WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Eternals #3 by Kieron Gillen, Esad Ribic, Matthew Wilson, and VC's Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
Something is killing the Eternals, and what was previously a single murder in need of investigation has devolved into a full-blown massacre for Marvel's cosmic demigods.
While the group of Eternals who decided to covertly investigate the murder of Zuras began minimizing their suspect pool, the killer struck once again in Eternals #3, this time murdering several Eternals inside, and in the process, it made Druig, the upcoming Eternals villain the leader of the second most powerful Eternal city by default.
Druig debuted in Eternals #11 by Jack Kirby and Mike Royer. He was born in Polaria, the second most powerful Eternal City. As luck would have it, Druig was also the son of Polaria's ruler, Valkin, making him next in line to lead the city should anything happen to him. Of course, considering the name of their species, it was unlikely that Druig would ever become the permanent ruler of Polaria. Not that Valkin wanted his son to do so. He always saw Druig as a schemer, but turned a blind eye to his faults, even if deep down he felt his son was a disappointment.
And Druig did very little to raise his father's expectation of him. If anything, everything Druig did only confirmed Valkin's worst suspicions about his son. Druig was ambitious, but also a sadist. In the modern age, while working as part of the KGB, Druig found that he enjoyed torturing people, even turning his skills in dealing out pain on his own cousin, Ikaris. This would spark a feud between the two, with Ikaris even disintegrating Druig's body.
So of course, when Zuras turned up dead, Druig was the first suspect on the list. Perhaps only narrowly beating out Sprite, who was still dormant at the time. Zuras' death might have been the bold first step in a greater coup and many other Eternals were quick to glare at Druig. But for once he seemed just as in the dark about the calamity befalling them as the rest of his fellow Eternals. Still, the others did not entirely trust him. And then more evidence would lend itself to Druig's guilt.
While interrogating Thena, the daughter of Zuras who was last seen threatening to kill him, Druig called Sersi. He asked if she was alone, to which she lied that she was. And Druig went on to reveal that Polaria had been attacked. Several of its members were now dead and Valkin was one of them. With the machine that brought them back to life malfunctioning, Druig finally got something he could only dream of, true rulership over Polaria.
All in all, things seem to be shaping up rather nicely for him Druig. He is now in control of the second most powerful Eternal city. His father and principal enemies are all dead, meaning he could make a reasonable claim for leadership with so many Eternals now dead. But the way it's shaping up is also highly suspect. Even Druig isn't this blatant in his machinations. he's a schemer, but he's smart enough to know how this all looks to the others.
In all likelihood, Druid probably called Sersi to reinforce his innocence.He may be willing to hurt and kill to get what he wants. If it was him killing Eternals and breaking the machine then he would be at just as much risk as the others, who would have killed him in a heartbeat if they genuinely believed he was responsible. Regardless, he is now in control of a major part of the Eternals power structure and has probably been bumped to the top of the list of suspects to interrogate.
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