lifetime, Ikaris also attempts to be a fair and just leader of the Eternals, but has abandoned Eternal traditions to take an active and public role in protecting the human race. He has even adopted a unique human identity by becoming a professional wrestler with the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation as "Iceberg" Ike Harris. Ikaris and fellow Eternal

Thena Thena (born Azura) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Martin A. Bursten and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared as Minerva in ''Red Raven Comics'' #1 (August 1940), but was later reintrod ...

have had a strong dislike for each other for a long time, and find themselves coming to conflict when she is appointed as Prime Eternal. Questioning her worth as Prime Eternal, Ikaris faces her in the Hall of Eternal Judgment and defeats her, becoming the new Prime Eternal. Ikaris then battled

Ghaur Ghaur () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. In the Marvel Universe, he is the head of the Deviant race's priesthood. Publication history Ghaur was created by Peter B. Gillis and Sal Busce ...

alongside the Eternals, Thor, and the

West Coast Avengers The West Coast Avengers is a fictional group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team first appeared in ''The West Coast Avengers'' #1 (Sept. 1984), created by Roger Stern and Bob Hall (comics), Bob Ha ...

. He also buried Margo Damian when she was killed by a Deviant experiment. Later, with the other Eternals, Ikaris captured the

Silver Surfer The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...

on behalf of the

High Evolutionary The High Evolutionary (Herbert Edgar Wyndham) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is depicted as a scientist who seeks to evolve different life forms such as the New Men. The High Evolutionary ...

. Some time after that, he was captured by the Deviant leader Brother Visara, and then freed by Kro. Ikaris exposed Dr. Damian as the Eternals' enemy, and battled a transformed

as a result. When the Eternal

Sersi Sersi () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as a member of the Eternals, a race of superhumans. She was also a member of the Avengers and God Squad. Sersi first a ...

became sick with ''Mahd Wy'ry'', an uncurable degenerative Eternal disease, Ikaris and others eternals tried to bring her to Olympia and perform a rite of Cleansing. However Sersi rejected the idea, on the basis that the ritual was designed to kill the infected Eternal, and solicited his family to perform the ''Gann Josin'' bond between her and her lover the

Black Knight The black knight is a literary stock character who masks his identity and that of his liege by not displaying heraldry. Black knights are usually portrayed as villainous figures who use this anonymity for misdeeds. They are often contrasted with ...

. Ikaris was infuriated by the idea, and performed the bond without consent of the Knight. In ''The New Eternals'' series, Ikaris still retains the title of Prime Eternal. Ikaris and the Eternals' ancient nemesis Apocalypse returned to detonate a nuclear warhead on Deviant

. He causes Ikaris's father Virako to return to life. Ikaris confronts, and fights Apocalypse. Although Ikaris is defeated by Apocalypse, Ikaris still manages to destroy his ship and thwart Apocalypse's plan. Virako is appalled to find the Eternals accepting Deviants such as

Ransak the Reject R'Klll R'Klll (sometimes spelled R'Kill) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is depicted as the wife of Dorrek VII, the mother of Anelle, and the grandmother of Hulkling. Raa of the Caves ...

and Karkas. Under the alias of "Sovereign", he briefly introduces the Eternals to the world as a team of super-heroes called the "New Breed".

Changed Reality (''Eternals'' mini-series)

Ikaris was featured again in the Marvel mini-series ''Eternals'', written by

and penciled by artist John Romita, Jr. The Eternals were the victims of memory and reality manipulation by former Eternal Sprite, and thus have forgotten their true identities. Ikaris visited Mark Curry, to try to awaken/remember his past but he rebuked him. Although Ikaris (calling himself Ike Harris) was captured and atomized by two Deviants agents, Gelt and Morjak, his body reappears at the bottom of the (fictional)

Antarctic The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antar ...

city of Olympia. His body and powers fully restored by the sentient city, Ikaris regains his memories and sets out to awaken his fellow Eternals to their true identities. After a prolonged battle, he at last unites the few Eternals present. He then plans to team up with Makkari and reawaken the ninety other Eternals.

Eternals' search (''Eternals'' – Volume 4)

At the end of the last volume, Makkari has been chosen as the "chosen one" that the awakened Dreaming Celestial communicates with. This is very frustrating to Ajak because he has spent his entire existence communing with the Celestials, their language and what their showing up means. In conversations between Makkari and the Dreaming Celestial, the eternal learned that the Celestials picks or create a planet and seed it with life forms. They then create 100 Eternals and 100 Deviants. The Celestials then keep a watchful eye on the planet and weigh which of the two races influences the life forms more. This is done in servitude of the Fulcrum. If the Deviants influence has more prominence, the Celestials send the Horde to eradicate the race and they start over. If it is the Eternals, the Celestials allow the goodness to flow back into the Fulcrum, which the Celestials seems to serve. These conversations between Makkari and the Dreaming Celestial take place on a different plane of existence and cause Makkari's body to shut down, seemingly almost dying, which Sersi is concerned with because she thinks he is addicted to this state. We also see here the origin of the Dreaming Celestial and how he came to be put to sleep by the other Celestials. Next the story picks up with Thena and Ikaris, trying to find all of the other amnesiac Eternals and reminding them of who they are. They find that a similar effort is being conducted by Druig, who is now the ruler of Vorozheika. Druig is using a secret source to find the Eternals and is winning in the contest of finding and converting more Eternals to his cause. Ikaris and Thena approach Phastos, who thinks he is an engineer in Sweden named Phillip Voss. Thena tries to trigger his memory with questions about his past under the guise that she and Ikaris are attorneys executing the will of a deceased relative of Mr. Voss'. This ploy proves to be a failure and Ikaris just wants to force the memories on the Eternals who have lost their memories, but this also causes problems as they react violently to having their world's turned upside down like this. We then see that Thena prior to her trip with Ikaris to visit Phastos, she leaves her son Joey Eliot in the care of her father: Zuras who seems a little absent-minded. Zuras begins to explore and show the different parts of the Eternals' habitat with Joey. It is here we learn that the Horde that the Dreaming Celestial has spoken of, that is coming to Earth has an agent already on Earth who is bonded to a human via a symbiotic relationship. This turns out to be Thena's son Joey. Joey is then seen going into a trance-like state when viewing new and unexplored areas of the habitat and information and transmitting that information back to the Horde. Sersi investigates and finds out about this through tracing a signal that is being sent from the habitat to the Horde and she informs Zuras of this fact. Zuras scoffs at this notion and Joey's life is terminated by the symbiote who determines that he has been detected. Makkari learns of Joey and his death from the Dreaming Celestial. He immediately goes to the habitat of the Eternals—Olympia. Then Ajak comes up on the scene of a "Burning Man"-like party being held at the foot of the Dreaming Celestial. He attacks and disperses the worshippers there and is approached by Iron Man's strike team called the

Order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

. Ajak uses a "jedi mind trick" to send the Order away, and Ikaris shows up to have him go undercover inside Druig's stronghold. Ajak agrees and he soon is put to task to find Gilgamesh. Ajak finds him and convinces him that Thena, and Ikaris are possessed by the Deviants and their influence. Eventually Gilgamesh attacks Makkari and beats him violently, leaving to finish his attack against other Eternals. Ajak shows up in the aftermath of Gilgamesh's attack and atomizes Makkari, knowing that he will be given a new body and regenerated in one of the chambers in Olympus like their race has used for thousands of years. Makkari's death makes it necessary for the Dreaming Celestial, who does not have anyone to communicate with, use a failsafe that puts all humanoids asleep on the planet, except Eternals and Deviants. Gilgamesh resumes his attack when he reaches Olympus and Thena barely defeats him, but only after he destroys the reassembling chamber that Makkari needs to reconstitute. Sersi then attacks the Dreaming Celestial and is told that she was given heightened powers to care for Makkari while he assisted the Dreaming Celestial in cataloging all super-powered beings on the planet. She then uses her powers to reconstitute Makkari, which stops the need for the failsafe of the Dreaming Celestial. And surprisingly when all of the humans awaken from their sleep, so too does Joey Eliot, ending Thena's sadness at the loss of her son. The Watcher mentions to the Dreaming Celestial that the child was dead and the Dreaming Celestial revived him. The Dreaming Celestial replies that the child was asleep like the rest of the humans and simply woke up when the rest did. The Watcher objects, and then realizes that the Dreaming Celestial has done this as an act of kindness, explained away as the child being simply asleep like the rest of the humans.

Death

Later when the Final Host arrived on Earth, Ikaris along with all the Eternals killed themselves after realizing the true purpose for which they were created. He was the last Eternal still alive when

and

Doctor Strange Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as ...

traveled to the Mountains of Greece, to try to get some answers from The Eternals. Before his death, he told the heroes the reason for the

mass suicide Mass suicide is a form of suicide, occurring when a group of people simultaneously kill themselves. Mass suicide sometimes occurs in religious settings. In war, defeated groups may resort to mass suicide rather than being captured. Suicide pacts ...

Powers and abilities

Ikaris' life force is augmented by cosmic energy and he has total mental control over his physical form and bodily processes even when he is asleep or unconscious. As a result, he is virtually immortal, immune to disease and aging, and invulnerable to conventional forms of injury. Should Ikaris be injured somehow, he could regenerate any injured or missing tissue. Cosmic energy bolsters Ikaris's metabolism so that he does not tire from any physical exertion. He can resist temperature extremes through mental concentration. Ikaris can levitate himself by mentally manipulating gravitons around himself. He can also levitate other persons and objects, even while simultaneously levitating himself. Ikaris is able to fly via self-levitation at approximately 850 miles per hour, which is faster than most other Eternals. Ikaris has low level psychic abilities, enabling him to scan the superficial thoughts of any mind less adept than his own. He can mentally create

illusion An illusion is a distortion of the senses, which can reveal how the mind normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Although illusions distort the human perception of reality, they are generally shared by most people. Illusions may ...

s so as to disguise himself. Ikaris can also psionically manipulate atoms and molecules so as to transform an object's shape. However, Ikaris is only a second-level adept on a five level scale (the fifth level being the highest) in this discipline. He can rearrange molecules in the air so as to create a virtually impenetrable shield about himself. Ikaris can project cosmic energy in the form of beams from his eyes or beams and flashes from his hands. This cosmic energy, stored in specialized enclaves of cells in his body, can be used as force, heat, light, and possibly other forms of electromagnetic energy. Ikaris can project a maximum concussive force of at least 260 pounds per square inch. He can project heat of a maximum temperature of at least 3,000 Fahrenheit, hot enough to melt iron. It takes about one minute for him to attain this maximum temperature. Because Ikaris's heat beams can vaporize solid objects, they are often called his disintegrator beams, The maximum range for his energy beams is about 200 feet. Ikaris is a fourth level adept on a five-level scale (the fifth level being the highest) in this discipline. The expenditure of cosmic energy in this way continually for several hours will temporarily deplete Ikaris's physical strength, but not his resistance to injury, although it will temporarily increase his sensitivity to pain. He will rapidly return to normal after such lengthy energy expenditure is over. Ikaris can teleport himself psionically, but prefers not to do so, since, like other Eternals, he finds the self-teleportation process physically unpleasant. He can also teleport other people along with himself.

Reception

* In 2021, ''

CBR.com ''CBR'', formerly ''Comic Book Resources'', is a news website primarily covering comic book news, comic book reviews, and comic book–related topics involving movies, television, anime, and video games. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publicat ...

'' ranked Ikaris 5th in their "15 Most Powerful Eternals" list. * In 2021, ''

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and comic books. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publications including Comic Book Resources, Collider, MovieWeb and XDA Developers. ...

'' ranked Ikaris 4th in their "10 Most Powerful Members Of The Eternals" list * In 2021, ''

'' ranked Ikaris 5th in their "10 Strongest Characters From Eternals Comics" list.

Other versions

Marvel 2099

There is an alternate future version of Ikaris in the

Marvel 2099 Marvel 2099 was a Marvel Comics imprint, started in 1992, that was originally about one possible future of the Marvel Universe, but later revealed to be the Earth of the main Marvel continuity in the distant future. It was originally announced ...

universe. He appears in ''2099: Manifest Destiny''.

The Eternal

Chuck Austen Chuck Austen (born Chuck Beckum)
Kees Kousemaker's Lambiek Comiclopedia. Retrieved November 14, 2011. is an Ameri ...

wrote '' The Eternal'', a 2003-2004 Marvel MAX series which showed the arrival of Ikaris' parents on Earth, in this version Ikaeden and Jeska, and his plan for the story involved "going back in time to see Ikaris birth and development on Earth, meet his parents, and then emove forward into contemporary time".

In other media

Television

* Ikaris appears in ''Marvel Knights: Eternals'', voiced by

Trevor Devall Trevor Devall (born November 10, 1972) is a Canadian voice actor. He worked for various other studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for years, before he relocated to Los Angeles, California in 2013. Early life Trevor Devall was born ...

Film

* Ikaris appears in '' Eternals'', portrayed by Richard Madden. In the film's story, Ikaris kills Ajak when he realizes that she wants to go against Arishem's plan for the Emergence, which would have destroyed life on Earth. He betrays the rest of the Eternals, but is ultimately brought down by his love for Sersi. Not able to forgive himself, he commits suicide by flying into the sun.

Video games

* Ikaris appears as an unlockable playable character in '' Marvel Future Fight''. An Ikaris costume, based on the MCU character, was later added during a tie-in event to the release of ''Eternals''. * Ikaris appears as an unlockable playable character in ''

Marvel Contest of Champions ''Marvel Contest of Champions'' is a 2014 fighting video game developed and published by Kabam. It was released on December 10, 2014, for iOS and Android. The fighting game is primarily set in the Marvel Universe. The game is strongly based o ...

''. * Ikaris appears as an unlockable playable character in '' Marvel Super War''. * Ikaris appears as an unlockable playable character in ''

Marvel Strike Force ''Marvel Strike Force'' is a turn-based role-playing mobile game by FoxNext (later acquired by Scopely) for Android, iOS, and iPadOS platforms. The game was launched worldwide on March 28, 2018, and is primarily set in the Marvel Universe. Pre ...

''. * Ikaris appears as an unlockable playable character in '' Marvel Puzzle Quest''. * Ikaris appears as a companion character in '' Marvel Future Revolution''.

Web series

* Ikaris appears in ''Marvel Heroes MMO: Chronicles of Doom'', voiced by

Wally Wingert Wallace Wingert is an American voice actor and former DJ. His roles include Almighty Tallest Red in ''Invader Zim'', Renji Abarai in ''Bleach'', Psycho Blue in '' Power Rangers In Space'', Kotetsu T. Kaburagi / Wild Tiger in ''Tiger & Bunny'' ...

References

External links

Ikaris
at the Marvel Universe

at the Marvel Directory * * {{Jack Kirby Characters created by Jack Kirby Comics characters introduced in 1976 Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities Fictional characters with fire or heat abilities Marvel Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds Marvel Comics characters who can teleport Marvel Comics psychics Marvel Comics characters with accelerated healing Marvel Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Eternals (comics) Fictional suicides