ELATHAN
Real Name:
Elathan
Occupation:
Chieftain of the Fomore, god of the sun
Legal Status:
Exiled citizen of Eire
Identity: The general populace of Earth is unaware of the existence of Elathan except as a mythological deity.
Other Aliases:
Belenus (Celtic name), Belinus, Beli, Bile, Heli, Eladu (alternate spellings),
Place of Birth:
Marital Status: Married
Known Relatives:
Delbaeth I (father), Buarasinech, Turbe, Labraidh (possible uncles), Balor
(possible cousin), Gaea
(first wife, alias Danu), The
Dagda, Leir,
Amaethon, Delbaeth II, Gwydion
(sons by Danu), Arianrhod, Penardun, (daughters by Danu), Eri (second wife/granddaughter),
Bres (son by
Eri), Oenghus, Ogmios, Mider, Bodb
(grandsons), Brigid,
Banbha, Epona,
Fodhla (granddaughters),
Group Affiliations: The Gods of Eire, The Fomore
Base of Operations:
The Dark Realm, formerly Avalon
First Appearance: Avengers I #225
History: Elathan is a member of an other-dimensional race of beings known as the Fomore, who were worshipped in ancient times as the ancestral spirits of Ireland. Their exact origins are unknown. According to one account, they are the descendants of Gaea in her role as Domnu, the Fomore mother-goddess. However, when Christianity first reached Ireland in the First Century BC, they were perceived as being descended from Ham, one of the Biblical sons of Noah who survived an incredible deluge in ancient history. If this account is true, then the Fomore may be semi-divine in origin, having mortal as well as immortal characteristics. One of their mystical characteristics was an aversion to the natural anathema of iron, a trait shared with the faeries native to Alfheim and Svartelhiem, two of the seven worlds in the cosmology of the Asgardian gods..
Elathan and the Fomore claimed sovereignty over the island of Eire and repelled successive raids to the land by several invaders. In the 24th Century BC, they sent a flood to expel Fintan and Cessair, grand-daughter of Japeth, the son of Noah. Their grandson, Partholon, also tried to stake his claim to the island, but he was also repelled by Elathan and the Fomore working in unison. Patholon's descendants eventually emigrated to Greece and returned with enforcements, the Fir Bholg, and finally managed to claim Eire after several years of conflict. Under unresolved means, the Fir Bholg willingly offered or were forced into worshipping the Fomore as deities.
Elathan was one of the leaders of the Fomore under King Balor, but under their leadership, they became cruel and malicious to mortals, forcing them to bow down to them. Elathan took Gaea, the patron goddess of Earth in her role as the Celtic Danu as his wife, and she conceived him several children. However, she conspired to raise children who were untainted by the evil of the Fomore and could rise up to dethrone them. She retreated to the land of the Ancient Franks along the banks of the river Danube to which she shared her name and allowed her children to be raised under the morality and hospitality of mortal wizards and mages. Calling themselves the Tuatha de Danaan, Danu's children returned to Eire to force the Fomore from the land and succeeded. However, Elathan must have had a prophecy of what was going to occur or had an inkling of what was going to occur. He seduced his grand-daughter, Eri, daughter of the Dagda, and she gave birth to Bres, who was born with both Fomore and Danaan characteristics. Her half-brother, Nuadhu, had lead the Danaans to victory at Magh Turedh, but could not claim his reign because he had forfeited his hand in battle. By law, any ruler of the Tuatha de Danaan could not have any wounds otherwise he would not have the faith of his kinsmen in battle. Nuadhu blindly surrendered his rule to Bres who as part of his nature as trickster and god of mischief turned Eire back to the Fomore.
Elathan however soon learned of a prophecy that predicted that if Balor's daughter, Ethne, gave birth to a son, that that son would raise up to overthrow the Fomore from Eire. Elathan and Balor imprisoned Ethne in an impenetrable tower with sheltered windows to prevent the prediction from occurring, but she was visited by the Cian of the Danaans who had fallen in love with her and visited Ethne in the form of moonlight. On the birth of her son, Elathan had her child cast off to see where they would drown, but the child was recovered by Queen Tailtiu, wife of the Fir Bholg king, Eochaid mac Erc. Named Lugh, he sought out the Tuatha de Danaan to join their number and lead them against their enemies. Elathan, Lugh managed to slay Balor by poking his eye out, and Elathan, Bres and the Fomore were driven to Torach and then exiled from the Earth's dimension. The Danaans soon reclaimed Eire under the leadership of Lugh, and replaced the ousted Fomore as gods of Eire.
Worship of the gods of Eire were carried by the Celts into Britain and Gaul. When the Greeks discovered Britain, they merged the religion of Elathan as Belenus with their native sun-god, Helios. However, the Danaans soon surrendered Eire to the Milesians, who were claiming their right through Partholon, their ancestor. The Danaans relocated for the world of Avalon, located in the other-dimensional realm of space of Otherworld. Because the portals to Otherworld were located underground, later myths claimed the Danaans were driven beneath the ground itself, but with the Danaans departure from Earth, the spells preventing the Fomore from returning to Earth began to weaken. The Fomore managed to invade Otherworld, and Amergin, a Milesian mage, and the Danaans joined forces against them assisted by the Black Knight, brought to the Twelfth Century by Amergin's magicks. Amergin also brought the Black Knight's allies, the Avengers, to do battle with the Fomore. Elathan joined with the other leaders of the Fomore to restore Balor to life, but Elathan, Balor, Bres and the Fomore were defeated and exiled from Otherworld.
In recent years, Elathan and the Fomore would clash with the
Celtic Gods several times due to the ages long enmity and would even ally
themselves with Morgan le Fay trying to remake the earth in her own image, but
were once again defeated by the Avengers. The present whereabouts and
activities of Elathan and the Fomore are unrevealed.
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 425 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Silver, formerly Black
Strength Level: Elathan possesses superhuman strength enabling her to lift
(press) 35 tons under optimal conditions.
Known Superhuman Powers: Elathan possesses the conventional physical attributes
of the Fomore. Like all of the Fomore, he is exceptional long-lived, but he is
not immortal like the gods of Olympus. He has aged at an 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, Gwydion and Morrigan, or for a number of
Celtic gods of equal power working together to revive him. Elathan also possesses
superhuman strength and his Fomorian metabolism provides him with far greater than
human endurance in all physical activities. (Fomorian flesh and bone is about three
times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the superhuman
strength and weight of the Celtic gods.)
Elathan also has mastery over a number of mystical powers, such as the ability to create storms capable of producing floods and channeling the energies required to restore Balor to life. His full range of powers are unrevealed, but it is not certain if he is in league with such gods as Zeus or the Dagda.
Limitations: Like most of the Fomore, Elathan is
vulnerable to the natural anathema of "cold steel" or iron.
Comments: This bio pretty much involves Elathan of the Marvel Universe;
he has not yet been seen in the DC Universe.
Last updated: 05/25/14