The Eternaut (Spanish: El Eternauta) is a science fiction Argentine comic created by Héctor Germán Oesterheld with artwork by Francisco Solano López.

After other failed attempts to continue the story, Oesterheld made a remake in 1969, with art by Alberto Breccia and a more overt political tone.

Oesterheld became the spokesman of the Montoneros guerrilla by the time he started the sequel, El Eternauta: segunda parte, again with Solano López.

His widow Elsa Oesterheld sold the rights of the character to the publisher Ediciones Record, and tried later to annul the contract, leading to a lengthy copyright dispute.

"I was doing Rolo in Hora Cero, I wanted to do science fiction, but with a more realistic approach, something more committed, closer to the reader, and that gave Héctor the idea of the Eternaut".

[3] He also explained that, although there was a general outline, the plots were largely improvised during publication, which led to the creation of characters and situations that were not considered in the early stages of writing.

[2] Hora Cero was closed shortly after the story's conclusion, as artists found it more lucrative to work abroad than in Frontera, Oesterheld knew little of finances, and interest in serial comics declined.

It became an open critique of dictatorial regimes and advanced anti-imperialist ideas: instead of a classic alien invasion that destroys all the world, the story states that the global powers abandoned Latin America to the invaders to guarantee their own survival.

[5] This version featured artwork by Alberto Breccia, who drew the story in an experimental and unique style diverging from the original expression.

The basic plot would have been about the aliens starting a new invasion elsewhere after their defeat in Buenos Aires, using La Plata as a beachhead from where to raise a counter-attack.

Oesterheld, who had introduced himself as a character in a brief cameo at the beginning and end of the original story, now upgraded his self-character to an active sidekick of the hero, while keeping the role of narrator.

Solano López did not like it because he rejected both the military government and the Montoneros, and felt that the characterization of Juan Salvo was out-of-character in relation to the first entry.

The death of Barreiro and the legal complaints of Sánchez de Oesterheld and Solano López, who did not authorize the comic, led to its cancellation after 3 issues.

Oesterheld and Solano López signed a contract with Scutti, confirming his rights over the character, in exchange for part of the money perceived by Ediciones Record for the republication.

Scutti based his defense on the contracts signed with Héctor while he was still alive, earlier than the one with Sánchez de Oesterheld, and considered that she was mixing commercial deals with personal tragedies.

When he left for Europe, knowing of Sánchez de Oesterheld's economic problems, he told her that he gave her full leeway to profit from the character the way she saw fit.

Oesterheld's grandsons said that new projects involving the character, such as sequels, merchandising, or adaptations, had to have the approval of Solano López, but that he did not have the right to decide such things completely by himself.

Although initially the lower courts ruled favorably to Ediciones Record, in 2018 the Supreme Court ruled favorably to the heirs of Oesterheld and closed the case, with the vote of Ricardo Lorenzetti, Elena Highton de Nolasco, Juan Carlos Maqueda, Horacio Rosatti and Carlos Rosenkrantz.

According to Salvo, mysterious deadly snowfall suddenly covers Buenos Aires and his neighborhood in the nearby Vicente López, wiping out all life upon touch.

They blow up the dome with "Them" and escape; they find Pablo and the historian Mosca, who survived the attack at Plaza Italia but got separated from them, and leave just before Buenos Aires is nuked.

Martín Hadis wrote in the prologue for the Fantagraphics edition that one of the strongest points of the story for the Argentine audience was the sight of an alien invasion in Buenos Aires, with its distinctive buildings and monuments disfigured or destroyed by the alien devices or the war actions; most works of fiction about the theme are set in other countries, such as the United States.

However, he also pointed out that the story has appeal beyond that, as it has been successful in Spain, Mexico, Italy, Greece, Croatia, France, etc; where the sight of Buenos Aires would be less meaningful.

Juan Sasturain believes that Oesterheld was writing an anti-war comic,[10] and Fernando García considers it instead an allegory of class struggle.

[11] Tom Shapira from The Comics Journal says that, adding to the frequent in-story references to Robinson Crusoe, he found the story similar to Moby-Dick, as it features a hero who is actually a witness of the acts of heroism carried out by others.

He also criticized the lack of relevant female characters, stating that Elena and Martita had no actual weight in the plot save as reminders for the protagonist of the family he longs for.

[14] In 1968, advertisement production company Gil & Bertolini acquired the rights to The Eternaut to make an animated television series, to be presented at the First World Comic Book Biennial.

[5] Argentine directors such as Fernando "Pino" Solanas and Gustavo Mosquera expressed their interest on adapting the material, as did Adolfo Aristarain.

[5][16] In 1995, there was a miniseries project led by a TV network from Buenos Aires, with special effects in charge of computer animation company Aicon.

[19][15] In 2018, Spanish filmmaker Álex de la Iglesia expressed interest in making an adaptation, with actor Ricardo Darín on board to star in the project.

[21] Ricardo Darín will play the main character, and the cast also features Carla Peterson, Marcelo Subiotto, César Troncoso, Andrea Pietra and Ariel Staltari [es].