Celestial (comics)

The Celestials are fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Depicted as cosmic beings, they debuted in the Bronze Age of Comic Books and have reappeared on numerous occasions. They also appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe live-action films Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Eternals (2021), and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022). The Celestials debuted in The Eternals #1 (July 1976) and were created by writer and artist Jack Kirby. They reappeared as regular guest stars in three subsequent limited series sequels: The Eternals vol. 2 #1–12 (Oct. 1985–Sept. 1986), Eternals vol. 3 #1–7 (Aug. 2006-Feb. 2007), and Eternals vol. 4 #1–9 (Aug. 2008 – May 2009). The characters have also been featured in other titles, including the "Celestial Saga" storyline in Thor Annual #7 (1978), Thor #283–300 (May 1979–Oct. 1980), Thor #387–389 (Jan.–March 1988), Quasar #24 (July 1991), Fantastic Four #400 (May 1995), X-Factor #43–46 (Aug.–Nov. 1989) and #48–50 (Dec. 1989–Jan. 1990). The first detailed account of the Celestials' origin was finally presented in The Ultimates 2 #6 (2017). The origin of the Celestials was long unknown, with many species across the mainstream Marvel Universe having only unconfirmed legends about their beginnings—until the so-called Eternity War, when major revelations about the Celestials were revealed by the mysterious cosmic entity "Queen of Nevers". At the beginning of creation itself, countless billions of years ago, before the current Cosmic Order, creation was composed of a single and sentient universe, whose omnipotent intelligence was referred to as the First Firmament. For countless ages, the First Firmament was the sole being in creation, until its loneliness became unbearable. It decided to create the first life in Creation to give it companions as well as servants—an act that it would come to regret. These servants, cosmic beings of a lesser order of power, were of two kinds: black and multicolored humanoid servants.