Anthony Bergamini
“Time. Space. Reality. There are countless stories throughout this Multiverse of Marvels. And countless choices as well. A choice made on one world in one Universe can have multiple outcomes and one outcome may have many ramifications. And I have observed them all for I am The Watcher. Case in point: The Infinity War. The facts are these…
Thanos has just defeated the Guardians of the Galaxy, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and Spider-Man, and is heading to earth to claim the final Infinity Stone. The Vision is being held deep inside of Wakanda as Captain America, Thor, Black Panther, and the rest of earth’s heroes fight back against Thanos’s forces. Just as the tide of battle starts leaning in Earth’s favor, Thanos arrives, defeating each of these heroes one by one… but wait…someone else… Someone unexpected is here…”
Just as Thanos makes his final approach with only Scarlet Witch in the way, two beams of light shoot across his chest. As Thanos looks up to see who could possibly be attacking him, a speeding figure sprints by, knocking a few of the stones out of his gauntlet. Attempting to gather his bearings, several of his soldiers, seemingly possessed, begin to surround the mad titan. With nowhere else to go Thanos attempts to use the space stone to escape but is shocked when his gauntlet explodes into thousands of flowers. As the flowers begin to disperse, several figures begin to come into focus:
“My name is Icarus. Many know us as gods, figures of myth and legend, or Earth’s first saviors, but you can call us The Eternals, and Earth is under our protection.”
Icarus signals the rest of the Eternals to stand back as he approaches Thanos, has a few, unheard words, and watches Thanos signal his forces to retreat. Captain America runs into the battlefield to see Thanos teleport his forces away, and confronts Icarus. Icarus explains that Thanos fled in fear at the might of his team and will not return to Earth under any circumstances. As the rest of Earth’s heroes arrive to meet this new team, Phastos offers to use the Eternal’s ship to fly to Titan to retrieve the rest of the heroes. As the ship leaves the planet, a mysterious figure and a slightly smaller figure whisper to each other “this cannot be good, let’s go see what my old brother is up to now.”
With the conflict ended, Iron Man, Captain America, and Doctor Strange come together to share their stories and apologize for past conflicts. Iron Man presents Cap with his shield and proposes officially reforming The Avengers, but also tells Cap that he is shocked that Thanos fled the planet, seeing as though he was so powerfully motivated during their fight on Titan. Doctor Strange reveals that he saw a vastly different result when he had used the time stone back on Titan, proposing that some universal imbalance may have changed fate. Being the optimist, Cap chooses to accept the outcome of the events and invites Black Panther to his side as he holds a press conference that introduces the Eternals to the world, prompting the United States to formally end the protocols introduced within the Sokovia Accords.
Meanwhile, Thanos sits aboard his ship laughing as he flies away from earth. A group of his soldiers arrive to question his decision but are brutally killed as Thanos senses their insubordination. In the corner of the room a flash of light appears and a man in a red and white suit says, “brother, must you always be such a hard headed oaf?” Thanos replies “Starfox, do not confuse our familial bond with mercy, I will end you where you stand. Why are you here?” Starfox explains that he saw Thanos’s forces retreating from Earth, and knew that some sort of machination must be afoot, sharing the same sentiment as Thanos’s now dead soldiers. Thanos grins and motions towards Starfox as Pip the troll teleports the duo away to an unknown location.
Back on earth, The Eternals are growing acclimated with their new found fame, with Sersi and Sprite reveling in how much they love humanity. Cap begins to invite certain Eternals members to the Avengers compound as Tony uses the opportunity to scan each of them as they enter the facility. Makkari catches Tony as he sorts through their scans, sparking a rift between the two teams. Cap confronts Tony and ousts him from the Avengers for his behavior, reigniting their prior conflict. As Cap spends more time with the Eternals he starts to notice inconsistencies of his own, such as how different Icarus acts in comparison to the rest of the team.
Tony approaches Doctor Strange and quietly starts putting together a team consisting of Thor and the remaining Guardians who share his lack of trust in the Eternals and hatred of Thanos but is convinced by a conversation with Black Widow that his opinions may just be paranoia. As Tony leaves the room, Black Widow flashes with light and is revealed to be Sprite in disguise. Tony decides to give up on his investigation but is shocked when Pip the troll and Starfox arrive with news that the world is about to end.
Back at the Avengers compound, Cap decides to have a talk with Icarus to see why he seems to be so distant from his team. Icarus describes his past romance with Sersi but Cap senses more information is being withheld. Icarus acknowledges that the two are alone and uses the opportunity to try and remove Cap from the equation. Cap fights Icarus but is shocked when Icarus uses his heat vision to cut his shield in half as Iron Man, Starfox, and Pip arrive knocking Icarus away. With Icarus subdued, Iron Man picks up the injured Cap and reveals Icarus’s devious scheme:
—
When Icarus separated himself from the rest of the Eternals to confront Thanos, there was more going on than anyone knew. Icarus was the only one of the Eternals who knew of Arishem’s plan to prepare the Earth for the birth of a new celestial. He also had learned of previous iterations of Eternals, and that Thanos was once their ally in a past life. Upon seeing Thanos arrive on Earth, Icarus took the opportunity to formulate a plan of his own to speed up the inevitable. Icarus proposed a plan where he would work with Thanos, instructing him to leave Earth and retreat, but not before using the time stone to speed up the birth of the Celestial. As a trade for the cooperation, Icarus promised to present Thanos with the rest of the Infinity Stones as soon as the Celestial was born and Earth was destroyed. Understanding the tactical advantage that would come from ridding the universe of Earth’s heroes, Thanos formed an agreement with Icarus.
—
Icarus awakens to learn that Tony had broadcast this revelation to the entire Avengers compound seeing a flurry of Avengers and his fellow Eternals standing above him. Sprite attempts to flee as it is revealed that she was in love with Icarus the whole time and offered to help in his plan but is stopped by Sersi. As the remaining Eternals and Avengers begin to question Icarus and Sprite, looking for a way to prevent the Celestial’s birth, the Earth begins to violently shake. Before the teams even know what to do, the Earth begins to split apart, revealing the giant Celestial within. As Icarus looks into the sky with a smile, Cap attempts to yell:
“Avengers Assem….”
Captain Marvel flies through space only to arrive at the disastrous remains of Earth, face to face with a Celestial. Meanwhile a furious Thanos screams in rage as an injured Starfox reveals that the Infinity Stones are now only accessible if he attempts to face off against the Celestials…
“That did not go as anticipated. Some worlds end before the heroes even know their fate is sealed. These Eternals must have a vastly different destiny in a distant universe… somewhere out… in the Multiverse.”
