What Makes Ikaris Such a Good Villain
Eternals, one of the most divisive films of Marvel’s illustrious history was clearly one of the Studio’s most ambitious, and may have one of the most underrated antagonists in the MCU, Ikaris (Richard Madden), the boy who flew too close to the sun. This is what makes Ikaris such a good villain.
Eternals, despite its mixed reviews on behalf of critics and audiences, stands as one of the most interesting entries into the lore of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe.
Photo: Marvel
One could argue that the film tells one of the most important stories in all of the MCU because it explores the very origin of the universe and the intelligent life present in it.
With the enigmatic Celestials giving birth to the very MCU and crafting the Eternals as the defenders of earth from the monstrous Deviant threat, the film presents fans questions they hadn’t yet considered within the context of the Universe.
Marvel Studios’ ETERNALS. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2021 Marvel Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Still, the convoluted pacing and overstuffed narrative deterred some fans, which caused Marvel’s Chloé Zhao-led epic to be regarded as one of the studios big misses.
Yet, one of the most explorative plots for an MCU film, and what brings the movie together as one of the studio’s most interesting projects is the antagonist that it develops with Ikaris.
Photo: Marvel Studios
So we ask, just what makes Ikaris such a good villain?
The answer lies in what made him a villain in the first place. Ikaris is a poetic exploration into parenting, but more so than that is his relationship to his maternal figure, Ajak, and the idea of parenting in the name of ideology.
Photo: Marvel
By design, the Eternals were soldiers at birth. They acted in the will of those who sent them: unopposed to the force of their creation and adhering to their design and function for existence.
Ikaris was the most devout with a will to serve Arishem – a mystical figure he had never spoken to – at all costs.
Sersi (Gemma Chan) and Ikaris (Richard Madden) in Marvel Studios’ ETERNALS. Photo by Sophie Mutevelian. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
Ajak acted as the commanding officer of these soldiers. However, Ajak was more than that, she was also their mother, which is why she played such a vital role in Ikaris’ origin story.
In Ajak, Ikaris saw perfect obedience to the mission, and when she acknowledged that their rebellion must come out of the moral quandary of the Celestial birthing process, he was left alone in his obedience, with no one to guide him. So, he turned to what he had always known, the mission.
Source: Marvel Studios
Yet, Ikaris is also sympathetic because of his love for Sersi. Ultimately, his love for her forced him to retreat from her, being unable to carry on the lie of their true presence on the planet she loved in a way he couldn’t knowing the truth.
Ikaris wanted the leadership Ajak eventually gave to Sersi, which would’ve allowed his family to enjoy their final days ignorant of what was to come. That wasn’t what happened, and Ikaris was forced to turn against them for what he had always known: the mission.
Photo: Marvel Studios
He eventually understood that the mission wasn’t all that he had, because he also had a family. He had siblings that loved and trusted him. Yet, when he did understand the error of his ways, it was too late.
Stricken by grief, he honored the story his younger sibling created about him, and flew into the sun.
Source: Marvel Studios
So, what makes Ikaris such good villain isn’t his immense power, it is the convolution of his priorities and the weight he places on what he knows versus what he feels. But most importantly, it is his honest struggle to decide between doing what is right and knowing what is right.
Eternals had a worthy antagonist in Ikaris, the strongest Eternal, now we just hope he will someday return.
Ikaris (Richard Madden) in Marvel Studios’ ETERNALS. Photo by Sophie Mutevelian. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
