Each superpowered Eternals member has a specific ability (or set of abilities) that separate them from one another, but why is Ikaris the only one who can fly? The MCU explores its cosmic side on perhaps the largest scale yet in 2021’s Eternals, adapting Jack Kirby’s high-concept Marvel comics. As the near-immortal servants of the Celestials, the Eternals each have a shared set of basic powers, but every team member also has one or more special abilities, and Ikaris’ are flight and energy blasts from his eyes.
Eternals explains the origin of its titular heroes, who are synthetic humanoids visually identical to humans, but with god-like powers to help them protect worlds from Deviants. In addition to never aging, each Eternal possesses superhuman strength, speed, durability, reflexes, and rapid healing. Each Eternal can also tap into the same cosmic energy that the Celestials used to create them and the legendary Infinity Stones.
While all Eternals share a basic set of powers, each team member’s specialty helped form a well-rounded group of protectors who’d defend Earth from Deviants. Gilgamesh was physically the strongest of all Eternals while Ajak could use her abilities to heal others. Like Kingo, Ikaris can fire blasts of cosmic energy (through his eyes rather than his hands), but he was also the only Eternal who could fly. While Eternals doesn’t explain why each hero has a different set of specialty powers, the comics reveal that it’s a matter of choice, and perhaps there are other explanations in the MCU version.
The Marvel Comics version of the Eternals has each hero choose their power, focusing the cosmic energy used to create them into their chosen specialty. If this is the case in the MCU film, each Eternal’s power set reflects their personality. Phastos is a genius, even by Eternal standards, so his abilities allow him to tap into cosmic energy to design, build, and control technology in ways that his teammates can’t. The melancholic Sprite, who bemoans the belief in nonexistent structures and her permeant childlike appearance, specializes in creating illusions.
As the team member with the strongest belief in the Celestials’ agenda, Ikaris has specialty powers similar to his other teammates as well as a unique one, making him perhaps the most formidable Eternal. While not as strong as Gilgamesh, Ikaris has enhanced strength and a similar form of energy projection to Kingo. Ikaris’ ability to fly is similar to Makkari’s super speed, and while he isn’t as fast as she is, his power is perhaps more versatile. This put Ikaris in the best possible position to enforce the Celestials’ will, despite his lack of legitimate team leadership.
While the Eternals might have chosen their powers in the MCU as they did in the comics, another possibility is that their Celestial creators determined their powers instead. The Celestials might not have been able to give every cosmic power to their creations, so instead, they give them specialty abilities to create a balanced team for defending worlds from Deviants. Whether by choice of the Celestials or himself, Ikaris’ ability to fly is part of why he’s perhaps the most powerful team member in Eternals.
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