Thena is a member of the genetically engineered Eternals. Created by the Celestials in the World Forge, Thena was sent to Centuri-Six and progress the planet's societal development, paving the way for the planet's Emergence. Thena's memory was wiped, and was then sent to Earth with nine other Eternals in 5000 BC for the same goal, with the mission to exterminate the Deviants first. During her time living in Ancient Greece, she became known as the protector of Athens and was incorporated into their mythology as Athena. After recalling traumatizing memories of Centuri-Six's destruction in a Mahd Wy'ry incident, Thena departed with Gilgamesh to live in self-imposed exile in Australia.
In 2024, Thena was recruited once again when their fellow Eternals arrived to reform the team to stop the Earth's Emergence, where Thena discovered that she subconsciously knew Earth was doomed. When Ikaris betrayed them with the intention to fulfill the Emergence, Thena fought him, before taking her revenge against the Deviant Kro, who had killed Gilgamesh. After they prevented the Emergence, Thena, Druig and Makkari journeyed to space on the Domo in search of other Eternals, also accompanied by Starfox.
Thena was built and programmed by Arishem the Judge, and was sent to multiple planets to protect and help evolve sentient life forms from the Deviants, powering a Celestial seed inside the planet, which would absorb the energy made from the sentient lifeforms. Eventually, the Emergence would occur, destroying the planet in the process. Upon finishing their mission, the Eternals would be sent back to the World Forge to have their memories erased and reset.[1]
Stationed on Centuri-Six[]
In one of her missions prior to being sent to Earth, Thena and several Eternals were sent to Centuri-Six to keep the planet's citizens safe. However, the Eternals remained unaware of their true mission to allow an Emergence to occur. Thena eventually realized that the planet would be destroyed and that all of its inhabitants would die. However, she realized it was too late to save them as the planet was destroyed in an Emergence, resulting in the birth of a new Celestial.[1]
Thena alongside the rest of the Eternals were sent to Earth on the Domo. Once awoken, the Eternals were provided with suits to wear before arriving at the planet. Thena, being one of the Eternal's main fighters, landed on Earth first to fight the Deviants. Thena fought alongside Gilgamesh, using their powers together to defeat one of the creatures. When the Deviants attacking the humans were defeated, the Eternals presented themselves to the race they were assigned to protect.[1]
Continuing to protect and assist the human population, the Eternals headed to Babylon, Mesopotamia in 575 B.C., where they fought against more Deviants. On one occasion, Thena chased a Deviant around the outside of Babylon. After help from the others, Thena and her teammates won the battle, protecting the city.
Following the battle, a celebration was held, but Thena didn't stayed for long. When she was about to leave, Ikaris invited her to drink, but she declined. He warned her that she should not fight Deviants alone, as they have to protect the city, but Thena said that she didn't came to this planet to cower behind walls, and left the city.[1]
Becoming a Greek Legend[]
"Why can't they ever get Thena's likeness right?" "It's A-thena. Athena." "Just Thena, no 'A'."
The Eternals eventually relocated to Athens, Greece to continue fighting the Deviants. During this period, Sprite shared the story of Thena as the Goddess of War to the people of Athens. As a result of Sprite sharing her story to the Ancient Greeks, Thena, mistakenly referred to as Athena, became one of their historical legends and was incorporated into Ancient Greek mythology.[1]
In 1520, Thena and Gilgamesh were on a boat when they found a Deviant that looked like a Kraken. Gilgamesh was dragged down through the water by Kraken, so Thena followed. She helped Gilgamesh break free and then the duo fought Kraken until he escaped while leaving a trail of poisonous ink.[4]
Ending the War[]
Thena and the others investigated a Deviants Nest. They found Kraken and other Deviants who, as it turns out, were being controlled by Kappa. After a battle, Thena used her spear to slice Kappa on the head, thus killing every other deviant who was enthralled. Later, Thena and the rest of the Eternals were retold stories of the war by Sprite who used illusions to tell them.[4]
In 1521, During the Spanishassault on the Aztec Empire capital city, Tenochtitlan, Thena and the others Eternals were able to fight and defeat the rest of the Deviants. However, upon witnessing the violence and bloodshed around her, Thena suddenly turned on the group, wounding and nearly killing Sersi, Phastos, and Makkari. Ajak tried to help her using her powers, but only Gilgamesh was able to intervene and subdue her. Upon returning to the Great Temple, Thena was diagnosed with a degenerative disease known as Mahd Wy'ry which affects and causes Eternals to have psychotic episodes at random, due to the weight of their memories. Ajak told her that she'll have to erase her memories, but Thena did not wanted to forget who she was, which Ajak responded that it didn't matter if she would remember, she would still be Thena.
Thena cries at the thought of losing her memories
An argument between Ajak and Druig started, resulting in Druig deserting the Eternals. Gilgamesh offered to watch over Thena, as she was his partner, and they had formed a close bond. Ajak warned that he might have to kill Thena one day, but Gilgamesh was willing to take the chance. Ajak then decided to split the team and let them all go their own ways, with Gilgamesh taking Thena to live in seclusion.[1]
Thena went with Gilgamesh to Antarctica, where they found the place to be cold but valued their hot meals. They sparred with each other to keep their fighting skills sharp in case the Deviants ever returned to Earth. In one such duel, Gilgamesh asked if Thena believed she could defeat him. Thena expressed confidence, so they decided to bet their next hot meal on the duel. Thena prepared her weapon, when Gilgamesh cracked the ice, causing a crack to approach her.
Thena jumped out of the way of the crack and toward Gilgamesh, hitting him with her weapon. However, the weapon had no affect on Gilgamesh, and he punched her back. Thena landed on her feet and the two charged at each other, but stopped once they realized that a pair of penguins was standing between them. The two admired how cute the penguins were as they got out of the way and then faced each other again. Thena claimed to see a Deviant behind Gilgamesh, causing him to turn around. Thena swept Gilgamesh's feet out from under him, causing him to land on his back, defeated. Thena then acknowledged his hard luck and proposed they leave, and Gilgamesh agreed.[5]
Wanting to escape the cold and go to a warmer climate, Thena and Gilgamesh left Antarctica[5] and moved to Australia. Thena spent her time drawing strange symbols and images, sometimes forgetting her identity, forcing Gilgamesh to remind her of her past and her family. While exiled, Thena asked Gilgamesh one time why he would give up his life to help her. He told her that when you love something, you protect it. At one point, Gilgamesh had Druig put Thena to sleep for a week so that he could go on vacation to Fiji.[1]
One day, Thena was stuck in a state where she would draw pictures of Arishem the Judge and other things. Suddenly, she was awakened by Gilgamesh. Thena tried to attack Gilgamesh while talking about how "everyone in Centuri-Six is going to die". He tried to make her remember, but it was only with the help of Sprite, who showed her illusions of the interior of the Domo and Thena fighting Deviants, that Thena came back to her senses. She then said hello, realizing that Ikaris, Sersi, and Sprite are there.
While a feast was being served to the rest of the team, the Eternals chatted and caught up on their adventures. The three of them told Thena and Gilgamesh that the Deviants have returned. Sersi soon left the dinner. When she returned, she was shocked and revealed their true purpose on Earth with them being assigned to ensure the birth of a new Celestial which would mean the destruction of humanity but also that they, the Eternals, were synthetic mass-produced creations and that Thena's illness was caused due to a millennia of memories stacking and resurfacing. Sersi informed the team of this revelation which shocked everyone except Ikaris, while they didn't want to prevent the birth of the new Celestial, they also wanted to save humanity and decided to find and recruit Druig, who was living in South America.[1]
When they arrived at Druig's Compound by Kingo's Jet, Thena and all the other Eternals followed Druig into his hut. Soon after Ikaris and Druig started an argument, Druig dismissed their idea to bring him back even after learning of Ajak's death.
Going deep in the forest, Thena demonstrated her discomfort about that place to Gilgamesh and expressed that she didn't recognize her in Sprite's illusions. She then questioned if she would still be able to fight, and if she could hurt Gilgamesh again, before thanking him for taking care of her. He said that he would do it again, in any other planet.
When a group of Deviants attacked the compound, Thena's Mahd Wy'ry started spiking again. They encountered Kro, a deviant far more advanced than the others attacking Ikaris. Gilgamesh charged at Kro, while Thena started to hallucinate and attacked Ikaris. Gilgamesh punched Kro away, and went to Thena to make her come back to her senses. He ordered her to stay near a tree, while he dueled Kro once more, allowing Ikaris to go back to the compound to help the group. When Kro noticed Thena, he began heading towards her, so Gilgamesh rushed to save her, but it made him vulnerable, and was subsequently stabbed with several of Kro's tentacles. Gilgamesh desperately tried to beat Kro off of him, but he could not do anything but look at Thena as his powers were stolen, leaving him in a fatal state.
Kro then threw Gilgamesh aside, and Thena rushed to his side, while the Deviant began to transform and reveal how he could now access Ajak's memories and knew the truth of the Emergence. As Gilgamesh laid dying, Kro expressed how Arishem the Judge had used them and left them all to die with every Emergence, and then vowed to kill the Eternals for what they had done to his race. Ikaris arrived, so Kro retreated, and in Gilgamesh's final moments, he told Thena to remember what he told her before dying in her arms. Thena cried desperately, repeating that she would remember.
A funeral was held for Gilgamesh, where they cremated his body, and Thena poured his ashes into the Amazon River.[1]
After Ikaris and Sersi were able to recruit Phastos, the team headed back to the Domo, located in Iraq. They met Makkari after centuries and greeted her. While they sat around, Thena wielded King Arthur's Excalibur and training with it.
Phastos was planning what to create to amplify Druig's powers and stop Tiamut the Communicator emergence. He landed on an idea called the Uni-Mind. While staring at one of the paintings inside the Domo, Druig remarked to Thena how she always knew that the end was coming, and that this must be a relief to her. Thena then mentioned that Kro was still tracking them, which Druig remind her that revenge would not bring her peace. In response to that, Thena said that killing Kro might bring peace to her, with a smile plastered on her face.[1]
While Thena was absent, Ikaris was revealed to be the responsible for Ajak's death, that he knew all along about the Emergence and was willing to kill all of them to ensure it to happen. When Sprite and Ikaris left preparing for Tiamut to emerge, Thena encountered them, and expressed confusion. By using her powers, Sprite created an illusion, allowing her to escape with Ikaris.
Thena suiting up
Knowing what they would face, the team started to trace a backup plan, planning to use Sersi's powers to kill Tiamut. Sersi in the other hand was especially affected, and did not wanted to kill a Celestial, retreating to another room. Thena arrived to comfort Sersi, giving her a speech about the reason that Ajak choose her to lead the team, and how she loved this planet, and that they must protect what they love.[1]
While Sersi, Druig, and Makkari went to the ground to stop the Emergence, Thena stayed in the Domo to distract Ikaris. They started fighting, until the Eternals connection into the Uni-Mind began. Ikaris then went after Druig, attacking him and destroying the Domo. When the ship crashed, Makkari saved Thena and Phastos.
While Makkari engaged in a battle against Ikaris, Thena and the others defended themselves from an erupted volcano caused by the Emergence. But when Sersi went closer to Tiamut so she could stop his awakening, Thena and Phastos confronted Ikaris to keep him busy. Thena was able to battle Ikaris for some time, until Kro arrived in the middle of the battle. Trying to goad Thena, Kro showed the powers he took from Gilgamesh, and after he was shot into a cave, Thena followed him to seek revenge.
Inside the cave, they started to duel, but Thena started to be affected by Mahd Wy'ry, allowing Kro to lure her by imitating Gilgamesh's voice. Kro then rolls up Thena in his tentacles and tries to absorb her energy, too, but fails due to her remembering Gilgamesh's advice from not forgetting. She then frees herself and wields two cosmic blades to dismember Kro, killing him instantly. After defeating Kro, Thena came out of the cave, and observed the horizon as Tiamut started to emerge, realizing that the end of the planet had started. Fortunately, Sersi was able to reach Tiamut in time, and all of the Eternals, including Ikaris and Sprite, were able to connect through the Uni-Mind, by the will of Tiamut himself, and stop the Emergence.
Following the battle, Phastos, his family, Thena, Makkari and Druig reunited in Ajak's Homestead while watching the news on TV. Thena interacted with Phastos' son, Jack, and when he called her the "goddess Athena", she corrected him. When she showed the kid her powers, an upset Phastos "revogaded" her babysitting privileges. After that, Thena, Makkari and Druig boarded the Domo, to travel around the Universe finding the other Eternals and tell them everything.[1]
Weeks later, while on the Domo, Thena, Makkari, and Druig were confused as to why the other Eternals weren't communicating with them. Thena quickly realized that Arishem found out about the plan and took them, when suddenly Starfox came through the Domo through a portal, revealing that he was the Prince of Titan, Thanos' brother. Starfox offered help and informed them that their friends were in danger and he knew where to find them.[1]
Personality[]
"There were more Deviants than you said." "Well, I'm sure that was a lot of fun for you." "It was."
Thena is very calm and collected, dedicated to her role as warrior of the Eternals. During her time in Babylon, she was hesitant to bond or interact with humans, telling Ikaris she refuses to hide behind walls in her fight against the Deviants. She did not partake in the festivities, instead remaining aloof and spending time on her own, as shown when she left alone when the other Eternals celebrated their victory over the Deviants in Babylon. Despite this, she is very committed to protecting humans against the deviants. Thena comes across as stoic, speaking in a calm, soothing voice, rarely showing signs of distress, upset or anger. True to her warrior nature, she is also fearless and relentless, relishing her skills in combat against the deviants.
Although Thena was typically seen as a fearsome warrior, during her struggles with Mahd Wy'ry she would often appear vulnerable. When confronted with the possibility of losing her memories she was visibly distraught and scared. Despite her stoic nature, she is at heart someone who cares deeply, developing a special bond with fellow Eternal Gilgamesh and ultimately the human race. During her exile with her partner Gilgamesh, Thena would often have Mahd Wy'ry episodes in which she fails to recognize her surroundings and her allies, but Gilgameshâs care has helped her endure through the centuries. After Gilgamesh was gravely injured by Kro, Thena promised him that she will not ever forget again. She eventually overcame this weakness during her final confrontation with Kro, when the latter tried to deceive her, she remembered Gilgameshâs words to heart and was able to regain control over her memories.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
Eternal Physiology: By design from the Celestials, Thena is an Eternal possessing superhuman strength, durability, speed, agility, stamina, reflexes, and healing, numerous times more superior than any normal human being, as well as immortality and being able to manipulate cosmic energy to a certain degree.
Superhuman Strength: Like all Eternals, Thena possesses great superhuman strength, numerous times stronger than any normal human being. Thena is the third strongest Eternal of her time, surpassed only by Ikaris and Gilgamesh, and with their deaths, she is now the strongest Eternal alive. She was able to easily kill dozens of Deviants over the centuries, including the mighty Kro, even managing to block his strikes powered by a cosmic energy exoskeleton and also shattering rocks with her weapons while attempting to hit him. Even though she was no match for Ikaris in terms of brute force, Thena was still able to fight evenly against her mighty teammate on her own for a while before being subdued, and later with the help of Makkari and Phastos. During these fights, her blows have proven to be strong enough to stumble and knock down Ikaris, as well as sending him flying several feet with a kick, causing him to crash backward into a rock, destroying it in the process.
Superhuman Durability: Thena's body is numerous times more resistant to physical and energy damage than any normal human being. When she began to lose control of her mind and attack her teammates, Gilgamesh was able to use his power to knock Thena unconscious. Despite being knocked out, she suffered no harm from being hit with such incredible strength, though Gilgamesh was holding back as he did not want to hurt her rather to stop her. During her battle with Kro, who at the time had absorbed Gilgamesh's powers, she was able to withstand this superhuman force with no visible injuries even though she was flung across the cave. Thena was also unharmed and had no visible injuries after the Domo fall when it was destroyed by Ikaris.
Thena can run and move at great superhuman speed, much faster than any normal human being. She was fast enough to slay a Deviant with her swords before he could react. She also quick to block Ikaris' optic beams with her shield and keep up with the equally fast Ikaris and General Kro throughout their fights. During the fight against Ikaris, while Makkari was distracting him, Thena was fast enough to get to him twice and hit him without Ikaris being able to react in time to her hits and kicks.
Superhuman Agility: Thena naturally possesses far greater agility, equilibrium, flexibility, dexterity, balance, and body coordination than any normal human being. This allows her to jump great heights and come down in elaborate somersaults, as well as leaping or lunging great distances with extreme accuracy. She was able to swiftly and easily take down several Deviants, while dodging and weaving around their attacks.
Superhuman Stamina: Thena's advanced musculature is considerably more efficient than any normal human being. As a result, her muscles virtually do not produce fatigue toxins during physical activity. Her endurance allows her to exercise her maximum capacity for an extremely long period of time without tiring at all.
Superhuman Reflexes: Thena can react and dodge objects traveling at high speeds, much quicker than any normal human being. Her reflexes were sharp and fast enough to deflect and block the blows of her opponents with her shield, like Ikaris' optic beams, as well as Kro's attacks, even when he was attacking behind her.
Enhanced Senses: Thena's senses are considerably sharper than any normal human being, being able to detect Kro's presence in the middle of the darkness of a cave and precisely hit him in the heart twice even without seeing him. During the search of other Eternals, only Thena and Makkari were able to sense someone was teleporting to the Domo, while Druig was completely unaware of it.
Regenerative Healing Factor: Thena's metabolism enables her to rapidly regenerate damaged bodily tissue with far greater speed and efficiency than any normal human being.
Immortality: As an Eternal, Thena is genetically able to live forever, without dying due to old age or illnesses. However, she suffers from Mahd Wy'ry due to the vast amount of memories she has made throughout her incredibly long lifespan.
Cosmic Energy Manipulation: By design of the Celestials, all Eternals are genetically capable of using cosmic energy. Each Eternal possesses a unique ability, all derived from the same cosmic power source. Thena uses her cosmic energy to form any handheld weapon she can think of.
Weapon Manifestation:
Thena creating her spear and shield
Thena wields the power to manifest any handheld weapon she can imagine with pure cosmic energy. This includes, but is not limited to spears, swords, shields, knives, axes and staffs. And though they may seem to be comprised of consistent and golden-hued light, with a certain superficial aesthetic about them, they are far from fragile and very well exceed the actual implements they were shaped after. Once manifested, Thena can near instantaneously change the form of a weapon, such as shifting a sword into an axe or shield, and even effect combinations, such as wielding a shield in one hand and a polearm by the other arm's hand. These weapon constructs are strong enough to pierce the skin of Eternals and Deviants, while her shield was shown to (at least momentarily) withstand Ikaris' optic beams.
Former Powers[]
Uni-Mind Energy Manipulation: The Eternals can harness their cosmic powers together to create the Uni-Mind, which amplifies their powers.
Levitation: During the Uni-Mind, Thena was able to float a few feet above the ground.
Thena is an extremely skilled and formidable hand-to-hand and armed combatant, with thousands of years of training and combat experience. The speed and fluidity with which she can manifest, and change the shape of, her weapon constructs in battle, makes her an unpredictable opponent.
Spear Mastery: Thena is extremely skilled at using spears in combat, often using cosmic energy to conjure spears as her weapon of choice during her battles, especially against the Deviants since the size of the weapon allowed her to strike them at close range. She was able to use it to fight against Deviants that had attacked a group of primitive Humans, plunging the spear in the back of its neck and through its throat, killing it instantly. Thena also briefly used it during her duel against Ikaris.
Thena is extremely skilled at using swords in combat, often using cosmic energy to conjure swords during her battles. She is able to slice through Deviants' limb, and even able to cut Enkidu's horn with ease during her clash against the creature in Babylon. Thena even managed to use them to kill Kro, slicing his body in several parts before he could react. This even extends to actual blades, as seen when she expertly wielded Excalibur in the Domo.
Shield Mastery: Thena is extremely skilled at using a shield in combat, often using cosmic energy to conjure a shield during her battles. She is able to block many attacks and even withstand extreme heavy assaults, including Ikaris' optical beams and Kro's cosmic exoskeleton punches.
Knife Mastery: Thena is extremely skilled at using a knife in combat, often using cosmic energy to conjure a knife during her battles. Upon being held by Kro's tentacles, she was able to create a knife and swiftly cut the tentacles, freeing herself.
Axe Mastery: Thena is extremely skilled at using an axe in combat, often using cosmic energy to conjure an axe during her battles.
Staff Mastery: Thena is extremely skilled at using a staff in combat, often using cosmic energy to conjure an axe during her battles.
Thena is an extremely skilled acrobat as seen combined with her hand-to-hand combat skills by fighting varying threats over the centuries. During her fights against the Deviants, Thena used this skill to jump around, on and off the violent creatures, enabling her to swiftly strike them with her weapons before they were able to repel her. Even centuries after her last fights against the Deviants, she was seen performing large and gracious jumps during her duel against Kro.
Gifted Intellect: Thena is an extremely smart individual able to solve logical problems and solutions that the Eternals face.
Multilingualism: Thena possesses an incredible aspect of various languages allowing her to communicate with other individuals in different languages.
Equipment[]
Weapons[]
Thena can form handheld weapons with cosmic energy, and can easily switch from one to another depending on what she needs. These weapons include:
Spear: Thena often conjured spears as her weapon of choice during her fights, especially against the Deviants since the size of the weapon allowed her to strike them at close range, and yet still keep the distance solid between herself and the target. She was seen using such a spear during a clash against Deviants that had attacked a group of primitive Humans, plunging the spear in the back of its neck and through its throat, killing it instantly. Thena also briefly used a spear during her duel against Ikaris.
Sword: Aside from her spear, Thena frequently created one or two swords, which she could use in combination with a shield. These swords were powerful enough to slice through Deviants' limb, as Thena was even able to cut Enkidu's horn with ease during her clash against the creature in Babylon. Thena also used swords to kill Kro, slicing his body in several parts before he was even able to react.
Shield: Thena had the habit of creating a shield during her fights, which she used in conjunction with either a spear or a sword. Those shields were resistant enough to withstand assaults from Ikaris' optical beams.
Knife:
Thena conjures a knife
Upon being held by Kro's tentacles, Thena was able to create a knife which she used to swiftly cut the tentacles and free herself before Kro was even able to react.
Axe: Although she did not use this kind of weapon compared to her sword and spear, Thena sometimes used an axe to cause heavy damage on her opponents. She used an axe to chop open Kappa's head. She also created one during her Mahd Wy'ry episode in Tenochtitlan while fighting Gilgamesh, and another during her final clash against Kro, with which she destroyed a rock wall, causing stream of lava to appear.
Staff: To be added
Excalibur: Thena found the famous sword laying around in Makkari's artifact collection aboard the Domo. She recognized the blade, having met King Arthur before.
Other Equipment[]
Celestial Armor: Thena donned a white armor, equipped on her by the Domo. The armor was durable enough to withstand multiple blows during the fight with the Deviants.
In the comics, Thena was born Azura, but her name was changed to resemble more the Greek goddess of Strategy and War, Athena. She mothered a son, Joey, with a human, Thomas Eliot. She is also the daughter of Zuras, and cousin of Thanos.
In the comics, Thena had a long relationship with General Kro and had two sons with him, Donald Ritter and Deborah Ritter.
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Thena on Marvel Database
Thena on Wikipedia
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