Antecedents
- Arthur C. Clarke's book Childhood's End from 1953 provided large inspiration, including the idea of "Overlords" who control Earth's fate and will reveal themselves further after a 50-year waiting period, the idea of demons being humanity's memory of another species, and the "Overmind" concept which seems to influence the comic's "Uni-mind".
- Erich von Däniken's book Chariots of the Gods, a 1968 non-fiction best-seller, postulated the concept of alien gods as real. Kirby acknowledged in dialogue with fans of the Eternals that he owed some debt to Däniken's book.
- The Hurricane and Mercury, two characters of Timely Comics, the 1940s predecessor of Marvel, were retconned as being guises of the Eternal Makkari.
- Thematically, the Eternals were similar to another Kirby creation, the New Gods — another group of ancient godlike beings in an epic struggle with their opposites, with humanity caught in between.
Read more about this topic: Damocles Foundation
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