Makkari

• Core Identity: Makkari is the preeminent speedster of the Eternals, a brilliant engineer who has dedicated his immortal existence to the pursuit of ultimate velocity and the exploration of its cosmic principles.
• Key Takeaways:
• Role in the Universe: As the fastest member of the eternals, Makkari serves as the ultimate scout, messenger, and high-speed combatant. He embodies the Eternal drive for perfection by focusing the vast majority of his cosmic power into a single, unparalleled discipline: speed.
• Primary Impact: Makkari's most significant contribution in the comics was becoming the chosen communicator for the dreaming_celestial, a dormant god whose awakening threatened Earth. This act nearly destroyed him but positioned him as a unique prophet, bridging the gap between his kind and their creators, the celestials.
• Key Incarnations: The distinction between the comic book and cinematic Makkari is one of the most pronounced in Marvel adaptations. In the comics (earth-616), Makkari is a white, hearing male obsessed with speed to the point of recklessness. In the marvel_cinematic_universe, Makkari is a Black, deaf woman whose speed is matched by her observant patience and her deep connection to human history.

Makkari first appeared in The Eternals #5, published in November 1976. He was created by the legendary writer and artist Jack “The King” Kirby, as part of Kirby's grand, mythological return to Marvel Comics. Kirby envisioned the Eternals as a secret race of god-like superhumans, a new pantheon for the modern age, inspired by Erich von Däniken's “ancient astronauts” theories. Makkari was designed to fill the classic “speedster” archetype, a role analogous to the Roman god Mercury, whose name he would later adopt as an alias. Initially spelled “Makarri,” his name was later standardized to “Makkari.” Over the decades, writers have expanded on his history, most notably through retroactive continuity (retcons). In the 1990s, writer Roy Thomas linked Makkari to the Golden Age Timely Comics (Marvel's predecessor) character Mercury. Later, another retcon established that he had also operated in the post-WWII era as the superhero Hurricane, a member of the First Line. These connections ingeniously wove Kirby's 1970s creation into the deeper fabric of Marvel's entire publishing history, suggesting Makkari had been interacting with humanity for decades under different guises. The most significant evolution of the character came in 2006 with Neil Gaiman and John Romita Jr.'s seminal Eternals miniseries, which redefined his purpose and gave him a central, cataclysmic role in the Eternals' modern narrative.

The origin of Makkari, like all Eternals, is tied directly to the cosmic deities known as the Celestials. However, the specifics of this origin, his purpose, and his personal history diverge dramatically between the primary comic book universe and the cinematic adaptation.

Approximately one million years ago, the First Host of the Celestials arrived on Earth. They conducted genetic experiments on the planet's nascent proto-humanity, resulting in the creation of two divergent offshoots: the genetically stable, powerful, and beautiful Eternals, and the genetically unstable, monstrous deviants. Makkari was a member of this original generation of Eternals. From his creation, Makkari was defined by a profound impatience and a boundless curiosity. While his brethren focused on culture, warfare, or leadership, Makkari was singularly obsessed with motion and speed. He joined the Eternals' Technologist's Guild, alongside visionaries like phastos, and applied his brilliant intellect to designing and building high-velocity vehicles. His greatest desire was to create a vessel capable of traveling faster than any other in existence. This obsession led him to become a teacher to various humans throughout history who showed a similar passion for speed and engineering, though he often grew frustrated with their comparatively short lifespans and limited pace. His singular focus on speed had a direct impact on his Eternal abilities. He deliberately channeled the majority of his cosmic energy into enhancing his personal velocity, achieving speeds far beyond any of his kin. This specialization came at a cost, leaving many of his other inherent Eternal powers—such as creating forceful energy blasts or manipulating matter on a complex level—less developed than those of his peers like ikaris or sersi. Over the centuries, Makkari's restlessness led him to interact with humanity more than most Eternals. During the 1940s, Zuras, the leader of the Eternals, ordered Makkari to operate on Earth under the guise of “Mercury.” This was done to combat the Deviant Warlord Kro, who was active during World War II. After the war, he briefly adopted another identity, “Hurricane,” and joined the short-lived superhero team known as the First Line. Makkari's most defining modern story arc occurred after Sprite, a fellow Eternal, used the power of the Dreaming Celestial to erase the memories of all Eternals, casting them into mortal lives. Makkari was reborn as “Mark Curry,” a brilliant but frustrated medical student in New York City. When Ikaris began reawakening the Eternals, Mark Curry was involved in a near-fatal accident. The trauma, combined with Ikaris's intervention, restored his memories and powers. Soon after, Makkari discovered the true purpose of their “reboot”: the Dreaming Celestial, Tiamut, who had been buried beneath the Earth for eons, was beginning to awaken. To prevent it from rising and destroying the planet, a failsafe required an Eternal to become its communication channel. Makkari, with his unique ability to process information at incredible speeds, was the only one who could serve this function without being instantly vaporized. He became the sole being who could hear the voice of a god, a role that left him in a catatonic, near-death state, physically inert but psychically connected to a cosmic power of unimaginable scale.

In the marvel_cinematic_universe, Makkari's origin is fundamentally altered, aligning with the revised lore presented in the 2021 film Eternals. In this continuity, the Eternals are not a product of Earth's evolution but are synthetic beings, created by the Celestial Arishem in the World Forge. Their purpose is to travel to planets seeded with a Celestial embryo and protect the developing intelligent life from Deviants, allowing the population to grow to a sufficient level to trigger the “Emergence” – the birth of a new Celestial, which inevitably destroys the host planet. Makkari, portrayed as a Black woman who is deaf, was dispatched to Earth in 5,000 BC alongside nine other Eternals, including ajak, Ikaris, Sersi, and druig. Her designation was scout and reconnaissance expert. For millennia, her superhuman speed made her an invaluable asset in locating and fighting Deviants across the globe. Her deafness is presented not as a disability but as an inherent part of her being, one that prevents her from being susceptible to the sonic booms she creates while running. She communicates fluently through American Sign Language (ASL) and is shown to perceive the world through vibrations. Over the centuries on Earth, Makkari developed a deep fascination with human history and culture, accumulating a vast collection of artifacts and literature aboard their starship, the Domo. This hobby reflects a deep-seated love for humanity, a sentiment that would later put her at odds with the true nature of their mission. She also formed a deep, romantic bond with the mind-controlling Eternal, Druig. After the Eternals believed they had eliminated the last of the Deviants in the 1500s, the team disbanded due to internal conflicts, primarily between Ikaris and Druig over how much they should interfere with human development. Makkari chose to remain aboard the Domo, entering a state of hibernation and guarding her collection of human history. She remained there for 500 years until she was reawakened by Sersi and Ikaris to combat the unexpected return of the Deviants and the impending Emergence of the Celestial Tiamut from the Earth's core. Discovering the horrifying truth about their mission, Makkari unhesitatingly sided with the faction of Eternals dedicated to saving humanity, using her incredible speed to help formulate and execute the plan to stop Tiamut's birth, ultimately saving the planet at the cost of being declared an enemy by their creator, Arishem.

Makkari is fundamentally defined by his powers, but the nuances of those abilities and his resulting personality differ significantly between the comics and the MCU.

Makkari's powerset is a classic example of extreme specialization. While he possesses the baseline abilities of all Eternals, he has consciously focused his cosmic energy to achieve a level of speed that is virtually unparalleled in the Marvel Universe.

• Eternal Physiology: Like all Eternals, Makkari possesses a body fortified by cosmic energy. This grants him:
• Immortality: He does not age and is immune to all terrestrial diseases and toxins.
• Superhuman Durability: His body is incredibly resistant to injury, capable of withstanding high-caliber bullets, extreme temperatures, and tremendous impact forces. He has near-total psionic control over the molecules of his body, allowing for rapid regeneration from most injuries short of complete molecular dispersal.
• Superhuman Strength: While he has focused less on this attribute, Makkari is still significantly stronger than any human, capable of lifting several tons.
• Flight: Makkari can psionically levitate himself and fly, though he finds this method of transportation frustratingly slow and vastly prefers to run.
• Channeling Cosmic Energy for Super-Speed: This is Makkari's signature ability and his life's passion.
• Unfathomable Velocity: Makkari is the fastest Eternal by a massive margin. He can easily run faster than the speed of sound (Mach 1) and has been stated to be capable of approaching the speed of light. He once challenged the cosmic entity known as the Runner in a race across the galaxy.
• Physical Applications: He can run across water, up the sides of sheer vertical surfaces, and generate powerful cyclones by running in a circle. His movements are so fast that he can deliver thousands of punches to an opponent in mere seconds.
• Breaking the “Speed Barrier”: Makkari has dedicated much of his life to pushing the absolute limits of velocity. This obsession has allowed him to perceive and even briefly enter dimensions beyond normal spacetime.
• Enhanced Perceptions: His mind and senses are accelerated to match his physical speed, allowing him to perceive the world in slow motion and process information at a superhuman rate. This ability was critical to his role as the Dreaming Celestial's communicator.
• Genius-Level Intellect: Makkari is a brilliant engineer and vehicle designer, having been a prime member of the Eternals' Technologist's Guild. He possesses a deep understanding of advanced Eternal and Celestial technology.
• Personality and Weaknesses:
• Personality: Makkari is often depicted as impatient, impulsive, and easily bored. He is a thrill-seeker at heart, always looking for the next challenge. Despite his occasional recklessness, he is deeply loyal to his fellow Eternals and heroic in his convictions.
• Weaknesses: His extreme specialization in speed has left his other Eternal abilities, such as energy projection and matter transmutation, underdeveloped. He is far less proficient in these areas than Sersi or Ikaris. His greatest weakness was his own ambition; his connection to the Dreaming Celestial left him physically paralyzed and helpless for a significant period.

The MCU version of Makkari retains the core concept of super-speed but integrates it with a profoundly different personality and a unique physical characteristic that enhances her portrayal.

• Superhuman Speed: Makkari is the fastest member of her team, and her speed is her primary tool in and out of combat.
• Cinematic Depiction: When she runs, she visibly breaks the sound barrier, creating powerful sonic booms that can shatter glass and disorient opponents. Her movements are depicted with a golden energy trail, consistent with the cosmic energy signature of all MCU Eternals.
• Combat Style: She employs a “hit-and-run” combat style, using her velocity to build up kinetic energy for devastating blows. She can disarm and incapacitate entire squads of soldiers or Deviants before they can even react, moving as a blur of motion. She is also an expert scout, able to survey vast areas in seconds.
• Cosmic Speed vs. Other Speedsters: While a direct comparison is difficult, her speed appears to be in the same upper echelon as other MCU speedsters like the X-Men's Quicksilver, though her Eternal durability likely makes her far more resilient.
• Standard Eternal Abilities: She possesses the same baseline powers as her teammates, granted by Arishem.
• Superhuman Strength & Durability: She demonstrates incredible resilience, surviving impacts and attacks that would kill any mortal. She is strong enough to physically pummel the formidable Deviant Kro.
• Cosmic Energy Manipulation: While it is not her specialty, she can manifest her cosmic energy, primarily seen in the golden aura that surrounds her while running.
• Deafness and Perception: Makkari's deafness is a key part of her characterization.
• A Unique Advantage: The film implies her deafness is an asset, as she is unaffected by the deafening sonic booms she generates.
• Enhanced Senses: She compensates by being incredibly observant and is able to feel vibrations through surfaces, allowing her to perceive her environment in a way others cannot. She “feels” the impending Emergence of Tiamut through the vibrations of the Earth.
• Communication: She communicates exclusively through Sign Language, with Druig often serving as her primary interpreter for the group. This reliance on visual communication adds a layer of intimacy and trust to their interactions.
• Personality and Interests:
• Personality: In stark contrast to her comic counterpart, MCU Makkari is patient, observant, and deeply empathetic. She is fiercely loyal to her friends and to the human race she has sworn to protect. She possesses a quiet confidence and a wry sense of humor.
• Interests: She is an avid collector and historian, having filled the Domo with books, artifacts, and relics from human history, including items like the Emerald Tablet. This hobby showcases her deep love and respect for humanity's potential.

• Ikaris: In the comics, Makkari and Ikaris share a relationship built on centuries of brotherhood, though it is often marked by a friendly rivalry. Makkari's impulsiveness can clash with Ikaris's stoic sense of duty. In the MCU, their relationship is one of comrades-in-arms, but this fractures completely when Ikaris's unwavering loyalty to Arishem's genocidal mission is revealed, placing them on opposite sides of the final battle for Earth.
• Sersi: Sersi is a close friend and confidante in both continuities. In the comics, they are part of the core group of Earth-based Eternals. In the MCU, Sersi is the one who seeks Makkari out after 500 years, trusting in her loyalty to the cause of protecting humanity. Makkari, in turn, readily follows Sersi's leadership after she becomes the new Prime Eternal.
• Druig: This relationship is almost entirely an MCU creation and one of the film's most celebrated elements. Makkari and Druig share a deep, romantic bond that has lasted for millennia. His cynicism is balanced by her optimism, and his ability to “hear” her thoughts telepathically (though she prefers he doesn't) creates a unique intimacy. Their reunion after centuries of separation is a key emotional beat, and they fight side-by-side to save humanity. In the comics, their relationship is far less defined, being merely teammates.
• The Dreaming Celestial (Earth-616): While not an “ally” in the traditional sense, Makkari's connection to the slumbering Celestial Tiamut is his most profound relationship. He served as its voice and prophet, a bond that nearly cost him his life but gave him a purpose unlike any other Eternal, making him privy to cosmic secrets beyond mortal or even Eternal comprehension.

• The Deviants: As the Eternals' ancient and predestined enemies, the Deviants are Makkari's primary foes. He has fought their monstrous hordes for a million years. In the comics, they are a diverse and intelligent species. In the MCU, they are portrayed as more bestial predators, designed by Arishem to be culled once their purpose of clearing out apex predators is complete.
• Kro: The Deviant Warlord Kro is a recurring and personal antagonist for all Eternals, including Makkari. Kro's own immortality and shapeshifting abilities make him a uniquely dangerous and persistent threat across the centuries.
• The Celestials: The relationship with their creators is the ultimate source of conflict for the Eternals. In the comics, they are inscrutable space gods whose “Judgments” can erase entire civilizations. The conflict for Makkari came when he had to serve one while trying to save Earth from its awakening. In the MCU, the conflict is even more direct: Makkari and her allies must defy the explicit command of their creator, Arishem, to save Earth, an act of rebellion that marks them for future retribution.

• The Eternals: Makkari's primary and lifelong affiliation. He is a core member of the Earth-based Eternals.
• Technologist's Guild (Earth-616): His original functional group within Eternal society, where he honed his skills as an engineer and designer.
• The First Line (Earth-616): Under the alias “Hurricane,” Makkari was a founding member of this post-World War II superhero team, showcasing his early desire to proactively protect humanity.

In his debut arc, Makkari is established as the impatient, speed-obsessed member of the group. Kirby uses him to showcase the sheer power of the Eternals, with Makkari demonstrating his ability to build incredible vehicles and move faster than human eyes can follow. This series laid the entire foundation for his character: his name, his primary power, and his role as the team's resident speedster, even if he was a secondary character compared to Ikaris and Sersi.

This is arguably the most important Makkari story ever written. The miniseries begins with Makkari living as Mark Curry, a human medical student with no memory of his past. He suffers from recurring nightmares and a sense of profound dislocation. After Ikaris forcibly reawakens him, Makkari is the first to discover the truth: the Dreaming Celestial, Tiamut, is dormant beneath their feet in San Francisco. To prevent the Celestial's rise, which would shatter the planet, the Eternals' ancient machinery designates a “receiver” to communicate with it. Makkari's high-speed mind is the only one capable of processing the Celestial's divine thoughts. He bravely accepts this role, is linked to the Celestial, and is rendered immobile and speechless, becoming a living oracle. This act saves the world and fundamentally redefines his character from a simple speedster to a tragic prophet.

During this massive crossover event, the Eternals come into brutal conflict with the mutant nation of Krakoa. After Druig, the new Prime Eternal, declares mutants to be a form of “excess deviation,” he unleashes the Hex—giant, immortal warriors—upon the X-Men. Makkari, now freed from his link to the Dreaming Celestial and restored to the Eternals' collective, sides with the faction of Eternals who oppose Druig's genocidal war. He fights to protect both humans and mutants when the resurrected Progenitor Celestial arrives to pass judgment on every being on Earth. This storyline showcases Makkari's heroic nature, placing him firmly on the side of life and coexistence.

• Golden Age Aliases (Mercury & Hurricane): The most significant “variant” of Makkari is his own past. Through retcons, it was established that the 1940s Timely Comics hero Mercury was, in fact, Makkari operating under an alias. This version was a member of the All-Winners Squad. Similarly, his 1950s identity as Hurricane with the First Line is another facet of his long history, showing his different approaches to heroism throughout the 20th century.
• Marvel 2099: Age of the Eternals (Earth-928): In this alternate future timeline, the Eternals have left Earth, but their legacy remains. While Makkari himself does not appear, the concept of the Eternals and their advanced technology plays a role in the 2099 universe, suggesting his work in the Technologist's Guild may have had a lasting impact.
• Video Game Adaptations: Makkari has appeared in several Marvel video games, with her popularity surging after the Eternals film.
• Marvel Future Fight: Both the classic male, comic book version and the female MCU version of Makkari are playable characters. They are Speed-type characters known for their high damage output and rapid attack animations, accurately reflecting their powerset.
• Marvel Strike Force: The MCU version of Makkari is a powerful character in this squad-based RPG, where she is part of the “Eternals” team and possesses synergy with Ikaris, mirroring their cinematic partnership.

• eternals
• celestials
• deviants
• ikaris
• sersi
• dreaming_celestial
• jack_kirby

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