Eternity was featured in Phase 4’s divisive Thor: Love & Thunder, but the cosmic entity might have been better suited in a different MCU project.

One character was featured in Thor: Love & Thunder that would have been a much better fit in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Love & Thunder released in July 2022, only to be met with an incredibly mixed response, becoming one of Marvel Studios’ most divisive projects. Another Phase 4 project was met with a similar response, despite being received more positively than Love & Thunder, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness also had its flaws. One change could have improved both projects if a character featured in Love & Thunder had simply been used in Multiverse of Madness instead.

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In an effort to expand the franchise, Thor: Love & Thunder introduced several new characters, including a plethora of powerful Gods, and an iconic cosmic being adapted from the Marvel Comics source material. Love & Thunder told the story of Gorr the God Butcher who, after renouncing the Gods, seeks to travel to the altar of Eternity and wish all of the MCU’s Gods out of existence. Eternity’s appearance in Love & Thunder came as a surprise to viewers since the cosmic being is often associated with Doctor Strange comic runs, so featuring the being in Multiverse of Madness probably would have been a better fit.

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Thor: Love & Thunder Wasted Eternity

In Marvel Comics, Eternity is an incredibly powerful being who represents a living embodiment of the universe itself, along with his sister, Infinity. Eternity is an immortal and almost all-powerful entity, but this wasn’t represented in Thor: Love & Thunder, which seemed to relegate the being to simply a wishing well for the first person who finds it. Making a massive character such as Eternity into the one-and-done entity featured in Love & Thunder simply didn’t make sense, and was a complete waste of the character’s potential. This is especially true when considering Eternity’s comic origins, which point to a much clearer project that the character should have debuted in.

Doctor Strange Has A Comic Connection To Eternity

Eternity first appeared in Marvel Comics during 1965’s Strange Tales #138, where Doctor Strange travels to Eternity’s Realm and comes face-to-face with the cosmic entity. Strange is the first known human to ever make contact with Eternity, meaning they share a connection in the comics that has been completely ignored in the MCU. Eternity features in several of Doctor Strange’s stories throughout the comics, meaning Marvel Studios had a plethora of options when introducing the character to the MCU, which makes it even more curious why the divisive Thor: Love & Thunder was chosen as the project to debut the character.

In the comics, Eternity is a much more powerful presence than shown in Love & Thunder, advising Doctor Strange on how to battle Dormammu (which he did in Doctor Strange), banishing the villainous Nightmare, and even opposing the Mad Titan, Thanos when he wields the Infinity Gauntlet. Eternity has far more personality than the wishing well it became in Love & Thunder, especially when featured as an ally to Doctor Strange, so it would have been far more impactful to debut Eternity in Multiverse of Madness instead. This would have forced Love & Thunder to develop a potentially stronger storyline, while Multiverse of Madness’ stakes could have been heightened.

Eternity Could Have Easily Been Included In Multiverse Of Madness

Before Sam Raimi became attached as director to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, original Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson had planned out a story featuring Nightmare as the primary antagonist. While this didn’t come to fruition, a storyline featuring this villain could have created the opportunity for Eternity to debut in the MCU sooner. While this might have been the perfect situation to introduce Eternity, the character could have also debuted in Raimi’s version of Multiverse of Madness, since Eternity has such a huge part to play in the actual concept of the multiverse, which Multiverse of Madness attempted to develop.

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Multiverse of Madness’ reality-hopping antics could have been enhanced if Strange and America Chavez had come across some formidable cosmic beings, which could have seen entities like Eternity and Infinity actually put to good use in the MCU. After all, the pair did briefly find themselves in a reality composed of statues of the Living Tribunal, another supremely powerful being, which was also glimpsed in Eternity’s temple in Love & Thunder. Marvel Studios could have represented Eternity in a more comic-accurate and impressive way by introducing the character in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, rather than the diminished version audiences were given in Thor: Love & Thunder.