BES

Real Name: Bes

Occupation: God of luck and probability, Patron of art, music and childbirth 

Legal Status: Citizen of Celestial Heliopolis

Identity: The general populace of earth is unaware of Bes except as a character from mythology.

Other Aliases: The Dwarf-God 

Place of Birth: Thebes, Egypt

Marital Status: Married

Known Relatives: Ammon-Ra (father), Maat (mother), Khonshu, Ptah, Khnum (brothers), Seshat (sister), Taweret (wife, alias Beset), Ammit, Babi (brothers-in-law), Satis (sister-in-law); Hatmehyt (niece, deceased), Bata (nephew-in-law), 

Group Affiliation: The Ennead (Gods of Egypt)

Base of Operations: Celestial Heliopolis

First Appearance: (in shadow) Thor I#396; (actual) Thor I#398

History: Bes is the son of Ammon-Ra, Lord of the gods of Ancient Egypt, and Maat, the goddess of truth and judgment. Husband to Taweret, the goddess of childbirth, he stands at the side of Ammon-Ra ready to bestow good fortune on those who deserve it. After several millennia, however, Ammon-Ra willingly surrendered his role as ruler of the Egyptian Gods to Osiris because of his wisdom and beneficence as pharaoh of Egypt.  

Discontent with just being a ruler of the dead, the god Seth overthrew Osiris as ruler of Heliopolis and imprisoned all of the Egyptian gods within a pyramid for millennia. He kept Bes separate from them and contain him in a sphere of energy to drain off his abilities to benefit himself. When the pyramid appeared in the Twentieth Century, the Asgardian Gods clashed with Seth to free them.  The ancient gods of Egypt then proclaimed Odin the reincarnation of their common ancestor Atum Ra. Angered at the Asgardians for their interference, Seth then laid siege to Asgard and was not only confronted in battle with the Asgardians but the Tuatha de Danaan, the former gods of the Celts. During the war, Thor fought his way into Seth's Black pyramid where Bes called out to him from a sphere of energy of energy for help. Once freed, Bes was able to turn the tide to the Asgardians and the Danaans against Seth's forces, who were ultimately defeated.

Most recently, Bes accompanied the gods Anubis and Bast to the plane of existence known as the Dreaming in order to barter for the keys to the underworld. In response to the Dream Lord's relinquishing of the keys, they repaid his favor by attending the funeral of his son.

Height: 3'11"

Weight: 300 lbs.

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Brown

Strength Level: Bes possesses superhuman strength much like all Egyptian gods and can lift (press) about 25 tons under optimal conditions.

Known Superhuman Powers: Bes possesses the conventional physical attributes of the Egyptian gods. Like all of the Ennead, he is extremely long-lived, but he is not immortal like the Olympian gods. He has not aged since reaching adulthood and cannot die by any conventional means. He is immune to all Earthly diseases and is resistant to conventional injury. If he were somehow wounded, his godly life force would enable him to recover with superhuman speed. It would take an injury of such magnitude that it dispersed a major portion of his bodily molecules to cause him a physical death. Even then, it might be possible for a god such as Ammon-Ra or Osiris or for a number of Olympian gods of equal power working together to revive him. Bes also possesses superhuman strength and his Olympian metabolism provides him with far greater than human endurance in all physical activities. (Ennead flesh and bone is about three times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the superhuman strength and weight of the Egyptian gods.)  

Bes also has several mystical powers particularly in controlling and manipulating laws of probability toward fortunate results ("good luck"). Likewise, anyone who can capture and hold him can experience good luck as well, much like the leprechauns of Ancient Eire. Likewise, he can cause bad fortune to anyone he chooses by creating hexes or spheres of negative energy which create incidents of misfortune. Bes sometimes utilizes shape-shifting powers that allow him to appear either as a wily, stout dwarf or as a handsome, full-grown man, as Egyptian art has sometimes depicted him in both forms. 

Abilities: Despite his size, Bes has some measure of battle prowess and agility and can engage in unarmed combat.

Comments: The Egyptian gods so far have been pictured as gray or brown in hue in the Marvel Universe; Bes, however, was colored like a Caucasian in Thor #398.

Clarifications: Bes should not be confused with:

 

Back to Main Page