Who Is Eternity In Thor: Love And Thunder? A Key Marvel Character Explained

Note: Major spoilers for "Thor: Love and Thunder" below.

Filmmaker Taika Waititi's highly-anticipated sequel "Thor: Love and Thunder," which is Chris Hemsworth's ninth film as the all-powerful Norse God, is here. While Hemsworth left fans in the dark about whether this would be his final appearance as the God of Thunder, judging from the end credits, Thor's adventures will continue to reign in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. "Love and Thunder" packs a lot into its humble two-hour runtime, with one of the most critical concepts in the film being that of Eternity, a cosmic entity of sorts that Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) desperately seeks.

Eternity is an essential character in Marvel Comics. It is both an entity and a destination, sought by Gorr as part of his plan to put an end to all the Gods. Eternity has a deep-rooted history in the Marvel Universe, but its live-action version is relatively different from its comic book counterpart. Here's all you need to know about it!

When we meet Gorr in "Thor: Love and Thunder," he is a man devastated by the death of his daughter who renounces his faith in the Gods — beginning with his God, Rapu, the Bringer of Light. The supervillain eventually comes to wield the Necrosword, a blade formed out of the living abyss that functions as a god butchering-type weapon, and which corrupts the person who wields it. Gorr travels across the universe on a murderous rampage, kidnapping children and squashing all-powerful Gods like mice. He targets Thor ... but we all know how that one ends.

Gorr has one goal in the movie: to reach Eternity, a place and an entity that grants a wish to the first person who discovers it. The villain aims to destroy all the Gods with one swift stroke — but reaching Eternity is not easy since you need to summon a key to reveal its gates. Gorr soon learns Thor's Stormbreaker is the only way to reach Eternity as it can summon the Bifrost, which is the key. 

Eternity is originally known to be a cosmic entity and one of the primordial beings that predate the formation of the universe. It was involved with the creation of the Infinity Stones during the Big Bang and is a timeless representation of the universe.

The entity has a long-spanning history in Marvel Comics. It was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and made its first appearance in 1965's "Strange Tales" #138. As the physical incarnation of time, Eternity came into existence when the universe was formed. It assumed the collective consciousness of all living things in the universe, and controls everything but the Living Tribunal (a humanoid entity that safeguards the multiverse). While Eternity is a manifestation of the universe in the comics, it is treated like a one-time wishing well of sorts in the film, and the story doesn't dive deep into its lore or its comic book status.

The anthropomorphic being is frequently defined as the totality of all life and all things in the universe, and has often appeared in storylines covering Doctor Strange's adventures, among many other superheroes that include the Fantastic Four's Mister Fantastic, the genocidal warlord Thanos and Adam Warlock (who will soon make his MCU debut). Eternity is a critical comic book character, so hopefully there's much more to learn about it in the MCU's near future!