Okay, so by now everyone knows everything there is to know about Marvel’s Shang-Chi and has probably seen Eternals, or at least had it spoiled for them (shout out to Variety). Which means now it is time to speculate.
So let me warn you, there are Eternals and Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings spoilers ahead, and since I am a Whovian I believe in warning you.
Eternals, Shang-Chi, and World Eaters
There, now that I have done my due diligence. Let’s talk about some geek stuff. So In the end of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings we got a scene where Shang-Chi was having the Ten Rings inspected by Bruce Banner and several other Avengers via holo-chat Facetime (because that’s a thing). Anyway, it is revealed that the Ten Rings are not of alien origin, but are ancient artifacts whose creation predates carbon dating. Making them very old.
It’s said in the film that the bearer of the Ten Rings shall have “Eternal life”. The question that arises here is why use those words and not say “live forever” or “be immortal”. I don’t think it’s an accident. It seemed very intentional. Then Wong says that they are acting as a beacon, signaling to something or someone that could soon be coming to Earth as an imminent threat. Some would say almost as old as…the Eternals.
Could it be that we are dealing with a device created by the Eternals’ master technologist, Phastos? His device could have inadvertently acted as a beacon for the Celestials to make them aware that intelligent life has reached a “boiling point” and that a certain egg is ready to hatch
It could also mean that they were again, created by Eternals’ Phastos and it still inadvertently acts as a beacon for not all the Celestials, but one in particular. That one could be Galactus. Think about it, it would allow a way for us to bring in the Silver Surfer and the Fantastic Four. Galactus gets a page that lets him know his table is ready at the intergalactic Olive Garden. So he heads down to take a seat at the MCU table and finish his meal.
Galactus is a rebel type of Celestial. Celestials procreate by placing their essence/cosmic seed in a planet. Essentially impregnating the planet. Now that cosmic egg feeds off of the intelligent life on that planet until it is ready to hatch or “Emerge”. Upon the emergence the planet is destroyed, while a Celestial is born to start the process over again.
We’ve seen their kind before in the MCU with Peter Quill’s father, Ego the Living Planet. Galactus is similar to Ego due to his hunger. Galactus requires planets with the potential to support (intelligent) life, his very existence causes the extinction of entire extraterrestrial civilizations. In short, he has to consume planets to live.
Galactus acts as a way to thin the population for the Celestials. Thereby regulating the Celestial population. So it just makes sense.
See, Galactus was a space explorer named Galan who gained cosmic abilities by flying into the cataclysmic event that destroyed his universe. He was ultimately created alongside Eternity and Death and acts as a balance between these two forces. Horrible origin; yeah, I know. It was the 60’s, what did you expect? Things changed and we find out that he was from a universe that existed prior to the Big Bang that created our universe. While his universe was coming to an end he merged with “the Sentience of the Universe”, who placed him in a cosmic egg for thousands of years to gestate and become Galactus.
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Then things get wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey and events inexplicably tie him to Franklin Richards. Oh yeah, did I mention the Fantastic Four; I think I did. Speaking of the Fantastic Four, I might as well address how they would fit into all of this.
So the Fantastic Four is a team of scientists that head out to space in the 60’s to investigate what they called a cosmic occurrence and they get too close to it and are imbued with cosmic powers, much like our ole’ buddy Galan (AKA Galactus). The only difference would be that the cosmic occurrence that trapped the quartet was a type of black hole where time folds in on itself. (Although admittedly, no one knows exactly what happens in a black hole.)
Luckily, they are imbued with cosmic powers but not special enough to merge with the “Sentience of the Universe”. They are not ripped apart, but come out on the other side in a “post Blip” MCU (because comics). Then from there the Silver Surfer, Galactus’ herald arrives on earth and warns the Fantastic Four that Galactus’ buzzer went off and he’s crossing the intergalactic parking lot to take his seat at the Olive Garden that is Earth for the meal to end all meals.
“Thank you for coming to my TED talk”. Remember, this is speculation and theory and as I always say: “don’t let your speculations dictate your expectations because they’ll only lead to disappointment”. Still, you gotta admit this is pretty good. What do you think of these cosmic Eternals and Shang-Chi theories? What are your theories on the Eternals, Shang-Chi, and beyond? What did you think of Eternals? Let me know in the comments below (I do read them) or over on Twitter!
KEEP READING: EXPLORING THE BIZARRE, COSMIC WORLD OF CELESTIALS & DEVIANTS IN ETERNALS
