Ares

HISTORICAL DATA

Ares is the son of Zeus, monarch of the Olympian gods, his wife Hera. Ares was worshipped as the god of war in ancient Greece and Rome. However, with the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire, Zeus allowed the worship of Olympians to die out, and Ares could no longer act as patron god of warriors. As a result, over the ensueing centuries Ares grew increasingly dissatisfied with Zues’s rule. He has three times attempted to conquer Olympus, twice in league with his uncle Pluto, god of the Olympian underworld; but each time he has been thwarted through the efforts of his half-brother Hercules and his Earthly allies. Ares has hated Hercules since Hercules killed Ares’ monstrous Stymphalian birds in the days of ancient Greece. Also, in recent years, Ares set two of Earth’s nations at war with each other. The conflict threatened to spread over all of Earth, until Ares was forced to put an end to it by his half-sister Venus, whom he has long sought in marriage, and the Sub-Mariner. Venus and the Sub-Mariner extracted a pledge from Ares not to engage in further warmongering on Earth.

NOTE: Updated from The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Master Edition, Vol. 3 No. 11, 1991

POWERS AND ABILITIES

STRENGTH LEVEL: Ares possesses greater strength than most Olympian gods, and can lift (press) approximately 70 tons under optimal conditions.

KNOWN SUPERHUMAN POWERS: As an immortal god, Ares possesses vast strength and endurance. His physical capabilities are superior to those of the majority of Olympian gods. He has virtually inexhaustible stamina, and does not tire appreciably after any exertion.

Like all Olympian, Ares is immortal, possessing a life essence that cannot be ended by any conventional means. He can be wounded in battle, but his godly life force gives him incredible recuperative abilities. He can fully recover from penetration wounds (such as by knife, sword, or bullet) in anywhere from minutes to hours, depending on their severity. Only an injury of such magnitude that it incinerates him or disperses a major portion of his bodily molecules could cause him physical death. Even then, his life essence may still be unharmed, and Zeus may be able to resurrect him.

ABILITIES: Ares possesses great skill in the use of all the implements of war used in the time of ancient Greece and Rome.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

Refused to battle on Hercules' behalf against Pluto (THOR #129, 1966)
Fought duel with Hercules, formed alliance with Enchantress to make Hercules her slave and ally against the Avengers (AVENGERS #38, 1967)

Organized the Warhawks, battled the Avengers; dispatched Kratos and Bia to Capture Hercules; allied with Enchantress, used Black Knight's Ebony Blade to quenchthe Promethean Flame and conquer Olympus, battled Avengers, defeated by Thor and Black Knight (AVENGERS #98-100, 1972)

Battled Namor the Sub-Mariner and Venus (SUB-MARINER #57, 1972)
Formed alliance with Pluto, kidnapped Krista, attempted to foment war between Olympus and Asgaurd (THOR #221-222, 1973)
Plotted with Pluto and Hippolyta to marry Hercules and Venus to Hippolyta and himself (CHAMPIONS #1-3, 1975)
In ancient times, took part in Trojan War, wounded by Diomedes (THOR ANNUAL #8, 1979)
Alongside Zues, struck alliance with Odin against the Eternals (THOR #289, 1979)
Battled Ikaris (THOR #291, 1979)
Alongside fellow Olympians, battled Avengers at Zues's behest, defeated by Namor, forbidden to set foot on Earth by Zues (AVENGERS #281-285, 1987)

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