Marvel Comics has at all times been thought-about the extra grounded of the Large Two, their tales attempting to look “just like the world outdoors the readers’ home windows”. This was what made their Silver Age heroes so distinctive; they have been American folks, residing within the Chilly Struggle, every of them with their very own points that difficult their lives. Nevertheless, even again then, there have been hints of the superpowered grandeur that their distinguished competitors delivered to the superhero and the very best instance of this was Thor. He was the Norse God of Thunder delivered to the trendy day, linked to the physique of Dr. Robert Blake. He battled supervillains and gods, alien warlords and historical monsters, defending the Ten Realms from each menace.
Thor was mainly the Superman of the early Marvel Universe and would go on to turn out to be the foremost god of the Marvel Universe. His tales have been in a position to bridge the hole between science fiction, superheroes, and mythology, displaying what may very well be carried out with characters like him. The Odinson’s adventures have seen him have to go away the Earth for quite a lot of causes, leaving a Thor-shaped gap within the Marvel Universe. This was the case within the mid ’00s, when Civil Struggle was shaking the Marvel superhero group. There was no God of Thunder, aside from the clone Ragnarok, and Iron Man wanted somebody of that stature for his new Avengers after the mud settled. This might result in the introduction of a brand new god, one who might have reached Thor ranges of recognition… and nonetheless might regardless of Marvel bungling him: Ares.
Ares Was the Good Addition to the Avengers
There had been an Ares within the Avengers mythos earlier than, a member of the Zodiac, villains whose gimmicks match that of the zodiac indicators. Nevertheless, there was additionally simply the Greek God of Struggle, who had first appeared in The Mighty Thor again within the ’60s however hardly ever performed a lot of a task in something. The Avengers had began a renaissance with New Avengers, and Thor had been lacking the entire time. The closest we needed to him was the Sentry and he barely performed a task in something. Civil Struggle‘s Rangarok reveal made readers suppose the robotic clone was the true deal, however the subsequent difficulty would reveal in any other case. All of us knew a brand new Avengers have been about to born and it seemed like we have been going to get one other group with no Thor analogue.
Mighty Avengers #1 would premiere was a person in a helmet with an enormous ax on the duvet, wanting very Thor. This was Ares, launched as an Avenger recruited by Tony Stark so as to add muscle to his new group. Nevertheless, this wasn’t somebody like Thor, a regal god and honorable Viking warrior, this was somebody very totally different. Ares didn’t communicate within the thees and thous that the God of Thunder did, he was uncooked and fashionable, a smart-mouthed boastful mountain of muscle who continuously talked smack to his teammates and enemies. He was excellent for author Brian Michael Bendis, who used Ares’ blunt persona to play off the opposite characters. He wasn’t there to make associates, he was there to struggle evil. It was a subversion of the trope arrange by Thor and it was refreshing.
He turned a standout of the group, the right boastful warrior hero. The character would attain his apex through the unbelievable “Darkish Reign” establishment. This was after Secret Invasion had seen Norman Osborn kill the Skrull Empress Veranke. He was rewarded with management of the Avengers, SHIELD, and the Superhero Initiative, staffing all of it with villains who he might management in Darkish Avengers. Nevertheless, he was sensible sufficient to maintain Ares and the Sentry shut. Ares promised to struggle alongside the Darkish Avengers and maintain them in line so long as he thought that Norman was doing the precise factor; the second that stopped, he promised to behead the Iron Patriot. He performed an analogous function in Darkish Avengers as he did in Mighty Avengers – the caustic, violent god – however his honest hatred for everybody round him was extra entertaining than ever.
He was mainly a ticking clock for readers; we knew that he was going to blow up on Norman, we simply didn’t know when. It made him an much more enjoyable character than he had been earlier than, as a result of we knew one thing superior was going to occur down the highway. Siege would see his last battle as an Avenger, lastly turning on Osborn through the assault on Asgard. The Sentry, beneath the management of the Void, tackled the God of Struggle, resulting in a brutal, deadly battle for Ares. It was an superior demise, however it could show to be a waste of an excellent character.
Ares wasn’t resurrected for years and it was by no means handled as an enormous deal. He went again to being a D-list character, a former Avenger who was generally heroic and generally pragmatic and antagonistic. He was by no means introduced again to his former place within the Marvel Universe. On the one hand, this is sensible – he didn’t actually make associates with anybody, so there’s actually no purpose for him to be invited again to the Avengers, particularly as soon as Thor was again. Nevertheless, this was a waste of a distinct sort of Marvel god. Ares was a tough and tumble fashionable god, not one of many courtly deities of Asgard. His time with the Avengers confirmed how entertaining he may very well be if given the precise push. Nevertheless, there’s nonetheless time for Ares to shine.
Ares’s Potential Was Squandered however It’s Not Too Late
Ares slotted completely into the Bendis-era Avengers books, a mouthy warrior who crammed an necessary function in two very totally different groups of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. He was all smashmouth heroism, as fast to yell at a teammate for doing one thing silly as he was to punch a nasty man as exhausting as he might. He was the Thor of those groups, however he was additionally was his personal sort of character. His demise was huge and it might have been springboard for an enormous return that might have stored the character important. We might have gotten Ares and Thor tales, two disparate warriors who would play off one another properly.
As a substitute, he was resurrected too lengthy after when he was considerably common and is now languishing within the D-list. Nevertheless, we’ve reached a time when it could be excellent for him to return. The Avengers are being damaged in Avengers: Armageddon and Ares may very well be the last word addition to this group. Whereas this isn’t precisely street-level Avengers – Captain Marvel continues to be main the group and Wolverine is there – it’s extra right down to Earth. Ares was mainly the right down to Earth model of Thor, so he would match the tone of the ebook. Marvel might use extra stars and Ares may very well be in ascendance very simply.