Ares (Marvel Comics)
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Ares is a fictional deity in the Marvel Comics Universe based on the Greek God of the same name. It is also the name of a 5 issue mini-series, written by Michael Avon Oeming and drawn by Travel Foreman, that focuses on this character.
Ares first appeared in the pages of Thor #129, written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby. He would often appear as a villain in both Thor and The Avengers, but in the recent Ares mini-series, he has been portrayed as an anti-hero.
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[edit] Fictional character biography
[edit] Early life
Ares is the son of Zeus and is the Olympian God of War. Ares revelled in war and combat in all its forms, not caring about sides or victims. With the rise of Christianity, Zeus allowed the worship of the Greek Gods to die out though, and Ares became more and more displeased with his father. Over the years he would lead several revolts against his father, but was always stopped by his half-brother Hercules. Ares has hated Hercules ever since Hercules killed Ares' pets, the monstrous Stymphalian birds, and his hatred increased when he noticed Hercules being favored by their father, while he was shunned for his brutal behaviour.
[edit] About Ares
An attempt by Hades to conquer Mount Olympus with an army of the dead led to a stalemate that the Gods and Demi-gods (including Hercules and Achilles) were unable to break. In desperation to end the siege of Olympus, Zeus called upon his son Ares who defeated Hades' army almost single handedly. Hoping that this would allow him to join his kind in Olympus, Ares was disappointed to hear his parents and the other gods disparage his "crude" and "dishonorable" nature. Leaving before the gods could make a polite invitation to join them, he resigned his position to live on Earth as a builder/carpenter.
[edit] Ares: God Of War (2006 miniseries)
The 2006 mini-series begins with Ares living a relatively peaceful life with his son, Alexander. This life is interrupted when Hermes visits Ares with a request...help Olympus fight off a new threat from the east, Amatsu-Mikaboshi (the Japanese god of evil). Taking advantage of the chaos left by the fall of Asgard and the Norse pantheon, Mikaboshi planned to extend his influence by capturing Olympus and crushing the Olympian gods. With the Olympians defeated, Mikaboshi hoped to cow all the other pantheons into surrendering. To this end, Mikaboshi laid siege to Olympus, which was very close to succeeding.
Ares, still bitter about the treatment he received from the other Olympians, refuses to raise a finger to help them. Desperate for his aid and wishing to goad Ares into action, Zeus has Alexander kidnapped and brought to Olympus where he is placed under the care of Achilles and his Myrmidons.
With the tide turning against them, Hermes goes to earth to fetch an enraged Ares in an attempt to get him to speak with Zeus, but Ares's only concern is his son. Relenting, Hermes transports them both to Achilles's stronghold where they were keeping Alexander, only to find the fortress destroyed and Alexander missing.
While Achilles was away, Mikaboshi's forces managed to destroy the Myrmidon fortress and steal Alexander away to his own stronghold in the eastern lands. Mikaboshi slowly begins to warp Alexander's mind in an attempt to turn him against his father by revealing the brutal history and patricides committed by the Greek gods. Mikaboshi hopes to turn Alex into the new god of war, one that could be used against the Greek gods and, more importantly, Ares himself.
Finding out his son is in the hands of Olympus's enemies, a furious Ares begrudgingly agrees to join in the fighting, but only to rescue his son.
As the years pass and the war progresses, Mikaboshi continues his conditioning of young Alex as well as his training in the art of war and eventually believes he has succeeded in turning Alex to his cause by appealing to his inherent goodnes. As a new god of war, Mikaboshi convinces Alex that he can turn war into an instrument to impose order and peace, unlike the brutality and chaos of war bred under his father's watch. Mikaboshi is so confident Alex is under his control that he entrusts the young would-be god with a sword of great power, the Grasscutter sword.
In the final battle, while Greek gods and soldiers fall around them, father faces son in battle, and Alexander succeeds in impaling Ares on his sword. In the end however, thanks to the power of Zeus, and Ares' love for his son, Alexander breaks out of Mikaboshi's control, and slays Mikaboshi with the Grasscutter sword as the gods of the east, tricked into aiding the Olympians through a clever scheme cooked up by each pantheon's respective messenger gods (Hermes for the west and Inari for the east), join the fray and help the remaining Greek gods destroy Mikaboshi's armies.
With the war over, Ares and Alexander spend some time recouperating in Africa. Alex decides he wants to see the world and learn of his heritage (and of his currently unnamed mother) with his father.
[edit] Mighty Avengers
After the events of Civil War, Ms. Marvel and Iron Man have recruited Ares as part of the new Mighty Avengers. Ares says he didn't get involved in the Civil War as "It was just a slapfight". It seems during the times of Civil War Ares was living a peaceful life as a civilian with his son.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Ares is a god who possesses superhuman strength, speed, healing, agility, reflexes, and endurance. He has all of the conventional superhuman physical attributes common to the Olympians. However, Ares is considerably stronger (able to lift approximately seventy-five tons), faster, and more durable than the vast majority of his race. Among the Olympians, his strength is equaled only by his uncles, Poseidon and Hades, and is exceeded only by his father, Zeus, and his half-brother, Hercules. Ares' body generates almost no fatigue toxins during physical activity, granting him almost limitless superhuman stamina. He is also immortal; he doesn't age, is immune to all terrestrial diseases, poisons and vulnerabilities, and while he can be wounded with extremely focused force, most wounds he will receive will heal quickly. He has shown to be harmed by magical attacks on the order of Thor's hammer. Only extreme force would be able to kill him and even then his divine essence may be untouched, allowing him to be resurrected.
Ares can sense and call other gods and transport himself to Olympus at will.
He is, as fits his station as the Olympian God of War, an impressive fighter of tremendous skill and an expert in many (if not all) weapons. In his earlier appearances, he preferred ancient weapons like axes and spears, but his most recent appearance shows him favoring a mixture of ancient and modern weapons, like gases, rays, firearms, and high-explosives. He is an aficionado, expert and collector of the most unique instruments and methods of death dealing. He is well versed in military tactics, torture and is one of the most talented and ruthless fighters in Earth's history.
Ares sometimes wears Olympian battle armor and carries a battle axe both forged from adamantine by Hephaestus. He once also possessed the Gauntlets of Ares, which made its wearer gain 100 times their normal strength. He has since passed these on to his daughter Hippolyta.
[edit] Deviation from Mythology
- In mythology, Aphrodite is Ares' lover, and (in some sources) the mother of his children. In the Marvel universe Ares is considered an enemy of Aphrodite and he fathered Deimos and Phobos upon a woman posing as Aphrodite.
