List of Celestials

This is a list of Celestials members, a group of fictional characters that appear in the Marvel Comics Universe. They are enigmatic cosmic entities of extreme power.

Arishem the Judge

Main article: Arishem the Judge

First appeared in The Eternals #2 (August 1976).

One of two Celestials who have the right and ability to judge which planet's civilization will live and which will die. Arishem has led all four Celestial Hosts on Earth, as well as a Fourth Host on the planet Pangoria (judged unworthy of life^[1]), and a Fifth Host on an unnamed planet in a distant galaxy. He was also the leader of the delegation of Celestials who waged war on the Watchers in an unknown galaxy.

Ashema the Listener

Main article: Ashema the Listener

First appeared in Heroes Reborn: The Return #1 (December 1997).

A female Celestial who took human form while on a mission with Nezarr the Calculator. The two were to retrieve Franklin Richards for evaluation as a new member of the Celestial Host and destroy the Earth afterward, as it had now served its purpose by producing a being on par with themselves. However, Franklin taught Ashema the ability to feel human empathy, which caused her to change her mind about him and humanity. She eventually defied her brethren and saved Franklin's Counter-Earth by storing it inside of her dreams.

However, the Dreaming Celestial, a renegade, extended its influence to the Counter-Earth and began corrupting it and Ashema. Ashema retaliated, but fell under the control of the Dreaming Celestial. She was saved by the Fantastic Four and Doctor Doom, and helped recapture the Dreaming Celestial. It is presumed that she left Earth to rejoin the other Celestials, as she has not been seen since.

Eson the Searcher

Main article: Eson the Searcher

First appeared in The Eternals #7 (January 1977).

Eson arrived on Earth with the Fourth Host. They were attacked by the Deviants of Lemuria. Eson then destroyed the legendary isle while probing it with his hand (he has a "universal eye" in the palm of his left hand through which he can see), and caused the Lemurians to flee or drown. With the nine other members of the Fourth Host in Peru, Eson assisted the repulsion of the attack by the Destroyer, the Uni-Mind, and Thor. The Celestials then judged Earth worthy, and left. It was also revealed that Eson was among the First Host that visited Earth.

Exitar the Exterminator

Main article: Exitar the Exterminator

First appeared in Thor #387 (January 1988).

Exitar is 20,000 feet tall with yellow and black armor. He destroys the life on worlds that fail the Celestials' tests. A full-strength blow from Thor's Mjolnir, which shook the entire planet, only managed to punch a small hole in his armor. During a conflict with the Watchers, Exitar's physical form was "murdered" by Susan Storm after she disrupted his "brain case." It was stated, however, that the Celestials will manifest a new Exitar in time.

Gammenon the Gatherer

Main article: Gammenon the Gatherer

First appeared in The Eternals #4 (October 1976).

A Celestial that is sent out to find various plant, animal, and humanoid specimens for experimentation. He reports to Jemiah and often travels with Eson. An alternate reality version of him fought alongside Jemiah to battle Ego the Living Planet. As Ego was about to kill the two, they were saved at the last moment by Blink of the Exiles. Gammenon took pity on her and as a reward for saving them, he and Jemiah personally escorted Blink back to Earth safely while at the same time giving her a warning about the Timebreakers.

Hargen the Measurer

Main article: Hargen the Measurer

First appeared in The Eternals #9 (March 1977).

A Celestial that measures; the true nature of the job has never been defined.

Jemiah the Analyzer

Main article: Jemiah the Analyzer

First appeared in The Eternals #7 (January 1977).

Jemiah gathers all of the specimens given to him by Gammenon and places them into a massive analyzing machine. An alternate reality version of him fought alongside Gammenon to battle Ego the Living Planet.

Nezarr the Calculator

Main article: Nezarr the Calculator

First appeared in The Eternals #7 (January 1977).

Nezarr is 2,000 feet tall and depicted in dark blue armor. He participated in the Celestials' four visits to Earth. As a member of the Fourth Host, Nezarr appeared in the Soviet Union and was targeted by an atomic missile directed by General Greshkov. However, Nezarr created an illusion in the minds of the firing crew that the missile had turned back on them, and the resulting mental trauma put all of them into comas.^[2]

In opposing the Asgardians, Nezarr lost his arm in battle with the artificial being, the Destroyer. The Destroyer cut Nezarr's arm off with the Odinsword, but he re-grew it almost instantly. Nezarr was also among the delegation of Celestials who waged war against the Watchers.

The One Above All

First appeared in The Eternals #7 (January 1977).

Leader of the Celestials; not much is known about him. Both X-Factor and Thor have encountered him in separate instances. He rescued Gilgamesh, the Forgotten One, after the Deviants launched a nuclear bomb^[3] and dispatched him to Olympia to tell both the Eternals and the gods not to interfere in the Celestials' judgment. The subsequent battle involved Thor and Uni-Mind.^[4]

Oneg the Prober

Main article: Oneg the Prober

First appeared in The Eternals #9 (March 1977).

Oneg serves as an experimenter and implementer. He was revealed to be the Celestial who engineered the latent gene in proto-humanity that would eventually enable benevolent superhuman mutation.

Tefral the Surveyor

Main article: Tefral the Surveyor

First appeared in The Eternals #7 (January 1977).

A Celestial that specializes in surveying the landscape. He is one of the few Celestials that actually explore the planet during the First Host.

Tiamut the Communicator / The Dreaming Celestial

Main article: Dreaming Celestial

First appeared in The Eternals #18 (December 1977).

A renegade Celestial. During the Second Host, the Dreaming Celestial committed a crime "against life itself" (originally thought to be the murder of another Celestial). He claims he resisted the decision of his Celestial brethren to not turn over Earth to the Locusts, who were rightfully entitled to the planet, and was exiled by his brethren. His spirit was ripped from his body and placed in a device known as the Vial, which was sealed under the Diablo Mountains in California.^[5] He slept there until the Deviant Priestlord Ghaur discovered the Vial and drank the essence of the Dreaming Celestial, giving him the height and power of a Celestial. The Dreaming Celestial took advantage of this opportunity and began mentally controlling Ghaur in order to be freed. An intervention by the Avengers and the Eternals led to the Dreaming Celestial's downfall and the Vial was sealed once more.

The Dreaming Celestial, while still trapped in his Diablo Mountain prison, sensed the rebirth of Ghaur and caused an earthquake while tossing and turning uncontrollably in his "bed."

After the events of Heroes Reborn, the Dreaming Celestial found a loophole to get out of his prison and into the Heroes Reborn universe. There, he learned the Celestial Ashema guarded this pocket universe and that the only way out was through her. However, he found himself opposed by Doctor Doom, Lancer, Technarx, and several other heroes. Eventually, the Dreaming Celestial captured Ashema and escaped, but was later thwarted by Doom and the Fantastic Four.

He awoke again in an alternate future (as seen in Fantastic Four #339-340) and manipulated the hunger of a defenseless Galactus, who was near death, into a weapon that would consume the entire universe, enabling him to become the Nucleus and Founder of a new, darker reality. However, the Fantastic Four, Thor, Iron Man, and the Shi'ar race were able to avert this by causing Galactus to consume the renegade.

It was recently revealed in Eternals (vol. 2) #3 that the Deviants planned to reawaken the Dreaming Celestial. It was then revealed that Sprite used a Uni-Mind link at the resting place of the Dreaming Celestial in order to rewrite reality and make himself human, and to make the Eternals lose their memories. The Dreaming Celestial awoke to its full glory and was to pass judgment on Earth. It was going to simply destroy the Earth, but said that it was amused by humans and decided to wait for an undefined time. It also seemed to have taken a "liking" to Iron Man.

The Celestials and their "opposites," a group of entities known as the Horde, were established as instruments of an entity referred to as the Fulcrum, their purpose to be "instruments of the planting/creation/teeming of the universe."^[6] The Fulcrum offered the Dreaming Celestial a promotion to companionship at its side for overcoming the limits of its original programming to develop conscience and self-determination.^[7]

Ziran the Tester

Main article: Ziran the Tester

First appeared in The Eternals (December 1977) #18.

A Celestial that tests the stability of genes in the lifeforms they have evolved. He sends them through a series of tests until they are ready to go back to the planet to start their new lives.

Devron the Experimenter

First appeared in Marvel Monsters: Devil Dinosaur one-shot (December 2005).

A young Celestial who was assigned to watch over Earth alongside Gamiel the Manipulator. The two were very competitive and nearly caused the destruction of Earth. Eventually, he and Gamiel were reassigned to coordinate the first meeting between the Kree and the Skrull, who went to war almost instantly after meeting each other. Unlike most Celestials, Devron is only as tall as the Incredible Hulk.

Note: This is a humor story depicting Celestial youth, an inconsistency with Celestial full-grown birth as seen in The Mighty Thor #424, and appears to be non-canonical.

Ea the Wise

The android Machine Man has an encounter with this Celestial in Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. #5 (July 2006).

Gamiel the Manipulator

A young Celestial who, like Devron, was assigned to watch over Earth. He was disgusted that Devron's Little Folk had beaten back his creations, the Killer Folk, so he brought the Hulk from the future and sent him down upon the Little Folk and their champion, Devil Dinosaur. Eventually, he and Devron got in trouble and were reassigned to Hala, where they accidentally set the Kree and the Skrull races into a four-million-year war. Like Devron, Gamiel is also not as tall as the other Celestials.

Monolith Gatherer

A Celestial nearly identical to Arishem, except that his armor is red and purple. He made a cameo at the end of the X-51 series and was seen by Uatu, the Watcher, as he took off into the Celestial mothership with a monolith in hand. Inside that monolith was X-51. This Celestial was never seen again after the final issue of the series.

Scathan the Approver

A Celestial from the alternate future of the Guardians of the Galaxy. He was summoned by the Living Tribunal during a battle against the godlike child known as Protégé. In the end, Scathan captured Protégé and the Living Tribunal killed him. Unlike Arishem who judges, Scathan approves and disapproves of certain situations.

The Blue Celestial

The first ever documented Celestial that was seen born. It was made from the genetic material of the Black Galaxy, a place where Ego the Living Planet snuffed out all of the stars and the genetic material of Eric Masterson and Hercules. After leaving with the giant Celestial Host at the Black Galaxy, it was encountered again by the High Evolutionary, the goddess Sif, and the god Balder. Its duty was to keep Ego the Living Planet at bay while it and his brothers awaited the arrival of the awe-inspiring Super Ego. Once the creature appeared and crushed Ego, the Blue Celestial and its older brethren attacked the Super Ego with full force. However, the High Evolutionary had suspicions that they were trying to help the Super Ego in some way; not destroy it. The Blue Celestial was never seen again after this event.

The Red Celestial

This Celestial was the one who helped bring the baby Blue Celestial into this universe. Its name is unknown, but it appears its job would be midwifery. After the events of the "Black Galaxy saga," this Celestial was never seen again.

The Red/Blue Judge

The second known Celestial with the right to judge worlds. When Kosmos and Kubik traveled the universe, they encountered this strange Celestial standing alone. It allowed them to enter its mind to see some of the Celestials' secrets. It eventually judged them worthy of life and then it was never seen again.

References

1. ^ The Mighty Thor (vol. 1) #387-389
2. ^ The Eternals #9-11
3. ^ The Eternals #13
4. ^ The Mighty Thor (vol. 1) #287-291
5. ^ The Eternals (vol. 2) #12
6. ^ The Eternals (vol. 4) #2
7. ^ The Eternals (vol. 4) #9