Thena: Bio, Origin & History

Real Name: Azura

First Appearance: (As Minerva) Red Raven Comics #1 (August, 1940) (As Thena) The Eternals #5 (November, 1976)

Powers: Thena is immensely powerful. As an Eternal, she’s capable of teleportation, telepathy, telekinesis, mind control, matter transmutation, and can create illusions. In addition, she possesses superhuman speed, durability, strength, and regeneration. Finally, she can project energy and can fly.

Affiliation: Eternals

Did You Know? Thena was played by Angelina Jolie in 2021’s Eternals movie. 

A Little History

The origin of Thena is pretty straightforward. 

Thena was created by Martin Bernstein and Jack Kirby. Although she first appeared as another character back in 1940, she first appeared as Thena inside the pages of Eternals #1 back in November of 1976.

Thena is a second-generation Eternal and the eldest daughter of Zuras, the leader of the Eternals of Earth. As someone over 4,000 years old, Thena is actually considered young by Eternal standards. Even though her name is now Thena, this wasn’t always so. As a tribute to her father, she was named Azura.

During the rise of the Greek Empire, the Olympian God Zeus decided that he would reveal himself and the other Gods to the humans. This was done so the humans would worship the Gods. Shortly after their reveal, Zeus and his daughter Athena held a meeting with Zuras and his daughter Azura. Quickly realizing that she and Azura looked very similar to one another, Athena suggested that the Eternals and Gods form an alliance. As a part of the alliance, the Eternals were to act as physical representations of the Gods on Earth. The four agreed and as a way of placing good faith in the arrangement, Zuras changed Azura’s name to Thena. This pact would’ve worked if it weren’t for the humans. Because the Eternals were the faces of the Gods, many humans mistook them for the actual Gods. As a result, a war broke out between the two parties. 

Unlike many of the other Eternals, Thena isn’t afraid to question what’s wrong and right. Take, for example, her relationship with the Deviant Kro. As a Deviant and rival of the Eternals, their love is forbidden. This, however, didn’t stop the two from seeing one another. Although it eventually fell apart, the two held a relationship for millennia with Thena even so far as traveling to the home of the Deviants. 

And that’s it. The origin of Thena.