Eternals Explained: How Harry Styles’ MCU Role Connects To The Avengers

WARNING – This article contains spoilers from Eternals. The Eternals are finally here. They have landed, and despite all the complaints and questions about how

By Ishita Chatterjee
November 8,2021
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WARNING – This article contains spoilers from Eternals.

The Eternals are finally here. They have landed, and despite all the complaints and questions about how they would connect to the greater MCU and whatnot, they have flourished remarkably. They are connected to the already established MCU, but their inclusion has improved it.

The MCU will never be the same anymore. Now, your mileage may vary regarding the quality of the movie. But that doesn’t change the fact that this is an essential film for the greater cinematic universe. For example, there’s a newborn Celestial who’s just sitting in the Indian Ocean.

Later on, that’s a significant plot point that will play a significant catalyst for the MCU’s future conflicts and storylines. Apart from this, there’s another thing that will make massive waves among the audiences. That’s Harry Styles being in the MCU. So let us decode what he brings to the sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Harry Styles In The Eternals

Harry Styles as Starfox/ Eros
Harry Styles as Starfox/ Eros

After Eternals is over and Arishem’s kidnapping plot is done with, we get to see the first after-credits scene. There the audience gets to see Thena, Makkari, and Drug on their ship.

They are chilling on their ship when Patton Oswalt’s Pip the Troll springs forth from an elaborate visual effect. He starts talking about an unknown figure. He gives this mystery figure titles like “Defeater of Black Roger,” “Knave of Hearts,” “The Great Adventurer,” etc.

But the most important one of them all is “Brother of Thanos.” This one title makes it clear that he is referring to Starfox, who is Thanos’ brother. After this announcement, the Eternal shows himself to everyone.

And this is where it gets good if you are a One Direction fan because Harry Styles play the character. He shows up in lavish red and white attire and says he knows where their missing friends are. But the actual question is- who is Eros?

Who Is Eros?

Eros in Marvel comics
Eros in Marvel comics

Eros first showed up in Marvel comics in Vol 1, Issue #55 of Iron Man for a brief flashback. Know that this comic also had Drax the Destroyer in it. Eros is A’Lars and Sui-San’s son. They are two Eternals. One of them came from Earth, whereas the other was from the planet Titan. These two Eternals combined their genetic material to give birth to a new Eternal-derived species known as Titans.

Sui-San used Quantum Bands, a cosmic weapon/tool for giving birth to Eros and his brother Thanos. Now, Eros was born as a normal functioning and looking Eternal. But his brother Thanos didn’t look normal at all. This is because he had Deviant Syndrome. This mutated him and drove his mother mad. She even almost killed the Mad Titan himself. But the two brothers differed not just in looks but also in a lot more.

The Two Brothers And Their Differences

Thanos and Starfox/Eros
Thanos and Starfox/Eros

Eros truly lucked out since he didn’t get the Deviant Syndrome. However, this meant that Thanos was put on the wrong path since his birth. As he grew up, he would go on to worship what was the cosmic embodiment of Death. Now, in the MCU version of Thanos, we don’t get to see this side of him. However, in the comics, Thanos would go on to conduct various morbid experiments.

He would even vivisect his mother and murder multiple Eternals when he was escaping from his home planet of Titan. Eros became the opposite. He was pretty much the antithesis of his infamous brother. Starfox loved life. So unlike his brother, whose philosophies were founded on Death, Eros’ fascination was with life.

So he would often visit other star systems for romance and adventure. Living his life to the fullest was everything for him. As such, in the future, fans should expect this core characteristic to remain. Also, when Pip was introducing him, one of the multiple titles he used to refer to him was “The Great Adventurer.” So it’s pretty given that this important trait will remain.

Eros’ Unique And Pleasurable Powers

Effects of Starfox's pleasure powers
Effects of Starfox’s pleasure powers

As for Eros’ power set, he has a lot of the same ones as most of The Eternals. He has Cosmic Energy, which is the source of all his powers. This gives him the usual strength, durability, speed, and stamina. However, it should be noted that his speed isn’t near Makkari levels. Alongside these powers, he also has enhanced senses and reflexes.

He can also fly like Ikaris. But Eros has an extraordinary power that he is known for. He can stimulate the pleasure centers of people’s brains. As a result, he can make people fall in love with him. Also, he can make others feel happy or simply comfortable. Eros can affect how people think about others.

Honestly, now that you know all this, it makes sense why they cast Harry Styles in the role. For one, it’s low-hanging fruit. After all, Styles is, in fact, the living embodiment of a wet dream for his fans. And yes, we know that Eternals director Chloe Zhao has said that Styles was on her radar ever since Nolan cast him in Dunkirk. But it’s clear that he physically fits the criteria of the role as well.

Moving on to Eros, he wants to love and relationships with all the adventure he seeks. The title of “Defeater of Black Roger” that Pip mentions references a fight that Starfox got into when defending Heater Delight, a romantic partner of his. Now, these powers do raise some ethical questions. So it’s not a surprise that Eros got into legal trouble with the Avengers.

Starfox, An Avenger

Star Fox As An Avenger
Star Fox As An Avenger

We will tell you how Eros got into a scuffle with the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. But before that, let us tell you how and why he became involved with the heroes. As you might imagine, Thanos brought the two parties together. The Mad Titan tried to destroy everything, which led to Eros teaming up with the likes of the Original Captain Mar-Vell and the Avengers.

This led to the first significant defeat of Thanos. Over time, Eros came to Earth, and there he met up with the Avengers since he knew them. The team welcomed him into their training program, and here he got his Starfox moniker.

Now, the Eros and Avengers team-up wasn’t a short one. He was with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for a long time and helped defeat villains like Maelstrom, Wizard, The Controller, Terminus, and Morgan Le Fay. As we said before, his powers raised ethical questions, which were also explored in the comics. Know that once, the Avengers accused Eros of using his powers to seduce a happily married woman.

She Hulk
She-Hulk

These accusations then grew into allegations of him doing it far more often than they thought initially. She-Hulk defended him, but then things got messy. In the end, even She-Hulk turned on him and gave him a swift kick to the groin when she suspected that Eros might have used his powers on her. So Eros was put on trial for his alleged abuse of powers on Titan.

Since this happened in the comics, Thanos got involved with the whole affair in the most convoluted manner possible. There were plot devices like implanted memories and clones even. At the end of it all, it was revealed that the Avengers were right. In a way, that is.

Eros didn’t always have complete control of his powers, and he wasn’t aware of when his powers were being used. As a result of these findings, Eros opted to shut off completely to prevent himself from hurting anyone else. He did this with the help of a character called Moondragon, who is also Drax’s daughter.

How Will The Story Progress Of Eros And The Eternals?

The Eternals
The Eternals

So now that you know about Eros’ comic history, it’s time to talk about the movie. What does his extensive introduction in The Eternals mean? And how will his story intersect with those of Makkari, Thena, and Druig?

Eros says that he knows where their friends are and that they are in a tonne of trouble. This means that his knowledge of the Celestials and their practices is way more than the new team. Apart from this, it’s tough even to try to discern where the story might potentially head from here.

After all, Eros hasn’t even interacted meaningfully with any of his fellow Eternals in the Marvel comics. At least not the ones that are there in the movie. So it will be interesting to see how Marvel comics as well the MCU goes forward from here. Also, we must that in the comics; Eros isn’t followed by Pip the Troll. So their entire partnership is very new as well.

Tesseract in the MCU
Tesseract in the MCU

What stood out to us was the fact that both of them are capable of teleportation. In the comics, it’s noted explicitly that Eros can’t teleport. MCU fans also know till now that teleportation cannot be done through means outside of the Tesseract/Space Stone. In the pages of Marvel comics, Starfox uses an advanced bracelet that fully unlocks the potential of his teleportation capability.

As such, this allows him to get around his inability to teleport naturally. This bracelet will enable him to travel through the universe as well as time. So maybe the MCU will introduce this device and clarify how it allows him to teleport. But perhaps it will also help enhance the powers of the other Eternals in the future stories that will follow.

However, this is pure speculation right now since there’s no comic book precedent to draw from even. Hell, it’s possible that it was Pip actually who teleported him. Overall, it’s difficult to gauge just where Eros’ story will lead with the other MCU Eternals later on. However, it’s much easier to try to predict just where only Eros’ story will go from here.

Eros Will Want To Keep Thanos Dead

Thanos
Thanos

After Avengers: Endgame, Thanos has now been beheaded and dusted forever. His Death is something that Eros might agree with. He might even try to keep that status quo actively. There’s a recent comic storyline that revolves around Starfox doing pretty much just that.

He tries to prevent Thanos from resurrecting himself. After getting killed by Gamora, Eros finds a will from his brother, stating that he has started the process for his resurrection. The will states that he will be taking over an unrevealed person to do so. In response to this, Eros brings together a group called the Dark Guardians. The group has Gladiator, Wraith, Rider, and Nebula. They try to track down the person who is the target.

Later on, it’s revealed that the person is Gamora. So naturally, this conflicts with Nova, the Black Order, and The Guardians of the Galaxy. Will this storyline be done in the movie? We don’t know. But many fans will surely love to see more of Thanos. So beginning a storyline that revolves around the Mad Titan and his attempted resurrection could be a great direction for the MCU.

However, if they follow this path, they shouldn’t repeat what has once been done already. As in, Thanos shouldn’t be the main MCU villain again. Instead, he should have a different role. In this case, he should be more involved in dealing with Eros. After all, we are sure that Thanos will have a lot of feelings regarding his brother.

Thanos and Starfox/ Eros
Thanos and Starfox/ Eros

As for Eros, he is entirely on the opposite side of his mad brother more often than not. However, maybe the MCU will switch it up a little so that viewers are left surprised? After all, they have changed character arcs before as well. So maybe in something like Marvel’s What If…? animated series, we could be seeing an Eros who is more on his brother’s side. After all, his title of “Brother of Thanos” could mean a lot of things.

Is it supposed to be a point of pride? Or just something to make him more intimidating? Another thing we might not have considered is that Starfox himself might be looking for ways to resurrect Thanos after his brother was defeated first by Thor and then Iron Man.

This would allow the audience to see how these two titans behaved in each other’s presence. In this scenario, it’s possible that Eros might not have had evil intentions. But instead, they might share a familial bond that compels Eros to save Thanos. This family bond is something that was explored even in Eternals.

So even if Eros disagrees with Thanos and his ways, he still might not want to see his brother dead. In the pages of Marvel comics, despite their fighting, the two did declare a truce for one day every year. On this day, they exchanged gifts and reminisced. So if their relationship gets explored into the MCU, it would add more depth to the relationship between the two brothers, who couldn’t be more different.

Eros And His Time With The Avengers

Starfox with the Avengers
Starfox with the Avengers

We don’t know how the Eternals will ultimately cross paths with the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. And will any of them ever become part of the team? After all, the group seemed to at least know about them. Now, Eros wasn’t on the planet for 7,000 years, so he can easily be an Avenger. Also, he has been a part of the group in the comics. So it will be effortless to incorporate him.

However, we shouldn’t forget that he isn’t the only Eternal part of the Avengers. There are Dane Whiteman and Sersi, too, who have ties to the influential group. Now, it would certainly be entertaining to see a central Avengers member to a brother of Thanos. This is the same Thanos who wiped off half of all life in the entire universe. Such an exciting dynamic will only add to the MCU.

Captain Marvel And Photon Connection

Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel

As we mentioned above, Starfox had a friendship with the first Captain Marvel. He was called Mar-Vell. Now, the MCU version is Carol Danvers, but Marvel could recreate the same company between them. But that’s not the only connection he has with Captain Marvel. Monica Rambeau also came into contact with Eros when he rescued her from Nebula. The two of them kept on interacting and built mutual respect.

During this time, Rambeau was known as both Photon and Captain Marvel. So with The Marvels coming in early 2023, there will be a lot of focus on Monica Rambeau and Carol Danvers in the MCU. As such, Eros could be brought in, and the friendship between them could be quickly developed. Due to this, he will be able to gain a foot in the door of The Avengers.

Exploring The Past Of Eros And Thanos

Planet Titan
Planet Titan

It would be very tough to depict Eros of Titan without exploring his time on his home planet of Titan. Not to mention that exploring his time on Titan would allow creators to add depth to his dynamic with his late brother.

By now, you must be thinking if a tonne of Starfox’s storylines is connected to Thanos in some form or the other? The answer to this question is yes. As said before, introducing Starfox will also result in Marvel fans getting more Thanos. Now, whether they do the resurrection storyline or not is unknown. But exploring Eros’ background will allow fans to know more about MCU’s biggest villain now.

Their childhood would be a great time to explore in future MCU movies, and it could also help fans understand why Thanos did what he did better. Can you imagine how cool it would be to see how Thanos even got to the state when fans saw him in Infinity War?

MCU’s Future Has Eros In It

Harry Styles
Harry Styles

It will be interesting to see where Marvel Studios decides to take Eros down the line. His unique power set and womanizing ways will be complicated concepts to tackle. After all, the initial ways these were tackled have aged very poorly.

Now, there’s one thing they can do to avoid the particular power set (that he can provide pleasure) that is the cause of all problems. They can not give him that power in the MCU. However, it doesn’t seem like they will be cutting off that power. This is due to the casting of Harry Styles. Also, it will be wrong not to give Eros the power he is most known for. Doing this will diminish the character.

As such, it’s better to invest in good writing while tackling this issue. However, this doesn’t mean that there won’t be any changes. After all, the MCU has changed character traits, backgrounds, and powers, too (the recent Ms. Marvel power change comes to mind). So they can change Eros’ capabilities too. However, we need to have faith in Marvel Studios. More often than not, their decisions have been right. So it’s better to invest some trust in them.

Now, Eros’ introduction will indeed send waves throughout the MCU. And if the MCU bosses want it, then we might even get to see Josh Brolin re-appearing as Thanos in the future. Or at least we might get to see an alternate version someday on the What If…? animated series. Overall, Harry Styles/Eros’future in the MCU is bright, and it’s only going to get brighter. Eternals is now playing in theaters worldwide.

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