Enkidu

As Eternals arrived to home video, many other details of the movie have surfaced, along with a name for the massive bull-like Deviant fought by the Eternals in the flashback, before the gates of Babylon. What many believed to be a movie version of El Toro Rojo from the comics, however, is actually the mythical Enkidu, and he’s immortalized by Sprite in her retelling of the glorious battle between him and the Eternals, giving birth to the Epic of Gilgamesh. As many others, also Enkidu crossed from Mesopotamian mythology to Marvel Comics, and he appears there as well: let’s see together.

According to the myth, the mighty Enkidu was created directly by the Mother Goddess of the Mountains Aruru, as she answered the prayers of the citizens of Uruk, abused by their arrogant and warmongering ruler Gilgamesh. More likely, Enkidu was a Deviant, who had some of the characteristics of a bull, and who was believed to be a man-beast for that. Even if he was a Deviant, however, Enkidu grew apart from his kind, spending most of his life in solitude, in forests and deserts, preferring the company of animals, and chasing hunters away from their usual hunting grounds. The hunters asked their king Gilgamesh for help, but before he could come Enkidu had been convinced to kill the king of Uruk, either by Shamhat, a priestess of Inanhat, who according to the myth had seduced the man-beast, or by his fellow Deviants, as Gilgamesh was secretly an Eternal, and the war between the two races was still raging on. Being it one way or the other, Enkidu traveled to Uruk, and he challenged the mighty Gilgamesh in combat. Gilgamesh was the most powerful of the Eternals of Olympia, and had never met defeat on the battleground; Enkidu, on his side, was astonishing powerful as well, and he fought with might and valor, enough to impress the king. By the end of the battle, Gilgamesh had defeated Enkidu, but he had also realized that the shepherds were rooting for him, as he had protected them from the wolves at night during his life in the wilderness. Impressed by the Deviant’s unprecedented good heart, Gilgamesh offered him his friendship, that Enkidu gladly accepted, as he now respected his foe’s strength. From there on, the two became inseparable.

Gilgamesh had always stood apart even from the other Eternals for his power, and thus was lonely; Enkidu, whose character was quite different from that of most Deviants, felt the same: they found in each other the friend and companion they had missed for all their lives. The man-beast taught much to Gilgamesh, who became kinder and more respectful of his citizens, and he accompanied him in several heroic deeds, protecting the people of Uruk from brigands, feral beasts, and monsters. One of such monsters was Humbaba, who lived in the nearby Cedar Forest. Also Humbaba was a Deviant, and he cursed Enkidu as he saw him with Gilgamesh, calling him a traitor to his kind. The battle was epic, and the three colossi fought for days, until Gilgamesh finally managed to subdue Humbaba, who pleaded for his life. It was Enkidu, however, who insisted for Humbaba to be killed, as he would have revealed to the other Deviants of his betrayal. Gilgamesh decapitated Humbaba, and at this point myth is the only source we have on what happened. It is said that the goddess Ishtar, furious for having being rejected by Gilgamesh, unleashed the Bull of Heaven on Uruk, letting him kill dozens. The two heroes came back to the city, and together they slain the sacred beast; hearing Ishtar cry in fury and humiliation, Enkidu mocked her, throwing a leg of the dead bull at her. This attracted the curse of the gods, who sentenced Enkidu to death: before long, he fell ill and died, asking to his friend to never forget him. It’s unknown if the gods had actually anything to do with Enkidu’s death, but this event was pivotal in the growth of an Eternal who had always been closer to humanity than everyone else in his race.

Unusual for a Deviant, Enkidu is a kind soul, who prefers the company of beasts to that of his peers, and who lends his might to whoever needs help or protection. Very powerful for a Deviant, he possesses vast superhuman strength and durability, and he is a master in the use of several ancient weapons and in physical combat. An outcast among his people, Enkidu is a noble soul in a monstrous body, a man-beast who earnt his place in an immortal story, forever to be told.