Celestial (comics)
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The Celestials are a group of fictional characters and extra-terrestrial beings that appear in the Marvel Universe. The Celestials were created by Jack Kirby and first appeared in The Eternals vol. 1, #1 (July 1976).
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[edit] Fictional character biography
The Celestials appear as completely silent, armoured humanoids with an average height of 2,000 feet. As nothing is known regarding their appearance underneath the armour, it is possible that this may be their true form. The Eternal Ikaris believes the armour is simply a shell for beings of pure energy, so as to allow interaction with the physical world.[1]The Celestials were created by all-powerful Eternity when he realised that the Elders of the Universe were conspiring to overpower him (after tricking Death to make them immortal in the Contest of Champions miniseries and after attempting to defeat Galactus) and thus take his place in order to recreate the universe with themselves as the supreme gods.[2]
The Celestials have only appeared on Earth on a few occasions. What is known is that the Celestials are apparently responsible for the creation of two offshoots of humanity — the Eternals and the Deviants — on Earth over a million years ago.[3] The exact reason for the Celestials' genetic manipulation of proto-humans is unknown, although it is known that the Celestials conduct similar experiments on other races (such as the Skrulls ). Each race that the Celestials has experimented on is periodically assessed by Arishem the Judge, and if a race "fails" by Celestials standards, Arishem will send an execution code to Exitar the Exterminator, a 20,000 foot tall Celestial who carries out Arishem's sentence. On the first occasion that this act was witnessed, Exitar terraforms a planet into a garden paradise, with only the "evil" inhabitants being destroyed, and the survivors being given a second chance.[4] More recent depictions, however, show races that fail the genetic test are destroyed with their planet.[5]
Very few beings on Earth are even aware of the Celestials' existence. The Eternals and Deviants call the Celestials "Space Gods" and know that they visit Earth in "Hosts" at 1,000 year intervals to monitor mankind's progress. Resenting the presence of the Celestials, the Skyfather figures of Earth's pantheons (eg. Odin, Zeus, Vishnu) attempt to stop the Third Host, but are humbled very quickly. The Skyfathers then develop a plan to stop the Fourth Host from judging Earth again. Unfortunately this plan fails, but as a result of the offering of the Skymothers (eg. Frigga, Hera) Earth is left in peace until the time of the Fifth Host.[6]
[edit] Members
Main article: List of Celestials members
- Arishem the Judge - field leader for ground teams.
- Tefral the Surveyor
- Eson the Searcher
- Jemiah the Analyzer
- Gammenon the Gatherer
- Hargen the Measurer
- Oneg the Prober
- Nezarr the Calculator
- Ziran the Tester
- Exitar the Exterminator -
- The One Above All - leader of the Celestials.
There is an additional Celestial named Tiamut usually referred to as The Dreaming Celestial or the "Great Renegade."
Tiamut apparently rebels against the rest of the Second Host when they are visiting Earth, and after a drawn-out battle is then imprisoned under a mountain range by the other Celestials, and condemned to sleep for eternity.
In the modern age the Deviant Ghaur siphons off the Dreaming Celestial's power, but soon falls under Tiamut's control. Ghaur is defeated soon afterwards by the Eternals and Avengers.[7]
Due to the recent machinations of the Eternal Sprite and several Deviants, Tiamut is reawakened and has adopted the role of an observer of events on Earth.[8]
There are also a number of Celestials that only appear in one story. These Celestials are Ashema the Listener;[9] Devron the Experimenter and Gamiel the Manipulator;[10] Scathan the Approver;[11] the Monolith Gatherer[12] and the Red and Blue Celestials.[13]
[edit] Powers and abilities
The Celestials are among the most powerful physical entities in the Marvel Universe. They have shown the ability to permanently seal off entire dimensions, create super-powered beings such as the Godstalkers, reduce the Asgardian construct known as the Destroyer to slag even while it was imbued with the life force of all the gods of Asgard (with the exception of Thor), and move multiple planets across galactic distances at will. The highly evolved cosmic cube beings Kosmos and Kubik — beings who wield nearly incalculable energy, matter and reality manipulation powers — stated that a single Celestial possesses "power many orders of magnitude beyond our own."[14]
The Celestial's armor can withstand planet-pulverizing forces and, in most instances, even when they have been injured they can repair the damage in seconds. The Celestial armor has been damaged with varying degrees of success by the Invisible Woman,[15] Thor,[16] and the Odinsword-wielding Destroyer construct.[17].
It has been suggested by Reed Richards that the Celestial's source of power is Hyperspace itself — the source of all energy in the Marvel Universe — a suggestion confirmed by the Invisible Woman's ability to completely disrupt Exitar's physical form with her hyperspace-derived force fields.[18]
[edit] Alternate versions
In the (non-canon) series Earth X the Celestials are beings of energy encased in life-preserving vibranium (it prevents their total dissipation). They reproduce by planting a fragment of their essence in a planet, which eventually matures into a new Celestial, who in turn absorbs the planet. This brings the Celestials into conflict with Galactus.[19]
[edit] References
1. The Eternals vol. 1, #1 - 12 (1976 - 1977)
2. The Eternals vol. 2, #1 - 12 (1985 - 1986)
3. The Eternals vol. 3, #6 (2006)
4. The Eternals vol. 3, #5 (2006)
5. Thor vol. 1 #300
6. Thor vol. 1, #387 - 389
7. Thor vol. 1, #424
8. Thor Annual #7 + Thor vol. 1, #283 - 300
9. Quasar #24
10. Heroes Reborn: The Return #1 - 4 (1997)
11. Marvel Monsters: Devil Dinosaur #1 (2005)
12. Guardians of the Galaxy #48 - 50
13. X-51 #1 - 12 (1999 - 2000)
14. Fantastic Four Annual #23
15. Fantastic Four vol. 1 #400
16. Fantastic Four vol. 1 #400
17. Earth X vol. 1, #1 - 12
18. What if...vol. 1 #23 (Hulk - Celestials - Aunt May)
