mrph | (comics) Anyone reading Gaiman's Eternals?

Speculation and possible spoilers.

So, we're three issues in. Ikaris has had a Very Bad Day. Nobody else is having a very good time either. Who's responsible though?

The Deviants? Nah. The two we've seen are working for someone else - and the phone conversation makes it clear that it's not one of their own people (their employer doesn't share their religion or aversion to nuclear weapons, for a start).

Druig? Initially I was betting on Druig as the bad guy. I like Druig. The Kirby version was a clear-cut villain after all, and the updated version's an even nastier piece of work. But it turns out he was just as amnesiac as the others. He might turn into a major threat later on - and he was certainly plotting unpleasantness from the start of the series - but he's not responsible for this (for what it's worth, Gaiman's Eternals reminds me a little of Zelazny's Amber books. Which would probably make Druig an equivalent to Caine...)

So, who is it? Someone we haven't seen yet? Possible, but by no means certain. Someone was glimpsed at the end of issue #2, for a start (my money's on that being Ajak, though). Someone who looked a lot like Zuras turned up on a street corner. And there are bound to be celestials out there, although they're unlikely to be hiring deviants.

Which is why I think it's Sprite. His speech patterns match the phone call. He's been quite distant from the others and the main plot. We haven't had a glimpse inside his head, unlike the other Eternals. And whoever hired those Deviants is planning long-term, knows Ikaris of old and doesn't want the Eternals to 'wake up'...

...which all fits. Although that would mean that Makkari's now in a lot of trouble...