{Mod edit} This thread has been renamed to honor a recently deceased member of our community, Guy222. He was an amazing person, a very big fan of the Celestials, and the nicest KMC member in its entire history. The thread announcing his passing can be found here. Stay peaceful, stay respectful, and enjoy the thread.
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Welcome
Yeah, get ready for another epic respect thread! This one dedicated to the enigmatic giants, the Celestials. Scans, info whatever. I have not yet decided to group single celestials from others, nor separate group showing from individual ones yet...they will be in a random order; maybe once I have an array of showings to choose from, I will organize the thread a bit more. As you know The Celestials don't really need respect for themselves, their abilities are expected to be high. Therefore, this will be a capabilities thread.
Enjoy.
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Background Info
ORIGIN THEORIES
Just what exactly ARE the Celestials? Does anyone know? Can we even comprehend what they are? Well, there are some interesting theories:
The Cognitorum of Velsarius Six believes the Celestials come from outside our multiverse.
According to the Philosopix Ultimus of the Uch'tul hegemony, the Celestials are stars that have reached the end of their cycles, and born from black holes.
The Overscholars of the Winding Mist think the Celestials may each be the survivors of a previous universe, and that when Galactus has served his purpose, he will become a Celestial in the next universe.
The Galaxy M31 once thought the Celestials are the physical manifestation of the evolutionary process, and are simply illusions.
But perhaps the most sound theory is the one held by Kubik & Kosmos, two former Cosmic Cubes. They believe that the Celestials are the creation of Eternity, and are sent forth by him to gather knowledge.
Which of these theories is correct? Well, none of them are proven. According to Kubik, we must each make our own decision about what the Celestials are. And that's the best answer there is.
WHAT WE DO KNOW
If you've read Fantastic Four#319, you know that the Celestials have a homeworld. It stand to reason then, that they have some sort of culture, civilization, and possibly, a good coffee shop, right? Wrong. The "homeworld" seen in that story was a trick, as the Beyonder later learnt. Trust no one.
Nonetheless, we DO know how Celestials are born. The Black Galaxy, a galaxy whose stars were all snuffed out by Ego, was transformed by the Celestials into a new Celestial, with the help of Hercules & Eric Masterson's DNA, and a big burst of energy from Stellaris (who was actually trying to kill the Celestials).
Given the above, it is interesting to note that the Black Galaxy, at the time of its transformation into a Celestial, was a dead galaxy. This suggests that dead galaxies are re-made into Celestials, or perhaps the "unworthy" ones, at least. We also know that Galactus is the Devourer of] Worlds, and that his destruction of life has a purpose. Could Galactus' constant ravagings have been making room for the creation of new Celestials? Food for thought.
Adding credance to the theory of Kubik and Kosmos, Eternity once mentioned how his desire to manipulate the events leading to the 2nd Kree-Skrull War led to the manifestation of the Celestials. But if the Celestials are born of Eternity, what of the Black Galaxy "birth" scene? The more we learn, the less we know.
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THEIR TECHNOLOGY
Despite being massively powerful- able to melt uru with their energies and erasing themselves from humanity's memories- the Celestials rely upon technology for some of their tricks. This includes space vessels for the Hosts- though Celestials are often seeing in "schools", as seen at the top of this page. The ancient mutant Apocalypse once possessed a Celestial Ship, which he re-programmed to serve him. It is not known when or how he obtained "Ship".
During their "Host" missions, the Celestials have been observed with certain scientific equipment. This includes the staff wielded by Eson, though it's purpose is not known. Gammenon has used a "Gather-Rod", with which he collects samples from planets by re-shaping them into the red blocks on the tip of the Rod. The Rod samples are then placed within the Analyzer, a scanning tool used by Jemiah. Only the Celestials' technology can restore what has been re-shaped by the Rod- much to the dismay of a trio of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents!
Probably the most famous Celestial device is "the Weapon", a large Celestial-size gun that was used to slay the Golden Celestial after he turned against the Host. For some reason, the Celestials did not take this device with them, but let the Eternals handle its imprisonment. When the device was fired, and threatened to destroy the world, the Celestial Ziran took care of the situation. Of course, another Galactus connection suggests itself- is "the Weapon" related to the famed Ultimate Nullifier?
A Deviant expedition to the Celestial Mothership during the 4th Host discovered onboard a "crystal key", some source of great power. The readings they took were duplicated by Deviants on earth, and Ghaur used the Crystal Key to open the Vial containing the essence of the Dreaming Celestial. It is not known what purpose the original "key" may have had, beyond a power source.
Lastly, the Celestials have provided advanced technology to those who have accompanied them in travel- such as the vessels used by the Brethren and the Young Gods. Perhaps Apocalypse's "Ship", which is far too small for a Celestial, was previously used by the Celestials' allies.
Communicating with a mind of a single Eternal, "I am a tiny part of the mind ( A subroutine/ Demon/ The smallest circuit) of one of the order of things you call celestials."
Trying to explain some of the concepts that Celestials use as to why they imprisoned The Dreaming Celestial here, to a human, would be like a human explaining their concepts to bacteria/microbe.
They have no referent.