| Ares | |
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 Variant cover art forIncredible Hercules #124 (February 2009). Art byEd McGuinness. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Thor #129 (June 1966) |
| Created by | Stan Lee (Writer) Jack Kirby (Artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Ares |
| Species | Olympian |
| Team affiliations |
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| Notable aliases |
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| Abilities |
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Ares is a fictional character, adeity appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The character is based on theGreekgod of the same name. He first appeared inThor #129 (June 1966) and was created byStan Lee andJack Kirby. Ares has commonly appeared as an enemy ofThor andHercules, starring in his ownself-titled series in 2006.
Ares, the Greek God of War, was initially depicted as a supervillain, opposing Thor, Hercules and theAvengers. Early on, his influence on Earth was less direct as he created an organization known as the "Warhawks" to create war on Earth. In 2006, the character was recast as anantihero who simply lived for battle, any battle, joining the Avengers as one of their "heavy hitters" with his own "Warriors Honor" codex, versus the one-dimensional villain he had been portrayed as in the past. He would joinNorman Osborn'sDark Avengers, believing that he could put his powers to good use, before being killed bySentry duringSiege. He is later resurrected, before returning to villainy and being killed again by thePunisher.
Ares first appeared inThor #129, 1966, written byStan Lee and drawn byJack Kirby. He would often appear as a villain in bothThor andThe Avengers over the next 30 years.[1]
A 5-issuelimited series,Ares, written byMichael Avon Oeming[2] and drawn byTravel Foreman,[3] was published in 2006 and focuses on this character. Since the release of theAres miniseries he has been portrayed as anantihero.
Following "Civil War", Ares was invited to join the official,S.H.I.E.L.D.-sponsoredThe Mighty Avengers, led byTony Stark, and appeared in that title. He was one of only two members to remain on the team afterNorman Osborn took Stark's position, as part of theDark Reign storyline and appeared in the firstDark Avengers series throughout its run. Ares subsequently starred in a three-issueDark Avengers: Ares miniseries written byKieron Gillen.[4] He appeared as a regularDark Avengers character from issue #1 (March 2009) until his death inSiege.
During "Chaos War", Ares appeared in a one-shot comic titlesChaos War: Ares.
Ares is the son ofZeus and is theOlympian God of War.[5] Ares reveled in war and combat in all its forms, not caring about sides or victims, supporting Troy in the Trojan War. Ares has hatedHercules ever since Hercules killed Ares' pets, theStymphalian birds,[6] and his hatred increased when he noticed Hercules being favored by their father, while he was shunned for his brutal behavior. Further adding to his hatred is that in modern times, war is shunned and disliked, whereas Hercules is still beloved by the masses despite his own history of death and destruction.[7] As the Romans took on the worship of Greek gods and renamed them, Ares is also the deity Mars.
After Zeus allowed the worship of the Greek/Roman gods to cease, the dissatisfied Ares held a deep grudge and would try to overthrow Olympus more than once. He refused to battle againstPluto on behalf of Hercules, and aided Pluto instead.[8] Hercules teamed up with theAsgardian godThor to defeat Ares, leading to Ares' retreat.[9] Ares fought a duel with Hercules, forming an alliance with theEnchantress to make Hercules her slave and ally against theAvengers using water from the Spring of Eros, which led to Hercules being exiled from Olympus for a year.[10]
Ares organized the Warhawks, which included Satyrs whose pipes caused violence in humans, and with them battled the Avengers. He dispatched Kratos and Bia to capture Hercules. After allying with the Enchantress again, he used theBlack Knight'sEbony Blade to quench the Promethean Flame and conquer Olympus, by turning all the other Olympians to crystal, although Hercules was not transformed, but exiled to Earth with amnesia, due to being brutally beaten by Ares' henchman the Yellow-crested Titans and drifting between Olympus and Earth for six days and nights. Ares sent the two gods, Kratos and Bia, after Hercules, and despite the Avenger's efforts Hercules was captured and taken back to Olympus. Ares again battled the Avengers who had come to rescue the captive Hercules, and was defeated by Thor and the Black Knight.[11]
Ares also battledNamor andVenus.[12] He formed another alliance with Pluto, and kidnapped Krista in an attempt to foment war between Olympus andAsgard.[13] He also plotted with Pluto and Ares' daughterHippolyta to marry Hercules and Venus to Hippolyta and himself.[14]
It was revealed that in ancient times, he took part in theTrojan War.[15] Alongside Zeus, Ares struck an alliance withOdin against theEternals,[16] and battled the EternalIkaris.[17]
He frequently battled teams and individuals while working as a villain, and continued to battle heroes like the Avengers.[18]
Ares' unclePluto sought to overwhelmMount Olympus with an army of thedead, leading to astalemate that thegods and demigods (includingAchilles) were unable to break. In desperation to end thesiege ofOlympus, 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. He abandoned his brethren to live amongst mortal men, but did not completely give up his god nature yet.[19]
Ares was tired of his own warmongering when he realized that was why the other gods despised him and decided to live a normal life. He gave up his position as god of war, but maintained his skills, weaponry, and immortality. On Earth, he set himself up as abuilder/carpenter. He would later father a son with an unidentified mother.[19]
After the events of theCivil War storyline,Ms. Marvel andIron Man recruit Ares into the newMighty Avengers.[8][20][21] He plays a major part in defeating Ultron. During theSecret Invasion, Ares' son Alexander was recruited forNick Fury'sSecret Warriors, byDaisy Johnson, to oppose the Skrullinvasion ofNew York City.[5][22]
During theDark Reign storyline, Ares joins theDark Avengers,Norman Osborn's personal team of Avengers.[8][23][24] Writer of theDark Avengers series,Brian Michael Bendis, described Ares' role: "Ares is going to be a big part of this book. He's really going to step up and use his War God brain."[25] During TheDark Avengers' first mission, "Venom-Spidey" is turned into a monster byMorgan le Fay. Venom (under her control) attempts to eat Ares.[26] He is spit back out but is turned to stone shortly thereafter by Morgana.[27] He returns to normal when Morgana is defeated by Dr. Doom in her own time.[28] Ares later receives a truancy notice in the mail regarding his son.[29] Deciding to investigate as best he can, he sends Alex to school, only to see him board Daisy Johnson's scooter on the way to a new base for the Secret Warriors. Ares tails them on his motorcycle and rampages his way in through the wall. When Hellfire tries to attack, Ares easily dispatches him and in their own silent way, Nick Fury and Ares ask for a private audience with one another. Ares then uncharacteristically declares himself a horrid father, but only aims to raise Alex differently than he and his father were raised. He then peacefully leaves the place behind, allowing Alex the opportunity to not have to hide his allegiance anymore.[30]
When the Dark Avengers andH.A.M.M.E.R. go to San Francisco to quell the riots, Ares was stomping out a group of pro-mutant activists.Gambit challenged him but was easily dispatched.Rogue tried absorbing his powers, which prove too much for her, but nonetheless she manages to weaken him.Danger, fearing that Rogue might injure herself, threw an energizedmanhole at Ares, pushing him away from Rogue. She gained half of Ares' power as a result. The trio then hijack a H.A.M.M.E.R. tank and leave a bleeding Ares behind.[31]
Ares, having recovered from his injuries, is seen next during the Dark Avengers' assault on the X-Men's new baseUtopia (which was made from the remains ofAsteroid M). There he fights with several X-Men until he is confronted with the once more empowered ValkyrieDanielle Moonstar. The two fight and are evenly matched with Dani quickly gaining the upper hand due to having borrowed some power fromHela. Eventually both he and his team of Avengers are forced to retreat.[32]
Before theSiege begins, Osborn is seen trying to convince Ares to come up with a plan to invade Asgard, sayingLoki has taken control of it. Even though Osborn promises Ares that nothing is wrong, Ares tells Osborn that if he is lying, he will 'cut his head off, armour and all'.[33][34] Once the Siege of Asgard begins, as the battle intensifies, Ares finds himself battlingBalder and learns from Heimdall about Osborn's deceptions. When Osborn dispatchesDaken to findMaria Hill, he is struck down by Ares, who vows to kill Osborn for his lies. However, Ares is suddenly attacked by the Sentry, who kills him by ripping him in half.[5][35][36] Alexander, after finding out about his father's death, recalls a time when he asked Ares if they would always be together, Ares responded that, as they are gods, they can be killed, but they "will never truly die" and tells him that he has experienced "this many, many times", having been "to Hades and through the Underworld to awaken in the fair Fields of Elysium...". Ares tells Alexander that he would one day die, but promises him that he will always find him again.[37]
During theChaos War storyline, Ares is among the dead beings released by Pluto to defend the Underworld from the forces ofAmatsu-Mikaboshi, but is ultimately defeated and enslaved by the Chaos King along with Zeus and Hera.[38] Despite the combined attacks of the God Squad, Ares is unscathed and engages Hercules in direct combat as Zeus and Hera battleGalactus and the other members of the Squad.[39] Ares ultimately returned to the underworld with the rest of the dead.[40]
InAll-New, All-Different Marvel, Ares and Alexander (who had been killed byGorgon) are later seen residing in theElysian Fields. However, Ares is kidnapped and forcibly resurrected by agents ofMaestro to serve as one of theCollector's fighters in the newContest of Champions.[41] Though Ares agrees to go along with the tournament,Stick claims that he is simply biding his time until he can find a way to kill Collector and Maestro.[42] After the Maestro is defeated, Ares chooses to travel the world with his new friends, stating that he wishes to have a whole host of new adventures to tell Phobos about when he returns to the Elysian Fields one day.[43]
During theSecret Empire storyline, Ares appears as a member of the Champions of Europe alongsideCaptain Britain,Excalibur,Guillotine,Outlaw, andPeregrine.[8][44] AlongsideSquirrel Girl andEnigma, the Champions of Europe liberateParis from aHydra invasion force.[45]
Shortly after theWar of the Realms storyline, Ares is seen watchingShang-Chi andSword Master train inFlushing, New York.[46] After Flushing is merged with other Asian, Pacific andpredominantly Asian cities outside of Asia with portals created by the Big Nguyen Company, Ares and his Dragonborn soldiers stealLin Lie's mysticalFuxi sword.[47][48] However, he is unable to activate the sword's power, and the goddess Davi Naka traps him in a temple inMadripoor.[49][50][51][52]
InThe Punisher, thePunisher kills Ares and replaces him as the god of war before being depowered by his resurrected wife Maria.[53]
Ares belongs to a race of inter-dimensional deities known only as theOlympians. He possesses the base superhuman physical attributes of an Olympian, including superhuman strength, speed, agility, durability, reflexes, regenerative healing factor, and virtual immortality, though some of his powers are substantially greater than most other Olympians.[54][8][5]
Like all Olympians, Ares is superhumanly strong, though far more so than the majority of his race.[55] Among the Olympians, his physical strength is equaled only by his uncles,Neptune andPluto, and is exceeded only by his father,Zeus, and his half-brother,Hercules.[55] Ares' body and metabolism generates almost no fatigue toxins during physical activity, granting him virtually inexhaustible superhuman stamina in all physical activities. Ares' body is also highly resistant to physical injury. He can withstand great impact forces, energy discharges, temperature extremes, and falls from great heights without being injured. However, also like all other Olympians, he can sustain injury; once, after an extensive self-imposed exile on the Earthly plane, Ares was physically vulnerable enough to be injured and downed by mere bullets.[56] At the same time Ares has been shown withstanding being shot at point-blank range from machine guns used by War Machine.[57] Ares is functionally immortal in the sense that he is immune to the effects of aging and has not aged since reaching adulthood. He is also immune to any known terrestrial disease or infection.[55]
While not as accomplished at magic as many of his fellow Olympians, and lacking the ability to fly,[58] project energy[59] and teleport,[50] as an Olympian god Ares has the potential to use magic.[60][61] Ares can sense the presence of other gods, demons, and the use of magic, call other gods, and transport himself to Olympus and to Earth at will on certain occasions (such as abandoning his station as the God of War to lead a mortal life, or when retreating to Olympus after Hercules wounded him in a fierce battle with Kyknos).[60] However, neither his rudimentary magic nor his Olympian natural abilities were capable of overwhelming theMerlin-tutoredMorgan le Fay or preventing the mistress of the mystic arts from easily transmuting him into stone.
He is, as fits his station as the Olympian God of War, a formidable hand-to-hand combatant,[62] possessing fighting skills superior to that of even his father Zeus and his sisterAthena;Nate Grey described him as "war personified, on every plane...in every future" and admits that even he can find nothing to counter one such as Ares; when Nate hid himself andMimic "amongst time", Ares was able to tear through the fabric of time itself to reach and overpower him (claiming that such could not "limit" him), the temporal conflict sending ripples across the stars and disrupting the timestream itself.[63] In another instance, apparently without aid, Ares was able to somehow bring himself and Alexander to another dimension, where many gods of Earth, including the Council of Skyfathers, had convened to judge his son's worthiness as the 'God of Fear'.[64] Ares was also able to somehow create the man-eatingStymphalian birds "as a perfect expression of his own essence" ages ago,[65] and was also able to send his son Monstro from 1805 through time into the mid-20th century as punishment for his renouncing war and change him into a sixty-foot tall giant.[66] Ares can also use his powers to create and manipulate conflicts at will.[67][8]
He is also an expert with numerous weapons,[68] including ancient weapons and conventional, modern-day firearms. In his earlier appearances, he typically carried Olympian weapons like battleaxes, spears, swords, daggers, and a javelin (which has been said at least once to be his "favorite" weapon), but his most recent appearance shows him favoring a mixture of ancient, like the jawbone of an ass, and modern weapons, like gases, rays, firearms, and high-explosives, as well as "Hydra blood bullets", which contain the lethal blood of aLernaean Hydra. He is an aficionado, expert, and collector of the most unusual instruments and methods of death dealing, as well as being well-versed in torture, interrogation, and combat tactics.
| Title | Material collected | Published date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ares: God of War | Ares #1-5 | October 2006 | 978-0785119913 |
| Dark Avengers: Ares | Ares #1-5 andDark Avengers: Ares #1-3 | March 2010 | 978-0785144069 |
| Chaos War: Avengers | Chaos War: Ares #1 andChaos War: Dead Avengers #1-3,Chaos War: Thor #1-2, material fromX-Men: Curse Of The Mutants Spotlight | May 2011 | 978-0785155584 |
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