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The Coming of the Final Host: The Story of the Dark Celestials

Humanity: The Great Cosmic Infection

By Zack KrafsigPublished 6 years ago 6 min read
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Four billion years ago, an Alpha Celestial known as The Progenitor crossed paths with a swarm of cosmic insects called the Horde. Becoming infected with these space bugs, the omnipotent space god grew ill and crash landed on the planet that would become Earth. The Progenitor died a slow and painful death, bleeding and vomiting its infected fluids all over the surface of a young Earth. The cosmic vomit mixed with the primordial stew, spawned more of the Horde, as well as creating life on Earth and turning the planet into a treasure trove of super-powered individuals.

Three billion, nine hundred and ninety-nine million years later, another Celestial by the name of Zgerb The Aspirant arrived on Earth, looking for The Progenitor (believed to be his mate). Quickly becoming infected with the Horde and driven mad, Zgerb engaged in battle with a group of mutants, monsters, and gods. This group (dubbed “The Avengers of the Stone Age”) was led by a Mjolnir-wielding Odin, and consisted of the first avatar of the Phoenix Force, the first wielder of the Iron Fist, the first Black Panther, Agamotto the first Sorcerer Supreme, the first Starbrand, and the first Ghost Rider. These Avengers defeated Zgerb and buried him deep under the planet’s surface.

Not long after, the First Host of Celestials arrived on Earth, intent on avenging their fallen comrades. Overconfident, Odin led his team to ruin against the cosmic gods. Readying himself for death, the First Host suddenly left the planet, seeing that humanity could evolve and develop a cure to wipe out the Horde. The planet was then left to its own devices, breeding new super-powered beings and cultivating the energies and magics that allowed for humankind to create even more. All the while, unbeknownst to Odin and his prehistoric allies, the Horde didn’t kill Zgreb, instead they converted him into the first of the Dark Celestials. Underground is where Zgreb stayed, imprisoned, mourning his lover, until 2017, where he was found by the Asgardian Trickster God Loki. Loki freed Zgreb, rechristened “The Sorrower,” and the two rounded up and infected many other Celestials.

Together, they, Loki, and these Dark Celestials created the Final Host, killing all the First Host and sending their bodies through massive wormholes, all leading to Earth. They fell, causing massive destruction across the planet. Captain Marvel attempted to minimize the damage that the two-thousand-foot-tall corpses falling to Earth could do while Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and the last survivor of the First Host, Eson, brought the fight to the Final Host themselves. All the while, Doctor Strange and Black Panther investigated the unique energy signature surrounding the underground prison Zgreb was held in. Finding tunnels leading to the center of the Earth, the two of them found a massive nest of Horde eggs, which all began to hatch. While Strange and T’Challa fought the Horde underground, Jennifer Walters and Robbie Reyes fought the Horde above ground as She-Hulk and Ghost Rider.

Eson died sending a message to She-Hulk to retrieve Strange and T’Challa from the Horde nest. Loki then revealed himself as the architect of this epidemic, claiming that humanity is a disease, and he and the Final Host would cleanse them from the Earth. Captain America, having been kidnapped by the Final Host, activated a warp grenade that teleported himself, Loki, and the entire Final Host into the center of Earth’s sun in an attempt to stop this threat. This plan ultimately failed, and they all teleported to the North Pole, The Progenitor’s final resting place. After regrouping, this new team of Avengers split up to find answers on their current predicament. Doctor Strange and Iron Man went to visit the Eternals home in Olympia to find out how to defeat Celestials, Captain Marvel and Black Panther left for the Alpha Flight Space Station to research a way to defeat the Horde, Thor and She-Hulk traveled to Asgard to confront Odin on how he staved off the First Host, and Ghost Rider set off to find where Loki and the Final Host were keeping Captain America.

Strange and Stark arrived at Olympia, finding that the Eternals have committed a mass suicide once they found out that humanity was a mistake. The last surviving Eternal, Ikaris, gifted Iron Man with accesses to the Uni-mind, an entity that the Eternals used to defeat Celestials previously. Thor and She-Hulk learned of Odin’s history as Earth’s first defender, and he led them to a room containing a powerful weapon that, while it wouldn’t help them win, it would make their inevitable death “far more spectacular”. That weapon turned out to be the Blood of Ymir, the father of all giants. Black Panther and Captain Marvel found a way to vibrate her powers and his vibranium suit to match the same frequency of the Horde, effectively matching their power levels. Ghost Rider found and rescued Captain America from Loki, and the two fled to Siberia, where they met up with the rest of the Avengers.

While Iron Man donned an enormous new suit (The Godkiller MK II), Thor and She-Hulk consumed the Blood of Ymir, allowing them to grow to the same height of the Final Host, and Ghost Rider chose the corpse of a Celestial as his new ‘ride’, turning it into a Ghost Rider/Celestial hybrid. As the four Giant-Sized Avengers fought the Final Host, Black Panther vibrated Captain America’s shield with to the same frequency he used on himself and Captain Marvel, and the three of them proceeded to take on the Horde, leaving Doctor Strange to face Loki in magical combat.

The First Host was eventually revealed to have been infected as well, turning their corpses into Dark Celestial zombies. They began to aid the Horde and Final Host, overwhelming The Avengers. As Earth's Mightiest Heroes began to lose the battle, Ghost Rider started to hear to the thoughts of the Dark Celestials, even learning their names, and absorbing all the feelings and thoughts of the various denizens of the Marvel Universe, spouting the phrase “We Are All God’s Vomit” over and over. After Captain America revealed the story Loki told him about The Progenitor, Iron Man, Black Panther, and Doctor Strange deduced that the cure the First Host hoped Earth would develop ended up being it’s superhumans.

They found out that if they combine their powers, they could defeat the Horde and the Final Host with a massive power surge. Iron Man decided to use the Uni-mind to connect all the Avengers’ minds and powers and transfer them all to Ghost Rider, seeing as how he was still Giant-Sized. Sensing his younger brother’s fear all the way across the world, Robbie used the collective powers of the Avengers to destroy the Horde and severely weaken the Final Host. Cured of their infection, The First Host joined the Avengers in final battle, where they defeated the Final Host.

The First Host then toke Loki to face judgment (much to Thor’s chagrin), and before leaving, they decided that the Progenitor has been buried beneath the North Pole for too long. Raising him from the ocean depths, they converted his body into a new mountain as a gift for humanity in helping them destroy the Horde. Newly elected Avengers leader Black Panther dubbed it 'Avengers Mountain,' turning the being that created the world's first superhumans into a home for the greatest among them.

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About the Creator

Zack Krafsig

My mind is a tar pit of useless knowledge and trivia pertaining to comic books, movies, television, literature, gaming, Kevin Smith, memes, cooking, history, science-fiction, fantasy, and big-and-tall men's clothing.

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