When Thor was sent to Earth, he learned the value of humility, but one future Avenger perfectly turned this lesson on its head by rejecting the “teachings” of his godly father. Not all the gods are as heroic as Thor, and this story is a great reminder that in mythology the gods are just as flawed and nasty as the humans they often look down upon. With a possible MCU introduction on the horizon, now’s the best time to revisit a defining moment for this Avenger.

In 2006’s Ares #2, the titular Greek God of War’s father Zeus suggests that Ares, like Thor, has learned humility on Earth. Ares rejects this idea by punching Zeus right across the face.

In the context of the issue, Ares is totally justified in his anger. Zeus has kidnapped Ares’ son, Alex, in order to bring the God of War out of retirement to fight one last war for his family. Ares knows full well that the other Greek gods despise him for his bloodthirstiness, and that Zeus is just buttering him up, and sometimes the best replies are non-verbal.

Just When Ares Thought He was Retired, the Gods Drag Him Back for One Last Job

As seen in the miniseries, Ares leaves Olympus behind after realizing that the gods will never see him as an equal. He fights the wars that they can’t, and they see him as an animal for it. Unlike Thor, Ares moves to Earth of his own accord after leaving his pantheon, raising Alex and working in construction. For Ares, there isn’t any grand moral lesson in this, just a chance to give his son a normal life. That chance is denied to him when Olympus drags him back into their problems and puts Alex in mortal danger.

The fun irony throughout the Ares miniseries is that all the gods who despise Ares are just as awful as they think he is. They just hide their awfulness behind their divinity and their splendor. The only difference between them and Ares is that Ares doesn’t hide his ugliness, both externally and to himself internally. No-one represents this better than Zeus. He’s supposed to be the greatest of the gods, but he’s more than happy to put children in the line of fire and then act remorseful after it inevitably goes horribly wrong.

This Series Paved the Way for Ares to Join the Avengers

This miniseries served as the launching pad for Ares’ popularity in the 2000s through the 2010s, where he went from a minor Thor and Hercules supporting character to a major player in the Marvel Universe. The 2000s in particular are often characterized in comics by subversive, darker stories, and while Ares’ story honestly has more in common with hyper-masculine ’90s comics, he still fits the 2000s like a glove. Alex too became a major character in writer Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Warriors, getting his own terrific arc that saw him develop his relationship with his father at a deeper level.

One thing that comparing Ares and Thor accomplishes is that it draws a clear distinction between the two characters. This distinction becomes useful when Ares becomes an Avenger, first in Tony Stark’s Mighty Avengers and then Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers. Writers can play with the idea of Ares taking Thor’s symbolic role on a team and compare and contrast the two gods’ heroic styles. With the Greek pantheon already established, the MCU too could easily introduce Ares as a Thor replacement on the Avengers with a very different attitude towards what his divinity means.