The Eternals battle to save the Earth and discover a terrible secret in Eternals #6, by writer Kieron Gillen, artist Esad Ribic, colorist Matthew Wilson, and letterer Clayton Cowles. This issue combines great action with a huge revelation and a most unexpected cliffhanger that will change the Eternals forever.

In flashback, it’s revealed that Phastos brought Thanos back, controlling him with the promise of a new body. The Eternals battle Thanos and get the better of him as Phastos tries in vain to repair the damage he did to the Earth. Finally, he calls them to help, but the teleportation matrix messes up. Ikaris is able to get there, though, and fix everything, sacrificing his life. Druig messes with Phastos’ memories of Thanos. Phastos reveals to the other Eternals what drove him to try and destroy them all. Zuras is resurrected, and the Eternals make a choice.

Gillen could have done the same thing that Kirby and other Eternals writers before him did, but he rejected doing things the easy way and fundamentally changed the way the Eternals work. The Great Machine can build them back up, yes, but it can only bring them back to life one way- by taking the life of a human. Every time an Eternal is resurrected, a human dies, and that is a huge deal because they’ve protecting humanity for millennia. For the core group, this changes everything. Sersi always knew, and she tells them the truth- they always find out, and then most Eternals just choose to erase the knowledge and go on. It’s a terrible thing, but when it comes right down to it, to immortal beings, humans die easily; dying to bring back what amounts to a god is almost an honor.

This little twist on the Eternals formula is big time, and it makes their heroics, which has often involved their deaths, that much less heroic. It’s a beautiful little twist, and Gillen deploys it perfectly. The ending is lovely as well, as the Eternals do something they and readers would never imagine them doing- asking the Deviants for help. It’s a big moment and the perfect place to end this inaugural story arc. It will be interesting to see if the MCU goes in this direction with the movie; they almost certainly won’t, but it would be cool to see it down the road.

The action in this issue looks amazing, and that’s because of Ribic and Wilson. The battle against Thanos is epic and hard-hitting, and the art team knocks it out of the park. It looks great, with the best part being Sersi covering Thanos in plasma mushrooms. Later in the book, the team’s character acting really pays off, selling the issue’s twist expertly.

Eternals #6 starts with a hard-hitting fight like only the team of Gillen, Ribic, and Wilson could deliver and then gets heavy. It’s a wonderful twist, and it changes the Eternals forever. It’ll be interesting to see where the team takes the book from here, but it will be uncharted territory, and that’s exciting.

Grade: A