Marvel’s new team of superheroes are “more powerful than the Avengers” and would beat them in a fight, according to Eternals star Lia McHugh. The Marvel Cinematic Universe newcomer, who plays the eternally young old-soul Sprite in the ensemble that includes Gemma Chan as Sersi and Richard Madden as Ikaris, says she wants to “see that showdown” between the cosmic-powered immortal aliens and Earth’s mightiest heroes. In a new interview with DISH Nation‘s Andrew Freund, McHugh and co-star Kit Harington, who plays the human Dane Whitman, reveal their picks for who wins in an epic Eternals versus Avengers battle:
“I mean, I gotta stick with my team, of course. Of course the Eternals, right? We have cosmic, unlimited energy superpowers from gods,” McHugh said of the immortal heroes, who each wield unique powers derived from the same cosmic power source. “I think that we may be more powerful than the Avengers. I’d like to see that showdown.”
“I feel as a human, the Avengers would [win],” answered Harington. “I’ve got to give it at the moment to the Avengers. They saved us humans [in Avengers: Endgame], so I’m sticking with loyalty.”
In the Marvel comic books, the human Whitman wields the Ebony Blade and joins the Avengers as the superhero Black Knight. (Eternals producer Nate Moore teases Whitman becoming the armored Avenger is “something that we get to play with down the road.”)
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When the Eternals emerge from the shadows and reunite against humankind’s ancient enemy, The Deviants, it will be without an assist from the Avengers. Set after the events of Avengers: Endgame — where an unsnapped Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) assembled almost all of Earth’s mightiest heroes to save the universe from Thanos (Josh Brolin) — Eternals exists at a time when the Avengers are effectively disassembled.
“I think in the same way that there were drones over London [in Spider-Man: Far From Home] and people didn’t show up, there were Dark Elves in Thor 2 and Tony [Stark] wasn’t there,” Moore told ComicBook during a January 2020 visit to the set of Eternals. “I think it might be crippling if we felt like every time something was visible, you were like, ‘Well, [Black] Panther’s coming, right? Because he’s been watching, too.’ It almost has to just feel like it’s a pocket story or else you start to go, ‘Yeah, where is Doctor Strange? If Doctor Strange is here, well, doesn’t that mean that Spider-Man should swing by?'”
“I think being too connected almost would be more of a danger than saying, ‘Okay, let’s just tell the story,'” added Moore.
Starring Gemma Chan as Sersi, Richard Madden as Ikaris, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Don Lee as Gilgamesh, Barry Keoghan as Druig, Kit Harington as Dane Whitman, with Salma Hayek as Ajak, and Angelina Jolie as Thena, Marvel’s Eternals opens only in theaters on November 5.