Ares (Marvel Comics)

Ares is a fictional character, a deity appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is based on the Greek god of the same name. He first appeared in Thor #129 (June 1966) and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Ares has commonly appeared as an enemy of Thor and Hercules, starring in his own self-titled series in 2006. Ares, the Greek God of War, was initially depicted as a supervillain, opposing Thor, Hercules and the Avengers. Early on, his influence on Earth was less direct as he created an organization known as the "Warhawks" to create war on Earth. In 2006, the character was recast as an antihero who simply lived for battle, any battle, joining the Avengers as one of their "heavy hitters" with his own "Warriors Honor" codex, versus the one-dimensional villain he had been portrayed as in the past. He would join Norman Osborn's Dark Avengers, believing that he could put his powers to good use, before being killed by Sentry during Siege. He is later resurrected, before returning to villainy and being killed again by the Punisher.