Why The Emergence Scene In Eternals Has MCU Fans Scratching Their Heads
"Eternals," the recently released Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 4 installment, is vastly different from prior films. It features the same amazing visual effects, emotional connections, and light humor that are signatures of MCU storytelling, however unfamiliar the large cast of characters might have been to the casual superhero movie fan. "Eternals" follows immortal beings Ajak (Salma Hayek), Thena (Angelina Jolie), Ikaris (Richard Madden), Sersi (Gemma Chan), Gilgamesh (Don Lee), Druig (Barry Keoghan), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), Sprite (Lia McHugh), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), and Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani). Arishem (known in Marvel Comics as Arishem the Judge), an ancient Celestial, creates all 10 members of the Eternals team to protect life.
It's established in the opening act that the Eternals have been on Earth for some time. They protect humans from the Deviants, who we learn are creations of the Celestials intent on destroying life. However, Eternals do not protect humans from themselves; these superpowered beings are not allowed to intervene in any major events that don't involve Deviants, like Thanos (Josh Brolin) wiping out half of all life in the universe in "Avengers: Infinity War." By the end of the film, it is revealed that Celestials breed life on planets in order to foster the birth of another Celestial, which destroys the surrounding population in the process. When a new Celestial is born, the event is called the "Emergence," and some of the Eternals are able to prevent this from happening by merging into the Uni-Mind.
Even though the Eternals are able to stop the Emergence and save humanity, the MCU movie shows that the process moves forward far enough to upset a corner of the Earth and lead to some significant destruction. As a result, what we see of this world-changing event has many MCU fans scratching their heads.
Shouldn't the Emergence have caused way more destruction?
A recent Reddit thread posted to r/marvelstudios laid out some thoughts on the inconsistencies regarding the Emergence scene in "Eternals." Specifically up for discussion is the beginning of the process, which happens before the Eternals can stop it. Based on what we see, the Emergence should cause way more damage to the planet.
User u/Khruangbin13 was the first to note this, asking his fellow fans if they felt that there should've been more damage caused by the initial birthing process of the Celestial Tiamut due to ocean physics. They pointed out that a Celestial is the size of a planet and parts of their body are essentially equivalent to large mountains coming out of the core of the Earth. Therefore, the tsunami that results from just Tiamut's hand emerging from the Earth's core would be ungodly massive, possibly covering an entire continent. U/scirocco_flowers noted that Tiamut's fingertips could possibly be miles long, which "would cause huge earthquakes and tsunamis and lots of coastal damage," and went on to point out that if the Celestial were hundreds of miles tall, its arrival "would probably kill everyone on earth."
Although we don't have any official corroboration from accredited physicists or oceanographers, this seems like a very valid question in the grand scheme of what could happen in that situation. However, as fans, like Redditor u/R2CX, point out in the thread, nothing sounds too wild anymore when it comes to the MCU, as many unbelievable occurrences have happened over the span of nearly every installment in the series thus far. U/snowhawk04 writes, "If you think about the snap and ecosystems, that's an extinction-level event. Tiamut's emergence has a lot of problems when you contextualize it to the real world."
Fans think repercussions will be shown in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
The consequences of the Emergence could be shown in future MCU movies, and many fans point to one specific upcoming MCU Phase 4 film. Reddit u/archer_cartridge thinks the severity of the "Eternals" finale event will be shown in the forthcoming "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever." The main antagonist of the film is rumored to be Namor the Sub-Mariner, a famed anti-hero from Marvel Comics. He is half-Atlantean and half-human and is often credited as the first mutant. If he were to appear in the "Black Panther" sequel, it may get the ball rolling regarding the involvement of the X-Men in the MCU. Either way, archer_cartridge notes that Namor may have a huge problem with the Emergence, as the resulting tsunamis could disrupt Earth's tectonic plates, making for sizable destruction in the seas.
This could certainly be a motive for Namor to lash out, even as the Eternals are responsible for this issue. Although, none of the Avengers nor most humans on Earth know of the Eternals existence. User u/TovoMate points out a very possible backstory for the coming conflict with Wakanda if it were to happen. They explain how Namor seeing the destruction of his homeworld and the deaths of his fellow Atlanteans due to the Emergence could lead to him seeking revenge on the once-isolated nation due to misguided assumptions and grief.
As we still know little details of the plot for "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," everything can only be speculated. However, it is very possible that the unrealistically small amount of destruction from the Emergence wasn't nearly as minor as it may have seemed.