Ikaris

Key takeaways

Ikaris belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ikaris to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ikaris from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Ikaris is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in The Eternals #1 (July 1976) and was created by Jack Kirby. The character is depicted as a member of a race known as the Eternals. Richard Madden played Ikaris in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, debuting in Eternals (2021).

Publication history Ikaris first appeared in Eternals #1 (July 1976) and was created by Jack Kirby. Neil Gaiman, with artist John Romita, Jr., created a 2006 miniseries, which helped bring the Eternals' role in the modern Marvel Universe up-to-date. Originally solicited as a six-issue series, an extra issue was added to the run, because, according to editor Nick Lowe, "There was too much story to fit into the structure we set for ourselves. Neil was starting issue five and told me that he might need a seventh issue. He just had too much story to fit in six issues (even with the first and sixth double-sized)".

Fictional character biography

Origins Ikaris was born over 20,000 years ago in Polaria, in the area now known as Siberia. He is the son of the Eternals Virako and Tulayn. His real birth name is unknown. When the Second Host of the Celestials sank the Deviant Lemuria in what is known as the "Great Cataclysm", Ikaris guides a ship of humans to safety. The humans mistake Ikaris for a bird, and he is memorialized as the dove that guided Noah to the Mountains of Ararat.

Early centuries Ikaris chose his name due to a tragic accident hundreds of years ago. While fighting the Deviants in ancient Greece, the man eventually known as Ikaris meets and weds a human woman. Together they bear a son named Icarus, who loves to soar with his father high above the seas and mountains of Greece. In time, the Eternal builds his son mechanical wings so the boy can fly on his own. When his father disappears while fighting the Deviants, the young Icarus seeks him out using the mechanical wings. Too inexperienced to fly on his own, young Icarus soars too high, loses consciousness in the upper atmosphere, and falls to his death. Finding his son dead, the father Eternal takes the name of his son, Ikaris, in his memory. Around 1000 AD, Virako, Ikaris' father, dies in battle against the Deviant Dromedan. Ikaris is then adopted by his uncle Valkin, who reveals to him his secret Arctic home, the Pyramid of the Winds.

Modern age During the Fourth Host, the arrival of Celestials on Earth, Druig captures and tortures Ikaris to force him to reveal the location of the Pyramid of the Winds. Ikaris catches up with Druig and kills him. Ikaris becomes a professional wrestler with the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation as "Iceberg" Ike Harris. Ikaris and fellow Eternal Thena have had a strong dislike for each other for a long time, and find themselves coming to conflict when she is appointed as Prime Eternal. Questioning her worth as Prime Eternal, Ikaris faces her in the Hall of Eternal Judgment and defeats her, becoming the new Prime Eternal.

Changed Reality (Eternals mini-series) The Eternals were the victims of memory and reality manipulation by former Eternal Sprite, and thus have forgotten their true identities. Ikaris visited Mark Curry to try to awaken/remember his past but he rebuked him. Although Ikaris (calling himself Ike Harris) was captured and atomized by two Deviants agents, Gelt and Morjak, his body reappears at the bottom of the Antarctic city of Olympia. His body and powers fully restored by the sentient city, Ikaris regains his memories and sets out to awaken his fellow Eternals to their true identities. After a prolonged battle, he at last unites the few Eternals present. He then plans to team up with Makkari and reawaken the ninety other Eternals.

Eternals' search (Eternals – Volume 4) Thena and Ikaris find that Druig has a similar mission to their own and is trying to find and convert Eternals to his cause. Ikaris and Thena approach Phastos, who thinks he is an engineer in Sweden named Phillip Voss. Thena tries to trigger his memory with questions about his past under the guise that she and Ikaris are attorneys executing the will of a deceased relative of Voss. This ploy proves to be a failure and Ikaris just wants to force the memories on the Eternals who have lost their memories.

Death Later when the Final Host arrived on Earth, Ikaris along with all the Eternals killed themselves after realizing the true purpose for which they were created. He was the last Eternal still alive when Iron Man and Doctor Strange traveled to the Mountains of Greece, to try to get some answers from the Eternals. Before his death, he told the heroes the reason for the mass suicide. Ikaris and the other Eternals are later resurrected simultaneously.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ikaris

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ikaris claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ikaris before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ikaris ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ikaris

In research: Ikaris appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ikaris in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ikaris is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Characters created by Jack Kirby, Comics characters introduced in 1976, Eternals (comics), so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ikaris outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Ikaris in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ikaris means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ikaris out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ikaris in simple terms?

Ikaris is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in The Eternals #1 (July 1976) and was created by Jack Kirby.

Why does Ikaris matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ikaris?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ikaris.