ACHILLES
Real Name: Achilles
Occupation:
Prince of Phthia, Warrior,
Legal Status: Citizen of Phthia
Identity:
The general populace of Earth is unaware of Achilles except as a semi-legendary
character from mythology.
Aliases:
None
Place of Birth:
Phthia (now part of Modern Greece)
Place of Death: Troy
(now part of Modern Turkey)
Marital Status: Married
Known Relatives:
Peleus (father), Thetis (mother), Neoptolemus (son by Deidameia, alias Pyrrhus),
Telamon (uncle), Ajax The Great (cousin), Aeacus, Nereus (grandfathers), Endeis,
Doris (grandmothers); Polyxena (wife), Caistrus (son by Penthesilia), Zeus
(great-grandfather),
Group Affiliations:
Ally of the Myrmidons and the Greek forces at Troy
Base of Operations: White Island near Romania, formerly Phthia
First Appearance: Thor I Annual 8
History: Achilles is the son of King Peleus of Phthia and the minor
sea-goddess, Thetis. The Titaness Themis predicted that any son of Thetis would
live to oppose his father and Zeus and Poseidon quickly married her off to
Zeus’s grandson, Peleus. During the wedding, the goddess Discord (later to be
known as Bellona) became angry that she had not been invited to the wedding
ceremony and tossed an apple into the gathering that had been inscribed “For
The Fairest.” Venus, Hera and Athena immediately tried to claim it in a series
of events that triggered the Trojan War.
Thetis desired her son Achilles to be an
immortal and dipped him into the waters of the Styx in the Underworld and
then began to burn off his mortality, but since his ankles remained covered by
her hands during the ritual, that part of him remained mortal. Surprised by
Peleus, she abandoned him and took Achilles to be raised by the centaur Chiron.
As a pupil, Achilles became friends with another student named Patroclus.
Thetis, however, knew of the Trojan War
growing inevitable and hid Achilles as a female among the daughters of King
Lycomedes of Scyros. One of the daughters, Deidameia, however, must have
discovered the ruse because she gave birth to his son, Pyrrhus, later be known
as Neoptolemus. Odysseus of Ithaca came looking for Achilles since he knew he
would need his help in the war. He dragged in a cart of weapons and dresses to
force his appearance. Hearing a battle trumpet, Achilles remained true to his
personality and took a sword to defend himself which revealed his identity to
all concerned.
Trying to stop her son from entering war with
the Trojans, Thetis warned he was destined for a long life in Phthia or a short
glory at Troy. He decided to go for the glory as she further warned him not to
be the first to raise a sword or to draw upon King Tenes of Tenedos, because as
a son of Apollo, Apollo would be sure to avenge him While Achilles was sure not
to be the first to storm the beaches of Troy or to raise a sword, he killed King
Tenes almost immediately. He was also pitted against Cycnus, the son of
Poseidon, who was invulnerable to weapons and managed to strangle him on his
helmet
In the early months of the war, Achilles
seized for himself a concubine as a spoil of war, but the King Agamemnon seized
her for himself in order to keep Achilles’ mind centered on the war. Achilles,
meanwhile, withdrew from the war entirely as the Trojans pummeled the Greeks.
The Asgardian god Thor was meanwhile thrust back in time
through caverns under his native Asgard. Entering the time of the war, he
befriended the Dardanian prince Aeneas and helped him to push back the Greeks.
Patroclus asked Achilles to wear his armor to confront this newcomer and the
Trojans. Mistaken for Achilles, Patroclus was killed by Hector, one of the
Trojan leaders. To avenge Patroclus, Achilles forgot his feud with Agamemnon and
took up new sword and armor to kill Hector. Dragging the prince’s corpse
behind his chariot as a prize of war, he was soon approached by King Priam under
a mission of mercy who was claiming his son’s body to be given a hero’s
funeral, a vow Achilles could not refuse. He also tried to ask Priam for the
hand of his daughter Polyxena in marriage, but Priam refused him.
Priam, meanwhile, contacted the Amazons as
allies against the Greeks. Achilles noticed among them the Amazons Penthesilia
and met her in battle. As she impressed him with her reputation, Achilles fell
in love with her and she reportedly gave him a son named Caistrus.
Achilles was soon thereafter killed by Paris
whose arrow was guided by Apollo to Achilles’ ankle in order to avenge his
son, Tenes. His armor was given to Odysseus and his ashes were mixed with that
of Patroclus. To replace him, Odysseus brought Achilles own son, Neoptolemus,
who was now a young man, into the war.
Odysseus meanwhile used cunning deceit
inspired by the Asgardian trickster Loki, who had traveled to this time with the
thunder-god, Thor, to gain entrance into
Troy. Smuggling himself inside the city within a great horse, Odysseus opened
the gates from within and allowed the Greeks to enter and burn the city to the ground. In
the aftermath, Achilles’s ghost appeared and asked that Priam’s daughter
Polyxena to be sacrificed on his tomb so that they could be together in the
afterlife. They were allegedly then married in the afterlife.
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 235 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde
Strength Level:
Achilles possesses extraordinary strength in the peak human range (enabling him
to lift at least 200 pounds with minimal effort) under optimal conditions.
Known Superhuman Powers: Achilles possesses enhanced stamina and resistance to injuries due to his semi-divine birth. He was stronger, faster and more inexhaustible than most human beings but not to a superhuman degree. He was also partially immortal except for his ankles, which were refused the godly enhancements of his physical stamina. He could not be harmed by any means, but a wound in his ankles could prove certain death. He was also a particularly ruthless warrior with a sword and in unarmed combat and could show particularly brutal tactics when heightened by a warriors’ rage.
Abilities: Achilles was an extraordinary warrior cum laude. Incorporating athletic skill, speed and swiftness, he could overcome virtually any opponent. By watching the battle skills of ants, Achilles and the Myrmidon Armies could overwhelm any enemy by attacking en masse. He was a above-level Olympic-class athlete with a discus and slingshot as well as with a sword.
Weaponry: Achilles
carried a sword and wore armor forged by the god
Hephaestus.
Comments: According to the myth, Achilles was nine years old when he was hidden
as a girl and fifteen when he was called into war. Since the war lasted ten
years, he was twenty-five when he died and had been born in 1208 BC. If he
conceived his son, Neoptolemus, when he was thirteen, then Neoptolemus was
thirteen himself when he was called into war. From these dates, and a lot of
dead reckoning, it is possible to date pretty much all the events in Greek and
Roman myth by using the lengths of relative kings in power as a guide and
working backward on a family tree of the kings of Ancient Greece.
The term, “Greeks,” is topical since that
term would not exist in the area for at least another thousand years.
The Greeks buried many of the casualties of
the Trojan War on