Eternity (comics)

Eternity
Eternity as featured in JLA/Avengers #1 (Sep. 2003). Art by George Pérez.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Strange Tales #138 (Nov. 1965)
Created by	Stan Lee Steve Ditko
In-story information
Abilities	Reality warping Nigh-Omniscience

Eternity is a fictional cosmic entity appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the de facto leader of the abstract entities collectively known as the Cosmic Powers of the Marvel Universe.

Created by scripter-editor Stan Lee and artist-plotter Steve Ditko, the character is first mentioned in Strange Tales #134 (July 1965) and first appears in Strange Tales #138 (Nov. 1965).

Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Books, the character has appeared in four decades of Marvel continuity and appeared in associated Marvel merchandise including animated television series, trading cards, and video games.

Eternity debuted in an epic 17-issue storyline in the ongoing feature "Doctor Strange" in Strange Tales #130–146 (March 1965 – July 1966). The character was first mentioned in the 10-page story "Earth Be My Battleground" in Strange Tales #134 (July 1965), and first seen in the 10-page story "If Eternity Should Fail" in Strange Tales #138 (Nov. 1965).

Following the publication's retitling as Doctor Strange, the character returned in issues #180–182 (May–July 1969), and thereafter continued to appear in stories that were cosmic in scope, including in Doctor Strange vol. 2, #10–13 (Oct. 1974 – April 1975); Defenders #92 (Feb. 1981); and a story by writer-artist John Byrne in Fantastic Four #262 (Jan. 1984) that attracted controversy. At the conclusion of that story, Eternity validated the existence of another cosmic character, Galactus. Howard University Professor of Literature Marc Singer stated Byrne used the character Eternity as a means to "justify planetary-scale genocide".