El Eternauta: Difference between revisions
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Widely considered a masterpiece, it's reading is highly suggested. There is a [[sequel]], made in 1976-77, which is a bit more [[Darker and Edgier]], and mostly regarded quite a good comic but not as brilliant as the original. There was later a [[Sequelitis|third installment]], notoriously infamous for lack of endorsement by the original authors, with Oesterheld being [[Author Existence Failure|already dead]] and hired writers and artists [[They Just Didn't Care|who remained anonymous at the time]]. Starting in [[The Nineties]], a lot of other sequels and homages, both official and unofficial, were released, cementing it as an important part of Argentine pop culture. Solano López eventually created the ''Universo Eternauta'' brand ("Eternaut Universe") in order to publish both new and old (with bonus material) stories.
Plans for making [[The Movie]] [[Development Hell|have been tossed around for decades]], but as of 2009-2010 it seems they are [https://web.archive.org/web/20100409073208/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1235526/ finally getting somewhere].
There are translations to French and Italian, Italy being a country where El Eternauta hit it
It is considered an all-time classic by several comic historians and scholars, such as Claude Moliterni, Franco Restaino, Thierry Groensteen, Daniele Barbieri and many others. Any serious universal history/dictionary of graphic narrative has it indexed in a noteworthy article.
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{{tropelist}}
* [[And I Must Scream]]: After watching it happen to a friend, {{spoiler|the protagonist, who's fully paralyzed, gets an antenna shoved into the back of his head, knowing in advance it will make him a slave forced to kill, betray or worse his fellow human survivors.}} Thought bubbles: No! '''NOOOO!!!'''
* [[Apocalypse How]]: A green phosphorescent snowfall which, by unknown means, wipes virtually any kind of
* [[Apologetic Attacker]]: {{spoiler|The ''Manos'' ("Hands") race are enslaved via a "terror gland" that segregates venom whenever they feel fear. This way they cannot even think of rebellion, since just thinking of it would cause them fear, ending their lives. However, once the gland has been activated, they are finally "freed" (at least for a few minutes until they die) and usually they regret bitterly about their evil doings.}}
* [[Applied Phlebotinum]]: Most of the alien technology is so advanced that even the scientist of the group, Favalli, doesn't have a clue on how it works. Grade 1 in the [[Mohs Scale of Science Fiction Hardness]].
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* [[Art Evolution]]: Favalli starts as a fit - if quite bulky - character, only to become fatter as the story advances. His increased belly even becomes relevant to a minor plot point.
* [[Badass Normal]]: Most of the main characters are just common middle-class Buenos Aires citizens. However, when the shit hits the fan they discover they were much more resourceful that they thought, and actually pretty [[Badass]], particularly Franco. It also must be noticed that the militiamen fight without order but, with some exceptions, they are consistently brave and loyal.
* [[Big Creepy-Crawlies]]: The "
* [[Bittersweet Ending]]
* [[Body Horror]]: Having an antenna's dozens of spikes forced into the back of your head... while all you can do is scream inside your mind because you are fully paralyzed. See [[Ridiculously-Human Robots]].
* [[The Capital of Brazil Is Buenos Aires]]: Heavily averted, since both writer and artist are Porteños (i.e. from Buenos Aires). See [[Shown Their Work]].▼
* [[Cozy Catastrophe]]: Uh-uh. Forget it.
* [[The Day of the Triffids]]: A probable source of inspiration. Oesterheld never stated so, but there is an Argentinean translation of the novel published in 1956, and he was a Sci-Fi fan (he even directed a Sci-Fi and science magazine, ''Más Allá'' ("Beyond")), so it's not farfetched.▼
* [[Desolation Shot]]: When your city is a frozen fluorescent graveyard, it goes without saying that every single shot count as one.
* [[Despair Event Horizon]]: Salvo and his friends are pushed against it, over and over again. Most of the times, they manage to stay in the good side.
* [[Eldritch Abomination|Eldritch Abominations]]: {{spoiler|The ''Ellos'' (literally "Them") are never to be seen, but it is quite probable they qualify for this. The closest description we have of them is being "[[Cosmic Horror|The Cosmic Hatred]]".}}
**
***
* [[The End of the World as We Know It]]: if not the end of the world, period.▼
* [[Giving Radio to the Romans]]: or, in this case forges, steam machines, primitive pistols, muskets and cannons to the Cave People (which are actually [[After the End|in the future]], but have been enslaved and kept in the stone age).
* [[Hope Spot]]: The comic throws them frequently - only to crush them
* [[Insectoid Aliens]]: The ''Cascarudos'', of course.
* [[It Gets Worse]]: and then worse. And then worse. Even worse. The end.
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** However, in the [[Darker and Edgier]] sequel, Salvo makes a [[Face Heel Turn]], making his disregard to human life somewhat of a shock for the fans of the first part (and even for his comrades in-story).
*** Possible [[Fridge Logic]] explanation: those years of deep space wandering really [[Character Development|took their toll on Salvo]], who used to be a nice and caring family man. The guy is out for revenge.
* [[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits]]: {{spoiler|An improvised army mostly made of unprepared civilians fights against an invasion armada of [[Big Creepy-Crawlies]], robot men and [[Our Monsters Are Different|monsters 30mts. tall with skins made of indestructium]] directed by [[Higher-Tech Species]]. Of course, as it turn out they are all but controlled pawns of [[Eldritch Abomination|Eldritch Abominations]]. Averted partially, since they [[Dying Like Animals|die in great numbers]], are treated with disdain by the professional officers and they all suffer a [[Fate Worse Than Death]] except for Salvo and his family. It is also a [[Justified Trope]], since in both parts there is [[It's Up to You|no professional army to rely on]]}}.
* [[Ridiculously-Human Robots]]: TERRIFYINGLY Human Robots, since the ''Manos'' use a device that, inserted in the spine of a human, transforms his nervous system [[Mind Rape|into a living puppet]] used to [[And I Must Scream|kill or capture more humans]]. You know... for kids!
* [[Rubber Forehead Aliens]]: The ''Manos'', being completely humanoid except that they have enormous hands with dozens of fingers... and large foreheads.
* [[Scenery Gorn]]: Many places and landmarks of late 1950s Buenos Aires are [[Shown Their Work|carefully reproduced]], and destroyed. And then {{spoiler|the entire city is nuked}}.▼
* [[Screw the Rules, I Have a Nuke]]: Nuclear strategic missiles from [[Eagle Land|some superpower from the North]] fall over Buenos Aires. They are defused in mid-air by the aliens, but when {{spoiler|the protagonists [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|blow the artificial habitat of "Them" with a bazooka]], it is bad news that one last missile was still on the way, nuking [[Acceptable Targets|Buenos Aires]]}}. For good. [[It Gets Worse]].
▲* [[Scenery Gorn]]: Many places and landmarks of late 1950s Buenos Aires are [[Shown Their Work|carefully reproduced]], and destroyed. And then {{spoiler|the entire city is nuked}}.
* [[Shown Their Work]]: a great deal of the success of El Eternauta was due to the lavishing depictions of Buenos Aires Solano made, with landmarks as Plaza Itala, Estadio Monumental, Zoológico Municipal or the Congress Building being invaded and devastated by aliens. The different ethnic and social types of Argentina, the decoration, cars, guns, just everything is extremely accurate, in order to make the invasion trope very real, and the perspective of this [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future]] scenario more dreadful for the 1950's reader.
* [[Slave Mooks]]: Every single {{spoiler|enemy we see turns out to be naught but a fear- or mind-controlled slave to the [[Eldritch Abomination|REAL invaders]]}}.
* [[Steampunk]]: A very curious and [[Older Than They Think|early]] approach. In the Second Part, the Cave People are subjected by [[Higher-Tech Species]] that have been stranded for centuries because of a malfunctioning spaceship and are quite bitter about it. Limited in their high tech supplies and armory, they keep the Cave People enslaved and unable to advance technologically, using an army of ferocious [[Artificial Human|
* [[Talking the Monster to Death]]: The information obtained by Juan Salvo from {{spoiler|the first Hand and how they are actually being controlled by a fear gland}} probes to be massively useful later on trough the series.
** Professor Favalli manages to be the first to weaponize this knowledge and [[Moment of Awesome|its as awesome as it sounds.]]
▲* [[The Capital of Brazil Is Buenos Aires]]: Heavily averted, since both writer and artist are Porteños (i.e. from Buenos Aires). See [[Shown Their Work]].
▲* [[The Day of the Triffids]]: A probable source of inspiration. Oesterheld never stated so, but there is an Argentinean translation of the novel published in 1956, and he was a Sci-Fi fan (he even directed a Sci-Fi and science magazine, ''Más Allá'' ("Beyond")), so it's not farfetched.
▲* [[The End of the World as We Know It]]: if not the end of the world, period.
* [[The Watcher]]: In the second part, a {{spoiler|good invader}} kindof has this role.▼
* [[Vichy Earth]]: Implied by some "Mano" that this is what will become of the planet if [[The Resistance]] loses (humans made slave labor and resources plundered). Then, at the end, its implied by another "Mano" {{spoiler|that this actually came to pass after Earth fell.}}
* [[Zeerust]]: Alien technology seems quite outdated and camp-material, but, well, [[The Fifties|the same thing happens with just any Sci-Fi comic of that decade]]. Actually, put in context, some thingamajigs still look pretty cool and/or deadly. The trope runs very straight for the futuristic Buenos Aires of the [[Canon
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Argentine Comics]]
[[Category:El Eternauta]]
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