BODB
Real Name:
Bodb Dearg (translates as "Red Lord")
Occupation:
(as Bodb) God of livestock and cattle, former Lord of Munster, former King of
Eire (c. 1750 BC), (as Machus) God of war,
Legal Status:
Citizen of Avalon
Identity: The general populace of Earth is unaware of the existence of Bodb except as a mythological character. He was well-known to the people of Eire (Ancient Ireland).
Other Aliases:
Bov, Bav (alternate spellings), Machus (Gaelic name), Teutates (Roman name),
Bodb the Red,
Place of Birth:
Marital Status: Widowed twice
Known Relatives:
The Dagda
(father), Morrigan
(mother), Gwydion,
Llyr (uncles)
Oghma, Mider
(brothers), Oenghus (half-brother), Badb, Brigid,
Rhiannon (sisters), two wives
(names unrevealed, deceased), Daireann, Saar, Scathmiach, Mesca, Concenn
(daughters), Aobh, Aoife (foster daughters, deceased), Fingal (son-in-law,
deceased), Oisin (grandson, deceased), Oscar (great-grandson, deceased),
Group Affiliations: The Gods of Eire (The Danaans)
Base of Operations:
First Appearance: (name only) Knights of Pendragon #15, (unidentified) Thor I #386
History: Bodb is the eldest son of the Dagda, ruler of an extra-dimensional race of beings known as the Tuatha de Danann, and his wife, Morrigan, goddess of war and death. In ancient times, the Tuatha de Danaans were worshipped as gods by the Celtic and Gael tribes of Western Europe and were in constant turmoil against the Fomore, who had ruled Eire for the millennia after the Hyborian Age. The Fomore reputedly wanted Eire for the magical affinity of the land linked with the mystical ley lines that crossed the British Isles. After several battles, the Fomore were finally defeated and ousted from Earth while Bodb and the Danaans claimed Eire and worship rights from the indigenous mortal races that presided there.
Bodb and the Danaans long ruled Eire from Earth, but after the Dagda decided to retire and depart from earth, he divided Eire into four equal provinces amongst his four sons with Bodb granted sovereignty over the province of Munster and title as King of Eire over the other Danaans. This decision irked his brother Mider who received the province of Connacht, but it also extremely bothered Llyr, brother of the Dagda who had helped him in defeating the Fomore decades before. Neither consulted or considered, Llyr departed Eire for what is believed to be now part of Western Briton. To compensate Llyr and shrewdly keep peace among the Danaans, Bodb gave Llyr his choice of one of his two mortal foster daughters as prospective wives. Some years before, Bodb had married the widow of King Oilell of the Aran Islands and had adopted her two mortal daughters, Aoife and Aobh. Llyr took Aobh as a his bride and she later gave him two sons and two daughters. When Aobh passed away, Llyr took Aoife as his next wife, but she hated her sister's children and used mystical means to transform them into swans. This must have occurred after Llyr's sons had become adults, because one of his sons was the father of Red Hugh of Connacht, commander of the Red Branch armies who defended Eire from invaders. In swan-form, the children of Llyr fled back to the protection of Bodb who cursed Aoife and turned her into a raven for eternity. She was later slain by the god Manannan, son of Llyr, hoping to avenge his father, and her feathers given to Morrigan, Queen of the Celtic Gods.
The Danaans meanwhile experienced waves of invaders to Eire. The Milesian tribes from Gaul invaded and claimed Eire in the name of Partholon, an ancestor of Milesius who had conquered Eire before the Fomore. The Danaans surrendered Eire to the mortal invaders and reportedly retreated the the other-dimensional realm of Otherworld where the Dagda had departed for years earlier. In later myths, it was claimed the Danaans departed underground, but this may be due to the fact that many of the portals for Otherworld existed under several sidhs or mounds in the Irish countryside. Of the many worlds in the Otherworld dimension, Bodb and many of the Danaans who made their home in Otherworld did so upon Avalon, named for a mystical island near Glastonbury.
Although having departed Eire, Bodb and the Danaans were still worshipped as gods. Other invaders to Eire included the Vikings and the Saxons who brought with them their native Asgardian gods and the Roman armies in the First Millennium BC under Julius Caesar. Enmity between both the Danaans and the Asgardians and Olympians lasted for centuries afterward. The Romans meanwhile equated Bodb with Mars (Ares), the Olympian god of war, possibly by confusing him with his sister, Badb. As god of war, Bodb was respected by the Romans under the name Teutates in order to equate him with Mars as well as the name Machus, a masculine form of the name, Macha, the Irish name of Badb.
Sometime during the Roman occupation of Eire, Bodb's half-brother, Oenghus, fell in love with Caer, granddaughter of King Ailill and Medbha of Connacht, without disclosing the identity of his infatuation to the other gods. The Dagda sent Bodb to learn the girl's identity and at Oenghus's behest, transformed her into a swan in order to spirit her away from earth to marry Oenghus. Bodb was far more diligent, however, with his own mortal daughters. He willingly gave his daughter, Saar, to Fingal, the Irish hero also known as Finn Mac Cool, and she became mother of the bard, Oisin, who collected the stories of Ancient Eire. When Cliach, a harp-player, came to Sidh-ar-Femhin to woo a daughter of Bodb, Bodb held him at bay outside his sidh for a few year before allowing one of his daughters to depart.
During the Fifth Century BC, worship of the Celtic Gods was replaced with Christianity by King Arthur, who himself had been raised under Celtic rites under the wizard and sage known as Merlin. Despite introducing Christianity to Briton, Arthur was still revered by the Celtic Gods and delivered into Avalon after his death by the daughters of Arawn, the god of the dead.
In modern years, enmity between the Danaans and the Asgardians came to end when Thor pursued a black creature into Otherworld where it slew a Danaan family. Llyr confronted Thor over the deaths but joined him in dispatching the beast. In order to repay Thor's debt, Bodb joined Llyr in defending Asgard from the undead armies of the Egyptian god Seth.
In modern years, Bodb is still worshipped for
his role as a war-god by the Bane, an army of soldiers who represent the modern
incarnation of the Red Branch. It is not known of the horned figure observed by
the Bane is that of Bodb, or perhaps another other-dimensional entity posing as
him.
Height: 6' 0"
Weight: 425 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
Strength Level: Bodb possesses superhuman strength enabling him to lift
(press) 35 tons under optimal conditions.
Known Superhuman Powers: Bodb possesses the conventional physical attributes
of the Celtic gods. Like all of the Tuatha de Danaans, he is extremely
long-lived, but not immortal like the Olympian Gods. He has aged as a extremely
slow rate 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 of significant power, such as the Dagda, Llyr or Gwydion or for a number of
Celtic gods of equal power working together to revive him. Bodb also possesses
superhuman strength and his Danaan metabolism provides him with far greater than
human endurance in all physical activities. (Danaan flesh and bone is about three
times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the superhuman
strength and weight of the Celtic Gods.)
Bodb also seems to have limited mystical skills, but on a
level possibly lower than that of the Dagda and Llyr. He can turn people into
swans and ravens, but he is not powerful enough to undo the spells of other gods
or even human mystics. He seems to have some clairvoyant prowess over animals to
mortals and cannot be easily decieved.
Abilities: Bodb has some experience in warfare and unarmed combat, but
not to the extend of Badb or Morrigan.
Pets: Bodb owned a divine swineherd and a white bull named Findbennach,
which was given to King Ailill of Connacht in exchange for Caer. The bull later
caused dissent between Connacht and Ulster.
Comments: Bodb has not yet confirmed in modern comics or media; this
profile largely gives his mythological info and attempts to compile and
reconcile his contradictory and fragmented history.
Clarifications: Bodb is not to be
confused with:
Last updated: 10/14/06