History
The Creation
Adonis is the son of the minor Greek God of Death, Thanatos. Adonis was not born, like many other children of Greek gods, he was created. His conception took place in Hades, when Thanatos gathered the souls of lost warriors that could not cross over, and he molded them together. The result was the God of Resurrection, Adonis. By creating Adonis in his image, Thanatos ensured that he would have abilities similar to his own, but still unique. Adonis was already an adult when he was born, so he could fulfill his duties without any delay.
Duties
Thanatos tasked his son with protecting those who were not ready to have their souls claimed. Adonis would be sent to Earth and defend the chosen. Adonis would not disguise himself while among man because he felt he had nothing to hide. Adonis has protected the likes of Achilles, Alexander the Great, and many others. They may have died, but it was only because Adonis allowed it to happen. When he saw his father near them, he knew his job was done.
While on Earth, Adonis met and subsequently married a woman named Alexandra. Together they had five children. Aella, the oldest of his daughters, was sent to live with a family friend for her studies. A few days later, a mob of people entered Adonis' home demanding power and immortality. He would not be intimidated, for he was a god. He threatened the crowd and they all left fearing for their lives. Adonis was summoned by Thanatos to Hades. Little did Adonis know, his father was there to guide his family's souls to the underworld.
After Adonis finished his task, he went home to find his family dead. The mob from earlier had broken in and killed them to send Adonis a message. He was enraged, but he knew that he could save them. Adonis resurrected his family, but their souls were already gone, only reanimating empty vessels. Their bodies were corrupted and they attacked him. He would not fight back and they moved into the city, first killing their murderers.
Adonis witnessed in horror as his former family slaughtered innocent civilians. He had to stop the chaos, so he had no choice but to kill his corrupted family. In anger, Adonis vowed never to reveal himself as a god on Earth again, and then he went back to Hades.
Adonis has returned to Earth on many occasions, but always disguised as a common man. He used the names of his deceased sons in respect for them. His duties have varied from fighting in battle to overthrowing corrupt kings. During one battle, a beast had been unleashed which resulted in Adonis' death. After his resurrection, Adonis was forced back to Hades where he had to restart his training.
Adonis completed his training and was now ready to slay any beast that came before him. Thanatos tested Adonis by having him fight a Hydra. Adonis knew exactly how to fight it. He cut off the three heads and then cauterized the wounds with a red hot sword. No heads grew back and Adonis gutted the monster. He was ready to continue working for his father.
A New Age
Thanatos had begun to have Adonis protect all types of people, from important humans to super-powered mutants. It was his job to save heroes because later on they would end up saving the Earth. Adonis would not fight in battle with them, but he would revive them when they were near death or already dead. He would disguise himself as other heroes to get close to whoever needing protecting. He even disguised himself as the Sentry to bring the new hero Crimson Shadow back to life. Thanatos had Adonis get re-involved in the life of Crimson Shadow in order to protect one of his sons, Weapon Omega.
As Dante Woods
Omega's life was becoming more dangerous, and he would be needed in the battle to come. Thanatos knew where Elliot Rios would be, but not his exact location. It would, however, be somewhere in a desert war-zone. Adonis disguised himself as Dante Woods, an arms dealer, and searched throughout the desert in search of the place where he would meet Elliot. He found a safe house that was stocked with weapons and supplies. Dante remained in the house waiting for instructions and for Elliot Rios.
Eventually, Dante heard someone come towards the door. He then pointed a gun at his head, not intending to pull the trigger. The man was indeed Elliot, and he flipped Dante and put a knife to his throat. Dante said that he thought Elliot was a mercenary. They ended up talking for a while and Elliot began to trust Dante. Elliot went to rest and Dante fixed his weapons. Elliot woke up and then they talked for a while again. Then someone started banging on the door. Dante opened it to reveal a group of mercenaries. The safe house ended up being theirs, and they wanted to know why he was there. Dante made something up, but the leader of the mercenaries shot him in the leg. They started to attack him and Elliot stepped in. He ended up killing the mercenaries. Dante fixed his leg and he told Elliot that he was a mutant with regenerative powers and that he could restore his telepathic abilities. Dante restored Elliot's powers and granted him new ones as well. He offered to train Elliot with his powers. He accepted, and they began training.
Thanatos told Dante that someone else needed his help. He searched for the person who was nearby, and soon found him. The man was Isaiah Simmons, and he was critically injured. Dante took Isaiah back to his safe house to try and help him. Then Dante had a vision of Isaiah's future as the Panther. Dante decided not to heal Isaiah's missing arms, but to replace them. He healed Isaiah and trained him in using his new bionic arms. An alliance was formed between Weapon Omega, the Panther, and the God of Resurrection.
Fall of a Warrior
Main article: The Onslaught
After finishing a training exercise with Isaiah, they discovered Elliot being attacked. It was Onslaught, but not just one. There were several, so Dante and Isaiah went in to help Elliot. Dante knew he could easily defeat Onslaught, but he couldn't reveal himself. All of a sudden, the Onslaughts fused together to form three beings of immense power. They defeated Elliot first, and Isaiah soon afterwards. To save his friends' lives, Dante teleported them to New York, and returned alone to defeat this threat. He separated the Onslaughts by throwing two in opposite directions, then fought and defeated the one left. This Onslaught was merely an empty vessel, so he transferred one of his souls into it. Dante attacked one of the remaining Onslaughts while he had his soul attack the other. They succeeded and Dante brought his soul back.
The God of Resurrection during the Onslaught War.
As Dante teleported to New York, a giant monstrous form of Onslaught attacked him. Once in New York, Dante held back Onslaught. Before he could do anything, Thanatos appeared before Dante. The beast killed Dante, and then Thanatos took him back to Hades. Adonis was enraged by what his father had done. He wanted to help his friends fight the coming threat. Thanatos warned his son that the battle would lead to his death and he would be forced to collect his soul. Adonis did not care, as he valued their lives over his.
Thanatos seemed pleased with his son's decision. He gave Adonis a sword and armor of his own design. Then he allowed his son to return to Earth to do battle. This was indeed Adonis' final battle, as he was killed fighting. After his death, Adonis was sent back to Hades. Adonis was deemed worthy to reunite with his family in Elysium Fields.
Rebirth
Pluto's realm, Hades, was under attack by the demonic forces of Mephisto. He wanted to expand his rule and become even more powerful. Mephisto's demons were far more powerful than the deceased souls Pluto used to defend his kingdom. Thanatos was holding his own alongside his master, though Mephisto's army attacked relentlessly in near infinite waves. Pluto began calling souls that had been laid to rest to fight for him, and one of those souls belonged to Adonis.
He was enraged by what Pluto had done to him, but Adonis was promised his return to Elysium Fields after aiding his former master. The warrior fought alongside other reborn souls, who were swiftly struck down when Mephisto entered the battlefield. Adonis defended himself against Mephisto's attacks, distracting him long enough for Pluto to gain the upper hand. Mephisto's demons were losing the battle, and he knew he could not win. With his powers diminishing, Mephisto took Adonis and returned to his realm.
Mephisto needed more powerful allies to take Hades by overwhelming force. With Adonis in his grasp, Mephisto transformed his realm into a replica of Elysium Fields. Adonis' family was there and he thought he would be happy once again, but Mephisto returned his domain to its previous state. He told Adonis that he would allow him to see his family again, if he subjected to his will. Adonis accepted, not caring about the deeds he would have to commit to die once more and be reunited with his family.
Mephisto now had control over Adonis and he molded the Olympian into a faithful servant. He granted Adonis the ability to manipulate hellfire. Mephisto's new servant was tasked with causing the creation of a new Spirit of Vengeance. He had to ensure that it was far more powerful than the previous ones, and Mephisto's true ally. Ghost Rider's chain was recreated and given to Adonis, as it would seek out the next Spirit of Vengeance for him.
Vengeance
Legion was sent to Earth, where Ghost Rider's chain received a signal indicating the location of a Spirit of Vengeance. The source came from a fragment of the Medallion of Power. He followed it until he came to a rundown house with screams coming from inside. The signal became stronger, and he knew the host was inside and nearby.
Legion allowed himself into the home, seeing a man aiming a gun at a boy holding a dead woman. He stood there and waited for the Spirit to make its appearance. The father shot his son, but he did not die. Legion saw the medallion and found his target. The boy was shot several more times, but the medallion kept him alive. Legion sensed a true Spirit of Vengeance in his presence, and then the door behind the father opened, revealing another.
The boy stood there, but was not looking at the scene in front of him, but at Legion himself. He then immediately charged at Legion without hesitation, and the other boy grabbed the man's throat. His Medallion of Power had taken over and the power within was released. The home was destroyed in a burst of hellfire. As the flames engulfed the two boys, they were pulled in close to each other and began deteriorating. Their skeletons intertwined and turned to a pile of ash. The remaining hellfire surrounded the ashes and slowly moved upward, revealing the body of a new entity. Two Spirits of Vengeance had combined, and were now a new creation altogether.
Legion was impressed with the display before him and he demanded that the creature kneel before him. He ignored the request and began to turn away, forcing Legion to grab hold of it. In response, the Spirit gave him a hard elbow to the temple. He turned once more and Legion tackled it to the ground, beating its skull in. The facial bones had been partially destroyed and he remained inactive. Mephisto called on Legion and demanded that he stop, wanting to see how the Spirit would act on its own and what it was so concerned with finding.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
Adonis possesses specific skills associated with his area of expertise:
- Resurrection: Adonis is able to bring the dead back to life under certain conditions. He can only resurrect those whose souls are not ready to be taken to the underworld. In addition, any person who is deemed worthy may be saved from their death. This power is also compatible with Adonis himself, as he is resurrected upon his death. His corpse turns to dust and he arises from his ashes. The ability also extends to simply healing his as well as others' injuries.
- Soul Transfer: He has the ability to separate his souls and put them in vessels. He has mental control over his souls and commands them as such. He cannot use this ability on anyone or anything that has or had a soul of its own.
- Precognition: He has displayed the ability of precognition. He can only look into the future to see souls that he must protect from an early death.
- Hellfire Chain Projection: Legion wields a mystical chain that is capable of growing in length, cutting through almost anything, and transforming into other weapons.
As an Olympian god, Adonis possesses certain superhuman physical attributes:
- Superhuman Strength: Adonis is superhumanly strong being able to lift about 30 tons.
- Superhuman Speed: He has the potential of being able to run and move at speeds much greater than the finest human athlete.
- Superhuman Stamina: His musculature produces considerably less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the muscles of human beings. Adonis can exert himself at peak capacity for about 24 hours before fatigue impairs him.
- Superhumanly Dense Tissue: His skin, muscle, and bone tissue is about 3 times as dense as the same tissue of a human body. This contributes, somewhat, to his superhuman strength and weight.
- Superhuman Durability: His body is considerably more resistant to physical injury than the body of a human. He is capable of withstanding great impact forces, exposure to temperature and pressure extremes, falls from great heights, etc. without sustaining physical injury.
- Regenerative Healing Factor: Despite his natural durability, it is possible for Adonis to sustain injury. However, if injured, his highly advanced metabolism enables him to recover with superhuman levels of speed and efficiency. Adonis, however, is not able to regenerate missing limbs or organs.
- Immortality: Adonis is functionally immortal. He is immune to the effects of aging and has not aged since his creation into adulthood. His body is also immune to all known Earthly diseases and infection.
- Energy Manipulation: Adonis has some potential to manipulate magical or cosmic energies for some purpose. These powers are mostly limited to changing his appearance or shape, and teleporting across great distances.
Abilities
Resurrected Knowledge: Due to his many lives and vast amount of experience, he is a brilliant tactician, fierce warrior, and strong leader. At the same time, however, he is extremely intelligent.
- Brilliant Tactician
- Fierce Warrior
- Leadership
- Genius-Level Intellect
- Multi-lingual: Adonis is able to speak English, Greek and Italian.
Strength level
Adonis is capable of lifting (pressing) about 30 tons.
Weaknesses
He can be killed by any Olympian weapon.
Self-Resurrection: After Adonis resurrects himself, he has amnesia for an unknown amount of time.
Unnecessary Resurrection: If he attempts to resurrect those who were ready to die, they are revived as empty vessels. In other words, they come back corrupted and zombie-like, because Thanatos has already guided their souls to Hades.
Creation Defect: He can only have human children. They are reincarnated versions of his lost souls.
Paraphernalia
Equipment: None; formerly was equipped with Olympian Battle Armor
Transportation: Interdimensional teleportation by Mephisto's powers or his own
Weapons: Ghost Rider's Chain; formerly wielded the Sword of Thanatos
Notes
- No special notes.
Trivia
- No trivia.
See Also
- Appearances of Adonis (God of Resurrection) (Earth-616)
- Character Gallery: Adonis (God of Resurrection) (Earth-616)
- Quotations by Adonis (God of Resurrection) (Earth-616)
Discover and Discuss
- Search News for: Legion · Adonis · Adonis (God of Resurrection) (Earth-616)
Links and References
- None.