How Strong is the Eternal Gilgamesh in the Marvel Universe?

Discussing individual characters can be both interesting and not. That, of course, depends on the character. In this case, we have picked a very interesting persona that appears in Marvel’s stories called Gilgamesh, or the Forgotten One. Gilgamesh is one of the Eternals and is a quite interesting character, more than a lot of other members of his race. In preparation for the upcoming movie, we at Fiction Horizon have decided to introduce the character to you so you can know what to expect.

Gilgamesh, also known as the Forgotten One, is one of the strongest Eternals, but he is not the strongest. He is physically imposing, has excellent durability and an efficient healing factor, which makes him one of the best when fighting is concerned. Still, there are several Eternals stronger than him.

In today’s article, you are going to find out everything you need to know about Gilgamesh. We are going to tell you who he was and what his powers are, as well as how strong he is in the comics and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), where he is set to appear. Enjoy!

Who is Gilgamesh in the Marvel Universe?

The Forgotten One, also known as Hero and Gilgamesh, is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in The Eternals #13 (1977) and was created by Jack Kirby. He is a member of the near-immortal race known as the Eternals. He was also a member of the Avengers.

Gilgamesh was a warrior of the race of Eternals. He roamed the Earth during Antiquity, helping villagers eliminate dangerous beasts, bandits, and tyrants. He is therefore often confused with the legendary Hercules, or even Samson.

This is why he was given the nickname Hero by his followers. Zuras, the leader of the Eternals, decided to punish the Hero, who was showing himself too proud and too human, by confining him to a district of the city of Olympia. Gilgamesh was therefore banished for centuries, remaining alone in his isolation, forgotten by everyone (hence the name the Forgotten One).

Centuries later, as the Deviants threatened to start a war with the Celestials, the young Sprite set out to seek the warrior’s help, with the aid of the Celestials. Gilgamesh reappeared on Earth, but he was now blind (although this was somewhat remedied after a while).

It is believed that his blindness was a warning from the Celestials to the Eternals, not to act against them. To thank him, Zuras accepted his return and named him Hero. At the request of the Celestials, he left to help Kro, the new leader of the Deviants, at their city of Lemuria. He later traveled to New York and protected the city from a demonic invasion.

He joined the Avengers and stayed with them, calling himself Gilgamesh. He was killed by a ruse of Immortus (aka Kang the Conqueror). However, later he was found alive.

When Sprite used the Heavenly Dreamer to make the Eternals amnesiac and rewrite their lives, Gilgamesh became a strongman in a circus in Mexico. It was Ajak who woke him up and manipulated him to make him face the Eternals Makkari and Ikaris.

What are Gilgamesh’s powers in the Marvel Universe?

Gilgamesh, on the other hand, is a member of the race of the Eternals, and possesses a number of superhuman abilities common to the Eternals, but has trained some of them much more than normal.

Although his exact limits are unknown, his immense superhuman strength makes him the strongest Eternal known, except for Thanos. His strength has been seen to rival that of Thor and Hercules. Like all other Eternals, Gilgamesh is practically immortal. He has not aged since he reached adulthood and is immune to all known diseases. In addition, its body is highly durable and resistant to physical damage.

He is capable of withstanding large-caliber bullets, drops from great heights, powerful shocks, and extreme temperatures without being injured. That said, it is possible to permanently or fatally injure him by disrupting the mental discipline he maintains over his body, which normally allows him to control each of his molecules and thus regenerate any damaged or destroyed tissue.

Other abilities he has in common with most other Eternals include the power to levitate and fly at high speed, project rays of shocking force or heat with his eyes and hands, and manipulate matter.

It is not known to what degree these powers have developed compared to other Eternals, but the first two mentioned are believed to be within average. Being blind has made him develop the rest of his senses enormously, which makes him an excellent hunter and tracker.

Gilgamesh is one of the Eternals’ most skilled melee combatants. He possesses an extraordinary ability to fight hand, and knows most of the martial arts created by the ancient civilizations of Earth. He sometimes wears combat armor of unknown composition, and is usually armed with simple hand weapons such as an ax, a spear or a mace.

As far as his powers are concerned, here is what the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z (2010) states about Gilgamesh and his powers based on certain criteria:

How strong is Gilgamesh in the comics?

Gilgamesh, or the Forgotten One, is described as a very powerful Eternal and is usually listed among the strongest Eternals. In our recent list of the 20 strongest Eternals, we have placed him in the upper half of the list, on spot #9. Seeing that the Eternals are generally powerful, this was a solid ranking for a guy who relies primarily on his physical strength.

In terms of sheer physical force, Gilgamesh does, indeed, seem to be the most powerful among the Eternals. He is definitely stronger than the ones below him on the list, but in terms of physical power, he seems to be stronger even than those listed higher than him on our list. He is just so incredibly imposing and he can use his other powers to boost his powers in that aspect.

In addition to that, he is extremely durable and has a pretty efficient healing factor, which is something that you could count as an advantage in direct combat. This is also quite useful in hand-to-hand combat, as it enables Gilgamesh to withstand a large number of hits without going down, which makes him a truly formidable foe.

However, when other powers are taken into consideration, especially energy manipulation and speed, Gilgamesh is not as imposing as some other Eternals. This is why we ranked him ninth and not first on our list. He is undoubtedly stronger than all the ones below him on the list, but when it comes to his complete persona, he is not the strongest Eternal in the comics. He is the most imposing ones in terms of physical strength but when one considers his complete abilities, he can’t be placed on top of the list.

A large disadvantage of his is his intelligence, as the above-shown table suggests. This doesn’t mean that Gilgamesh is stupid, but he doesn’t really use his brain to win a fight, he prefers to use his strength. In a fight, which is often a tactical showdown, there are other Eternals and characters that could easily outwit Gilgamesh and that is also why we cannot really state that he is the strongest among the Eternals.

How strong is Gilgamesh in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)?

As far as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is concerned, we still have many unknown facts about Gilgamesh. We do know that he is going to appear in the movie and that he is going to be played by Don Lee. This casting was confirmed in April 2019 and confirmed later that year, when Kevin Feige revealed that Lee’s at the time undisclosed role would be that of Gilgamesh.

Lee’s Gilgamesh has been described, initially, as the strongest Eternal, being able to project an exoskeleton of cosmic energy. He is also described as Thena’s partner in exile. So, is he really the strongest? We don’t know. In the comics, as we have established, Gilgamesh was among the strongest but not the strongest Eternal. The MCU describes him as the strongest, but it is more likely that this means that he is the physically strongest among the Eternals in the movie, which would make sense.

When compared to his comic book powers and the table above, this short batch of information doesn’t really reveal much. We have to see how the writers decided to portray Gilgamesh, seeing how there is certainly a lot of potential for him to be a very important and intriguing figure. The numbers are certainly favoring him, that much is quite evident, but we’ll just have to wait and see how these numbers translate onto the big screen and the larger picture of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

His actual powers are going to be revealed quite soon, as the Eternals hit theaters in November 2021 so we’ll soon have the opportunity to see what the guy can actually do in the movie.

And that’s it for today. We hope you had fun reading this and that we gave you all the information you were looking for! See you next time and don’t forget to follow us!

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