Marvel Zombies placed a Zombie Captain Marvel in a stalemate battle with the Eternals' Ikaris for a crazy reason that the Disney+ series never explained. Alongside a group of superhero survivors, Marvel Zombies turned many MCU heroes and villains into undead monsters, led by Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff, aka The Dead Queen, with Danai Gurira's Okoye serving as her right-hand. These zombies maintained their existing superpowers and skills, with Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye still able to fire a bow and Brie Larson's Captain Marvel wielding her familiar cosmic power in an endless fight with an Eternal.
On their road through the apocalypse in Marvel Zombies Episode 1, Kamala, Kate, and Riri stumbled across a canyon carved into a mountain range. However, the crater was not natural terrain, but rather the result of two MCU powerhouse superheroes being trapped in an endless battle, unable to beat each other.
The conflict saw Zombie Captain Marvel fighting the Eternals' Ikaris through the skies above Pennsylvania, with FRIDAY's analysis confirming Ikaris is not undead. Rather, FRIDAY notes that Ikaris is "inorganic" - as fans will be aware, as the Eternals are synthetic beings created by Arishem in the World Forge - and "heavily damaged," presumably as a result of his never-ending fight.
Marvel Zombies is only the third MCU project to feature an Eternal, with the group debuting in 2021's Eternals and Kumail Nanjiani's Kingo returning in What If...? Season 3 for a classic Hollywood tale with Kathryn Hahn's Agatha Harkness.
The Pennsylvania-located wasteland was later described by Blade Knight as the Valley of the Broken Gods, explaining it as holding two god-like beings stuck in a stalemate who "[pause] only to destroy those dumb enough" to be seen:
"Two beings of immense power, each unable to beat the other, pausing only to destroy those dumb enough to get their attention."
Carol Danvers' madness was driven by her quantum virus infection and innate desire to spread the zombie plague. But as Richard Madden's Eternals god was confirmed not to be a zombie, why was he equally stuck in this battle?
Eternals Already Explained Ikaris' Madness in Marvel Zombies
Firstly, it is instantly clear that Richard Madden's Ikaris is not his usual self, given his apparent willingness to destroy those who wander through the valley. Marvel Studios offered one explanation for Ikaris' madness through Mahd Wy'ry, a concept plucked from the comics and introduced to the MCU in Eternals.
Angelina Jolie's Thena suffered from this tragic disability in Eternals, manifesting as a dementia-like illness resulting from the many memories these gods have collected in their immortal lives. The degenerative illness has been known to make Eternals forget who they are and be driven to madness, becoming a danger to all.
One symptom of Mahd Wy'ry is white eyes that lead the Eternal to attack anyone around, which aligns with Ikaris' appearance and role in the Valley of the Broken Gods, constantly attacking Zombie Captain Marvel and anyone else near.
While the Mahd Wy'ry theory certainly has the most evidence, Ikaris could be trying to protect the cosmos in this Pennsylvanian valley. The Eternals icon may be battling to keep the Zombie Captain Marvel on Earth and avoid spreading the plague through the rest of the universe, possibly under Arishem's instruction. As his on-screen death isn't shown, it can be assumed that Ikaris is one of the few survivors of Marvel Zombies by series' end.
Captain Marvel's ability to go toe-to-toe with a member of the godlike Eternals will leave one questioning just how powerful she is in the MCU. One could argue that being stuck in a stalemate with Ikaris, even in a zombified state, is her greatest feat shown on-screen yet, which could shift her up the MCU power rankings.
