D23 Marvel Banner Teases Arishem the Celestial Judge – Hint at X-Men?

A banner at Disney’s D23 Expo appears to tease Arishem the Celestial Judge.

The banner at the Marvel booth features characters getting their own solo Disney+ shows as well as featuring characters that more than likely will have a prominent role in Phase 4 of the MCU. But a few background characters raise a few eyebrows, at least mine.

You can see both parts of the banner below. In this first tweet, you can see Hawkeye, Loki, Winter Soldier, and Falcon.

They are joined by Doctor Strange’s hand, Valkyrie, and Thor. Just below Thor is Wasp, who is cut off. But you can also make out The Watcher and what many believe to be Arishem the Celestial Judge.

The Celestials

Arishem makes his first appearance in Jack Kirby’s Eternals #2. The story sees Ikaris is exploring an ancient Incan facility with a couple of human archaeologists when they discover Arishem and his intent to judge the earth.

The Eternals are an offshoot race of humanity with extraordinary powers, originally created by the Celestials to be defenders of the Earth should their help be needed. Their ties with the Celestials are woven in to the lore of Marvel and I can’t imagine a film exploring the Eternals without diving into more of what the Celestials are in their making of them.

In fact, the Celestials are the progenitors of many of the species seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I would think that their role in creating much of what we are seeing in the films would have to be explored at some point.

The MCU Celestials

The only Celestial in action we have seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe thus far is Eson the searcher. Eson shows up in a playback-type recording from the Collector in Guardians of the Galaxy. There, he was wielding a staff with the Power Stone, eliminating an entire planet’s population with it. His role, as the role is with other Celestials, is to observe a race, analyze, and ultimately pass judgement on them.

We’ve also seen the remnants of another Celestial used as a port called Knowhere in Guardians of the Galaxy. In the comics, the Symbiote God Knull severed the head of the Celestial using the All Black blade.

The Celestials and Arishem could be the key to introducing the X-Men in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel Fact Files #8 confirms they were the ones who introduced the mutant gene into the human race.

The Eternals film and Arishem could be how the X-Men are introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

But what do you think of this tease of the inclusion of the Celestials? Sound off in the comments below or let’s talk it out on social media!