WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Eternals, in theaters now.
Eternals has finally shown audiences the true power of a Celestial and why they are such a threatening presence for the entire cosmos. However, this isn't the first time that the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have encountered these beings. In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Peter's father, Ego, claims to be a Celestial who has his own unique abilities. At a glance, he resembles nothing of the Celestials in Eternals, but his differences may explain where he came from.
In the comics, Ego was never a part of the Celestials in the Marvel universe. Instead, he was only a massive sentient planet who was often at odds with heroes like the Silver Surfer. But by making him a more godly presence in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, his abilities are better understood. Another strange coincidence is the motivations of Ego and his Celestial counterparts. While they are both wildly different in execution, their main goals are similar: to spread their influence at the cost of billions of lives.
In Eternals, Celestials are planted as seeds within the core of a planet. Eternals are then sent to nurture their inhabitants and help them advance as a society. While they believe it is to better them, the reality of their mission is to offer up enough energy for the Celestial seed to grow. Once the time has come for its emergence, the entire planet and everyone on it are destroyed. While their plan to create more of their kind seems sound, Celestials are known to experiment and face many instances of trial and error. One of these errors could also be one of the causes for a being like Ego.
The mortal enemies of the Eternals are the Deviants and were the first instance of Celestials trying to create Eternals. However, once they evolved and became predatory, they grew out of control, hence why the Eternals are equipped to face them. As scientists in their own right, Celestials likely tried many ways to create their own kind. When Ego explained his origin, he was shown as a lone brain floating through space. Eventually, he formed a planet around himself, becoming the character shown in the film. Like the Deviants, it's possible that this was an early attempt at making a Celestial that failed and was quickly abandoned, believing they'd failed to bring him to life.
Another possibility could be that this was an early instance of Celestial evolution. Rather than begin as a seed, Celestials could've tried creating a mind and having a planet grow and evolve until it eventually forms a humanoid Celestial. However, without intelligent life for it to feed on, its growth could have been stunted, leading to the creation of Ego. As an incomplete Celestial, he still had immense power and a drive to spread but had to find his own methods of doing so. This also explains why he treats his children as batteries to grow stronger, just like Celestials feeding on intelligent life.
Ego is a unique anomaly of the Celestial species, and if he's tied to his more ancient counterparts, it shows how far these beings have grown. For now, Ego's origins remain a mystery, but like the secrets to the growth of Earth, the appearance of the Celestials in Eternals may provide more answers to how things came to be in the future.
To see more traditional Celestials, Marvel Studios' Eternals is now in theaters.
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