There are plenty of gods in the Marvel Universe. They've been everything from dedicated defenders of humanity to cold-hearted monsters in the modern world. But almost none of them have had the shifting loyalties and ethics of Ares, the Greek God of War.
Much like the Asgardian God of Thunder, Ares has served on a few different incarnations of the Avengers. However, he's also found himself fighting against Marvel's heroes on more than one occasion. Now, we're taking a look back at the complex legacy of Ares and his beloved son Phobos, who distinguished himself as one of Marvel's most promising young heroes.
THE ORIGINS OF ARES
Ares is one of the sons of Zeus, chief of the Greek Pantheon of Gods. A head-strong and furious warrior, Ares often found himself at odds with his half-brother Hercules after he made his official Marvel Universe debut in 1966's Thor #129 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. It was eventually revealed that this anger was fueled by the way that humanity had come to hate war, while they saw short-sighted heroism of Hercules as one of the admirable elements of the Gods. As faith in the Greek pantheon waned, Ares made many attempts to usurp his father as lord of the gods.
Hercules would eventually ally with Thor, stopping Ares' plan in its tracks and earning Ares fury at both heroes. He tried to enact multiple plans against the pair and their eventual allies the Avengers. During this time he also became a frequent ally of his uncle Pluto and the Asgardian villain known as the Enchantress. He was ultimately a fairly consistent villain of the Avengers in these early years, before finding a new role in the greater Marvel Universe.
GOD OF WAR
Pluto set out a new plan against Zeus, forcing the God to call upon Ares to defend his home. While Ares was successful, he was disheartened to hear the Gods still considered him a problem. He abandoned his role as the God of War and relocated to Earth, where he became a carpenter. It was during this time that he fathered a son, Alexander, who quickly grew into an intelligent boy. Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the Japanese God of Chaos, eventually kidnapped Alexander. Working with his family, Ares was able to save his son - albeit at the cost of Zeus' life. Deciding that he wanted his son to be raised away from the chaos of godhood, he turned away a return to the Pantheon to continue raising his son on Earth.
Soon though, he was approached by Tony Stark and Carol Danvers about joining their new team following the events of Civil War. Ares reluctantly joined the Avengers. He became an invaluable ally to the team, helping fight back Doctor Doom, Ultron and the Skrulls. His darker morals allowed him to remain with the Avengers even when Norman Osborn took the team over during the events of Dark Reign and worked with the Dark Avengers. He remained with thatteam until Ares discovered that he had been lied to by Osborn, who'd convinced him that the Asgardian Gods were being manipulated by Loki. Realizing the truth while fighting Balder and Heimdall, he confronted Norman inside his Iron Patriot armor. Norman only survived thanks to the intervention of the Sentry, who killed Ares.
MADE OF FEAR
Ares was survived by his son, Alexander, who took the name Phobos, and developed the ability to cause fear in others and even a certain amount of precognition - joined Nick Fury's Secret Warriors,where he was by far the youngest member of the group. Phobos worked alongside the Secret Warriors to battle Hydra's forces and was invited to the Council of Gods, where he even had been held up by his father as the new God of Fear. Following the death of his father, he kept fighting alongside the Secret Warriors until he was himself killed by Gorgon, joining his father in the fields of Elysium.
However, their time together turned out to be limited. Ares was brought back to life by Maestro during Contest of Champions. He's resigned himself to having new adventures to tell his son about when he rejoins him one day in the afterlife. This has meant fighting against the forces of Hydra-corrupted Steve Rogers as a member of the Champions of Europe, getting wrapped up in the events of War of the Realms to eventually become the protector of Laussa, and working alongside other heroes like Shang-Chi.
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