CELESTIALS

 

CELESTIALS

Roster: Dreaming Celestial, Gammenon the Gatherer, Arishem the Judge, Nezarr the Calculator, Ashema the Listener, Jemiah the Analyzer, Eson the Searcher, One Above All, Exitar the Exterminator, Oneg the Prober, Ziran the Tester, Tefral the Surveyor, Hargen the Measurer, and several unnamed others

First Appearance: Eternals (Vol. 1) #2, August 1976

History & Powers: The Celestials are a race of extraterrestrial beings of humanoid form who possess untold cosmic power. Standing two thousand feet tall in full body armor, no being knows their planet of origin or what they look like without the armor. It has been theorized that the Celestials actually exist in hyperspace and that their armor is actually a channel which allows them to interact on various planes of existence. What is known about the Celestials is that they travel through space and manipulate the genetics of species on various worlds. They came to Earth over 1,000,000 years ago and performed genetic experiments on Earth’s highest lifeform: The nascent human beings. In order to test the adaptability of the human gene, the Celestials created two subspecies of the human race: The Eternals, who possess long lifespans and vast physical and cosmic energy-manipulation powers; and the Deviants, who possess an instability in their genetic code. The Celestials’ sole legacy to the mainstream human race was the implantation of a dormant DNA complex that would one day permit the emergence of superhuman abilities (mutants and altered human mutates). After performing their experiments, they left Earth. 

 

The Second Host of the Celestials arrived on Earth over 25,000 years ago to inspect the results of their first visit. They were sighted over the continent of Lemuria, the center of activity for the Deviants who had made human beings their slaves. The Deviants attacked the Celestials, who retaliated by unleashing a vastly powerful nuclear weapon that affected the earth’s plate tectonics. Repercussions of the explosion resulted in the continents of Lemuria and Atlantis sinking below the ocean and the division of Pangea. This event was referred to as the Great Cataclysm.
 
The Third Celestial Host arrived on Earth over 1,000 years ago. Their landing sight was arranged by the Eternals working in conjunction with the Incas of Peru. Upon their arrival, they were confronted by a contingency of Earth’s mythological gods from extra-dimensional realms. The gods were afraid that the Celestials had returned to judge humanity’s worthiness to survive. If the Celestials ruled against humanity, Earth would be destroyed. Among the gods were Odin of the Asgardian gods, Zeus of the Olympian gods, and Vishnu of the Hindu gods. The gods challenged the Celestials’ right to interfere in human affairs. The Celestials had threatened to permanently seal the gods’ dimensional portals to Earth if they interfered in Celestial matters again. Though the gods were forced to forego their involvement in the destiny of humanity, Odin planned an assault on the Celestials on their next visit.  

 

The Fourth Celestial Host came to Earth over 50 years ago to finally judge humanity now that the dormant DNA complex had finally emerged in humanity. Odin had created an invincible suit of armor called the Destroyer to battle the Celestials if humanity was judged against. The suit was operable so long as another being’s life force animated it. Odin joined forces with the Eternals, who joined together to create the Uni-Mind. Odin gathered all Asgardians, including himself, to animate the Destroyer. The Destroyer grew to the size of a Celestial and did battle with them. The Celestials obliterated the Destroyer with a single energy blast, dispersing the life forces that animated it. The Uni-Mind tried in vain as Arishem the Judge broke it apart with a wave of his hand, injuring all Eternals but killing only one. Earth’s mythological goddesses had found 12 human beings who represented the pinnacle of human genetic perfection. They showed them to the Elder Earth goddess Gaea, who presented these 12 humans to the Celestials as proof of humanity’s evolution. The Celestials ruled in favor of Earth and departed with the 12 humans who were called the “Young Gods”. The Asgardians were resurrected thanks to the Olympian god Zeus. 

 

20 years ago, the Celestials came to Earth to study the young mutant named Franklin Richards, the son of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman of the Fantastic Four. Franklin possesses the mutant ability to manipulate and alter reality with his mind and created an entire pocket universe to save his family and the Avengers during a battle with the villain Onslaught. This feat placed him above the Celestials in power levels. The Celestials sent Ashema the Listener to Earth to show Franklin what he had created and force him to destroy either Earth or the universe he created. Franklin destroyed neither and returned the Fantastic Four and the Avengers to Earth. Ashema sacrificed her mind for the preservation of Franklin’s universe, which will exist within her mind forever. This allows the Celestials to get a first hand look into the structure and workings of humanity. Ashema remained in a catatonic state until revived.

No one knows the full extent of the Celestials’ power. They once withstood a full frontal attack from the collective might of the Asgardians and the Eternals. They are not indestructible, however. They once killed one of their brethren for breach of conduct. They have also been shown to resurrect the dead. The Celestials have erased themselves from the memories of most human beings in each of their visits. Only the Eternals, Deviants, the extra-dimensional gods, and a handful of humans remember the Celestials and the nature of each Celestial visitation.