April 13's Eternals #11 from Kieron Gillen, Guiu Vilanova, Matthew Wilson, and Clayton Cowles contains the expected AXE: Judgment Day lead-in story about the Eternals attempting to commune with the dead Celestial whose husk forms the Avengers's headquarters, Avengers Mountain. But it also holds what may be a tragic surprise for fans of the title: the apparent end of the Eternals ongoing series.
The teaser caption on the last page of the issue which sets the stage for May 18's Eternals #12 reads "To be concluded…", rather than "To be continued." A simple difference to be sure, but it seems to be the nail in the coffin for the cancellation of the current Eternals series.
In that vein, the solicitation text for Eternals #12 also seems like it's foreshadowing an ending, stating "Thanos makes his final moves to end our world."
To be completely fair, the words "concluded" and "final" could be referring specifically to the story that's been unfolding in the pages of Eternals in which Thanos has gained leadership of the group, with his usual ill intent in mind - specifically, as stated, the destruction of Earth.
But there's one more big piece of the puzzle that seems to indicate Eternals will be ending as a series (at least for now - Marvel isn't shy about relaunching its titles when appropriate opportunities arise).
There's no Eternals issue scheduled for release in June, the same month that the AXE: Judgment Day crossover kicks off. Judgment Day pits the Eternals against the X-Men under the belief that mutantkind may be offshoots of the Eternals' enemies the Deviants, with the Avengers caught in the middle, all of which sounds like fair game for any number of status quo changes.
What's more, Marvel released a checklist for its July AXE: Judgment Day titles including the first two issues of the core event series, and a host of tie-in issues across the X-Men line - but curiously, it lists no tie-ins in any Avengers titles, nor does it list Eternals at all, implying that July could be the second month in a row with no Eternals issue.
As for Avengers, it's a lot less likely that Marvel would cancel the entire Avengers line just as it's about to launch Savage Avengers in May and All-Out Avengers right in July, indicating it's more probable that none of the Avengers titles (the other two being the core Avengers title and the spin-off Avengers Forever) will connect to AXE: Judgment Day with tie-ins.
Eternals could be in a similar boat, potentially paused for the duration of Judgment Day. The title previously took a hiatus with the gap between its issues being filled with several one-shots that built out the larger mythos of the current Eternals story. Judgment Day could be a similar hiatus point, with Eternals to return after the event concludes.
However, even if Eternals does come back after AXE: Judgment Day, that wouldn't preclude the title's current volume from coming to an end and relaunching with a new #1 post-Judgment Day.
Either way, there's a big ending coming to the current Eternals title, leading up to their big moment in AXE: Judgment Day. But if there's one important hallmark of the Eternals' nature that's been explored in the series, it's their ever-evolving ability to resurrect from even certain death.
Marvel could not offer official confirmation on whether the Eternals title is ending, nor whether it may relaunch. Stay tuned for any updates, and for Marvel's full July 2022 solicitations, coming later this month.
July brings Judgment Day to the X-Men titles, but those are just some of the new X-Men comics planned for release throughout 2022 and beyond.
