The Celestials are perhaps the single most powerful race in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but there have been precious few examples of them throughout the franchise’s many films. The grand cosmic beings are the single oldest sentient creatures in the Marvel Universe, having been responsible for the creation of the Eternals, Deviants, and many more life forms. As a result, the importance of the Celestials’ role in Marvel’s cosmology, both in the films and the comics, cannot be understated.

Typically appearing as humanoid giants inhabiting colorful suits of armor, the Celestials have a variety of forms and awe-inspiring galaxy-scale powers. In the comics, the spacefaring beings do much more than simply seed life in planets, acting as gatekeepers to interstellar travel that destroy or enhance entire races based on their own judgment. While the Celestials’ role in the MCU might not be quite so present, they have made a mulтιтude of appearances.

11

Ego The Living Planet

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

A being of great cosmic significance, Ego is a remarkably different Celestial with his own set of goals and powers. Rather than appearing as a mᴀssive humanoid clad in jagged armor, Ego is a literal living planet, capable of conjuring and re-shaping matter and energy at a whim. Using these powers, Ego infiltrated the furthest corners of the galaxy, creating host bodies from which to conceive half-Celestial offspring in the hopes of using their doubled powers to conquer the galaxy in his image.

Because of his difference from the other Celestials, Ego’s actual status as such was a topic of debate for some time. However, What If…? confirmed that Ego is a Celestial, despite how vastly unique he is. It seems as though his claims of springing into consciousness from the earliest days of existence are to be believed, as directly stated by The Watcher. Ego actually wasn’t a Celestial in Marvel Comics, something that was added to his character in the MCU.

10

The Unknown Decapitated Celestial

First Appeared In Thor: The Dark World (2013)

While not much is known about the Celestial who would later become the satellite Knowhere, the place itself has a storied history. Originally a haven for criminal organizations like the Tivan Group, looking to mine the rare organic components of the decaying Celestial skull, the literal Celestial body would eventually become the headquarters of the Guardians of the Galaxy, who outfitted it with mᴀssive engines to make it mobile.

In the comics, the Celestial that would go on to form Knowhere was decapitated by Knull, king of the Symbiotes, but in the MCU, the origin of the severed head space station is still a mystery.

9

One Above All

Thor: Love & Thunder (2022)

Appearing only in statue form, the Celestial, known as One Above All, is possibly the single most powerful member of his race, or at least was. Alluded to in Eternity’s temple in Thor: Love and Thunder, the character serves as the Celestials’ leader in the comics, possibly occupying a similar role in the MCU’s cosmology.

Confusingly, the One Above All shares his тιтle with another enтιтy of the same name, an even more powerful being that essentially acts as the Marvel universe’s true God and creator. It’s unclear if the One Above All will ever actually appear in the MCU, but the nod to it is a nice touch and does some more world-building for the Celestials.

8

Arishem The Judge

Eternals (2021)

If the One Above All is the Celestials’ leader and most powerful member in Marvel Comics, Arishem the Judge fulfills this position instead in the MCU. The Prime Celestial, Arishem, is responsible for creating the universe as we know it, sowing the seeds for the formation of stars, galaxies, and other heavenly bodies, culminating in the creation of intelligent life. Arishem was also responsible for the creation of the Deviants, a race of ferocious creatures meant to protect intelligent life from predators before becoming predators themselves, and the Eternals, immortal beings later created to stop the out-of-control Deviants.

However, the true purpose behind Arishem’s plan was the creation of new Celestials, which emerged from seeded planets in order to further spread life throughout the universe. The only reason Arishem wanted sapient life to develop and flourish was to feed the birth of fresh Celestials, such as Tiamut the Communicator, whose Emergence would destroy the planet. In the comics, Arishem’s role was more closely aligned with his тιтle, judging whether various civilizations should live or die, with the One Above All acting as the Prime Celestial instead.

7

Nezarr The Calculator

Eternals (2021)

Another Celestial billions of years old, Nezarr the Calculator, was another of the ancient race, shown to Sersi when she took over the role of Prime Eternal. With his signature blue armor, Nezarr gracefully navigated the cosmos, his work incomprehensible to mortal minds. In the comics, Nezarr the Calculator was responsible for gathering and interpreting the vast amounts of data corresponding to emergent galactic civilizations, feeding it to Arishem for judgment.

6

Eson The Searcher

Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)

Clad in purple armor, Eson the Searcher showed off to the Guardians of the Galaxy just how staggeringly powerful the Celestials’ destructive capabilities are. Using his staff to harness the awesome might of the Power Stone, Eson is shown obliterating the entire surface of a planet with one strike, ruthlessly ending an entire civilization for unknown reasons. In the source material, Eson’s job isn’t so violent, instead living up to his name as a purveyor of planets, being the first Celestial to discover Earth.

5

Jemiah The Analyzer

Eternals (2021)

Jemiah the Analyzer is among the first Celestials shown to Sersi, seen creating the stars that led to the formation of the galaxy and life itself. Once again, the comics version of Jemiah the Analyzer pays closer attention to his тιтle, analyzing the various civilizations the Celestials had seeded throughout the cosmos and reporting them back to Arishem. In the MCU, his name also comes up on Knowhere, with the satellite’s popular bar, Jemiah’s Boot, being named after him.

4

Hargen The Measurer

Eternals (2021)

Relatively younger compared to the other Celestials, Hargen is counted among those of the race who had emerged from seeded planets thanks to the life-force of intelligent species, proof of Arishem’s plan working. A particularly huge and brutish-looking Celestial in his green armor, Hargen helps his fellow Celestials create stars and other cosmic bodies later on. Of course, in the comics, Hargen the Measurer does indeed measure things, ᴀssessing the planets within the Celestials’ cosmic survey.

3

Tiamut The Communicator

Eternals (2021)

Meant to emerge from the Earth, Tiamut the Communicator was supposed to be the newest Celestial born with the destruction of humanity, feeding off the latent energy of the species’ developed minds. Luckily for the human race, the Eternals chose to save humanity at the cost of Tiamut’s life, leaving the mᴀssive being stillborn and half-formed in the Indian Ocean, having been transmuted into stone by Sersi. In the comics, Tiamut is similarly trapped within the Earth, being sealed under California’s Diablo Mountains to become known as the Dreaming Celestial.

While the MCU largely ignored Tiamut protruding from the Indian Ocean, Captain America: Brave New World finally addressed it, folding the Celestial into its narrative. In the film, it is revealed that Tiamut is made out of adamantium, the first instance of the substance in the MCU, and ends up being the catalyst for a near war between Japan and the United States of America, as they each attempt to claim the material for themselves. Introducing adamantium through Tiamut was a fantastic choice for the MCU, paving the way for the eventual inclusion of Wolverine into the main MCU timeline.

2

Mantis

First Appeared In Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

Appearing as a humanoid member of an unknown alien race, Mantis was raised alone by Ego the Living Planet since childhood, who utilized her abilities of emotional manipulation to help him sleep and control his neurotic tendencies. In The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, Mantis revealed that she, too, was a child of Ego, and thus a half-Celestial alongside her half-brother, Peter Quill. This was a major reveal, as the storyline is new to the MCU, and one that Mantis had kept private since her introduction in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 in 2017.

Unlike Quill, Mantis seems to have inherited none of Ego’s Celestial powers, with her empath abilities being a result of her biology via her antennae and still working after Ego’s death. In the comics, Mantis is actually a human who lived with the Kree, rather than a half-Celestial alien, but the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy took some significant liberties with its character’s origins and backstories.

1

Peter Quill

First Appeared In Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)

For the longest time, both audiences and Peter Quill himself thought him to be simply a normal human boy with an absent father, abducted by aliens after the death of his mother. However, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 revealed that his father was actually the Celestial Ego the Living Planet. Peter is significant for being the only known offspring of Ego to inherit any of his father’s powers, showing the same abilities to manipulate matter. His powers seemed to be tied to Ego himself, fading away with the death of his father.

Peter’s Celestial powers were hinted at earlier in the first Guardians of the Galaxy, when he managed to withstand bare contact with the ravaging cosmic forces of the Power Stone. This half-Celestial heritage represents a major departure from the comics, in which the ancient cosmic enтιтies are incapable of mating with lesser life forms – and in which Peter Quill is in no way related to Ego the Living Planet, though Ego does have a planetary family of sorts.

Originally, Star-Lord was half Spartax, an advanced race of aliens nearly indistinguishable from humans. It’s safe to say that the MCU take on Star-Lord’s heritage is much more compelling, and provides the franchise an opportunity to delve more into the lore of not only Ego but also the Celestials in general by making the specific adjustments to the overall lore that it has thus far.

While it’s unclear if Quill’s parentage will ever come up in storylines again now that both his parents have pᴀssed, his Celestial father may well crop up to put him on the wrong side of the anti-alien legislation that cropped up at the end of Secret Invasion. As such, while Star-Lord’s Celestial lineage may no longer be a focus in the MCU, it could still play a key role in the character’s future.

What’s Next For The MCU Celestials

After Eternals was a critical and commercial miss for Marvel Studios, they have largely stayed away from including the race in an MCU project since then, with Captain America: Brave New World finally using Tiamut after sitting in the Indian Ocean for several years. Star-Lord is the one Celestial that looks to have some sort of future in the MCU for sure, given that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ended with the promise that he would return, which makes sense given how much of a fan favorite he is within the universe.

Despite Marvel Studios not doing much with the Celestial storyline in several years, it seems unlikely they will abandon it entirely, and could become a major factor once again following the end of the Multiverse Saga with Avengers: Secret Wars. Of the more recurring Celestials, Mantis went out on her own, Star-Lord reunited with his grandfather on Earth, and Knowhere turned into the base of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Outside of that, it is unclear exactly where the Celestials will appear next, but they will likely have some sort of future going forward.

Marvel Cinematic Universe

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount’s Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.

Upcoming Films

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, Blade (2025), The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Avengers: Doomsday (2026), Avengers: Secret Wars

Upcoming TV Shows

Agatha: Coven of Chaos, Ironheart, Daredevil: Born Again, Wakanda, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Marvel Zombies, Wonder Man, Vision Quest

Upcoming MCU Movies

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  Thunderbolts*

  Release Date

  
  May 2, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  The Fantastic Four: First Steps

  Release Date

  
  July 25, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Doomsday

  Release Date

  
  May 1, 2026
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Spider-Man: Brand New Day

  Release Date

  
  July 31, 2026
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Secret Wars

  Release Date

  
  May 7, 2027
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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