Thena Vs. Ajak: Who Would Win And Why?
The Eternals movie is right around the corner, and with the newest piece of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, new characters will get their introduction. The comics reveal there are many Earth Eternals, and among the most powerful are Thena and Ajak. The question is, who is more powerful?
Although Thena took over as the leader of Earth’s Eternals after Zuras passed away, Ajak is much stronger than her and would easily win if they ever fought one on one. Ajak is known as an unstoppable assassin and the greatest warrior in the history of the Eternals.
There’s evidence to this claim, too. For instance, his (her in the MCU) mind was once corrupted by the Deviants, and they used him to slaughter many Eternals, as they couldn’t match his power and battle skills even though they are the same kind. With that being said, Thena also has incredible powers she could use, so let’s compare her and Ajak to see who would win in a fight and why.
Thena And Her Powers
Thena is one of the most powerful Earth Eternals who became their leader after the former leader, Zuras, died. The character first appeared as Minerva in Red Raven Comics #1 in 1940, and then later in Eternals #5 in 1976 as Thena. Her creators are Martin A. Burnstein and Jack Kirby, and Angelina Jolie will portray the character in the movie.
As the story goes, her initial name was Azura, an Eternal who broke the rules and had a relationship with a Deviant named Kro. She had been tricked and corrupted by the Deviants several times, even pitting her against other Eternals at times.
Zuras was her father and the leader of Earth’s Eternals. Zuras and Azura met ancient Greek gods Zeus and Athena. Seeing their uncanny physical resemblance, they formed an alliance where Zuras and Azura would serve as the representatives of Zeus and Athena on Earth. In the process, Azura had been renamed Thena.
She plans to unite all the species – humans, Eternals, and Deviants – in a peaceful war against the Space-Gods, aka the Celestials, who are also their creators (Eternals Vol. 1 #6). Being the leader of the Earth Eternals after her father’s death, Thena is one of the most powerful Eternals in existence. Let’s see what her powers are.
Eternal Physiology
Thena is an Earth Eternal, a being created by the Celestials with incredible powers and abilities, including cosmic energy and matter manipulation. Her Eternal physiology means that she’s immortal – even when they die approximately every 20 000 years, they get reborn.
She also has incredible superhuman strength, capable of lifting around 25 tons. It’s an average Eternal strength, but it’s still incredibly powerful.
Thena is also incredibly durable and can withstand huge amounts of damage. That power comes from her ability to control her body’s molecules using psionic energy. You can kill her only if you disperse all her molecules in a vast area.
Apart from superhuman strength and durability, Thena also has superhuman speed, stamina, agility, and reflexes and can fly by controlling psionic energy around her.
Cosmic Energy Manipulation
Thena can control cosmic energy very effectively, which includes thermokinesis (heat production), photokinesis (light production), weapon manifestation (creating weaponry out of pure cosmic energy like swords, shields, spears, etc.), and finally, she can focus cosmic energy into concussive blasts.
Telepathy and Telekinesis
Thena is a very powerful telepath. She can implant thoughts into any mind that’s weaker than her, and she can also create very powerful illusions. Most commonly, she uses this power to disguise herself as a regular human. Thena can also teleport over large distances, but it drains her cosmic energy.
It’s important to note that Thena, as well as other Eternals, only have near-immortality. They heal and control their bodily molecules using their mind. If they get injured while that connection is broken and they don’t manipulate their molecules to survive, they can be killed.
Ajak And His (Her) Powers
Ajak is a male Earth Eternal but will get a gender swap for the MCU movie, being portrayed by Salma Hayek. The first appearance of the character happened in 1976 when Jack Kirby introduced Ajak in Eternals #2.
Ajak was a member of a sub-group known as the Polar Eternals, and he is the most powerful Eternal warrior of all time. He’s so powerful; he had been awakened from a very long sleep because they needed his help in the war against the Deviants. With some adjustments, he has much of the same powers as Thena, so I’ll try to keep it short.
Eternal Physiology
Ajak, much like Thena, was created by the Celestials a million years ago and had vast superhuman powers, such as superhuman strength, speed, stamina, reflexes, and durability. His Eternal nature also allows Ajak to fly at around 650 mph (1045 kph), but the biggest trait is his near-immortality.
The Eternals have total conscious control over their body molecules, meaning they can rearrange them with a thought, resulting in instant healing, disease immunity, no aging, etc. However, if they lose the mind’s presence to manipulate their molecules, they can be killed.
Molecular Manipulation
This is a separate form of molecular manipulation regarding the molecules outside of their body. Ajak is a Third level adept (there are five levels), meaning he can rearrange around 450 kg of molecules in a matter of minutes, but needs some time to recover to use the power again.
Much like Thena, Ajak can also manipulate cosmic energy in the same way, resulting in thermokinesis, photokinesis, and concussive energy bolts.
Greatest Eternal Warrior Ever
Finally, what sets Ajak apart from other Earth Eternals is his battle skills. They are all highly experienced and capable in battle, but Ajak is the most skillful warrior their kind had ever seen. He fought Deviants and even killed many Eternals after the Deviants managed to corrupt his mind.
One-on-one, no Earth Eternal can take him down in battle, and only Kronos and Thanos are more powerful overall.
Thena Vs. Ajak: Who Would Win And Why?
Although Thena is the leader of the Earth Eternals, if she ever fought Ajak one-on-one, she would lose. She has other qualities that make her the perfect leader for her kind on Earth, but when it comes to battle, nobody can match Ajak.
Ajak is the greatest Eternal warrior of all time. While he (or she, in the upcoming movie) and Thena have virtually the same powers, Ajak is simply superior in battle. You might wonder, why isn’t Ajak the leader then? Well, he doesn’t possess other qualities that Thena has outside of battle.
Thena has an unfathomably brilliant intellect, studying with the greatest Eternal scholars and human intellectuals throughout her existence. She has immense education and both Eternal and human knowledge, which she often uses in the battle to outwit her enemies.
That’s an angle where Thena might have a chance to defeat Ajak, too, but I would choose Ajak to win this fight four out of five times. I mean, he fought Thor and comfortably defeated him, which is evidence of his skill and power alone.
