Eternity (Marvel Comics)

Eternity is a fictional cosmic entity appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by scripter-editor Stan Lee and artist-plotter Steve Ditko, the character is first mentioned in Strange Tales #134 (July 1965) and first appears in Strange Tales #138 (Nov. 1965).

Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Books, the character has appeared in five decades of Marvel continuity and appeared in associated Marvel merchandise including animated television series, films, trading cards, and video games.

Eternity appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thor: Love and Thunder (2022).

Eternity debuted in an epic 17-issue storyline dubbed "The Eternity Saga", which occurred in the ongoing feature "Doctor Strange" in Strange Tales #130–146 (March 1965–July 1966). The character was first mentioned in the 10-page story "Earth Be My Battleground" in Strange Tales #134 (July 1965), and first seen in the 10-page story "If Eternity Should Fail" in Strange Tales #138 (Nov. 1965).

Following the publication's retitling as Doctor Strange, the character returned in issues #180–182 (May–July 1969), and thereafter continued to appear in stories that were cosmic in scope, including in Doctor Strange vol. 2 #10–13 (Oct. 1974–April 1975); The Defenders #92 (Feb. 1981); and a story by writer-artist John Byrne in Fantastic Four #262 (Jan. 1984) that attracted controversy. At the conclusion of that story, Eternity validated the existence of another cosmic character, Galactus. Howard University Professor of Literature Marc Singer stated Byrne used the character Eternity as a means to "justify planetary-scale genocide".

Eternity guest starred in Secret Wars II #6–7 (Dec. 1984–Jan. 1985); Silver Surfer vol. 3 #6 & 10 (Dec. 1987, April 1988) and with Marvel's cosmic hierarchy in the limited series The Infinity Gauntlet #1–6 (July–Dec. 1991), and in its sequel, The Infinity War #1–6 (June–Nov. 1992). The character played a pivotal role in limited series Avengers Infinity #1–4 (Sept.–Dec. 2000). Major revelations about the character appeared in a storyline in Quasar #19–25 (Feb.–Aug. 1991). Other appearances, again in storylines that featured a cosmic theme, included Infinity Abyss #1–6 (Aug.–Oct. 2002); and Defenders vol. 3, #1–5 (Sept. 2005–Jan. 2006).

Eternity has also appeared in the alternate universe titles What If? #32 (April 1982), Marvel: The End #1–6 (May 2003–Aug. 2003), and JLA/Avengers #1–4 (Sept. 2003–May 2004). Eternity's origin, along with the birth of the Marvel Multiverse, was finally revealed in The Ultimates 2 #6 (2017). He returned in 2019's Doctor Strange story arc "Herald Supreme".

Eternity, along with his twin sister Infinity, were born with the Big Bang. They represent the universe, but each universe's Eternity and Infinity are actually cells of multiversal incarnations of them. When separated, Eternity is the embodiment of time, while Infinity is the embodiment of space.