The Eternals #3
The Eternals #3 (September 1976) delivers the first appearance of Sersi, the matter-transmuting Eternal who would go on to become one of Marvel's most prominent cosmic characters — an Avenger, a lead in Neil Gaiman's 2006 revival, and the central figure of the 2021 MCU film portrayed by Gemma Chan. Beyond the debut, the issue plants one of Kirby's most resonant mythological ideas: that the Deviant warlord Kro, terrorizing Manhattan with his horned, red-skinned visage, is the origin of humanity's fear of the Devil himself, folding Bronze Age superhero action into a sweeping theory of world religion. Sersi's introduction also seeded a retroactive continuity thread that connected her to the Circe of Greek myth — eventually confirmed by Marvel handbooks — demonstrating how Kirby's world-building in this short run continued generating new narrative possibilities for decades. As part of the 19-issue Kirby run that laid the conceptual groundwork for the Celestials, the Deviants, and the Eternals' role in Marvel cosmology, issue #3 is one of the run's densest single chapters.
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Jack Kirby returned to Marvel in 1975–76 after his ambitious but truncated Fourth World saga at DC, bringing with him the same appetite for mythology-as-science-fiction that had defined New Gods, Forever People, and Mister Miracle. The Eternals was his direct continuation of those themes, originally titled 'Return of the Gods' — a title that nodded conspicuously toward Erich von Däniken's Chariots of the Gods?, before legal concerns prompted Marvel to rename the series again. On The Eternals, Kirby served as his own editor as well as writer and penciler, with Archie Goodwin credited as consulting editor — an unusual arrangement that gave Kirby near-total creative control. John Verpoorten inked the first several issues, including #3, with Glynis Oliver (Wein) handling colors and John Costanza on letters.
Trivia · 7 facts
- First appearance of Sersi (spelled 'Sersy' in this issue), the matter-transmuting Eternal who later joins the Avengers and becomes the lead character of the 2021 MCU film portrayed by Gemma Chan.
- Story title: 'The Devil in New York!' — Ikaris brings Margo Damian to New York and entrusts her to Sersi's care, while Kro's Deviant armies attack Manhattan; the issue establishes Kro's red-skinned, horned appearance as the real-world origin of the Devil archetype in human mythology.
- Full creative credits: written, penciled, and edited by Jack Kirby; inked by John Verpoorten; colors by Glynis Oliver (Wein); letters by John Costanza; Archie Goodwin listed as consulting editor.
- Also introduces minor Deviant characters Ragar and Sluice in their first appearances.
- Sersi's name was later retconned by Marvel as the Circe of Greek mythology — a connection first hinted in Strange Tales #109 (1963) and confirmed in Marvel's Women of Marvel handbook (2005); though Kirby did not originally intend The Eternals to be part of mainstream Marvel continuity.
- The issue has been reprinted extensively, including in Selecciones Marvel #12 (Ediciones Vértice, 1977), Gli Eterni #2 (Editoriale Corno, 1978), the UK's Hulk Comic #8–9 (1979, extensively edited), the 2006 Eternals Omnibus, and the 2020 Eternals: Cosmic Origins and Eternals by Jack Kirby: The Complete Collection.
- The letters page includes a letter from Ralph Macchio, who would later become a prominent Marvel writer and editor.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Comic Reader #131 (1976), Selecciones Marvel #12 (1977), Strange #92 (1977), Gli Eterni #2 (1978), Hulk Comic #8 (1979), Hulk Comic #9 (1979), Superaventuras Marvel #33 (1985), Eternals by Jack Kirby [The Eternals Omnibus] #[nn] (2006), Les Éternels #1 (2007), Eternals by Jack Kirby #1 (2008), Eternals: Cosmic Origins #[nn] (2020), The Eternals by Jack Kirby Monster-Size #[nn] (2020), Eternals by Jack Kirby: The Complete Collection #[nn] (2020), The Eternals: The Complete Saga Omnibus #[nn] (2020), The Eternals #1
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