Celestial (Comic)

The Celestials are a group of fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters first appeared in Eternals #1 (July 1976) and were created by writer-artist Jack Kirby.

Debuting in the Bronze Age of Comic Books, the Celestials have appeared in four decades of Marvel continuity and other associated merchandise such as trading cards.

Publication history

The Celestials debuted in Eternals #1 (July 1976) and reappeared as regular guest stars in three subsequent limited series sequels: Eternals vol. 2, #1 - 12 (Oct. 1985 - Sep. 1986); Eternals vol. 3, #1 - 7 (Aug. 2006 - Feb. 2007), and Eternals vol. 4, #1 - 9 (Aug. 2008 - May 2009).

The character have also featured in other titles, including the "Celestial Saga" storyline in Thor Annual #7 (1978) and Thor #283 – 300 (May 1979 - Oct. 1980), and Thor #387 – 389 (Jan. – March 1988); Quasar #24 (July 1991); Fantastic Four #400 (May 1995) and X-Factor #43-46 (Aug. - Nov. 1989; #48-50 (Dec. 1989 x 2 - Jan. 1990).

Biography

Visiting Earth every few thousand years in groups called "Hosts," the group is revealed to have been responsible for the creation of both the Eternals and the Deviants and via genetic manipulation the existence of superpowers in mutants. Resenting the presence of the Celestials and their monitorinihyjhtyjhiotjhitjhithitkhitkhiktiktiktihktihktikhtikhtiktikhitkhitkhithkitkikhtiour, but once again the Celestials—although also opposed by Odin's son Thor—prevent the offensive and melt the Destroyer armour into slag, scattering the Asgardians' lifeforces. Thor throws the Odinsword through Arishem's chest, but he removes it, analyzes it, and vaporizes it. The Earthmothers (such as Frigga and Hera) of Earth, however, make an offering of twelve perfect humans, which is accepted and the planet is spared judgment. The judgment process is eventually witnessed by Thor, observing Celestial Arishem the Judge sending an execution code to Exitar the Exterminator, a Vorlage:Convert tall Celestial who carries out Arishem's "sentence." Exitar terraforms the planet in question into a garden paradise, with only the "evil" inhabitants having been destroyed. On one occasion the hero Quasar observes a race completely fail the genetic test, with every living creature being destroyed with their planet. The Celestials' actions conflict with the policy of "non-interference" practiced by fellow cosmic entities the Watchers, with the two races having become enemies. The Celestials and their "opposites," a group of entities known as the Horde, are established as instruments of an entity referred to as the Fulcrum, their purpose to be "instruments of the planting/creation/teeming of the universe."

Members

• Arishem the Judge: A Celestial tasked with judging if the civilization of a planet will live or die.
• Ashema the Listener: A female Celestial tasked, along with Nezarr the Calculator, with retrieving Franklin Richards for evaluation as a new member of the Celestials.
• The Blue Celestial: The first Celestial whose birth is documented.
• Devron the Experimenter: A young Celestial tasked with watching over Earth alongside Gamiel the Manipulator.
• The Dreaming Celestial: Originally known as Tiamut the Communicator; a renegade Celestial.
• Ea the Wise: An action figure sized Celestial Machine Man carries and treats as an "imaginary friend".
• Eson the Searcher: The Celestial tasked with "seeking".
• Exitar the Exterminator: A Celestial tasked with the destruction of life on worlds that fail the Celestials' tests.
• Gamiel the Manipulator: A young Celestial tasked with watching over Earth alongside Devron the Experimenter.
• Gammenon the Gatherer: A Celestial tasked with collecting samples of all life forms present on a planet during a Celestial Host.
• Hargen the Measurer: A Celestial tasked with measuring or quantifying the planets the Celestials survey.
• Jemiah the Analyzer: A Celestial tasked with analyzing life-form samples.
• Nezarr the Calculator: A Celestial who is a mathematician and possesses the ability to project illusions.
• The One Above All: The leader of the Celestials.
• Oneg the Prober: A Celestial tasked with experimentation and implementation.
• The Red Celestial: The Celestial tasked with helping to birth the Blue Celestial.
• The Red/Blue Judge: The Celestial tasked with judging if the civilization of a planet will live or die.
• Scathan the Approver: A Celestial from the alternate timeline/reality Earth-691, tasked with approving or disapproving situations.
• Tefral the Surveyor: A Celestial tasked with surveying and mapping the geography of planets.
• Ziran the Tester: A Celestial tasked with testing the stability of the genetic material of life forms they alter.

Powers and abilities

Referred to as "space gods" by the Eternals and the Deviants, the Celestials appear as silent, armored humanoids with an average height of Vorlage:Convert. They are capable of feats such as reducing the Asgardian construct known as the Destroyer to slag moving planets at will; and creating and containing entire universes. Reed Richards theorized that the Celestials' source of power is Hyperspace itself – the source of all energy in the Marvel Universe. The characters are almost totally invulnerable, and have only been harmed in rare instances before instantly regenerating.

Other versions

The characters also appear in the alternate universe limited series Earth X, appearing as beings of energy encased in armor composed of vibranium, a metal with properties that prevent their dissipation. They reproduce by planting a fragment of their essence in a planet, which matures into a new Celestial over the course of eons. The cosmic entity Galactus opposes them, devouring planets that incubate Celestial "eggs" to prevent the Celestials from overpopulating the universe. The Celestials also appeared in What If vol. 2, #1 (July 1989); What If? Newer Fantastic Four #1 (Feb. 2009) and What If: Secret Wars #1 (Jan. 2009).