Olympians (Marvel)

Revision as of 09:16, 22 February 2019

The Olympians are a species that feature in Marvel Comics.

History

The Olympians were a race of Gods that were part of the Greek mythological pantheon and resided in their realm of Olympus.

By the modern day, Rome's gods and goddesses walked Earth in contemporary form where they could be worshipped in modern ways. (Avengers v7 #2)

During the Contest of Champions, the Grandmaster and the Challenger engaged in a cosmic game which saw Earth's Sun being removed from the sky for a time. This act broke the seal that imprisoned the goddess Nyx whereupon she and her children attacked Olympus. Despite being opposed by the Olympians, the gods of Olympus were overwhelmed and overpowered by their foes leading to their massacre. Nyx then sought to learn the location of the Night Shards that contained the fragments of her lost power as they were pieces of her soul after which she claimed the throne of Olympus for herself as she planned to restore herself and purge the universe of life to begin anew according to her designs. (Avengers: No Road Home v1 #2)

Overview

They considered their immortal lifespans to be the norm with everyone else being the exception. (Avengers v7 #11)

Within their culture, it was common practice for the selection of an eromenos. (Incredible Hercules v1 #121) The circle of combat was a method by which Olympians proved the truth of their words with this being a trial by combat. (Thor v1 #467)

Artifacts attributed to the Olympians included the:

• Ambrosia : the fabled nectar of the gods that was drunk by the Olympians to remain virile and deathless. (Heroic Age: Prince of Power v1 #1)
• Night Shards : broken fragments of Nyx's soul that were scattered across the universe to prevent the Mother of Night from ever attaining her true power. (Avengers: No Road Home v1 #2)
• Heart of Athena : a creation of Zeus that amplified the power sent through it which had been used to sink continents and erase entire civilizations. (Hercules and the Heart of Chaos v1 #2)
• Godkiller : a blade created by a blacksmith on behalf of Zeus for his conflict against Amatsu-Mikaboshi. (Secret Warriors v1 #10)
• Continuum :

A metal used by the Olympians was Adamantine that was godly version of Adamantium. (Incredible Hercules v1 #138) Adamantine was referred to as the Metal of the Gods that was golden in colour and able to deflect powerful blasts of concussive force. (Atonishing X-Men v3 #45) This metal manufactured by the Greek gods that was so molecularly dense that it was difficult to phase through the substance. (Chaos War: Dead Avengers v1 #2)

Members

• Zeus :
• Hercules :
• Ares :
• Boreas :
• Theseus : When the Uprising Storm emerged, Theseus was called upon by Hercules to help fight these new gods. (Civil War II: Gods of War v1 #2)
• Sibyl : a female goddess, Sibyl Aquila was one of the Fates who could glimpse into the future. By the modern day, she took on a mortal form as head of the Federal Reserve. (Avengers v7 #2)
• Thanatos : winged skull-faced male Olympian god of death who arrived to claim the soul of someone that was going to die. (Incredible Hercules v1 #138)
• Tharamus : a dark skinned male Olympian god of learning who by the modern age masqueraded as a human that founded the Museum of Greek Antiquity in New York City to preserve the memory of their kind to humans and was later killed by Ares who had been searching for the Heart of Athena. (Hercules: Heart of Chaos v1 #1)

Notes

• The modern Olympians were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby where they made their first appearance in Journey into Mystery Annual v1 #1 (October, 1965)
• Prior to then, the gods of Olympus were first seen in Venus v1 #1 (August, 1948).
• They were loosely based off the Twelve Olympians and other deities of Greek mythology.

Alternate Versions

• In Hercules v1 (1984), the Olympians featured in an alternate timeline future set in the 24th century after Hercules was banished from Earth by Zeus in order to learn humility. In the aftermath, it was believed that the now mad Zeus had killed the Olympians and became a terrifying force until he was defeated by the returned Hercules. It was later revealed that the Olympians had not been killed by left for another realm with Zeus joining them after regaining his sanity and learning that Hercules gained humility to be a great hero. After departing, Hercules was left behind in the mortal world to found a new dynasty of gods.

In other media

Television

• In Avengers Assemble, the Olympians were shown in the animated television series fourth season Secret Wars in the episode "Incredible Hercules" with Hercules and Ares being representatives of their race. It was said that the were the opposite of the Asgardians who were cold and grim with the Olympians being a more lively jolly people.

Appearances

• Journey into Mystery v1:
• Chaos War: Dead Avengers v1:
• Heroic Age: Prince of Power v1:
• Astonishing X-Men v3:
• Avengers: No Road Home v1:

External Links

• Marvel Database Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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