Huntsman of Zeus
The Huntsman of Zeus is a male comic supervillain who features in Marvel Comics.
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Biography
Cephalus was a male human born in Ancient Greece long ago in the lands of Phocis where he was said to be the greatest hunter in the world. In that time, he came to be married to Procris but these years his beauty came to bewitch the goddess of the dawn Eos. Cephalus came to reject her advances as he was faithful to his mortal wife but from this brief encounter he came to hold onto one of Eos's gifts that was a javelin of light that never missed its target. Afterwards, Cephalus came to speak the words 'Dawn' in his sleep with his wife Procris overhearing it and becoming fearful that her husband had taken on a secret lover. Thus, she came to follow the hunter one morning where her rustling in the bushes caused Cephalus to throw his javelin thinking that he had found game to be killed. Upon checking his quarry, he came to find that he had mistakenly killed his wife and in his grief he committed suicide by throwing himself into the sea. This saw his soul falling into Tartarus where it was twisted for the crime of killing himself but he was spared when Zeus rescued him and raised Cephalus to be his personal huntsman. (Incredible Hercules v1 #139)
The Huntsman said that he had filled Hercules with too much fear, such that he could now sense his approach and escaped him. He summoned the Sirens to bring Namor under his control, whom he then sent to overtake and occupy Hercules until he could smite him. This was effective, and after catching up with the two, the Huntsman summoned Polyphemus, Scylla, and Charybdis to subdue them. As Hercules and Namor began to overpower the three creatures, the Huntsman struck down Hercules from behind. Namor then knocked the staff from the Huntsman’s hands, causing the creatures and the Huntsman’s powers to vanish. Zeus, however, intervened and summoned the Huntsman back to Olympus. Hercules and Zeus made their peace, and all was right again. Namor, his memory of the events erased by Zeus, snapped the now powerless staff of the Huntsman in half. (Sub-Mariner v1 #29)
Ares, Hippolyta, and Pluto duped Zeus into agreeing to the marriages of Hercules to Hippolyta, and of Venus to Ares, in order to prevent an attack by a union of the lords of the death dimensions. When Hercules and Venus refused, Pluto coerced Zeus into summoning the Huntsman and sending him after them. Hercules had recently joined with a group of other heroes to form the Champions. They succeeded in initially fighting off the Huntsman (along with the Titan, Menoetius, whom he had summoned). However, the Huntsman then cast an illusion that made the Ghost Rider see the other Champions as Pluto and his allies, and he attacked and incapacitated them. When he saw what he had done, he was shocked and was easy prey for a blow from behind by the Huntsman. The Huntsman then took Hercules and Venus back to Mount Olympus. (Champions v1 #2) The Champions arrived in Olympus to stop the weddings. The Huntsman summoned an army of Pluto’s Mutates to battle them and warned Pluto of their arrival. Zeus heard this and questioned Pluto’s true motives. The Huntsman prepared to summon forth more allies, but got his head smacked against a stone wall by the Angel. (Champions v1 #3)
Overview
Personality and attributes
In reality, he was once a man named Cephalus until his soul was taken from the afterlife by Zeus to become his personal huntsman. It was said that back when he was mortal that he had a beauty that once bewitched the goddess of the dawn. (Incredible Hercules v1 #139)
Powers and abilities
The javelin of light never missed its target once it was thrown and always found its quarry. (Incredible Hercules v1 #139)
After being turned into the Huntsman, he was endowed with a fraction of the power of the god Zeus. (Ka-Zar v1 #1)
During his hunts, he was accompanied by his Shadow-Hound that chased after his quarry for him. (Ka-Zar v1 #1)
Notes
- The Huntsman of Zeus was created by Allyn Brodsky and Frank Springer where he made his first appearance in Ka-Zar Quarterly v1 #1/2 (August, 1970).
Appearances
- Ka-Zar Quarterly v1: (1970)
- Champions v1:
- Incredible Hercules v1:
External Links
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