Aegeus (comics)

Aegeus
	Wonder Woman #299
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Wonder Woman #297 (November 1982)
Created by	Dan Mishkin ; Gene Colan ; Frank McLaughlin
In-story information
Full name	Nikos Aegeus
Species	Human
Place of origin	Earth
Abilities	Enhanced physical strength ; Mystical lightning that can destroy or teleport

Last updated March 06, 2019

Nikos Aegeus is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. The character is a minor supervillain who has primarily fought Wonder Woman.

DC Comics, Inc. is an American comic book publisher. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. since 1967. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, and produces material featuring numerous culturally iconic heroic characters including: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Nightwing, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Hawkman, Cyborg and Supergirl.

DC Universe Shared universe of the comic stories published by DC Comics

The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. DC superheroes such as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are from this universe, and it also contains well known supervillains such as Lex Luthor, the Joker, and Darkseid. In context, the term "DC Universe" usually refers to the main DC continuity.

A supervillain is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero.

Fictional character biography

Pre-Crisis

Nikos Aegeus is the wanted leader of a Greek terrorist cell. After executing an ambassador, he and his gang escaped to an uncharted island in the Aegean Sea (eventually revealed to be Paradise Island, home of the Amazons) where Aegeus encountered Bellerophon, the blind adventurer of ancient times. Bellerophon endowed Aegeus with the lightning of Zeus and provided him the winged horse, Pegasus, as his steed. During an Air Force training exercise, Aegeus kidnapped Steve Trevor in order to learn the location of Paradise Island so Bellerophon could use the Amazons' Purple Healing Ray to restore his sight and conquer them. Aegeus located Paradise Island within the Bermuda Triangle but was beaten in battle by Wonder Woman and betrayed by his ally, Sofia Constantinas. He then escaped to parts unknown.^[1]

Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, historically also known as Hellas, is a country located in Southern and Southeast Europe, with a population of approximately 11 million as of 2016. Athens is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki.

An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sovereign or appointed for a special and often temporary diplomatic assignment. The word is also often used more liberally for persons who are known, without national appointment, to represent certain professions, activities and fields of endeavor such as sales.

Island Any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water

An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be called an eyot or ait, and a small island off the coast may be called a holm. A grouping of geographically or geologically related islands is called an archipelago, such as the Philippines.

Aegeus returned a few months later using Vulcan's dagger, an indestructible weapon, to take revenge on Colonel Trevor and Wonder Woman for humiliating him at Paradise Island. It was revealed that Aegeus had been hired by rogue US Government operative, Howard Kohler, to further Kohler's agenda of sabotaging upcoming arms talks with the Soviet Union. Aegeus was set free since his participation in a public trial would endanger the arms talks. He vowed that he'd meet Wonder Woman in battle again, but such a meeting would never occur.^[2]

Vulcan is the god of fire including the fire of volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in ancient Roman religion and myth. Vulcan is often depicted with a blacksmith's hammer. The Vulcanalia was the annual festival held August 23 in his honor. His Greek counterpart is Hephaestus, the god of fire and smithery. In Etruscan religion, he is identified with Sethlans.

Colonel is a senior military officer rank below the brigadier and general officer ranks. However, in some small military forces, such as those of Monaco or the Vatican, colonel is the highest rank. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.

The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 30 December 1922 to 26 December 1991. Nominally a union of multiple national Soviet republics, its government and economy were highly centralized. The country was a one-party state, governed by the Communist Party with Moscow as its capital in its largest republic, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Other major urban centres were Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk, Alma-Ata, and Novosibirsk.

Post-Crisis

Aegeus was not seen during the Crisis on Infinite Earths and did not appear again for over a quarter of a century. Aegeus returned in 2010's Wonder Woman #600 as a terrorist who attempts to hold Washington D.C. hostage, but was defeated by Diana and Superman.

<i>Crisis on Infinite Earths</i> limited series

Crisis on Infinite Earths is an American comic book published by DC Comics. The story, written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, was first serialized as a twelve-issue maxiseries from April 1985 to March 1986. As the main piece of a crossover event, some plot elements were featured in tie-in issues of other DC publications. Since its initial publication, the series has been reprinted in various formats and editions.

Superman is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, the character first appeared in Action Comics #1 on April 18, 1938. Superman regularly appears in comic books published by DC Comics and has been adapted to radio shows, newspaper strips, television shows, movies, and video games.

The New 52

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Aegeus is a descendant of Poseidon. He was recruited by the goddess of peace, Eirene, to kill Wonder Woman after she had gained the mantle of the God of War. After several failed attempts to take Wonder Woman's life, Aegeus was vaporized by Eirene.^[3]

The New 52 was the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC cancelled all of its existing titles and debuted 52 new series in September 2011 with new first issues. Among the renumbered series were Action Comics and Detective Comics, which had retained their original numbering since the 1930s.

Poseidon was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth. He was god of the Sea and other waters; of earthquakes; and of horses. In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a chief deity at Pylos and Thebes. His Roman equivalent is Neptune.

Eirene, more commonly known in English as Peace, was one of the Horae, the personification of peace. She was depicted in art as a beautiful young woman carrying a cornucopia, sceptre, and a torch or rhyton. She is said sometimes to be the daughter of Zeus and Themis and sister of Dike and Eunomia. Her Roman equivalent was Pax.

DC Rebirth

After the events of DC Rebirth, Aegeus was reverted to his original pre-New 52 design. He appeared as a new adversary for Batman's Justice League of America, and was depicted as an arms dealer selling weaponry forged out of ancient myth to criminals and plunderers out from an occupied Penn City, Pennsylvania. He was first seen closing a deal with a Gotham City crime syndicate at his stronghold in The Mayor's office. When the Justice League of America confronted Aegeus and his army, the villain easily defeated Lobo before sending an armed militia of Penn City's citizens on a flight of Chimera to begin his initial attack on the city.^[4]

DC Rebirth is a 2016 relaunch by American comic book publisher DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. Using the end of The New 52 initiative in May 2016 as its launching point, DC Rebirth restored the DC Universe to a form much like that prior to the "Flashpoint" storyline while still incorporating numerous elements of The New 52, including its continuity. It also saw many of its titles move to a twice-monthly release schedule, along with being released at US$2.99.

Gotham City fictional city in the DC Universe

Gotham City, or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of Batman. The city was first identified as Batman's place of residence in Batman #4 and has since been the primary setting of stories featuring the character.

Lobo is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The Lobo character was created by Roger Slifer and Keith Giffen, and first appeared in Omega Men #3. Lobo is an alien born on the utopian planet of Czarnia, and works as an interstellar mercenary and bounty hunter.

Powers and abilities

Aegeus was bestowed enhanced strength by Bellerophon. The ancient Greek also provided the power of mystic lightning that could destroy or teleport, as well as the steed Pegasus to carry him aloft. Aegeus somehow obtained Vulcan's dagger, a bladed weapon that could allegedly cut through any substance, including Wonder Woman's magic lasso and Amazon bracelets.

Related Research Articles

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References

↑ Wonder Woman #297-299 (November 1982-January 1983)
↑ Wonder Woman #306-307 (August–September 1983)
↑ Wonder Woman #41-46 (August 2015-January 2016)
↑ Justice League of America Vol 5 #5 (April 2016)

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[1] Wonder Woman #297-299 (November 1982-January 1983)

[2] Wonder Woman #306-307 (August–September 1983)

[3] Wonder Woman #41-46 (August 2015-January 2016)

[4] Justice League of America Vol 5 #5 (April 2016)