How Marvel Stopped Richard Madden Being Too Like Superman In The Eternals

Eternals producer Nate Moore has explained how Marvel Studios prevented Richard Madden’s Ikaris from being too much like DC’s Superman. In theaters on November 5, the third Phase 4 film to take place within the Marvel Cinematic Universe will introduce a new team of heroes: the Eternals. The movie’s star-studded cast includes Gemma Chan, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani, Brian Tyree Henry, and Dong-seok Ma, Don Lee, Lia McHugh, Lauren Ridloff, and Richard Madden.

Eternals follows a race of immortals, who have been absent throughout the MCU’s history despite being sent to Earth 7,000 years ago by their creators, the Celestials. As explained in the film’s trailers, the Celestials instructed the Eternals not to interfere in human conflicts unless Deviants, their villainous counterparts, are involved. However, the events of Avengers: Endgame have caused an “Emergence” that makes way for the release of a new horde of Deviants, motivating the Eternals to reveal themselves and protect humanity. In previous clips, Madden’s Ikaris can be seen flying, fighting with super-strength, and using blasts of cosmic heat vision to fight Deviants, all of which are classic powers which are also used by DC’s Clark Kent/Superman.

In January 2020, Screen Rant visited the Eternals set at Pinewood Studios, where Nate Moore explained how the filmmakers’ stopped Madden’s powers from being too much like that of Superman. Moore explained that all of the Eternals utilize “cosmic energy” in different ways, giving them powers that are unique to them. What’s more, Ikaris’ eye-beams are yellow, specifically differing from Superman’s red vision. Read Moore’s explanation below:

“Ikaris’ powers you have seen before, obviously there’s a lot of similarities to Superman. So how do we make his cosmic eyebeams that aren’t the red lasers that we’ve come to know and have become iconic for that character? For us, it’s all about the cosmic energy and really leaning into that.”

In in the original Marvel comics, each Eternal has the powers of super-strength, telepathy, telekinesis, teleportation, matter manipulation, flight, creating illusions, and shooting cosmic rays. The MCU’s take on these characters sees each Eternal specialize in one or two abilities, while all possessing super-strength and invulnerability. In both the source material and on the big screen, Ikaris is being hyped as one of the Eternals’ strongest members. On top of that, he sports a blue suit, which only exacerbates comparisons to Superman.

Outside of his powers, Ikaris’ characterization will likely further the gap between himself and the Man of Steel. Eternals is rumored to feature a love triangle involving Ikaris, Sersi (Chan), and Dane Whitman (Harrington). Ikaris and Sersi’s love spans centuries thanks to the 7,000 year timeline of the film. However, the pair’s views on humanity may differ, leading to trouble in paradise. If Ikaris proves more cynical, it will be interesting to see how the MCU’s depiction of him deviates from the comics and, in turn, DC’s Superman. Regardless, he won’t be faster than a speeding bullet.