After a brief departure from Marvel Comics, during which he created the sprawling saga of the New Gods for comic competitor DC, legendary artist and writer Jack Kirby returned to his home company armed with an incredible array of fresh ideas. One of Kirby's first projects after rejoining the Marvel Bullpen was The Eternals, a high-concept, science-fantasy epic containing aspects taken from Marvel's cosmic pantheon and mixed with mythological elements.
The Eternals, who are ancient, incredibly powerful beings who have protected humanity for millennia, boast an impressive membership. Often overlooked amongst their ranks, by both fans and fellow Eternals, is Sprite, the most unpredictable Eternal of all.
10 Forever Young
Like all Eternals, Sprite was granted immortality by the dangerously powerful alien Celestials, and because of this gift, never ages. Each death and subsequent resurrection typically will return members of the Eternals to a "default" state, mostly identical to their previous incarnations. Unfortunately for Sprite, this inability to age and perpetual reincarnation left them eternally trapped in the form of an eleven-year-old child.
Despite their thousands of years of worldly experience, Sprite is frequently treated as a child by other Eternals because of their physical appearance. The frustration of possessing an adult's wisdom while appearing outwardly child-like has embittered Sprite significantly, leading to a mischievous mean-streak with little regard for potential consequences.
9 Maker Of Mischief
Assuming a role as essentially the Eternals' equivalent to the Asgardian Loki, Sprite's "pranks" are often carelessly malicious endeavors, and at their worst have resulted in a handful of human deaths. Despite countless punishments and promises to reform, the perpetually pugnacious Sprite has repeatedly relapsed into their familiar wicked ways.
8 Literary Legacy
The majority of characters depicted in the Eternals comics are heavily intertwined with classic mythological heroes, most serving as either the inspiration for or proprietor of an ancient iconic identity. Sprite, in contrast, has mostly inspired more modern myths.
Besides their occasional petty pranks that inspired many tales of the trickster Celtic Faeries, the Eternal Sprite once manifested in the presence of a young William Shakespeare, inspiring the character Puck in the author's classic comedic play A Midsummer Night's Dream. Centuries later, Sprite appeared carelessly levitating in London's Hyde Park and was confronted by the fledging author J.M. Barrie. When asked to identify, Sprite self-introduced to Barrie as "a lost boy," and subsequently inspired the author's 1911 novel, Peter Pan.
7 Freed The Forgotten One
Despite frequently being depicted as resentful towards the others of the ancient group, this act of rebellion proved redemptive for both Sprite and Gilgamesh, who were each subsequently re-embraced amongst the ranks of Eternal civilization. Gilgamesh would later join the Avengers and die (temporarily) at the hands of Immortus, one of the best variants of the time-traveling villain Kang.
6 Mahd Wy'ry And Gann Josin
Mahd Wy'ry, also known as "The Eternal Madness," is the ancient society's term for the mental breakdown that comes from an essentially mortal mind becoming overwhelmed by hundreds of centuries of compounding experiences and memories, and is similar to age-related dementia in humans. Aside from an execution and forced reincarnation, the only remedy is known as "Gann Josin," a process in which an afflicted Eternal is permanently mind-linked to another, more stable consciousness.
When the Eternal Sersi was suspected to have succumbed to Mahd Wy'ry, the others, led by Ikaris, declared her execution necessary. It was only Sprite who came to Sersi's defense, advocating for her Gann Josin with the Avenger Dane Whitman in order to save her life. At the time of these events, Dane had just ended a brief relationship with Sersi and was interested in the Inhuman Avenger Crystal. Whether Sprite's actions in advocating for this union were meant as a means to save their compatriot, or to further sow chaos amongst mortals, are entirely up to reader interpretation.
5 The Eternals' Memory Wipe
After years of frustration at being unable to physically age, Sprite slowly put into motion a plan to remedy this predicament. Tapping into the cosmic powers of the Dreaming Celestial, Sprite erased all knowledge and memory of the Eternals' existence from the world, including the ancient beings themselves. With the entities reborn into human identities and separated from the Uni-Mind that binds them, Sprite hoped to have the opportunity to finally grow old enough to experience the vices of adulthood. This plan fell apart as the other Eternals inevitably encountered each other in human form, gradually awakening their memories of past adventures and exposing Sprite's secret scheme.
4 Television Star
After reinventing the Eternals in mortal guises, Sprite cast each of the ageless beings into roles befitting of their previous identities. Ikaris was reborn under his familiar alter-ego of Ike Harris. Makkari was recast as a medical intern named Mark Curry. Gilgamesh was reincarnated as a Brazilian circus sideshow strongman called O Guerrio.
During this endeavor, Sprite recreated their own reality as well by transforming into a popular children's television star. Recast under the simple pseudonym "Colin," Sprite headlined the popular children's show It's Just So Sprite while living the high life and basking in the attention that they had long craved.
3 The Exclusion
The Exclusion, located at the crux between six artificial molecules beneath the continent of Antarctica, serves two purposes in Eternal society. Firstly, it's the location in which each newly resurrected Eternal awakens. Arguably more important, it exists as a sub-dimensional prison for Eternals who have drastically disobeyed the wills of their people.
Very few Eternals have been sentenced to the Exclusion, with only eight documented cases amidst their thousand-year-old society. Sprite is one of these select unlucky. After becoming exposed for altering the memories of their fellow Eternals, Sprite was banished to the Exclusion for their crimes.
2 Gender Fluidity
Although historically portrayed as male, Sprite's most recent resurrection is prepared to immediately inspire their upcoming depiction in film, which is as a female character. As explained in 2021's Eternals series, the team's frequent deaths and resurrections can result in a gender swap every 20-25,000 years or so. Marvel Editorial has recently revealed that all Eternals are essentially gender-fluid due to the malleable nature of their reincarnations. However, every Eternal has the ability to completely control their own molecular structure, allowing them to change their physical appearance at will, such as when Sersi transformed herself into Makkari during the events of 2008's Eternals series.
Despite possessing the ability to easily transform back into a male form if desired, Sprite has thus far opted to continue presenting in their new, female form. This most recent resurrection was also uploaded with Sprite's last considered "safe" backup, resulting in the omission of the last several hundred years of memories. Essentially a fresh start for the character, the new Sprite still possesses many of the same unpredictable qualities as the original.
1 Sprite's Appropriate Powers
Every one of the ancient Eternals possesses the ability to manipulate massive amounts of cosmic energy for a variety of effects. Each Eternal, however, generally favors certain abilities over others. Similar to the illusion casting sprites of European mythology, the Eternal Sprite typically uses their cosmic abilities to manipulate the senses of others. Sprite is capable of casting incredibly realistic illusions that act upon not just sight and sound, but the taste, smell, and hearing of any target, making it virtually impossible to determine what is or is not real.
After years of honing these abilities, Sprite has been able to transcend typical illusions, gaining the ability to alter the memories of others as well. When tapping into further cosmic energies, such as those of a Celestial, Sprite's illusions can be even powerful enough to affect the entire planet en masse.
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August 09, 2021 at 12:00AM
